Hong Kong-based virtual insurer OneDegree has reported its first full-year profit five years after launch, citing growth in pet, home, fire, and digital asset insurance as the main contributors and outlining plans to expand in Asia’s digital insurance market.
According to The Standard’s report, OneDegree said it generated more than HK$1 million in net profit for 2025, compared with a loss of about HK$40 million in 2024, based on reporting under the Hong Kong Insurance Ordinance risk-based capital framework. Full-year revenue reached HK$330 million, up about 38% year on year, with an average renewal rate of 90%. Deputy chief executive Emily Chow Mei-wah said the insurer has expanded since it obtained its virtual insurance licence from the Hong Kong Insurance Authority (IA) in April 2020. Customer numbers have risen significantly from launch, with total policies reaching about 240,000.
In a LinkedIn post, OneDegree described the result as a “proud milestone,” saying: “OneDegree becomes Hong Kong’s FIRST Hong Kong virtual insurer to turn profitable! We are thrilled to announce that OneDegree has achieved first full-year profit in 2025 – just five years after launching in April 2020.” The company said its overall compound annual revenue growth rate since inception is about 108%, and that it is expanding its portfolio beyond its initial core lines.
Alvin Kwock, co-founder of parent group AIFT, said: “Becoming the first virtual insurer in Hong Kong to achieve full-year profitability within five years is a significant milestone, and a testament to how technology and AI-driven automation can transform operational efficiency.” Chow added: “OneDegree’s success demonstrates that the strategic combination of technology-driven efficiency and a human-centric brand not only enables rapid market entry and sustainable growth, but also establishes a new benchmark for Hong Kong’s virtual finance sector and setting a precedent as the first virtual insurer in Hong Kong to reach this milestone within just five years.”
Pet insurance continues to account for the majority of OneDegree’s activity, representing roughly 78% to 85% of total policies and remaining its flagship line. In 2025, pet insurance revenue rose 28% year on year, with a renewal rate of 91%. Between 2020 and 2024, pet insurance revenue increased 24 times, equivalent to a compound annual growth rate of 124%, according to the company. OneDegree has also introduced further features to its Pet CEO Plan, which it markets as the only product of its kind in Hong Kong. In 2024, the annual coverage limit was raised to HK$100,000, and a supplementary pet critical illness cash benefit was added for epilepsy, quadriplegia, and patellar dislocation.
Take-up of the critical illness add-on is higher among dog owners, with 23% of dog policies including the benefit compared with 15% of cat policies. The insurer said its pet portfolio has benefited from scale effects, with the loss ratio improving by about 30 percentage points versus 2020. Customer retention has also been a focus. OneDegree reported that more than 52% of its 2020 pet clients remained policyholders as of Dec. 31, 2024, and that 25% of pet-owning customers insured multiple animals in 2024. As part of a broader pet-focused strategy, the insurer is building a one-stop offering around insurance, health management, and retail. In conjunction with its fifth anniversary, it launched the Pawbook mobile application and the OneDegree Pet Mart, aiming to extend its role in day-to-day pet-related spending and services.
Outside pet cover, home and fire insurance have become important contributors to OneDegree’s personal lines portfolio. Fire insurance, introduced in 2021, is now the company’s second-largest personal line. The insurer said premium income for fire cover in December 2025 was 80% higher than a year earlier, attributing part of the increase to higher public awareness following the Tai Po fire incident. For full-year 2025, fire premiums grew nearly 30%. From 2021 to 2024, fire insurance revenue increased fivefold, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 83%. OneDegree offers the product with a premium rate of 0.034% of the insured amount and a digital process that allows borrowers and property owners to replace policies online.
Home insurance, launched in 2022, also posted growth. Revenue for 2024 was up 57% year on year and was 3.6 times higher than in its first year. Growth continued into the first quarter of 2025, typically a slower period for home insurance in Hong Kong, with revenue up 69% compared with the first quarter of 2024. Add-on options are a notable feature of the home insurance book. In 2024, 52% of policies included at least one optional coverage, up 27 percentage points from 2023. By 2025, more than 60% of home insurance customers selected at least one add-on, according to the company.
On the commercial side, OneDegree has been building out its digital asset insurance line, introduced in 2022. The company describes it as Asia’s only virtual asset insurance product and a core part of its portfolio. Revenue from the segment has increased sevenfold over three years, supported by growth in Hong Kong and expansion in the Middle East. In its home market, OneDegree said it now serves nearly 80% of licensed virtual asset operators and estimates a local market share of about 70% in digital asset insurance.
Profitability has been supported by the company’s cost profile. OneDegree reported full-year 2024 revenue of more than HK$240 million, 27 times higher than in 2020, and said its cost-to-income ratio fell by 20 percentage points between 2023 and 2024. Net income in 2024 improved by more than 30% compared with 2023. Despite the revenue growth, the insurer said it maintains a workforce of about 100 employees, with around 30% in technology roles. These roles focus on product development, workflow automation, and digital customer experience, including the new pet commerce and app platforms. Per-employee revenue rose 29% in 2024, marking five consecutive years of productivity increases. OneDegree has also invested in AI-enabled processes, including claims. It said about 30% of claims are approved in as fast as one day, and that policy issuance is handled digitally, with the company positioning this as faster than traditional channels.
From a distribution perspective, OneDegree’s customer base remains weighted toward younger policyholders, but growth is coming from older segments. By the end of 2024, 27% of clients were aged 30 or below and 39% were aged 31 to 40, meaning 67% were under 40. The insurer also reported 2024 growth of 62% in the 61-and-over segment, 38% in the 51–60 band and 33% for ages 41–50.
