Insurers are beginning to focus on the world of mobile applications
Insurance companies are beginning to look to technology in order to help them connect with consumers. While many insurers have turned to social media in order to increase their engagement, having a presence on sites like Twitter and Facebook is no longer considered adequate. As such, many companies have begun to develop and release their own mobile applications in order to appeal more effectively to consumers that are becoming heavily reliant on smartphones and tablets.
Apps may be able to help insurers connect with consumers more effectively
Many of the applications coming from insurance companies have to do with providing consumers with quotes on policies. These applications are also being used to begin the claims process, highlighting convenience and automation. Applications that allow people to pay their insurance premiums from their mobile devices are becoming more popular as well. Some insurers are releasing applications that are designed to present a certain image in an effort to connect with consumers more effectively.
Novelty applications help create something that consumers can connect with
Progressive has the Flo-isms application, which provides users with sayings from the insurance company‘s popular “Flo” mascot. GEICO has a similar application that acts as a mobile game, tasking users with directing vehicles safely to a destination. These applications do little in the way of insurance services, but they have managed to make insurance companies seem more human rather than large, faceless corporations that are concerned with nothing more than profit.
Insurers continue to overcome negative stigmas associated with the insurance business as a whole
The insurance industry has long struggled to overcome the stigmas associated with business. Insurers are quite often criticized as being profit-hungry organizations that have little care for consumers in general. While insurance is certainly a business, insurers are working to dispel the stigma that has come to define the industry by showing consumers that they can be more personable. Given that most of the applications that insurers offer are free, a stronger focus on mobile technology may be able to help insurance companies accomplish this goal.
