Co-founder attributes company’s success to its ‘cybersecurity technology and comprehensive underwriting framework’
Hong Kong virtual insurer OneDegree is
gaining ground in the Middle East
and has signed 20 contracts since entering the region in 2023, according to one of its founders.
In an interview on June 6, Alvin Kwock Yin-lun said the nine-year-old company was looking for additional growth in the Middle East. It has insured the digital assets of 20 out of the 34 companies licensed by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, which includes digital asset exchanges and providers of trading and custody services.
OneDegree had reported no claims, losses, or incidents among its clients after debuting its products, which were in line with United Arab Emirates (UAE) regulations, including professional indemnity insurance and directors and officers insurance, Kwock said. He attributed the company’s success to its “cybersecurity technology and comprehensive underwriting framework”.
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Kwock said the company was developing new products, including mining risk insurance and smart contract wallets.
In 2023, OneDegree partnered with Dubai Insurance, one of the oldest insurers in the UAE, to insure digital asset firms in the region. Over the past two years, Dubai Insurance had invested in OneDegree twice, Kwock said. He did not disclose the size of the investments.
Since 2016, the company has raised more than HK$90 million (US$11.5 million) in funding.
“We’ve received funding every year,” Kwock said. “It’s growing every year.”
OneDegree, one of Hong Kong’s four licensed virtual insurers, achieved profitability for the first time in the third quarter of 2024, fuelled by its digital asset and pet insurance products.
In 2024, OneDegree expanded its global reinsurance business by signing a deal with Walaa Cooperative Insurance in Saudi Arabia.
Beyond the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the company said it was seeking opportunities in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. It sees the Middle East as a springboard to Africa and Europe.
A growing number of Hong Kong companies have recently shown interest in the Middle East. Chief Executive
John Lee Ka-chiu
led a high-level business delegation to Qatar and Kuwait in May, in an effort to build ties and cooperate on innovation and technology. A number of countries in the Middle East are attempting to cut their dependence on oil by diversifying into finance, infrastructure, renewable energy and technology.
Nicholas Ho, Hong Kong’s commissioner for Belt and Road, told public broadcaster RTHK last month that countries in the Middle East showed interest in a wide range of businesses, particularly ones specialising in professional services and technology.
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