Becoming a Paperless Producer
Tablet computing is significantly changing how insurance producers interact with prospects and clients while away from the office. The original Apple iPad became available in April of 2010. The next generation iPad 2 was released in March of 2011. As of the end of September of this year, approximately 39.85 million units have been sold worldwide.
A few weeks ago I asked TechTips readers to complete a short survey listing the mobile applications they are currently using on their tablets and smartphones. While the results are far from scientific, it is very interesting to hear from others in the industry about what mobile tools they are using to stay in touch with the office, prospects, and clients.Following is a list of some of the popular applications currently being used by people who completed the survey:
Evernote: Available on any device; Mac desktop to Win desktop as well as phone (Android & iPhone) and Tables (iPad & Android). “I store all customer documents, images there.”
DropBox: Allows file transfer from PC to iPad very easily.
Handysign: “I have customers sign applications on my iPad using this app.”
Penultimate: An application now part of Evernote that allows you to hand write notes during initial visit with the client and store the information.
LogMeIn: Allows remote access to a work personal computer.
PDF Expert: Allows you to annotate in markup PDF documents.
Dragon Dictation: Use when typing is too slow. A great app for sending emails when you can’t type very fast.
In addition to listing the applications they use, a few people made additional comments.
“Steve… I’m not able to use my iPad at work as our IT Manager has blocked access to most apps (using the office Wi-Fi). I’m just replying because I feel this is important to know that many of us are battling the IT Dept. and what they deem applicable.”
Another agent added their “wish list:”
“Management systems that will allow us to look up client name, phone, email, record a simple activity, check on policy information and status of the claim. Comparative rating systems need to allow us to request quotes similar to the way we do on desktops only on the go on a mobile device.”
The applications listed above are just a few of the hundreds of thousands available for mobile devices. Smartphones and tablets, along with the appropriate applications, are allowing producers to become paperless.
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