From Yuanbao's three "Life-Saving Policies" to the warmth of inclusive insurance for people's livelihoods

Located in Hubei, an unexpected illness disrupted his peaceful life abroad. Fortunately, the medical expenses for treatment abroad were reimbursed by 70% through Yuanbao’s policy, allowing him to focus solely on his treatment.

Located in Anhui, his right leg had three torn ligaments out of four. Yuanbao’s policy covered the reimbursement for the key medical consumable “artificial ligament,” helping him regain his active life.

Located in Sichuan, she, diagnosed with breast cancer, couldn’t afford treatment costs often exceeding 100,000 yuan. The Yuanbao medical insurance and critical illness insurance policies she purchased earlier became her solid support…

Stories like these are playing out in many families. In recent years, the government has repeatedly emphasized the important role of commercial insurance in the multi-layered healthcare security system. The 2024 new “Ten Guidelines” for the insurance industry explicitly propose “promoting in-depth integration of commercial health insurance and health management.” The National Healthcare Security Administration also issued documents requiring “health insurance data to empower commercial insurance development,” helping to address issues like information asymmetry and low claims efficiency. Commercial health insurance is shifting from a “luxury” to a “necessity.”

This year’s “Government Work Report” mentioned “insurance” 12 times, not only listing the “introduction of a catalog of innovative commercial health insurance drugs” as a significant achievement in safeguarding people’s livelihoods over the past year but also clearly stating in the deployment of this year’s government tasks: “Accelerate the development of commercial health insurance, promote high-quality development of innovative drugs and medical devices,” and better meet the diverse medical and medication needs of the people. The importance of commercial health insurance has significantly increased.

Against this backdrop, Yuanbao, an internet insurance technology platform, has become a pioneer in policy implementation through technological innovation and product inclusiveness—up to now, Yuanbao has served tens of millions of families. Its 2025 annual claims report shows that the maximum total claim amount for a single person under its medical insurance reached 1.83 million yuan, and the highest number of claims for a single person was 128 times. Behind these numbers are vibrant lives, crossing the gap of illness and accidents under the protection of insurance.

“Million Medical Insurance” for Off-site Patients’ “Cancer Insurance”

Mr. Wang, a resident of Shangqiu, Henan, once worked in the student health insurance department in middle school. In June 2024, while visiting relatives in Wuhan, he suddenly experienced abdominal pain and was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer. Mr. Wang faced not only the disease but also the costs of treatment and hospitalization in two places. The off-site medical reimbursement ratio was only 30%, and the high out-of-pocket expenses once plunged his family into hardship.

“Fortunately, I bought Yuanbao’s million medical insurance in advance.” Mr. Wang recalled that because his daughter was settled in Wuhan, he specifically chose a product that supported off-site reimbursement. The key factor in his decision was the product’s clear coverage for “off-site medical treatment.” “And it was affordable, so I bought it immediately.” This policy, costing only 123 yuan per month, covered 58k yuan in treatment expenses and included 6 chemotherapy sessions. “Paying 123 yuan a month gave me the confidence to fight the illness,” said Mr. Wang’s wife.

Moreover, during Mr. Wang’s claims process, Yuanbao relied on advanced big data AI technology to ensure the claim was paid within just a week. This is a vivid example of the “service efficiency optimization” that the government, industry, and users are all looking forward to.

“Insurance pays not just money, but the courage to stand up again”

On a freight truck in Fuyang, Anhui, Mr. Tan pressed the accelerator hard. Who would have thought that his right leg, which supported him in running around, was actually equipped with an artificial ligament? A rainy night car accident in 2022 caused three of his ligaments to rupture. The doctor’s treatment plan was very clear: if he wanted to recover fully, he needed to implant an artificial ligament. But the cost of the artificial ligament was as high as 40k yuan.

“New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme reimbursed 18.6k yuan, Yuanbao paid 41.9k yuan.” The former insurance salesman gestured at the bill: “The key is that the 40k yuan ligament cost was fully reimbursed.” Even more surprising was the speed of the claim—payment was received in 10 days, just in time for his second surgery payment. “Yuanbao helped me regain my active life.”

Behind this is Yuanbao’s focus and watchfulness on “high-value consumable guarantees.” For example, as early as 2022, Yuanbao launched the “Yuanbao·Premium Million Medical Insurance,” which included high-value consumables such as heart valves, artificial lenses, and artificial joints. The call for commercial insurance to cover high-value consumables outside of medical insurance, forming a complementary protection, has been a hot topic among the government, industry, and the public in recent years.

In December last year, the National Healthcare Security Administration and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security jointly issued the first “Catalog of Innovative Drugs for Commercial Insurance.” Yuanbao promptly promoted the responsibility optimization of the “Super Medical Insurance” series, launching insurance products covering the catalog, continuously expanding the protection boundary on the product side, and further responding to users’ growing demand for cutting-edge therapies under the new policy cycle.

Prepared protections become the strongest support

Every morning at 7 a.m., Xiao Xia, a post-00s young man living in Luzhou, Sichuan, arrives early at the nearby vegetable market to select the freshest vegetables and meats. His movements are skillful, and he can prepare a meal in just 20 minutes.

This early sense of responsibility and commitment stemmed from his mother, Ms. Cheng, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2023. After her husband’s death, Ms. Cheng relied only on her monthly income of just over 2,000 yuan to support herself and her son. Now diagnosed with cancer, the treatment costs often exceeding 100,000 yuan make her unable to bear the burden.

Fortunately, Ms. Cheng purchased Yuanbao’s medical and critical illness insurance, with a million medical insurance providing coverage for treatment costs, and critical illness insurance compensating for income loss caused by illness. The monthly premium of over 200 yuan earned her more than 120k yuan in claims. Recently, Ms. Cheng was found to have cancer cells spreading, and Yuanbao again provided her with medical green channels, assisting with registration, accompanied visits, appointment scheduling, consultation, and medication—professional accompanying services throughout.

Small policies support big livelihoods. From the fields of eastern Henan to the corner of Luzhou, from freight routes to everyday life, these stories of ordinary people outline the evolution of internet insurance: Mr. Wang’s off-site medical treatment reflects the “nationwide coverage” of commercial insurance; Mr. Tan’s quick claims demonstrate the “service upgrade” enabled by technology; Ms. Cheng’s living with illness confirms the “precise drip irrigation” of product innovation. Behind these micro-stories is the macro vision of the “14th Five-Year Plan” for national health, which proposes “building a multi-layered medical security system,” and also highlights the further role of commercial health insurance in the construction of a Healthy China. What we see is not only the insurance payout function but also its protection of human dignity.

When the warmth of technology meets the strength of policy, insurance as a “necessity” is weaving a denser safety net—supporting not just a moment of fall but also the confidence for ordinary people to pursue a better life. Yuanbao’s practice shows that when commercial insurance and basic medical insurance develop in a “complementary” manner, when innovative products break through the “non-standard body” guarantee challenges, and when data sharing breaks down “information silos,” inclusive insurance can truly become the resilient backbone of the health security network for 1.4 billion people.