“Some agents have introduced mobile apps, but so far we haven’t seen a great amount of usage. The fact [the mobile apps] don’t have a lot of functionality yet may be a part of that.
There is a recognition that we are going to need to have [mobile apps] and we need to increase the amount of functionality. A few carriers can take payments by taking a picture of a check front and back, so increasingly you’ll be able to pay from your mobile phone. They can also get their ID card from some companies, but all this has to connect to either the agency management system or to the carrier through the agent’s mobile app. We have a lot of work to do to make that happen.
We look at this issue in two ways—apps for the client and tablet devices, which are a great tool for agents in the field. Traditionally, agency principals and producers haven’t used the agency technology so much—it’s more of a back-office thing—but that’s going to change with tablets.
It’s already changed with smartphones to some extent, but the opportunity for agency principals to be able to access the information they need to do their business from the management systems and from the carriers to their tablet is enormous.”
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