Steadfast Group has completed the acquisition of Insurebot Pty Ltd, an Australian technology provider focused on automating the insurance quoting process for brokers.
Founded in 2020 by Scott Norton and Jack Marrows, Insurebot has developed a platform that reduces the time required for brokers to generate insurance quotes and recommendations for clients.
The Insurebot system is designed to facilitate faster quoting for several personal and commercial insurance products, including home, motor, landlord, and workers compensation.
For example, the platform can produce a home insurance quote in approximately eight minutes, streamlining a process that has traditionally been more time-intensive for brokers.
Steadfast Group’s managing director and CEO, Robert Kelly AM, stated that the acquisition is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to supporting brokers with technology that improves workflow and client service.
“Brokers play a vital role in advising and advocating for domestic clients; however, we know that these policies are time consuming for brokers to quote,” he said. “Insurebot will not only streamline processes for brokers, but it will also ensure domestic insurance consumers continue to have access to the support and guidance only brokers can provide.”
David Gillespie, chief technology officer at Steadfast, explained that Insurebot will be incorporated into the group’s existing broker technology suite, including the INSIGHT platform.
“We’re proactively expanding and enhancing our digital offering for our brokers, and Insurebot is a perfect fit for our long-term vision,” he said.
Gillespie said that the addition of Insurebot is consistent with Steadfast’s broader digital strategy, which aims to enhance broker productivity and consistency in service delivery.
“A game-changer for brokers, by automating and accelerating the quoting process, Insurebot empowers brokers to deliver better, faster, and more consistent service. And, by integrating with INSIGHT, the administration and record keeping of these policies will be a streamlined process for brokers,” he said.
Following the acquisition, Insurebot’s founders will join Steadfast in new leadership roles.
Scott Norton will become head of growth – Insurebot, and Jack Marrows will serve as head of product and technology – Insurebot.
Both will report to Antonella Shannahan, Steadfast’s general manager for Insurtech, and will be based in Brisbane.
The acquisition occurs as organisations in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) adjust their cybersecurity strategies in response to evolving threats and regulatory requirements.
According to a recent study by Arctic Wolf, nearly half of surveyed IT and cybersecurity leaders in the region identified data privacy, intellectual property protection, and regulatory compliance as their primary security concerns for the coming year.
This focus contrasts with global trends, where the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is more frequently cited as the main driver of cybersecurity strategy.
The same research found that 85% of ANZ organisations experienced at least one cyber incident in the past year, a rate higher than the global average.
Ransomware attacks were also more prevalent, with most affected businesses opting to pay ransoms to prevent data exposure.
The majority of these organisations engaged external negotiators, but fewer than half achieved reductions in ransom demands.
Research conducted by Snowflake and the Enterprise Strategy Group indicates that ANZ businesses are allocating a larger share of their technology budgets to generative AI (GenAI) compared to global peers.
Thirty-two percent of respondents in the region reported dedicating more than a quarter of their technology spending to GenAI initiatives, surpassing the global average.
Reported returns on these investments are also slightly higher in ANZ.
The adoption of GenAI is primarily focused on customer engagement, with many organisations using the technology to enhance personalisation and digital interaction rather than internal automation.
However, challenges such as higher-than-expected staffing costs and difficulties with data integration persist, with local firms more likely to report fragmented data systems.
