Saudi Arabia’s Businesswoman of the year 2024: Preeti Mundhra
Unlike other digital consumer industries wherein customers interact with their brands very frequently, the insurance industry often lacks a robust customer engagement model beyond the policy sale and claims settlement transactions. Recognizing this gap as an area of opportunity, Preeti Mundhra joined the founding team of Tree Digital Insurance Agency in 2022 to reimagine the role insurance plays in customers’ lives and making it a relevant choice for the youth of the region.
Backed by the expertise of Tawuniya, Saudi Arabia’s leading insurance company, Tree sets itself apart from other established insurance players by offering smart, flexible, and digital-first experiences with frictionless customer journeys. The organization’s insurance plans are designed to aid customers through an ecosystem of partnerships across their digital lifestyles and communities.
Preeti Mundhra brings strong digital banking experience from her time with Liv. Bank in the UAE and Weyay Bank in Kuwait. She believes that the experience she got while designing digital banks in the region offer valuable insights for the digitization and deep engagement she aims to bring through insurance. “We aim to become the insurance that meets our customers wherever they are. Being digital is not only about building end-to-end digital journeys on your website or mobile app. Instead, fostering engagement with customers at multiple digital touchpoints and being seamlessly available in the ecosystems that they most frequently use, should be the focus.”, Preeti Mundhra explains.
Conquering Obstacles
Preeti Mundhra has been leading Tree to focus on building innovative products that meet customer needs and can be embedded via strategic partnerships. Entering a new market as a startup, Tree faced its own set of challenges ranging from access to insurance technologies to finding the right talent pool and growing customer base. Within the existing regulatory frameworks. However, the company has managed to overcome most of these early stage limitations by working closely with the regulator, investing in young local talent, and working with the growing insuretech community in the MENA region.
“We have taken a proactive approach in building secure digital systems and robust governance that allows us to scale and innovate responsibly. The balancing act requires open dialogue and alignment with the insurance regulator. From the beginning, the regulator has played a vital role in enabling Tree to drive the innovation agenda and bring global best practices to the Kingdom”, adds the CEO.
The Journey So Far
Leveraging global standards and industry best practices, Tree seeks to reimagine customers’ insurance journeys, drive technological advancement in the sector and increase overall insurance penetration in the Kingdom. The organization is committed to the needs of the unserved and underserved customer segments, particularly the ambitious youth of the country and the growing community of entrepreneurs.
In a short span of less than two years, Tree has successfully set up a fully functional team and end-to-end operational capabilities, leveraging lean and independent technology. With courage, passion, and ambition as its core values, Tree is carving out its own culture that’s rooted in the growth of every member of the team. “Each day we aspire to live our core values as we dig deep, get our hands dirty, branch out and stand tall together”, says Preeti Mundhra.
The digital-first insurer launched its ‘Tree Smart Motor Cover’ that allows customers greater flexibility to customize their motor insurance plans and modify the same as and when their needs change. The policy offers helpful add-on covers that can be added or removed based on customers’ changing requirements. Banking on the positive response, the insurer plans to offer pet insurance, travel insurance, and a comprehensive set of covers for SMEs through fully digital journeys.
With a strong foundation and a 50,000 active customer base, Tree is confidently working towards becoming the leading Digital Insurer in the MENA region. Keeping technology at the core of all its operations, Tree is focused on making insurance easily accessible, affordable, secure, and relevant for customers. The company is working on lean technologies that allow for rapid innovation, quick product testing, and an embedded partnership-driven distribution model. It is also building strong AI and ML models to make claims faster for customers and offer value beyond compulsory insurance.
Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in the insurance sector
Preeti Mundhra believes that the insurance industry in the Middle East is at a critical inflexion point as the insuretech environment is growing, and the community i starting to come together. Sharing her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in the sector, she says, “The Middle East in general and Saudi Arabia in particular is digitizing at a rapid rate. It will not be enough to replicate a global experience without contextualizing it to local market needs and culture. Hence, it is pertinent for aspiring entrepreneurs to determine which part of the insurance value chain they should operate in, what problems they can solve, and what opportunities they can unlock by leveraging the advanced digital infrastructure of the region.”
