Generali France, the second largest general insurer in France and one of the main foreign subsidiaries of the Generali Group, the largest European life insurer, has unveiled a new life insurance application for iPhone* which was created and implemented with the help of Accenture (NYSE: ACN).
The new application, which will be made available in the beginning of 2010, will provide Generali France's network of financial advisors real-time access through their mobile device to their client portfolio as well as detailed information for each client account, including savings, payment history, investment portfolios and the financial performance of each fund in which savings are invested. A "business-to-consumer" version will also be made available for the clients of Generali France's network of financial advisors and for the direct clients of Generali France's Internet subsidiary, who will have direct access to their own accounts.
Drawing on its technology expertise and deep knowledge of the financial services industry, Accenture helped Generali France define the overall business and information technology (IT) scope of the new life insurance application for iPhone. Accenture assisted Generali France in defining the targeted audience for the application, the business needs, the "must-have" functionalities that would benefit end-users, and the required IT architecture. Accenture also designed the application's user-friendly screen interfaces.
"Following an Accenture workshop on how changes in consumer behavior 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," said Stéphane Dedeyan, a member of the Board of Management of Generali France. "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, as well as to our clients who will be able to directly access their account in a user-friendly way."
Khalid Lahraoui, a senior executive in Accenture's Financial Services group said: "By implementing one of the first life insurance applications for iPhone and providing financial advisers and clients with an easy-to-use application that enables them to access the information they need no matter where they are, Generali France is demonstrating its ability to innovate and take advantage of the increased use of smartphones to give customers a distinctly different customer experience."
The new application will be enhanced over time with new features such as news alerts and a savings simulator. A Property and Casualty version which would enable Generali France's clients to manage their claims, from claims declaration to settlement, is being studied by the insurer.