"Goin' Mobile … Keep Me Movin'"

–The Who, "Going Mobile"

Pete Townshend likely wasn't looking ahead to a future ofconsumers using mobile devices to "keep moving" with autoinsurance, but the lyrics to bring up a good point: More people areusing their phones and tablets to request quotes and purchase autoinsurance, contrary to our collective belief.

At EverQuote, we recently analyzed quote requests over a 5-monthperiod to determine whether or not the use of a mobile device ordesktop computer affected auto insurance shopping behavior. Thelongstanding assumption has been that mobile consumers are notserious purchasers–that they're merely doing some research intocompanies and possible rates and are not worth the time or theeffort.

In reality, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Our research found that consumers who shop on mobile devices forauto insurance are no different than desktop consumers of the sameage. In fact, those shopping for insurance were shown to have thesame intent to request quotes and buy coverage as desktopusers.

Some key findings of the research were:

• Mobile consumers are more likely to complete the typicallyextensive quote request form for auto insurance than desktop users.Despite the smaller screen size and lack of full keyboard, mobileconsumers are actually 17% more likely to complete a full quoterequest form than desktop users.

• It is commonly assumed that mobile shoppers have more claimsand violations. They're younger and probably more reckless, right?So it's tempting to create a theory that consumers that use mobilephones for shopping may also be unsafe drivers based on the data.However, when the age of the consumer is accounted for, there is nosignificant difference between mobile and desktop users in thenumber of claims and violations.

• The amount of coverage requested has nothing to do with how thecoverage was requested (mobile or desktop)–it is consistent byage.

• At 29, the median age of mobile consumers is higher than thetypically assumed 18 to 25, though still significantly lower thandesktop users.

• The number of homeowners that requested auto insurance via amobile device, owned homes at the same percentage of consumers thatrequested auto insurance quotes on a desktop device.

Let that sink in a bit. Everything we thought about mobile autoinsurance consumers is wrong.

That means that mobile consumers should not beignored. Consumers arriving from mobile devices should get the samerange of options, pricing and coverage as they do from desktop orby offline methods–as this data shows that mobile and desktopconsumers are both valuable to insurance providers looking to servethem.

Because there is no connection between intent, coverage orclaims history by device type, insurance providers should seek toleverage mobile as a growing source that provides quality onlineconsumers. If you don't pay attention to those prospective clientscoming your way via mobile–and if you don't make it as easy aspossible for them to connect with you via mobile–then you'remissing out on a lot of potential new customers.

As always, agents should use a blended strategy for marketing tocapture the online consumer. Include strategies to enhance yourlocal presence, purchasing online consumer referrals, e-mailmarketing and social media. Track and measure contact andconversion data so you know where to invest future marketingdollars or where your team may need coaching on how to communicatewith the connected consumer. Finally, develop sales processes togive you the best chance to convert leads generated from differentsources.   

Stuart Ganis started his career as a producer in 1989 andlater co-founded an independent agency that grew to 20 million inpremium volume within 5 years. After the sale of the agency,Ganis started a consulting firm helping agents in areas ofsales, marketing, operations and M&A advisory services. Stuartcurrently serves as the SVP, Marketing for EverQuote. Follow Ganis onTwitter @StuartGanis.