Life insurers are working on ways to allow clients to conduct a wider range of transactions on their smartphones and other mobile devices.

LIMRA says that life insurers have put a significant amount of effort into developing their mobile capabilities over the last five years. The research shows that mobile initiatives aimed at general consumers, advisors, and policyholders have all at least doubled since 2011.

The survey asked life insurers about the factors that were pushing them towards adopting mobile capabilities, and the three top reasons were to keep pace with competitors (84%), to keep pace with consumer demand (80%), and to provide better service to policy owners (78%).

Apps represent the biggest potential growth area

The research suggests that apps for policyowners represent the biggest potential growth area, and says clients should be given the ability to conduct simple transactions without agent involvement. "LIMRA’s survey finds 8 in 10 companies that offer mobile access for policyowners offer them the ability to view policy information via mobile device," says LIMRA. "However, only 19% offer ability to purchase additional products/coverage via mobile device, and just 10% offer the ability to chat with customer service via mobile device. While relatively few policyowners may use these services now, prior LIMRA research shows that some consumers say that they would not do business with an insurer that does not offer mobile access options."

The study relied on responses from 44 American insurers and 8 Canadian insurers to an electronic survey that was sent out in September and October of 2016.