Yuanbao understands this generation of young people: buying good insurance, claiming smoothly, and protecting peace of mind with small investments

The consumption mindset of today’s young people hides an unexpected contrast:

A cup of milk tea for 30 yuan—you buy it without thinking twice; a 15-yuan video subscription—you need to find three people to split the bill;

A trip costing several thousand yuan—you set off on a whim; insurance costing dozens of yuan—you can study the policy terms for three days and three nights, staring right at the fine print;

While they say “live in the moment and enjoy yourself while you can,” behind the scenes they’ve stocked up on a complete set of coverage—million medical insurance, critical illness insurance, and accident insurance—so tightly that they’ve woven a solid safety net around their lives.

Once seen as a young group “lacking any concept of risk,” today they’ve already become the main force driving online insurance purchases. The “2024 China Internet Insurance Consumer Insight Report” jointly released by Yuanbao Group and Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance’s China Insurance and Pension Finance Research Center (hereinafter referred to as the “Yuanbao Consumer Insight Report”) shows that the 20–30 age group represented by those born in the 1990s—first surpassing the 31–40 age group—has become the customer segment with the highest online purchase rate of insurance.

Now, when you open young people’s shopping lists, besides everyday consumer goods, online policies are becoming a standard item for more and more people.

01 This generation of young people’s risk view has changed

The change first happens at the level of mindset.

A generation raised in a digital environment understands risk more concretely. They’re used to measuring uncertainty with data and are also more willing to hedge future risks early using low-cost methods. The “Yuanbao Consumer Insight Report” shows that the younger the consumer and the higher the income, the more they tend to increase family premium spending—more than 60% of respondents increased their insurance investment in 2024.

For this generation of young people, insurance is neither a “hustle tax,” nor impulsive consumption driven by anxiety. Instead, it’s an essential tool for staying clear-headed while planning a life. They don’t just take out policies proactively—they truly get protection through claims. For a few dozen yuan a month, they buy themselves certainty and support in the face of sudden events.

Mr. Wang, a post-90s car-rental shop owner in Harbin, has steady income and a comfortable life, yet in May 2024 he set up for himself an advance allocation of “Yuanbao Care ・ Million Medical Insurance.” Friends nearby couldn’t understand: at such a young age, wasn’t this money just wasted? But he always felt that the safety net should be woven before the wind and rain come—that’s what it means to prepare before trouble arrives. “I can afford the surgery fees, but I don’t want to bet my life,” is Mr. Wang’s most genuine thought when buying insurance.

This clear-headed advance planning quickly gave him solid backup. Just two months after taking out the policy, Mr. Wang suddenly became unable to move his legs properly. After seeking care, he was diagnosed with a meningioma and needed surgery right away. Faced with treatment costs of around 100k yuan, he actually had the ability to cover it in full—yet he also felt grateful that he had arranged the coverage beforehand.

At first, his wife was still full of worry: “We only spent 60-plus yuan on premiums in total, and we just bought it two months ago—can they really pay?” Unexpectedly, with guidance from Yuanbao customer service, they prepared the medical documents, submitted the application, and soon received a 39k-yuan claim payout. The payout amount was more than 600 times the premiums they had paid. This policy—just a few dozen yuan per month—didn’t change the occurrence of the disease, but it meant they didn’t have to get distracted by treatment costs. They could focus on the recovery process with peace of mind.

Another 90s worker using an insurance policy to build confidence for himself is also a courier in Beijing. After his business failed, he chose to come to Beijing and started from the most basic work of parcel delivery. Over the course of more than half a year, he thoroughly learned the situation of the 16 residential buildings in his responsible area. He lined up every parcel neatly and also handled his own life in a steady, well-ordered way.

Courier workers who hustle through the city’s streets and alleys may understand uncertainty from accidents better than anyone. Mr. Liu also proactively took out Yuanbao accident insurance and critical illness insurance—this policy is the “invisible armor” on his road of hard work—so that even if a sudden situation happens, it won’t throw off the rhythm of his restart, allowing him to move forward more steadily, step by step.

02 When young people’s needs are seen

The reason young people are willing to pay for online insurance is that their needs are truly being recognized. The “Yuanbao Consumer Insight Report” shows that the Top 4 value-added services consumers care most about are green channel access for medical appointments, advance payment of expenses, health management services, and reimbursement of transportation costs for out-of-town medical care. At the same time, young groups prioritize efficiency and prefer online channels, and they have higher expectations for personalized, transparent services. This generation of young people doesn’t focus on human情 back-and-forth when buying insurance. Instead, they clearly understand the terms and rely on dependable service.

The experience of Ms. Niu, a post-90s mother of her third child in Jining, Shandong, is the best example of this “being seen.” After she was unfortunately diagnosed with sigmoid colon malignant tumor, her total treatment cost was nearly 900k yuan. Of that, social insurance reimbursed 200,000-plus yuan, she paid out-of-pocket 60k-plus yuan, and the vast majority of the remaining expenses were covered by the Yuanbao ・ Million Medical Insurance she had purchased. As of now, this policy has already made 69 claims for her, with cumulative reimbursements of about 630k yuan. The fastest payout—after submission—landed successfully within a few hours.

For ordinary people, the value of insurance is not only about “being able to afford it, being able to buy it,” but also about “being satisfied with the payout and satisfied with the service.” Knowing full well the many inconveniences of seeking medical care in another city, during Ms. Niu’s trip to Beijing for treatment, Yuanbao took the initiative to lend a helping hand, thoughtfully providing end-to-end outpatient and inpatient coordination services such as expert outpatient appointment booking and professional accompaniment. From registration to consultation, from tests to treatment, it accompanied her through every step, allowing her to put aside worries and fight the disease with peace of mind.

In fact, behind these individual stories is also a snapshot of changes across the entire insurance industry. On the one hand, the internet makes buying insurance more convenient and transparent, allowing young people to complete their insurance arrangements just like shopping online. On the other hand, speeding up the claims process and improving the service experience mean that insurance claims are no longer complicated. Data from the Yuanbao Consumer Insight Report also confirms this shift: in recent years, online insurance purchase rates have continued to rise across different age groups, city tiers, and income segments, and internet insurance has continued to penetrate all kinds of groups. Meanwhile, in 2024, “difficulty with claims or denial of claims” is no longer the biggest concern when consumers buy insurance.

Taking Yuanbao as an example, its longstanding goal of making coverage accessible to the public precisely captures young people’s protection needs—from million medical insurance at the hundreds-of-yuan level, to accident insurance tailored for new urban residents; from an efficient “one-click claim reporting” claims function to a butler-style “as-you-wish payouts” service. By addressing the industry pain point of “hard claims,” Yuanbao has truly achieved that users can “afford it, buy it, and be satisfied with the payout.”

Today, more and more people born in the 1990s, 1995s, and even those born in the 2000s have clearly realized that life is never smooth sailing forever. Laying down a safety net in advance is what allows them to set out for the road ahead with greater composure. A policy of dozens or even over a hundred yuan isn’t meaningless spending—it’s peace of mind you give to your future self.

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