Apple, IBM Help Insurance Agents Go Mobile

The companies have partnered on mobile applications geared toward insurance professionals at the distributor level.

Apple and IBM have collaborated on mobile applications for insurance agents and financial advisers, according to a joint release from the two companies today.

The Agent & Advisory Suite software is geared toward improving the relationships between advisers and customers and increasing customer retention. For insurance carriers, the potential benefit is improved agent productivity, the companies said.

"Mobile will be a key differentiator in this highly volatile and competitive industry, giving agents and financial advisers the ability to address issues before they happen and take action at the point of contact," said Sandip Patel, global industry leader for insurance at IBM Global Business Services. "We're equipping agents with access to customer data, analytics, and visualization tools at their fingertips to improve customer attrition rates and enhance sales productivity."

The companies said the applications combine analytics, document capture, and integration with corporate CRM to make it easier for agents to interact with their customers for billing, supplemental information, and more to avoid customer attrition due to a poor experience. The quicker, more seamless process will prevent long delays in application processing due to too-large client portfolios, inadequate information, or proactive follow-up.

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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