After interviewing Alfa Insurance's Eileen Senn last week it was easy to hear the pride in her voice as she discussed the performance her claims team following the April 27 tornado that ravaged northern Alabama.

What I liked best about the story was Alfa's ability to get the majority of the claims filed out in the field, thanks to mobile communication technology. Mobility has been an issue on the table for insurers for years, but it has finally taken a place of prominence in the operations of carriers.

Senn explained how just one year ago, Alfa's claims adjusters would have been using paper forms to begin the process of restoring people's lives. When the subject of the discussion is “restoring people's lives” it helps if the actions surrounding such discussions can take place instantly—right before the very eyes of the claimants.

In another interview I conducted with John Pettit for a future podcast, the president and CEO of Adaptik said he believes one of the biggest changes for insurers in the area of policy administration systems is that the systems on the market today offer insurers the possibility of mobile connections to the policy admin system. Such connectivity was unavailable in many systems as recently as five years ago.

Broadband and cellular connections and wireless technology have created new possibilities for insurers to re-examine what they are able to offer their customers and their business users.

The majority of business for carriers is still being conducted in a traditional manner—and by traditional I mean in the way it's been conducted since 2006—but the workflow of even five years ago is likely going to change even more over the next five years.

The lessons taught by Alfa Insurance—a regional insurer—should be relevant for other regional and small carriers. Alfa was prepared for this disaster and homeowners are extremely thankful for the swift action taken. Policyholders in other states hear how well one insurer handled a catastrophe and the expectations for all insurers immediately go up.

A year ago, Alfa probably wouldn't have been in a position to handle all its claims in an expedited manner. If your company can't match that effort today, where will you be one year from now?