London insurtech YuLife scores $70M to help you live longer

Almost all kinds of life insurances focus solely on payout in the event of demise. And there has been almost no change in the way the life insurance industry has been operating for a long time. London-based YuLife intends to change this as it aims to reinvent life insurance. The company focuses on enabling users to lead a healthier lifestyle in various ways and has now raised a notable $70 million in its series B funding round. 

Target Global backs the $346 million valuation insurtech

The latest funding round for YuLife was led by Target Global and new investors Eurazeo and Latitude supported the round. Company’s existing investors Creandum, Notion Capital, Anthemis, MMC Ventures, and OurCrowd participated as well. YuLife will use the fresh finds to develop new products, expand its reach into the UK market and expand to new global regions with a focus on Europe and North America. With this funding round, YuLife is now valued at $346 million (£250 million).

Ben Kaminski, Partner, Target Global, says, “With health and wellbeing increasingly thrust into the limelight in the wake of Covid-19, YuLife is fundamentally changing insurance by incentivizing people to lead healthier lifestyles. YuLife is ideally positioned to build on its tenfold growth during the pandemic and lead the way in helping its clients respond to the challenges posed by an ever-changing working environment.”

Behavioural science, gamification and a healthier lifestyle

We all know a thing or two about habits, which might turn out to be problematic for us in the long term. However, traditional life insurance doesn’t really encourage anyone to take any steps to change their approach. YuLife’s life insurance offers everything a traditional group life insurance policy does. However, it also adds critical illness, income protection, virtual GP services and employment assistance such as counselling and coaching to the fray.

In a conversation with UKTN, the company’s CEO and Founder, Sammy Rubin reveals more about what they are working towards. He says, “YuLife is harnessing the latest trends in data science, gamification and AI to turn this model on its head and introduce a type of life insurance that inspires life.” And the company is doing so by offering rewards and discounts from the UK’s well-known brands for completing daily wellness activities. 

These wellness activities range from walking and cycling to meditation and mindfulness. “As a result, YuLife enjoys an average of 120 touchpoints with its members per year, as opposed to an industry average of just two. YuLife’s success is demonstrated by the fact that 62% of YuLife members regularly use the app a year after having signed up and almost 40% of members log on to use the app every day – far higher than the equivalent figures for comparable wellness apps,” Rubin notes. 

Proactive rather than reactive 

YuLife was founded in 2016 by Sammy Rubin, Sam Fromson, Jaco Oosthuizen, Jonathan Roomer and Josh Hart. While the startup aims to change how the health insurance industry functions, it is trying to do so by embedding data science, analytics and game mechanics into the insurer-member relationship. “We are tapping into tech and introducing data analysts into our core team, in order to bring about the first major change in the way life insurance is envisioned since higher premiums were first introduced for smokers in the 1960s,” remarks Rubin. 

The startup says it differentiates itself from its rivals with its approach. It is touted to not only help policyholders benefit from improved health and wellbeing but it’s supposed to be good for insurers too as they can gain from healthier policyholders that present less risk and live longer. YuLife’s solutions are touted to be beneficial for employers as well.

London-based YuLife intends to reinvent life insurance by enabling users to lead a healthier lifestyle and it has now raised a notable $70 million in its series B funding round. 

“By providing employers with a way to tangibly demonstrate care for their employees, YuLife’s group life insurance has a positive knock-on effect for businesses – boosting retention, reducing burnout and increasing productivity while ensuring that employees are happier, healthier and more engaged in the workplace,” Rubin notes. 

As per the founder, YuLife’s technology also feeds anonymised insights that indicates various metrics of wellbeing such as stress or morale levels back to businesses. This can enable companies to work on their strategies according to what their employees truly need. 

The startup is currently a 94 member team and they will expand the headcount further post funding.