Wellbeing-focused YuLife raises $70m in a Series B

The pandemic has shone a spotlight on employee wellbeing and how employers have a responsibility to look after their workers properly. Remember happy, valued employees are the most productive.

Therefore, it is not surprising that mental wellbeing apps have attracted a lot of investment in recent months.

For example, Unmind closed a $47 million Series B in May, Lyra Health raised $200 million in June and Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global closed a $80 million Series C earlier in July.

Now UK-based wellbeing-focused employer life insurance startup YuLife has joined them after raising $70 million in a Series B. The company claims that this is one of Europe’s largest InsureTech rounds in the life insurance space.

The Series B was led by Target Global and supported by new investors Eurazeo and Latitude. Existing investors, including Creandum, Notion Capital, Anthemis, MMC Ventures, and OurCrowd, also participated in the round.

Talking about the round, YuLife co-founder and CEO Sammy Rubin commented: “For too many years, life insurance has focused solely on paying out a lump sum upon death.

“It is now time to reimagine the very nature of life insurance by putting ‘life’ first, and inspiring members to live their best lives every single day, using insurance as a tool to enhance their physical, mental and financial wellbeing.

“Redefining group-life insurance is just the start of the journey for YuLife as we look to inspire life through a vast range of new insurance products.”

Its products include a group life insurance policy, as well as an employee assistance program, virtual GP services, counselling and coaching.

This allows employers to reward their workers for healthy living by offering discounts to a range of YuLife’s partner brands, including Amazon, ASOS and Fiit.

This approach also supports insurers because it de-risks individuals because of their healthy lifestyle.

Rubin adds: “We look forward to using our latest funding to continue to set a new standard for life insurance and expand globally, helping employers tailor their engagement offerings to what employees genuinely want and need.”

Target Global partner Ben Kaminski added:  “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.

“We are very proud to partner with YuLife on its journey of becoming a global leader in life insurance.”