AMTD PolicyPal We’re starting a new blog series where we meet the team behind PolicyPal. More than just names of our team members and their titles, we hope that our readers can get a peek into what it’s like, working at PolicyPal – and why we do what we do!
Last week, Deborah shared her experiences joining the company as a fresh graduate, you can read her article here!
It’s time for another “Meet the team” session, and today we have Claire, our Head of Growth.
What do you do at PolicyPal?
I am the Head of Growth, some of the things that I do range from planning to executing digital strategies to grow PolicyPal. Being in PolicyPal has allowed me to work closely with the team and many insurance partners to constantly explore new growth opportunities and strategic business partnerships.
We design digital campaigns to strategically boost awareness of why one would need to purchase insurance, and support them whenever they need help with their claims. Our team consists of Marketing, Partnership and Business Development function. Working at a startup also means that many of us have to wear multiple hats, and is definitely a fast-paced environment – but that’s the beauty of the startup environment.
How long have you been with the company?
I started out as a marketing associate at PolicyPal in 2017, it’s almost been 3.5 years since. Time flies! Throughout the years, I’ve had many opportunities that allowed me to explore different functions. At the start, I had gone through the steep learning curves on digital marketing and developed the business development pipelines. I grew to build up the regional partnership segment and now I’m leading the growth of PolicyPal.
Building up the regional partnership segment meant that working with new partnerships and with insurers in Asia – namely Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
PolicyPal at Plug and Play Indonesia
I had many firsts at PolicyPal, and one of them was closing a six-figure deal with a Japanese Insurer.
What drew you to the Fintech space?
My fascination with innovation was one of the driving factors that drew me to the Fintech industry. There’s something about working in a space that is growing and evolving rapidly, where everyone is working towards the common goal of changing the future of finance.
Personally for myself, I am aware of the many pain points that exist in the insurance industry, and I feel passionate about changing this experience for others. There is often this negative connotation surrounding insurance, where people try to avoid it as much as possible until it is absolutely necessary.
However, everyone in our team is striving towards making this experience more positive for our users – to ultimately help them to make the right choice for their protection needs while providing them with affordable products.
This is the future for a regulated industry.
What’s your favourite thing about working here?
It’s definitely and always the people at PolicyPal! I’m beyond blessed to be able to work with a team of hardworking and driven individuals, that come together to make things happen. With our common goal of growing the company, everyone brings a different set of skills and perspective to the table and we get to learn from each other as well.
We might be a small team (ps. We are hiring, let’s chat!), but we all have a great ambition to make a positive impact on the lives of our users.
‘A team, committed to a cause bigger than themselves, can achieve absolutely anything.’ – Simon Sinek
When PolicyPal moved from our old office (which was a shophouse) to a coworking space
The batch of former interns
At an event promoting Pet Insurance for Furkids in 2018
Spreading the importance of policy management for you and your family!
What are you currently working on?
This week, I’m currently working on an upcoming campaign for Christmas. This campaign involves various departments as well, and everyone has to come together to help with the execution of the campaign.
It has been a hectic time for the team, but we come together to develop a new approach on how we can make insurance exciting and relatable – to reach out to a wide range of audiences. We have also been looking at the data on the coverage gap for our users and re-engage them to help to find the best coverage for their needs.
What is one recent achievement for the team?
During our recent 11.11 campaign, we managed to achieve over S$6 million insurance savings accumulated from the GIGANTIQ product. In addition, over 70% of people who purchased the product also referred to their friends or family.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I’m quite the coffee enthusiast. I enjoy the peace of making my own latte every morning and I’m working towards mastering the art of pulling a good shot of espresso (it’s not as easy as it sounds). My favourite beans are from Jewel Coffee!
Another beverage I enjoy sipping on is tea. I’m on a quest to find the best-tasting oolong tea leaves.
I also made it a point to visit a new country or city every year, of course, that was until the pandemic stopped all forms of travelling. Some unique countries that I’ve enjoyed visiting in the past are Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Myanmar.
Fondest memories at PolicyPal
This is one of my favourite quotes:
“If you have the opportunity to do amazing things in your life, bring someone with you.”
I have many great memories working at PolicyPal, some of my current and former colleagues have also turned into my close friends. More than working together, we also do life together as well – I’ve even watched some of my colleagues turn friends get married!
The team at PolicyPal
Korean Dinner with my colleagues after work
For my professional growth, I’ve been given various opportunities to represent the company such as being on the panel at Plug and Play Insurtech in 2019, and travelling to Jakarta for a startup demo day.
Speaking to students at ITE
Celebrating birthdays, growing wiser as a team
What is one thing you picked up here that helped with your personal growth?
The entire experience working at a Fintech startup has shaped me into a resilient individual coupled with critical thinking. PolicyPal has allowed me to be exposed to various business strategies and issues. I got to experience how the insurance and finance industry has evolved, by setting up business processes and quality leadership in the course of my 3.5 years journey with the company.
If you are looking to grow, let’s connect on LinkedIn and grab a cup of coffee!
