Out of curiosity, WHY does having a mobile app make an agent more effective? I know people who refuse to use a smartphone except for the occasional text. For them, a phone is a phone.
For agents, it’s all about giving clients options and added convenience. The smartphone is now the device-of-choice for a big percentage of insurance buyers and it’s growing everyday. For them, if you don’t offer a mobile option for at least some services, they will find an agent who does.
I’m getting rid of apps, not adding them. I could easily have hundreds and hundreds of apps on my phone then spend more time searching for the app than it would take to do a quick Google search or look up a number in my contacts. And imagine how much bandwidth and battery life I’d need to constantly update all of these apps. Why do I need an app for tasks that only take place once a year (renewals) or once every several years (claims). I don’t know a soul who has an insurance app on their phone or who would make a purchasing decision based on an agent not having an account. And for those that do, why don’t we educate them that every transaction cannot and should not be reduced to a phone app or an Amazon-like One-Click purchase?
An agency-branded mobile app by itself may not be a disqualifier for some insurance buyers, however for a growing number of consumers transacting business via a smart phone is an important convenience. For those consumers, a quality app is not just for renewals and claims but for important messaging, reviewing policy language and for creating or adding to an inventory list. It also offers a means for the agent to stay in closer touch with clients. And far from contributing to the commoditization of insurance, an agency-branded mobile app reinforces the value of the agent’s role rather than conditioning the client to bypass them.
Tom, to quote legendary commentator Rosanne Rossannadanna, “Never mind.” I ran this by my millennial son, with this question and his response:
Q: When you have time, consider…would you have any interest/use for a phone app from your insurance agent or company? If so, for what use?
A: An app would have been much better than calling the insurance company when I was in an accident on the interstate. Thoughts:
1. I called and got an automated voice system that asked me to say words to answer it like “Yes” “No” etc.
2. I could not clearly understand what it was asking me to do because cellular networks are poor quality in general and even worse in the middle of nowhere
3. It could not understand me because voice recognition software that is not localized to an individual’s inflections is horribly inaccurate
4. It was loud on the interstate, so both of the above points were worsened
5. In that instance, neither myself nor the other person involved were able to contact our insurance companies successfully via phone for the above reasons
6. It would be amazing if you could submit a report through an app, and then a representative could call you; they wouldn’t have to talk through all of the details with you, it would already be documented from what you submitted in the app, so you could skip straight to the real conversation
– Maybe there would also be room to check and see when you will need to renew your contract, or to be able to see if recent claims affected your liability and how much they do
– A “stat sheet” or something for your account to help you understand why your insurance rates amount to what they are; currently this information for someone outside the industry seems purposefully ambiguous and elusive, but with an app it is always right there like your credit card statement
– It’s hard for me to remember who my insurance representative is (I actually have no idea), so that could be included
– 99% of people under the age of 30 would rather have an app on their phone than a card in their wallet, so it could replace that eventually
Based on my son’s feedback, I wave the white flag in your direction and can confidently say my pending December retirement will come none too soon. But my agent better not try to get me to install a phone app!
Thanks, Bill. Many agents have experienced the revelation you had, however sadly it’s still a small percentage, a situation that must change — and soon.
Out of curiosity, WHY does having a mobile app make an agent more effective? I know people who refuse to use a smartphone except for the occasional text. For them, a phone is a phone.
For agents, it’s all about giving clients options and added convenience. The smartphone is now the device-of-choice for a big percentage of insurance buyers and it’s growing everyday. For them, if you don’t offer a mobile option for at least some services, they will find an agent who does.
I’m getting rid of apps, not adding them. I could easily have hundreds and hundreds of apps on my phone then spend more time searching for the app than it would take to do a quick Google search or look up a number in my contacts. And imagine how much bandwidth and battery life I’d need to constantly update all of these apps. Why do I need an app for tasks that only take place once a year (renewals) or once every several years (claims). I don’t know a soul who has an insurance app on their phone or who would make a purchasing decision based on an agent not having an account. And for those that do, why don’t we educate them that every transaction cannot and should not be reduced to a phone app or an Amazon-like One-Click purchase?
An agency-branded mobile app by itself may not be a disqualifier for some insurance buyers, however for a growing number of consumers transacting business via a smart phone is an important convenience. For those consumers, a quality app is not just for renewals and claims but for important messaging, reviewing policy language and for creating or adding to an inventory list. It also offers a means for the agent to stay in closer touch with clients. And far from contributing to the commoditization of insurance, an agency-branded mobile app reinforces the value of the agent’s role rather than conditioning the client to bypass them.
Tom, to quote legendary commentator Rosanne Rossannadanna, “Never mind.” I ran this by my millennial son, with this question and his response:
Q: When you have time, consider…would you have any interest/use for a phone app from your insurance agent or company? If so, for what use?
A: An app would have been much better than calling the insurance company when I was in an accident on the interstate. Thoughts:
1. I called and got an automated voice system that asked me to say words to answer it like “Yes” “No” etc.
2. I could not clearly understand what it was asking me to do because cellular networks are poor quality in general and even worse in the middle of nowhere
3. It could not understand me because voice recognition software that is not localized to an individual’s inflections is horribly inaccurate
4. It was loud on the interstate, so both of the above points were worsened
5. In that instance, neither myself nor the other person involved were able to contact our insurance companies successfully via phone for the above reasons
6. It would be amazing if you could submit a report through an app, and then a representative could call you; they wouldn’t have to talk through all of the details with you, it would already be documented from what you submitted in the app, so you could skip straight to the real conversation
– Maybe there would also be room to check and see when you will need to renew your contract, or to be able to see if recent claims affected your liability and how much they do
– A “stat sheet” or something for your account to help you understand why your insurance rates amount to what they are; currently this information for someone outside the industry seems purposefully ambiguous and elusive, but with an app it is always right there like your credit card statement
– It’s hard for me to remember who my insurance representative is (I actually have no idea), so that could be included
– 99% of people under the age of 30 would rather have an app on their phone than a card in their wallet, so it could replace that eventually
Based on my son’s feedback, I wave the white flag in your direction and can confidently say my pending December retirement will come none too soon. But my agent better not try to get me to install a phone app!
Thanks, Bill. Many agents have experienced the revelation you had, however sadly it’s still a small percentage, a situation that must change — and soon.