IAG, Australia’s largest general insurer whose brands include NRMA Insurance, CGU, WFI and ROLLiN’, has made a strategic investment in Sonder, Australia’s leading people risk intelligence and prevention platform. It delivers immediate 24/7 mental health, medical and safety support to help organisations identify and address risk before it escalates.
This investment, made through IAG’s corporate venture capital arm Firemark Ventures, builds on the Group’s existing use of Sonder to support its workforce and enables IAG to extend the capability to customers during high-risk moments, including catastrophic weather events and major incidents.
IAG Firemark Ventures General Partner Scott Gunther said this investment aligns with the venture’s focus on backing innovations that improve resilience and risk prevention.
“Firemark Ventures invests in technology that can transform how risks are understood, prevented, and managed. Sonder’s platform represents a compelling example of innovation that enhances health, safety and wellbeing outcomes.”
Scott Gunther
IAG Group Executive People, Performance and Reputation Christine Stasi said IAG is impressed by the value of Sonder’s offering in supporting employee safety and wellbeing and is eager to extend similar capabilities to customers during their times of need.
“At IAG, our role extends beyond insurance, helping people recover and rebuild after adversity, and acting as a shock absorber for the economy when things go wrong,” Ms Stasi said.
“Our investment in Sonder aligns with our purpose to ‘make your world a safer place’ and represents a step towards providing more holistic, immediate support to customers during some of the most challenging moments in their lives.
“It signals IAG’s intent to move beyond claims response towards earlier intervention and prevention. Earlier support in these moments can improve mental health outcomes, helping reduce the broader cost of harm to individuals and communities.”
The right support at the right time
Sonder co-founder and CEO Craig Cowdrey welcomed the partnership and shared the company’s ambition to broaden its impact.
“Our vision has always been to get the right support to people at the right time,” Mr Cowdrey said.
“Partnering with IAG gives us the opportunity to extend that well beyond the workplace, to people navigating some of the hardest moments of their lives, whether that’s recovering from an injury, getting back to work, or rebuilding after a major life event.”
“Behind every crisis, there are people who need support, and the earlier that support reaches people, the better the outcome for individuals, for families, and for whole communities.”
Craig Cowdrey
Recent research commissioned by NRMA Insurance in partnership with Lifeline Australia found that extreme weather is increasingly shaping how Australians live, work and connect, with 61% reporting feeling anxious about extreme weather and more than half making significant life changes due to related stress.
These findings highlight that the impacts of disasters extend well beyond physical damage, reinforcing the need to strengthen existing disaster response with more immediate mental health and personal support for customers before, during and after major events.
Discover how Sonder is partnering with other leading organisations from Woolworths to HOYTs and Bingo Industries here.
To learn more about how Sonder could support your organisation, book a demo.
