Chinese online insurer Wukongbao raises Series B
Wukongbao, a Beijing-based online insurance broker, has raised millions of US dollars in a Series B round led by Chinese classifieds platform 58.com, with participation from Guohua Life Insurance.
The company previously received a RMB100 million ($14.4 million) pre-Series A round from Phoenix Auspicious Internet Investment in May 2016. That came one year after Plum Ventures, Cyanhill Capital and Hua Chen, founder of Chinese karaoke app Changba, contributed RMB15 million in seed funding, according to Wukongbao’s website.
Founded in 2015 by Zhihua Chen, formerly an executive at JD Group’s financial services affiliate, Wukongbao provides customized car, life, and situational insurance policies. The latter refers to packages that cover specific customer fears, such as medical problems during plastic surgery.
The bulk of the company’s revenue currently comes from the automotive segment, with premiums reaching around RMB770 million in 2017, according to 36kr. More than 60% of its customers are described as tech-savvy millennials, who focus on the protective function of insurance policies, in contrast to their parents’ generation, which tended to emphasize the investment element of insurance.
The proceeds of the latest round will be used to better understand customer needs and to roll out cheaper and more flexible policies, said Chen. Jinbo Yao, chairman and CEO of 58.com, added that Wukongbao will be able to promote its products through the classifieds platform.
Wukongbao is one of many “insurtech” companies – insurance brokers that offer products and services primarily through online or mobile channels – to have emerged in China in recent years. They claim their methods of customer acquisition and contract management are more efficient than traditional players thanks to the use of big data and artificial intelligence.
Major players in this space include Zhong An Insurance, which was founded in 2013 by Alibaba Group’s Ant Financial, Tencent Holdings, and Ping An Insurance. The company went public in Hong Kong in September 2017, raising $1.5 billion, although its stock has lost more than 50% in value since debut.
China Renaissance was the sole financial adviser Wukongbao’s Series B. The exact size of the round was not disclosed.
More on Greater China
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.