Generali harnesses iPhone power

Accessing information on the move is increasingly becoming accepted as the norm, a trend that is being accelerated by the advent of smartphones such as Apples iPhone.Viewing this trend as an opportunity to deliver enhanced services, Generali France, a unit of Italian insurer Generali Group, has teamed up with consulting and technology services provider Accenture to develop an iPhone application to meet the needs of financial advisors serving life insurance customers.To be made available at the beginning of 2010, the iPhone application will provide Generali Frances financial advisors real-time access through their mobile device to their client portfolio In addition, they will be able to access detailed information for each client account, including savings, payment history, investment portfolios and the financial performance of each fund in which savings are invested.Following an Accenture workshop on how changes in consumer behaviour are driven by the increased usage of smartphones, Generali France decided to work with the company to develop concrete business applications for its life insurance operations, commented Stphane Dedeyan, a member of the board of management of Generali France.She added: This new application for iPhone will be particularly helpful to our financial advisers, who are looking for innovative ways to stay close to their clients.A business-to-consumer version of the application will also be made available for the clients of Generali Frances financial advisors and for the direct clients of Generali Frances internet subsidiary that will provide them with direct access to their own accounts.Additional features to the application are in the pipeline and include news alerts and a savings simulator.A general insurance version which would enable Generali Frances clients to manage their claims from declaration to settlement is being studied by Generali France