Nationwide Optimizes Website For Mobile Devices

By Cyril Tuohy

InsuranceNewsNet

Nationwide has announced the availability of a mobile-optimized website for financial advisors available from any device 24 hours a day.

The website offers new education and client engagement materials and income planning resources to help advisors grow and manage their business, the company said.

How advisors and clients experience the devices matters, especially if they use different hardware and operating systems during the course of the day. Websites that are easy to access and use via mobile phones and tablets have become increasingly important for financial services companies as an increasing number of advisors rely on these devices.

Consider one theoretical advisor’s average day.

A three-hour morning appointment at an advisor’s office may require staring at a PC using Microsoft’s Windows operating system. A one-hour meeting during an early afternoon appointment may require advisors to pull out a tablet operating iOS to share data across the lunch table at the mall.

An advisor’s last appointment of the day may require a glance at the market close with an Android-powered smartphone before calling a client from the airport.

The experience across the three platforms needs to be seamless and fast. Advisors who have trouble logging on or experience slow, buggy sites are less inclined to sell on behalf of those insurance carriers.

David Giertz, president of distribution and sales for Nationwide, said that as advisors become more reliant on mobile devices, they need a way to “access information quickly in a safe and secure manner.”

“Financial advisors are increasingly reliant on their mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, and need a way to access information quickly in a safe and secure manner,” he said.

Nationwide’s website gives advisors access to the company’s interactive planning tools to assess future expenses such as the cost of health and long-term care, as well as future income such as Social Security, the company said.

In short, the website is designed to help advisors begin a conversation around clients’ future needs, and the ability of clients to pay for those needs.

Giertz said the site is an example of the company’s effort to provide a range of support for its financial advisors.

Mobile-optimized features include an online experience “that fluidly adjusts to any device,” and clean, streamlined design and navigation to help advisors call up account information, illustrate scenarios and conduct calculations quickly and intuitively.

Mobile devices are reshaping the financial services experience from banks to insurance companies to retirement services companies.

The smaller screens of mobile devices are forcing developers to offer a less cluttered, cleaner, faster Web experience.

Cyril Tuohy is a writer based in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. Cyril may be reached at [email protected].

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Cyril Tuohy is a writer based in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. He can be reached at [email protected].