Insurance Journal Magazine has updated its magazine news app for smartphones and tablets.

The e-news app, which was originally launched in 2009, now offers users the ability to share and stream with others, plus improved video performance for tablets, and multimedia features and bonuses not available in the print edition.

Users will also have the option to be notified when there is an update to the next issue of the magazine instead of having to look, and more links will be built into each issue.

Users can also stream InsuranceJournal.tv’s exclusive videos and podcasts.

“Ease of use was an important issue for us this time around,” said Guy Boccia, vice president of Design for Wells Media Group, the media company behind Insurance Journal Magazine. “Previous builds of the app have been very experimental and this version is much more stable and easy to navigate for users.”

Featuring content from industry experts, in-depth technical articles, directories, and special commentary from executives, as well as risk managers and retail and wholesale insurance agents and brokers, the Insurance Journal app provides readers with 24/7 access all from a single interface. The most exciting feature of all? The app is still free!

Mitch Dunford, CEO of Wells Media Group, said readers now demand that publishers make content available in multiple formats. He said his company has long been committed to providing industry news that readers need to be successful in a variety of formats, where and when readers want it.

“For 90 years Insurance Journal Magazine has been one of the most popular insurance trade publications in the country. Today that popularity hasn’t changed. What has changed is how the reader wants to receive our magazine content,” said Dunford.

Readers are turning more and more to mobile applications to get their news. According to Flurry Analytics, which provides businesses with online audience data, usage and performance, downloads of news and magazine apps grew by 31 percent in 2013. Time spent on mobile devices also increased as of March 2014 to an average of 2 hours and 42 minutes, with 3 percent of that total time being spent on news sites.

Dunford said the mobile editions will not replace the print editions of the Insurance Journal Magazine, which has been the approach many other trade publishers have taken. He said Wells Media Group will continue to invest in enhancing its platforms to deliver its content in convenient and timely ways.

“Historically we delivered Insurance Journal on paper through the post office. We still do that, but just take a look around you the next time you’re in a crowd. What is one out of every three people doing? They are staring at a mobile device reading content, sending emails, playing games, watching video. People want the option to obtain our content wherever and whenever they like through a mobile computer screen. We are here to deliver on that,” he said.

The updated app can be downloaded through Google Play, Android and Apple devices and the Amazon store. The iOS 8 version will be updated again in September after Apple releases its next update.

Insurance Journal Magazine and www.insurancejournal.com are the flagship publications of Wells Media Group, which also publishes Claims Journal and Carrier Management magazines and their websites, along with InsuranceJournal.tv and MyNewMarkets.com. Wells Media Group also offers property/casualty education and training through The Insurance Journal Academy of Insurance.