The Travelers study broadly examined insurance claims filed over the past 16 months using mobile devices. In reviewing claims data comparing the first four months of 2010 versus the same time period in 2011, the number of claims filed via mobile devices more than tripled.
"The faster our customers report claims to Travelers, the faster we can help them," said Jay Gauthier, Vice President, Travelers Personal Insurance Marketing. "That's why we continue to develop technologies that make it easy for our customers to communicate with us in the way that's most convenient to them, whether online, over the phone, or through their mobile devices, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
Capitalizing on the trend of increased usage of mobile devices to report claims, Travelers developed its "Auto Accident Help" mobile application for Android(TM) devices. This free app, which was made available to iPhone(R) and BlackBerry(R) smartphone users in 2010, gives any Android user an efficient way to create an accident report and provides another way for Travelers customers to report claims. Consumers can now download the "Auto Accident Help" app for Android devices by visiting the mobile site of Travelers.com.
As part of the claim study, Travelers found that 70 percent of claims filed through mobile devices related to personal auto insurance, 28 percent were personal insurance property claims and the remaining two percent were business insurance property claims (.5 percent) and business insurance auto claims (1.5 percent).
"Our claims analysis reveals that at the time of an auto accident, it is convenient for individuals to report the claim through their mobile device so they can quickly begin the process of getting their car back to the condition it was in before the accident took place," said Gauthier.
According to a recent report from Neilsen, 36 percent of U.S. mobile phone consumers now have smartphones. In addition, of those who download smartphone apps, 68 percent of those with iPhones, 60 percent of those with Android devices and 45 percent of those with Blackberry/RIM smartphones reported using their mobile apps multiple times a day.1
For information about the "Auto Accident Help" for Android devices and iPhones and "Quick Connect" for BlackBerry smartphones, and all of Travelers' mobile tools, visit travelers.com/about-us/mobile-tools.aspx.