UPDATED 03:00 EDT / JULY 07 2022

APPS

YuLife raises $120M in Series C funding to gamify life insurance

The gamified life insurance provider YuLife Ltd. is feeling richer today after closing on a $120 million round of funding.

Today’s Series C round was led by Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd. and had the support of existing investors Creandum, LocalGlobe, Target Global, Latitude, Anthemis, OurCrowd, Notion, MMC and Eurazeo, bringing YuLife’s total amount raised to $206 million.

YuLife has developed a gamified life insurance offering for companies that focuses on promoting employees’ physical and mental wellbeing. As the company explains in its pitch, the existing $6 trillion insurance industry is not fit for the future because of its low perceived value, low trust and, most importantly, its low engagement.

YuLife is doing something about the latter problem. It has created an engaging, gamelike YuLife app that encourages its life insurance policy holders to complete wellness activities each day in return for “YuCoin” rewards.

The app was designed by gaming industry veterans and is focused on the so-called “Yuniverse,” with different environments such as a forest, ocean, desert and mountains. Within these environments, policyholders are encouraged to walk, cycle, meditate and perform other healthy activities.

Because the app is targeted at companies, users can also compare their progress with their co-workers, adding a competitive element to the game. There’s a degree of personalization in each user’s experience, with different scenarios emerging in the game based on their preferences for specific activities.

The “game” offers discounts on third-party health and fitness products, such as a subscription to the meditation app Calm, and devices from FitBit LLC and Garmin Ltd. By completing activities each day, employees can earn “YuCoin,” which can be used to redeem vouchers from Amazon.com Inc. and other online retailers. So by living a healthy lifestyle, users are rewarded. They can also use their YuCoins to buy gifts for their friends and family, or donate them to good causes such as charities or tree planting initiatives, directly within the app.

YuLife says its application has transformed how people view life insurance. It said over a third of its policyholders engage with it every single day, compared to the industry average of just once a year. Meanwhile, 87% of users report an improvement to their wellbeing since using YuLife.

The company added that it now has more than 500,000 policyholders across small and large businesses, with more than $50 billion worth of life insurance coverage in place. Besides paying out a lump sum in the event of death, its policies also provide income protection and critical illness coverage.

As YuLife founder and Chief Executive Sammy Rubin explains, insurance has the potential to achieve tremendous social good by incentivizing users to live healthier lifestyles.

“Unusually for financial services, our product creates a deep alignment of interests between the insurer, the company and the individual,” he said. “We believe that wellbeing must be holistic and we are committed to building a global financial services brand that can change the lives of millions of people across the world.”

Looking ahead, YuLife said it will use the funds from today’s round to expand into new global markets and expand its product range.

Image: YuLife

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