Life insurance apps are not immediately desired by today’s smartphone users, but that should not deter insurers from pursuing a mobile strategy.
With 72% growth over 2009 and the expectation that they will outnumber PCs by 2013, smartphones are the fastest growing marketing channel for insurers. Growth of mobile applications, or simply apps as they have come to be known, has been rapid. Today on iTunes, there are over 300,000 apps available for download in almost every possible market segment.
Smartphone ownership and app growth add up to tempting targets for financial services providers. For the insurance industry, the question is: Are smartphone apps necessary to attract and retain insurance customers?
A new Celent report, So What If There Is An App? A Survey of Insurance Consumers, addresses key questions about smartphone owners and their views on smartphone apps for life insurance. It is based on a survey administered of smartphone owners in December 2010, with the goal of expanding the life insurance industry’s knowledge of what consumers think of the potential use and need for life insurance mobile apps.
“The survey responses have implications for life insurers’ mobile app strategies,” says Karen Monks, Analyst with Celent's Insurance Group and author of the report. “There is a need for life insurers to have a presence on mobile platforms because it is the future technology for consumers, especially the younger generations. A well thought out mobile strategy that includes mobile websites and apps is imperative for life insurers.”
This report answers a series of questions regarding smartphone users, their use of mobile apps, and their attitudes toward their potential use of future apps. It also suggests how an insurer might proceed in its mobile strategy development.
