Monzo hires fintech founder to lead foray into insurance

UK-based challenger bank Monzo has hired Phoebe Chibuzo Hugh, the founder of fintech Brolly, to head up its foray into insurance.

Hugh made the announcement about her new role on LinkedIn, where she wrote: “I’ll be joining the visionary team at Monzo Bank to lead their charge into insurance, making it as easy, personalised and delightful as we all deserve it to be.

“Monzo’s mission has always resonated with me: to make money work for everyone — a concept they’ve turned from a lofty ideal into a daily reality. Monzo has revolutionised banking, savings, lending, investments, and soon, we’ll bring this to insurance.”

She founded Brolly, a full-stack digital insurance brand, in 2016, and later sold it to Direct Line Group in 2020.

At Direct Line Group, Hugh started out as head of product innovation, before becoming venture chief executive officer in July 2022.

“The insurance industry has made some progress, but it’s been slow, and the opportunity is still as clear and compelling as it’s ever been,” Hugh said on LinkedIn.

“I can’t wait to take all my learnings – from starting at Aviva, to building and exiting Brolly, and working with our acquirer Direct Line Group – into this next phase with Monzo. There is no better launchpad for the future of insurance than the UK’s favourite challenger bank.”

In September, Monzo launched ‘Investments’, enabling its customers to invest in a range of BlackRock funds with different risk profiles, directly in the app.

Earlier this year, Monzo emerged as the overall top-ranked provider of both personal and business current accounts in Britain, closely followed by Starling Bank, in the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) banking satisfaction survey.