3 Steps to Effective Mobile Development from RLI Insurance

Yes, everyone's developing mobile apps, but are they mostly "me too" plays or is there a clear strategy in place? Murali Natarajan, VP of IT for RLI Insurance, took attendees of the MajescoMastek Convegence user conference this week in New York through his company's due diligence on mobile during a panel discussion.

First, Natarajan says, companies must have a clear understanding of the journey that users are trying to take in their environment. "You can't put up an app just because your competitor has an app -- you have to offer value of your customer base," he explains. "What is their behavior when they are on our site? If they ask for pizza, you can't give them ice cream."

Next, it's important that organizations validate that understanding and assumptions with analytics. "You need to build the apps with the analytics in place so you get feedback," Natarahan says. "We've been through that a decade back with the internet. But because the technology has changed, our behavior have changed."

Finally, insurers need to realize that mobile isn't just the "icing on the cake." Policyholders must be confident that actions they take on mobile will be recognized throughout the enterprise. "It has to talk to your back office services," Natarajan imploers. "Say you have an app that people can report first notice of loss -- but after someone does that, they call the customer service line and the representative have no idea that's occurred. If you don't have a good back-office infrastructure to support your front office, you're going to miss out on that experience."

Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio