Patent Application
20130290033
The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for producing a contents inventory and processing casualty claims. These systems and methods may include computer, internet and/or cloud computing, hardware, software, and data stores to gather and process data for electronic receipt based contents inventories to be used in casualty claim processing.
Homeowner's insurance, which may also be referred to as home insurance, a dwelling policy, and/or hazard insurance (HOI), may include multiple insurance policies and/or products intended to cover a variety of losses related to real property. For example, homeowner's insurance may provide coverage for losses or damage to the structure and/or fixtures of a home, compensation for loss of use of the home, losses or damage of the contents of the home, and/or liability coverage for accidents that occur on the insured premises. Various additional types of insurance may also cover losses to the personal property and contents (e.g., automobile policies and/or renter's insurance).
If a policy-holder suffers a loss and believes that loss may be covered by one or more insurance policies, that policy-holder may initiate a claim process. Claims may be filed directly by an insured (e.g., through a phone call to the insurance company and/or submitting a claim form on-line or by mail). In some cases, claims may be initiated by an insurance agent or broker acting on behalf of an insured. The insured may be an individual, a family, and/or a business entity.
In many claim handling processes, an insurer may appoint a claim processor (also known as a claim handler or claim adjuster) to investigate the claim. The investigation may include exploring and/or determining whether the policy covers the loss asserted. The investigation may also include determining the monetary value of any losses incurred and/or making the payments due under the policy. In practice, a claim processor may be forced to balance the risk of overpayment (also referred to as overpayment leakage) with the costs of investigation and customer satisfaction.
In order to assess the replacement and/or market value for any lost items, a claims processor often requests a description of the claimed items, including purchase price, date of purchase, and/or proof-of-purchase or receipts. Claims involving inventory and/or personal property can often be simplified if the insured has a detailed inventory of the goods present before the loss. Some insurance companies provide a sample “home inventory checklist” to their insured customers to assist with the creation of an inventory.
Although most insurance companies encourage their insured customers to generate a contents inventory prior to their loss, most customers do not do so until after they have suffered a loss. Once personal property is lost and/or damaged, it is difficult to accurately identify the number, type, model number, and/or other details of the personal property. In addition, it is difficult to offer documentation related to the personal property, as receipts may have been damaged or lost at the same time.
In other cases, homeowners may keep grossly inadequate records of the contents in their homes. An inventory of dwelling contents is particularly difficult and time consuming to keep up to date. People who have lived in the same dwelling for a number of years may have no documentation of what they own. Further, even if a homeowner keeps an inventory, the inventory records may be destroyed in the same catastrophic event that destroys the contents themselves.
When the insured is responsible for creating a contents inventory after a loss, the lack of documentation raises the risk of insurance fraud. That risk potentially raises the tensions between a claims processor, the insurance company, and the insured. Alternatively, policy holders may have no evidence to corroborate their truthful recollections of the contents they possessed prior to a loss.
In some cases, it may be particularly difficult to create a contents inventory after a total loss. Catastrophic disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fire, etc., may completely destroy a dwelling and all of its contents. If not completely destroyed, the contents may become so damaged as to be unrecognizable by the policy holder. Further, if the policy holder is deceased or incapacitated, there may not be anyone available who can recollect what contents were in the dwelling prior to the catastrophic event. In geographic areas where catastrophic events are more likely, there is greater need to have up-to-date inventories what is owned. Complete content inventories facilitate full, fair, and accurate insurance claim processing.
In accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, disadvantages and problems associated with existing casualty claims processing have been reduced.
The present disclosure includes methods and systems related to generating a contents inventory using electronic receipts and email. The practices of the present disclosure may be used before a loss to generate a contents inventory and/or to supplement the generation of a contents inventory. A contents inventory may be used to assess the proper level and/or amount of coverage for casualty insurance. In addition, the practices of the present disclosure may provide improved accuracy and documentation for the generation of a contents inventory after a loss has occurred. The practices of the present disclosure may provide identification of goods (e.g., model number and/or serial number), the source of goods, the date of purchase and/or delivery, and/or the purchase price.
