The update is being rolled out across Liberty Mutual Insurance’s MyLibertyMobile mobile Web site. Clients can log in at MyLibertyMobile.com.

Liberty Mutual Insurance offers a variety of products and services, such as commercial and personal automobile, group disability and homeowners insurance.

“Companies like insurance provide a service element in a highly competitive landscape that makes the mobile channel extremely viable for extension of the brand engagement.,” said Steve Timpson, president of SiteMinis, Atlanta.

“Additionally the mobile device has unique characteristics that can aid the user in ways unavailable five years ago,” he said.

“Consumers will do complex tasks through a mobile device. The trick to get high consumer adoption and engagement is the user experience and thoughtful design for the mobile device.”

Mr. Timpson is not associated with Liberty Mutual Insurance. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

Liberty Mutual Insurance did not meet press deadline.

Mobile lifeline
Liberty Mutual Insurance has added two features under the new View Status function on MyLibertyMobile.

Disability and group life policyholders can change a claim’s detail or leave time via the site.

Per LibertyMutual, consumers with a policy simply log-in to check on the status of a check claim and how much leave time they have.

Additionally, consumers can use the site to detail any intermittent time away from work and start generating benefits after having a child.

The company claims that MyLibertyMobile is the first mobile Web site to be leveraged by a group life and disability carrier. Liberty Mutual Insurance’s goal of using the technology is to make it easier for employers and employees to communicate.

Innovate on mobile
The insurance giant has also used mobile advertising in the past to build brand recognition.

For example, in 2010 the company ran an iAd campaign that exceeded the company’s expectations for time spent and unaided brand awareness (see story).

Additionally, the brand was the launch sponsor of Time Magazine’s historical iPad issue (see story).

As mobile continues to be a main way that consumers manage their lives, insurance and financial service companies are one of the verticals that seem to be leading innovation.

For example, the United Services Automobile Association recently claimed that app downloads increased 70 percent year-over-year.

Part of the reason that consumers have been engaging with mobile more in the past year is because the apps use features such as voice recognition and animation to let consumers record the details of claims (see story).

As consumers increasingly rely on their handsets, they expect to not only manage their accounts and information but also expect to get it done quickly and easily.

“Many insurance companies are way ahead of the game in mobile already,” Mr. Timpson said.

“The main reason for this is the integration of mobile as a real consumer engagement channel and not just an after thought or a check the box mentality,” he said.

“The key to mobile engagements for any company, brand or channel is to recognize that mobile can make a difference and that resources must be put behind mobile efforts. Some brands and businesses are doing this to survive — those companies stay ahead of the curve.”

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York