(Rodney Johnson is North America global practice lead for Capgemini Global Financial Services.)

If you stop and take a look at any technology vertical, mobile has quickly become the most dominant entity. With the rise of smartphones, mobile is an extension of us as opposed to just a way to communicate—most of the approximately six billion mobile subscribers across the globe will agree. With 24 billion connected devices by 2020, this mindset isn't changing anytime soon, and it's already having an enormous impact on the insurance industry.

With the current challenges of rising costs and the increasingly complex process of submitting a claim, insurers can take advantage of leveraging the mobile channel to increase revenue, reduce costs, enhance the customer experience and improve operational efficiency. According to Capgemini and EFMA's World Insurance Report 2013, insurers need to invest in the mobile channel, and it's becoming the channel of choice for a number of customer interactions. Even with this trend, companies need to insure a mobile app supplements the overall experience and doesn't dominate it.