When Apple introduced its iPhone to the world back in 2007, the technology leader opened the door to a whole new world of application development for smartphones. Insurers didn't lead the rush to adopt the list of apps, but three years and approximately 140,000 overall apps later, insurers are seeing value to the apps, according to a technology consulting firm.

Anand Rao, a partner with Diamond Consulting, believes until a year ago insurance carriers viewed such apps as more experimental, but today insurers have come around to see the possibilities of mobile applications. “I think more people realize it is something here to stay,” says Rao. “It's gone from an experimental stage to 'everyone is doing it so we should, too,' because there is some value to it.”

Early iPhone apps developed by insurers were more informational in nature, explains Rao, adding newer apps are reaching the transactional side of business.

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