What makes an insurance carrier stand out among its peers whenit comes to dealing with independent insurance agents? Thetime-worn explanation “ease of doing business” remains applicable,but the way carriers interpret the term is changing as quickly asthe needs of agencies.

Over the last few weeks we have presented a variety of articleson the subject—all of which will appear in the September TechDecisions—ranging from old standbys such as agency portals tothe latest battlefield for agency business, mobileapplications.

It doesn't take a genius to see that mobile devices—smartphonesin particular—are the preferred computing system for youngerpolicyholders and no one believes these consumers will somedaysettle into the world of PCs like their parents. This method ofcomputing will only increase as smartphones become evensmarter.

That means agencies have to make their services available—andeasy to use—on mobile devices if they are to stave off thecontinuing surge of direct writers operating strictly online. Andyes, ease of business is a term that agencies have to think aboutfrom their end if they are to continue to serve as trusted advisorsto clients.

In the article, “Mobile Apps Open the Door for Agents,” writerGerald Shields, an IT practice director for The Nolan Co. and aformer CIO of Aflac, points out some amazing statistics:

“In March, ABI research reported downloads of applications formobile smartphones will be in the range of 56 billion for 2013.Additionally, mobile users will download around 14 billionapplications for their tablets. Given 365 days a year, 24 hours ina day, this equates to close to 8 million applications downloadedper hour or more than 133,000 downloads per minute. There arecurrently more than 800 applications in the Apps store under thecategory of insurance.”

The speed in which mobile technology has taken such prominencein insurance is stunning, when you consider that five years agothere was little if any mobility within the industry. But that justexposes the need for carriers, agents, and policyholders tocontinue to demand more from themselves and each other.

If mobility can happen so quickly in insurance, what couldpossibly be next? Check back in another couple of years.