Travelers: Claims via Smartphones have Tripled

“Auto Accident Help” is available for iOS and Android devices.

Many of the largest auto insurance companies have developed smartphone applications that allow customers to access their accounts at any time, as well as giving their customers a new point of contact for reporting accidents and filing claims. Some insurance companies have even developed smartphone apps that aim to make you a better driver.

Travelers, a property casualty insurer that sells primary through independent agents and brokers, offers two such applications for Apple’s iOS, Blackberry OS and Google’s Android OS.

Travelers commissioned a study to examine each of their auto insurance claims that were filed over the last sixteen months, and they report that there has been a substantial increase in the number of claims filed on these mobile devices. In their review, they found that the number of claims filed from their smartphone applications “Auto Accident Help” (available for both Android and iOS platforms) and “Quick Connect” (available for Blackberry OS) an had more than tripled in the first four months of 2011 compared to the first four months of 2010.

“The faster our customers report claims to Travelers, the faster we can help them,” said Jay Gauthier, Vice President of Travelers Personal Insurance. “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.”

We’re bullish on the idea of applications that allow drivers to collect data and information right after an accident, and that’s part of what the applications that Travelers offers. Plus, it helps consumers get their lives back to normal by getting their car back to as it was before the crash.

“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,” added Gauthier.

We expect this trend to continue as more consumers in the United States buy smartphones. According to the Neilsen ratings, 36 percent of U.S. mobile phone users have smartphones. And they download and use applications – 68 percent of those with iPhones, 60 percent of those with Android devices and 45 percent of those with Blackberry smartphones reported using their mobile apps multiple times a day.