RJ and Makay

For the rising population of consumers who prefer to shop with mobile devices, major insurance carriers are introducing applications that let you address insurance issues from the palm of your hand. This shift to "mobile apps" is the insurance industry's way of reaching out to a youthful generation that may completely alter the way insurance business is done.

For example, 48% of "millennials" — today's young and tech-savvy mobile apps users — expect their employer to offer mobile or Smartphone technology, points out Cindy Saccocia, head of Microsoft's U.S. insurance industry practice. Some 80 million millennials will be entering the marketplace in the next few years, she estimates.