Mobile customer relationship management: impact on the insurance industry

XIV Abstract Mobile technologies have evolved as new means for companies to interact and communicate with their customers. With more than ten billion mobile applications downloaded, they provide a broad basis for reaching clients in both developed and emerging markets. In 2009, first insurers have cautiously started to explore mobile applications as a channel to sell products, provide assistance services, and manage claims. However, practical knowledge on the status quo of using mobile applications in the insurance industry is scarce and academic contributions in the field of mobile customer relationship management remain partial. The work explores the state of the art in mobile insurance applications and demonstrates not yet explored benefits and downsides based on five research questions. Answers to the questions rendered results that provide insights on the current status of mobile customer relationship management in insurance and offer a basis for companies to take the right steps when developing and offering these applications. First, a repository of mobile applications and functionalities is built to help insurers compare their own development efforts and ideas with the best practices on the market. The preferences of the customers are assessed to provide insights on the features that are demanded by their clients. The results show that most insurers follow a short-term strategy which results in a lacking integration of products and processes. The applications are hardly integrated with the corporate IT and mostly support assistance and claims processes for motor insurance. Second, the usage behavior is explored since companies assess the utilization of the applications rarely. While the findings state that the continued use of the applications dilutes quickly, they also prove that the services are reused due to positive experience. Third, mobile assistance services are investigated to understand how they contribute to generating positive word-of-mouth and strengthening the insurer’s brand. Empirical results reveal that clients with trust in the company and the service show a high affinity to engage in word-of-mouth communication. Fourth, a mobile car navigation application is considered to explain how the purchasing decision can be influenced. The evidence found suggests that revenue can be generated by extending insurance offerings with mobile applications. Finally, the possibility to reduce costs of distributing insurance in emerging markets with a mobile sales assistant application is explored. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated by developing a process model and testing it in a field study. The work closes with guidelines for insurers and implications for mobile customer relationship management and discloses demand for future research.Mobile technologies have evolved as new means for companies to interact and communicate with their customers. With more than ten billion mobile applications downloaded, they provide a broad basis for reaching clients in both developed and emerging markets. In 2009, first insurers have cautiously started to explore mobile applications as a channel to sell products, provide assistance services, and manage claims. However, practical knowledge on the status quo of using mobile applications in the insurance industry is scarce and academic contributions in the field of mobile customer relationship management remain partial. The work explores the state of the art in mobile insurance applications and demonstrates not yet explored benefits and downsides based on five research questions. Answers to the questions rendered results that provide insights on the current status of mobile customer relationship management in insurance and offer a basis for companies to take the right steps when developing and offering these applications. First, a repository of mobile applications and functionalities is built to help insurers compare their own development efforts and ideas with the best practices on the market. The preferences of the customers are assessed to provide insights on the features that are demanded by their clients. The results show that most insurers follow a short-term strategy which results in a lacking integration of products and processes. The applications are hardly integrated with the corporate IT and mostly support assistance and claims processes for motor insurance. Second, the usage behavior is explored since companies assess the utilization of the applications rarely. While the findings state that the continued use of the applications dilutes quickly, they also prove that the services are reused due to positive experience. Third, mobile assistance services are investigated to understand how they contribute to generating positive word-of-mouth and strengthening the insurer’s brand. Empirical results reveal that clients with trust in the company and the service show a high affinity to engage in word-of-mouth communication. Fourth, a mobile car navigation application is considered to explain how the purchasing decision can be influenced. The evidence found suggests that revenue can be generated by extending insurance offerings with mobile applications. Finally, the possibility to reduce costs of distributing insurance in emerging markets with a mobile sales assistant application is explored. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated by developing a process model and testing it in a field study. The work closes with guidelines for insurers and implications for mobile customer relationship management and discloses demand for future research.