Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson congratulated Huddle Insurance and said its arrival signalled the start of a new type of investment into the region.
“Huddle Insurance is a technology led challenger brand in Australia’s $42 billion general insurance market,” Mayor Jamieson said.
“Unlike most other business models, Huddle uses artificial intelligence and chat bots to help deliver its service offering.
“Huddle has created a next generation insurance platform that enables customers to use their insurance to help respond to climate change as well as supporting community projects and not for profit organisations.
“Businesses of this sophistication and scale would ordinarily need to be situated in a capital city, but now with the infrastructure and connectivity that will be available from the Sunshine Coast with the International Broadband Submarine Cable, our region offers a competitive location for an organisation like Huddle.
“This is great news for our community as it will bring the type of jobs that you would ordinarily expect to see available in Sydney.
“These are typically higher-salaried professional positions, which in turn, contribute to lifting average household incomes, which is one of the key goals of the Regional Economic Development Strategy.”
The $35 million Sunshine Coast International Broadband Submarine Cable project is a jointly funded initiative between Sunshine Coast Council and the Queensland Government’s Jobs and Regional Growth Fund.
Mayor Jamieson welcomed the Huddle team on their decision to establish their largest national presence in Australia on the Sunshine Coast.
Founder and joint Chief Executive at Huddle, Jason Wilby said he was proud to be commencing operations on the Sunshine Coast.
“The Sunshine Coast is leading the way for local governments in Australia when it comes to attracting investment in technology driven communities, particularly with a focus on creating smart tech work locations,” said Mr Wilby.
“This is underpinned by council’s own investment in the International Broadband Submarine Cable.
“This has been a real drawcard for our business,”
“The Sunshine Coast’s technology focus aligns beautifully with our core mission as a brand.
“We envision a world where people feel safer through the power of technology, and we harness the power of our people and community to use that technology for good.
“Today, we provide millions of dollars in insurance coverage for 15,000 members and look forward to growing our membership even further with our new campus.
“Building the business on the Sunshine Coast means providing new jobs, with 30 new positions created already, almost all of which have gone to locals.
“Our aim is to grow that number significantly by the end of this year.
“What this really goes to show is that businesses can focus on driving positive environmental and community outcomes, while creating rewarding careers for their staff at the same time.
“Currently we are looking for experienced personnel with a good understanding of technology, data and finance.
“As the business grows, we’ll be on the lookout for new graduates, in particular those with technology, engineering and data science skills.
“With our new operations, we have no doubt the Huddle team will continue to grow and contribute to reinventing the insurance industry.”
