Insurance carriers have made improvements to mobile websites and apps over the last few years but many are now focused more on improving app capabilities for customer convenience.
Keynova Group, a financial services intelligence firm specializing in benchmark insights, released its
GEICO placed first overall and leads scoring in mobile web and app offerings. The report suggests that telematics may be the reason as GEICO fully integrated its entire telematics solution into its GEICO Mobile app.
State Farm scored second overall and in mobile web and apps. Progessive scored third overall and USAA scored third in apps with Nationwide and Progressive tied for third in mobile web offerings. Scoring is based on an evaluation of approximately 200 objective criteria. The report includes compiled research, proven best practices and observations.
Beth Robertson, Keynova Group managing director, said the pandemic has driven a realignment in services including offering policyholders more self-service options through mobile apps.
"A focus on leveraging mobile device technologies such as GPS, autofill, photo/scan and telematics is helping to drive faster, less-error prone, and seamless information access and transacting,” Robertson said. “Virtual assistant chatbots have also become more widespread, helping to deflect the need for live support while enhancing policyholders’ ability to locate information and complete tasks on their own."
About 10 out of 12 insurers scored higher for mobile web services than mobile apps likely because resources have been allocated to mobile web improvements in the last few years, according to the report. Insurers are now more focused on extending mobile app capabilities and adding technology-focused options like tracking vehicle records and using augmented reality for property valuations.
Additional findings to note include:
- All 12 insurers offer some live chat support, about 50% of carrier apps and 80% of carrier websites include virtual assistants or chatbot support, which has doubled in the past two years.
- Six insurers now offer demos and app-specific videos to help policyholders and prospective customers understand policy options or learn how to complete policy-related actions on their own.
- Eight insurers now support advanced GPS capabilities to improve the experience for app users by supporting roadside assistance, locating gas stations, filling out claims forms, enabling location-based quoting and finding local agents.
