Interactive & Ansvar mark 15 years of tech partnership

Interactive has marked 15 years working with specialist insurer Ansvar Insurance, a relationship that has grown from hardware support to broader technology operations and planning in a tightly regulated sector.

Ansvar operates in the Australian insurance market, focusing on insurance and risk services for organisations involved in community care. It has about 160 local employees and runs education initiatives linked to risk and resilience, the companies said.

The milestone comes as insurers face greater scrutiny over cyber security and operational resilience. Smaller insurers face many of the same compliance expectations as larger peers, shaping procurement, vendor governance and the pace of technology change across the sector.

Scope expands

The relationship began with hardware servicing and basic technology support. Over time, it expanded to device management, cloud transitions, security uplift and ongoing technology planning. The work has been framed as a long-running modernisation program rather than a series of standalone projects.

Ansvar Head of Technology & Operations Heather Santin said regulatory requirements sit alongside day-to-day operations, regardless of company size.

"As a smaller insurance company, we still meet the same compliance requirements as the largest insurers," Santin said. "That's why the partnership with Interactive means so much to us. We have a technology partner who understands what we need to achieve and can support us throughout."

Insurers are increasingly expected to demonstrate clear controls over sensitive customer information and third-party access. Santin said data protection is central to Ansvar's technology decisions.

"Protecting our customers' data is paramount," she said. "They're entrusting us with sensitive information, and we are extremely cautious about how we protect it. That's where the synergy with Interactive has been so important; they also have a strong focus on security and risk management."

Lifecycle approach

Interactive account executive Christopher Thomas described the relationship as end-to-end infrastructure coverage rather than a set of discrete engagements. He said the breadth of services matters over the long term.

"One of the strengths of Interactive is having multiple services we can offer across a customer's lifecycle," Thomas said. "Over 15 years, you build a strong relationship and a deep understanding of the scope, the priorities and the outcomes you're trying to achieve together."

Thomas said risk posture has consistently shaped priorities and sequencing. He described Ansvar as conservative in its approach to change, with security and compliance embedded in decision-making.

"It starts with understanding what's important to Heather and her team, but also what the business is trying to do," he said. "Ansvar is heavily risk-averse, and rightly so. Our focus in every conversation is how we can help drive down risk while still enabling the organisation to move forward."

Roadmap sessions

Beyond day-to-day operational support, the two organisations hold regular roadmap sessions focused on forward planning, aligning priorities and identifying work as Ansvar's environment changes. In regulated sectors, recurring planning can help reduce delivery risk, maintain documentation and coordinate policy and control changes across multiple systems.

Santin said early engagement has changed how Ansvar plans work across its technology roadmap.

"That early engagement has been incredibly valuable for us," she said. "We're able to look at our roadmap, understand where Interactive is heading, and find the intersections. It means we can plan properly, rather than reacting later."

She said the relationship now operates more like an integrated team than a traditional supplier model.

"It's not Interactive and Ansvar on different sides of the table," Santin said. "It feels like one team working toward the same outcomes."

Next priorities

Looking ahead, Interactive said it is helping Ansvar extract more value from existing technology investments, alongside ongoing security and resilience work. The focus reflects a wider trend in IT spending, as organisations optimise software and services already in place before committing to new projects.

Thomas said the next phase will focus on how the insurer uses its current tools, services and budgets.

"It's about getting more out of what you already have," he said. "That might be the tools in place, the services we're already using or the budgets we have. The question is how we maximise value from a finite set of resources, and that's where our focus is next."

He said the partnership is built for the long term. "It's about understanding the business, understanding the risk, and being there for the full journey - not just one project," Thomas said.