It seems as if the whole world is going mobile. As the famousgroup, The Who, sang some years ago, “…The world's myhome… When I'm mobile.” Although they were not referring to themobile technologies so prevalent today—with the likes ofsmartphones, tablets and GPS devices—the concept still applies.Rapidly evolving technologies are changing the way we interact,exchange information, transact business, manage our schedules andspend our leisure time. The fundamental question for our industryis: Are insurers on board with the mobile trend?

The answer is a qualified yes. Many insurers are capitalizing onmobile-phone technology for communications with adjusters,agents/brokers, business partners and customers. Mobile voicecommunications and SMS text messaging now play a vital role in boththe sales and servicing process. However, most insurers have notembraced the full capabilities that mobile technologies canoffer.

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Strategy Meets Action (SMA) recently asked approximately 50leading insurers about their current mobile-technology usage andtheir future plans for using mobile applications. The participantsrepresented a variety of lines of business and company sizes. Theresults of the research paint a picture of an industry that ismerely scratching the surface of the real potential for mobiletechnologies.

One of the most telling results of the SMA research is apparentwhen one considers the mobile platforms that insurers say they nowsupport. The most widely supported platform is RIM's BlackBerry.While the BlackBerry device was an early mobile pioneer and isstill in broad usage, particularly among business users, it is notcurrently considered to be the most advanced mobile device in themarket, nor is it the most prevalent among end consumers. So, whyis the BlackBerry such a widely supported platform in insurance?It's helpful to look at how insurers view the support of mobiledevices to better understand why. The current approach that manyinsurers take is one of accommodation—providing support for thedevices employees, customers or agents already have. Not long ago,the BlackBerry was the most prevalent device. Some call this theBYOD (bring your own device) approach. Unfortunately, insurers havebeen unable to keep up with the rapidly changing preferences fordevices, especially among consumers.

Despite the fact that the insurance industry lags behind otherindustries in support for mobile platforms and app deployment,there are a number of well-designed, innovative mobile-insuranceapps that are in use by a subset of insurers. While it is too earlyto identify “killer apps” in insurance, the P&C personal-linesclaims arena is one place where apps are growing rapidly. Othercustomer-service and sales apps for use directly by customers andprospects are gaining popularity among insurers that are trying tolead the pack. The innovators today are mainly the largestinsurers, although some smaller insurers also have some veryinteresting and attractive apps in place.

Overall, most insurers tell SMA that they face two primaryhurdles with advanced implementations of mobile technologies: oneis business oriented and the other is technology oriented. On thebusiness side, many insurers are struggling with how to evaluateand measure the business value of mobile apps. Although it may notbe that difficult to design, build and deploy apps for quotes,first-notice-of-loss or product information, it does require moneyand human resources—and it means juggling priorities for ITresource. Mobile is not just about the mobile phone. Mobile is notjust about sales. Mobile involves potential opportunities forapplications that impact business processes across the entire valuechain and encompass the use of smartphones, tablets, GPS devicesand whatever is just around the corner. The challenge many face ishow to evaluate return on investment. How can the actual take-up beestimated? Will new business leads be generated? How will usageaffect customer satisfaction and retention? Typical for theinsurance industry, the first to make market moves are usuallythose with deep pockets and a culture that thrives oninnovation.

Frequently, the technology issues surrounding mobile-technologydeployment dominate the initial conversations about mobile. How dowe deal with information privacy? What about security? What are thecapacity implications for our servers and our call centers? Manyinsurers are well down the path in terms of addressing andresolving these issues, but these are serious issues that must beconsidered by each insurer that wants to join the mobile pack.

It's generally acknowledged that growth in the use of mobiletechnologies and mobile apps by the general population isskyrocketing. It's probably all right that the insurance industryis not leading the pack in the deployment of mobile solutions.Other industries such as retail, entertainment, media and travelare investing heavily in new mobile capabilities, largely becausethe very nature of their interactions with their customers andpartners is very different from customer and partner interactionwith insurers. It is extremely important that insurers pay closeattention to the experiments and lessons learned by others. Realbusiness value and key competitive advantages are clearly there forthe insurance industry—and they will emerge gradually over time asinsurers learn more about the possibilities, address the technologyconcerns and experience increasing demands from customers.

The world is going mobile—and insurers are following the trend.A fast-follower approach might be a good strategy for mostinsurers, but it is clear that lagging too far behind will likelybe a troublesome position. In the meantime, The Who's oldsong captures today's mood, “… goin' mobile… keep me movin'…”