Life insurance advisers are embracing new technology to help run their business, according to a new survey by Zurich Life Australia.

The insurer surveyed more than 700 advisers to see if they had an iPad or were planning to buy one.

The survey found 10% of advisers already had an iPad and 38% more said they were planning to buy one in the next 12 months.

Ownership of iPads is strongest among Gold Coast advisers (18%), and 50% there plan to buy one.

The least technology driven advisers are in Melbourne, where iPad ownership is only 5% and only 32% say they plan to buy one.

Zurich Life Australia CEO Colin Morgan says the survey results show advisers are embracing new technology to help them grow their business.

“The percentage of advisers who plan on purchasing iPads this year is staggering,” he said. “It demonstrates they have been quick to take up the challenge of having the right technological tools to help their customers and grow their businesses.”

The survey also looked at advisers’ use of social media and almost half of those surveyed said they use Facebook. Other popular sites are LinkedIn (32%), YouTube (25%) and Twitter (8.6%).

Mr Morgan says the survey has confirmed the wisdom of Zurich developing iPad applications for advisers.

“Zurich was the first life company in Australia to announce an integrated life risk quotation application for iPhone,” he said.

“In partnership with financial advisers, Zurich developed a customer-facing application for iPad to facilitate a simple customer risk needs analysis and recommendation process, as well as providing an immediate premium estimate.”