According to one aspect of the invention, a method for investigating a casualty claim using a programmed computer system may include receiving a prompt to create a contents inventory, the prompt including an identification of one or more email accounts associated with an insured, analyzing the one or more email accounts for information related to the acquisition of personal property, and using the information related to the acquisition of personal property to generate an contents inventory for investigation of the casualty claim.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method for compiling a contents inventory using a programmed computer system may include receiving a prompt to generate a contents inventory including an identification of an insured and permission to access to one or more email associated with the insured, analyzing the one or more email accounts for information related to the acquisition of personal property, and using the information related to the acquisition of personal property to generate a contents inventory.
According to another aspect of the invention, a computer system for investigating a casualty claim may include a processor, a memory, and a set of computer readable instructions stored in the memory. When the set of computer readable instructions is executed by the processor the computer system may receive a prompt to create a contents inventory, analyze the one or more email accounts for information related to the acquisition of personal property, and use the information related to the acquisition of personal property to generate a contents inventory for investigation of the casualty claim. The prompt may include an identification of one or more email accounts associated with an insured.
According to another aspect of the invention, a computer system for facilitating casualty claim investigation may include a processor, a memory, an input for receiving a prompt to create a contents inventory. The prompt may include an identification of one or more email accounts associated with an insured. The processor may be configured to analyze the one or more email accounts for information related to the acquisition of personal property. The processor may be configured to use the information related to the acquisition of personal property to generate a contents inventory for investigation of the casualty claim.
According to another aspect of the invention, a computer readable medium may contain a set of computer readable instructions that, when loaded into a computer, configure that computer to receive a prompt to create a contents inventory, the prompt including an identification of one or more email accounts associated with an insured, to analyze the one or more email accounts for information related to the acquisition of personal property, and to use the information related to the acquisition of personal property to generate a contents inventory for investigation of the casualty claim.
A more complete understanding of the present embodiments and advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate like features, and wherein:
Preferred embodiments and their advantages over the prior art are best understood by reference to
Computer 110 may include any type of general purpose or specialized computer system. In some embodiments, computer 110 may include a personal computer (e.g., an x86-based computer) running an operating system such as UNIX™, OSX™, or WINDOWS™. In some embodiments, computer 110 may include a server or workgroup class system such as those offered by IBM™, HP™, COMPAQ™, or ORACLE™. In other embodiments, computer 110 may be a mainframe system such as an IBM ZSERIES™ mainframe. In some embodiments, computer 110 may include a mobile device such as a laptop, tablet, or smart phone.
CPU 101 may include any general purpose processor (e.g., ARM™, X86, RISC, and Z10™). Memory 103 may include any form or combination of volatile and/or non-volatile tangible computer readable medium including semiconductor memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, flash, EEPROM, and MRAM), magnetic memory (e.g., magnetic hard drives, floppy disks, and removable drive cartridges), optical memory (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, BLURAY™ ROM, and/or holographic storage). Memory 103 may provide transient and/or persistent storage of application software modules and/or internal data. Memory 103 may provide storage for operating system software (e.g., device drivers and/or system configurations). Network interface 104 may provide data interconnection—via communications network 105—between computer 110 and external data 106.
Internal data may include data stored as bitmaps, vectors, objects, tables, and/or files. Internal data may be associated with various aspects of software and/or hardware associated with computer system 100. For example, internal data may include email folders, archives, and/or other data related to electronic correspondence and/or email.
Application software modules may include software and/or firmware instructions and configuration information that provide instructions to CPU 101 to perform various steps of the methods, procedures, and functions disclosed herein. Application software may be implemented in a compiled and/or interpreted environment. In some embodiments, application software modules may be implemented in a high-level programming language (e.g., COBOL, FORTRAN, C, C++, SmallTalk, JAVA™, C$, assembly language, JAVA™ server pages (JSP), application server pages (ASP), or VISUAL BASIC™).
