FirstBest Insurance Carrier Mobile Priorities Survey Reveals Importance of Customer Service and Responsiveness

BEDFORD, Mass., May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- There is no doubt we live in a mobile age, but where does the insurance industry stand with regard to real‐world business application of mobile technologies? And how does the industry want to use mobile in the future? A recent study performed by FirstBest Systems, provider of collaborative underwriting systems for global insurance carriers, revealed carrier smartphone and tablet use has increased since the Company conducted a similar survey in 2011. Findings also indicated that insurers are shifting mobile use from basic job convenience to truly delivering better and faster customer service from anywhere, at any time.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120322/NE75278LOGO )

The FirstBest Mobile Technology for Insurance Survey revisited questions asked of the insurance industry two years ago to assess current trends and changes in usage. The survey encompassed 55 respondents, representing approximately 45 carriers and MGUs. Eighty two percent of the carrier respondents focus on commercial lines.

Carriers Use and Want Tablets to Improve Customer Service
Mobile device use has grown among carriers and MGUs, with respondents preferring to use tablets nearly three times as much as smartphones for uses other than phone calls: 62% of respondents prefer to use tablets for tasks other than phone calls, compared to 21% for smartphones. 

When asked about the "Situations likely to use the mobile device when away from your desk?," respondents could select up to three of the 8 choices provided. The following circumstances were most popular among the sample of 55 carrier respondents:

• While travelling on business (85%)
• While visiting a client (76%)
• Anytime I'm away from my desk (65%)  

The top choices signal a shift toward mobile becoming more central to business than in 2011, when "while at home" was the second most-popular choice.

The survey also found that more than three quarters of carriers believe that mobile will allow them to provide better and faster service to customers. When asked "A mobile device would help most with…?," respondents equally selected accessing information from any place and providing better service and faster responses to my customers – which both received 82% as the top two selections.

When asked "What tasks would you like to perform on the mobile device?," the top responses were:

• Look up customer information from anywhere (87%)
• Check the status of a claim (75%)
• Check the status of an application (75%)
• Show information to a client (73%)

"The topic of mobile enjoys undeniable popularity in the media, but in actual industry practice we find a significant change in behavior around mobile," commented John Belizaire, founder and CEO of FirstBest Systems, Inc. "Clearly the use or desire to use mobile for day-to-day business has grown in the past two years. Mobile functionality is no longer just a personal convenience – it's viewed as a valuable and strategic business tool."

About FirstBest
FirstBest® Systems is the leading provider of insurance software solutions that help global insurance companies improve underwriting profitability, scale their business and achieve high service levels with agents, across the enterprise. The patented and proven FirstBest Front Office Suite has processed more than $9 billion in quotes and includes modular underwriting workstation, mobile underwriting, agent portal, and agency upload applications. Global companies such as XL Group plc, a global insurance and reinsurance company and OneBeacon Insurance Group, and other leading carriers such as IWIF, ICW Group Insurance Companies and others rely on FirstBest to improve underwriting efficiencies and quality, institutionalize knowledge and best practices, and empower everyone in the process to rapidly quote, collaborate, issue, and bind business on a single real-time platform from anywhere. To learn more, call +1-781-863-6000.

FirstBest is a registered trademark of FirstBest Systems, Inc. FirstBest Front Office Suite, FirstBest UMS, Underwriting Management System, FirstBest Agent and FirstBest AppReader are trademarks of FirstBest Systems, Inc.

SOURCE FirstBest Systems