yulife, a new life insurance business, is launching this month in the UK on a mission to make British companies healthier and happier. The company was born out of a desire to revolutionise the life insurance industry and create a financial product that is a true win-win.
Yulife.com aims to create lasting, positive lifestyle changes by rewarding simple, everyday activities through their insurance and game-based app.
The startup has recently raised £3m in a funding round led by LocalGlobe, the UK investor behind successes including LoveFilm and TransferWise. Anthemis Exponential Ventures, and Israel’s most active venture investor, OurCrowd, also joined the round, whilst global insurance giant, AIG, is underwriting all policies.
yulife has built its wellness and insurance proposition using behavioural science and artificial intelligence. The app, created by games designers, rewards members with “yucoins” – the yulife currency of wellbeing – for small, everyday lifestyle changes such as walking to work, running or meditating using health app, Calm.
Users progress through levels, compete in company leaderboards and complete quests which drive an improvement in overall wellbeing. Yucoin can be redeemed for rewards such as Avios points, Asos vouchers and NowTV passes.
The company is the latest venture of serial entrepreneur, Sammy Rubin, who founded and floated his first business in his twenties, before becoming the founding-CEO of insurer Vitality Life. The yulife wellbeing app is inspired by the medical philosophy of Dr Rangan Chatterjee, the physician, author and presenter, who is also yulife’s chief wellbeing officer.
Sammy Rubin, founder and chief executive, said: “Life insurance is an incredible product, but the proposition has to evolve to fit the needs of a new generation. We are building the world’s first lifestyle insurance business to put the customer at the centre. yulife has a big mission: we want to help people to live their best lives, and we are passionate about using tech and financial services as a force for good.”
Co-founder and chief operating officer, Sam Fromson, said: “We have rebuilt the insurance infrastructure from the ground up to support our long-term vision of creating a new type of insurance company that is simple, easy and fun to engage with. Businesses are bombarded with complex benefits options and wellbeing packages that quickly fade out of use. yulife offers an engaging and compelling proposition of life insurance, wellbeing and rewards, all in one simple app.”
Dr Rangan Chatterjee, chief wellbeing officer, said: “yulife looks at the wellbeing of the whole person – physical, mental and also financial. This is exactly the 360 degree view that I have been urging patients to adopt and I’m excited to be working with yulife to help our members to be their best selves!”
Tara Reeves, partner at LocalGlobe, said: “yulife is reimagining life insurance in a compelling way. Focused on wellness, rewards and gamification, yulife brings a whole new generation to life insurance and to a product that is designed with their needs in mind.”
