Wukong Insurance Secures RMB 100 Million Pre-A Funding to Expand Internet Health Insurance Offerings

On May 26, 2016, Wukong Insurance held a financing and strategy launch event themed “Calculated Love,” announcing that it had secured RMB 100 million in Pre-A round financing, led by Phoenix Xiangrui Capital and participated by Fengyun Capital. The company also announced a deep strategic partnership with 58 Finance, a subsidiary of the 58 Group. According to Chen Zhihua, Founder and CEO of Wukong Insurance, the company has already provided customized insurance products for ten major vertical internet sectors, including healthcare, housing, automotive, and O2O services. The proceeds from this financing round will be primarily used for team building and fostering in-depth collaborations across these vertical sectors.

Wukongbao was established in August 2015. At its inception, the team secured RMB 15 million in angel investment from Meihua Angels, Qingshan Capital, and Chen Hua of Changba.

The advent of the Internet era is bound to impact many traditional industries, and the insurance sector is no exception. In the face of widespread digital transformation across various sectors, the nature of risk has fundamentally changed. Consequently, longstanding issues within traditional insurance—such as poor product-market fit, lengthy service processes, and subpar customer experience—have become increasingly pronounced. The insurance industry must now endure the growing pains of self-examination and self-reinvention.

Wukong Bao’s transformation of the traditional insurance industry involves a comprehensive reconstruction encompassing risk perception, redefinition of liabilities, breakthroughs in pricing technology, adjustments to claims processes, iterations of risk control technology, cross-industry applications of big data, and integration of service resources. This represents a significant expansion of the boundaries of the traditional insurance industry, focusing on the exploration of incremental markets rather than competition for existing market share.

While the internet has transformed people’s lifestyles, it has also given rise to more diverse “risk perception scenarios.” For instance, transactions between strangers and O2O (online-to-offline) home services inherently create insurance needs due to the lack of established trust. Wukong Insurance can rapidly adapt to insurance demands in the internet era by tailoring insurance products for enterprises based on industry-specific pain points and fragmented scenarios, thereby optimizing its own offerings while improving the online consumption environment.

Chen Zhihua stated that Wukong Bao will delve into various sectors of the internet industry and establish strategic partnerships with diverse enterprises. Adopting a B2B2C business model, Wukong Bao customizes insurance products for the business (B) side of internet companies to better serve end consumers (C). Such tailored insurance services help internet platforms set service standards, raise competitive barriers, strengthen brand building, and facilitate traffic monetization. In today’s fiercely competitive internet market, this approach is undoubtedly an optimal path toward achieving mutual success for all parties involved.

Behind the B2B2C model lies not only mutual commercial benefit but also social responsibility. As a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in North America with many years of experience in the insurance industry, Chen Zhihua is well aware of the deep-rooted problems plaguing the traditional insurance sector. He has consistently emphasized that the insurance industry should embody public welfare and social responsibility. Through the efforts of Wukong Bao, he aims to improve public perception of insurance while fully realizing the industry’s potential for public good and social responsibility.

After securing RMB 100 million in Pre-A series financing, Wukong Bao will enter a new phase of development. Going forward, Wukong Bao will rapidly expand its corporate scale and market presence.

It is understood that Wukong Insurance has reached preliminary cooperation agreements with companies in the medical field, including Quyun, Medlinker, and Yihu Doctor.