Mobile device use among insurance carriers for customer service tasks growing

Smartphone and tablet use among global insurance carriers for providing customer service has increased over the past few years, according to survey results from FirstBest Systems.

The survey, a follow-up to a similar survey in 2011, included 55 responses representing about 45 insurance carriers, 82% of which focus on commercial lines.

Of those, about three quarters said they believe mobile devices will allow them to provide better and faster service to customers, according to FirstBest, which offers underwriting systems and other insurance-related software.

A majority (62%) of the survey respondents said they prefer using tablets for tasks other than phone calls, as opposed to 21% of those who still would use their smartphone for such tasks, according to the survey results.

When asked which situations would likely see respondents using their mobile device when away from their desk, travelling on business led, with 85% listing it as a top three task.

Visiting clients was also among the top, with 76% of respondents saying it was a time when they would likely use their mobile device, while 65% said they would use such devices any time they were away from their desk.

In 2011, “while at home” was the second most popular choice for when respondents would use mobile devices.

In terms of specific tasks performed on mobile devices, respondents ranked looking up information from anywhere (87%), checking the status of a claim (75%), checking the status of an applications (75%), and showing information to a client (73%) as the top tasks.

“The topic of mobile enjoys undeniable popularity in the media, but in actual industry practice we find a significant change in behavior around mobile,” John Belizaire, founder and CEO of FirstBest Systems noted in a statement on the results.

“Clearly the use or desire to use mobile for day-to-day business has grown in the past two years. Mobile functionality is no longer just a personal convenience – it’s viewed as a valuable and strategic business tool.”