External data 106 may include any form of data source. In some embodiments, external data 106 may be received on an optical disk and imported into an internal data store for further processing. In some embodiments, external data 106 may include an external data store hosted on a computer accessible using communications network 105. External data 105 may be available for on-demand retrieval or may be pushed by a data provider. External data 106 may be transferred to computer 110 in whole or in part. This transfer may be periodic, on demand, or as changes occur. In some embodiments, external data 106 may include email data stored on servers maintained by third party providers (e.g., HOTMAIL™, GMAIL™, YAHOO™, etc.). In some embodiments, external data may include email data stored by a user on a proprietary system using email software (e.g., EUDORA™, OUTLOOK™, etc.).
Communications network 105 may include a heterogeneous or homogeneous set of physical media (e.g., optical fiber, radio links, and/or copper wires) and protocol stacks (e.g., ETHERNET™, FDDI, GSM, WIMAX™, LTE, USB™, BLUETOOTH™, FIOS™, 802.11, and/or TCP/IP).
Step 202 may include receiving a prompt to create a contents inventory. The prompt may include an identification of one or more email accounts associated with an insured. The prompt may be initiated by the insured directly. In some embodiments, the prompt may be initiated on behalf of the insured, including by a claims adjuster, an insurance agent, or an attorney working on behalf of the insured. The prompt may be submitted by email, through the internet, by phone, by mail, by text message, and/or by any other appropriate means of communication.
Step 204 may include accessing the one or more email accounts for information related to the acquisition of personal property. As the popularity of electronic communication has grown, an increasing number of purchases may be documented electronically. For example, purchases through web-based vendors (e.g., EBAY™, AMAZON.COM™ and BESTBUY.COM™) may include electronic purchase orders, confirmations, delivery notices, and/or receipts. Any of these electronic documents may be delivered by email and/or stored in a customer's email account.
Step 204 may include using any electronic documents present to gather data related to the requested contents inventory. For example, an electronic purchase order may include a model number, a purchase price, and/or the name of the vendor. As another example, an electronic receipt may include a model number, a purchase price, the date of purchase, and/or the name of the vendor.
Step 204 may include additional data gathering from the one or more email accounts and/or additional data files. For example, in some embodiments, an insured customer may use an application with his or her scanner to read paper receipts and/or other purchase documentation into electronic files. In some embodiments, an insured customer may use a smart phone equipped with OCR capabilities to capture printed documents and store purchase data in an email account and/or some other data files. As another example, step 204 may include accessing a third-party aggregator's external data files in order to identify additional purchase data related to the insured customer. As another example, step 204 may include accessing expense reports generated by one or more employees of an insured company.
Step 206 may include generating a contents inventory using the information and/or data gathered in step 204. For example, step 206 may include aggregating any purchase data available through the one or more email accounts and compiling a list of all purchases.
Step 208 may include refining the contents inventory based on claims handling protocol. For example, step 208 may include removing duplicate entries. As another example, step 208 may include analyzing the goods and identifying consumable goods (e.g., food, diapers, and/or beverages) which may have been consumed prior to loss. As another example, step 208 may include identifying particular goods which are not eligible for coverage, including goods subject to specific disclaimers and/or exemptions.
Step 210 may include providing the contents inventory to the requester. For example, the contents inventory may be delivered to the insured customer and/or the claims adjuster. In some embodiments, the contents inventory may be provided in order to assess the proper amount of coverage for the insured. In other embodiments, the contents inventory may be provided for use in the investigation of a claim. For example, the contents inventory may identify goods that the customer had forgotten and/or was unable to document for lack of receipts and/or other evidence of purchase. As another example, the contents inventory may show that a customer had disposed of goods and/or property prior to the loss. As another example, the contents inventory may show that the age of a particular item depreciated its value prior to loss. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an insured customer may verify the contents inventory before it is used for any other purpose.
In some embodiments, method 200 may be employed as part of a larger claims handling process. A claim handling process may begin with a notification of loss from the insured and/or a representative of the insured. The notification may include an estimate of the total value of items lost, damage to a dwelling, and/or additional information related to the loss (e.g., a description of the loss event, the date of the loss event, and/or any official documentation from a fire department, police department, etc.). In simple cases, a claim processor may be authorized to settle a claim based solely on a statement by the insured.
In more complicated cases, the claim processor may require documentation based on the character and/or amount of the claim. In some cases, a claim processor may direct a claimant to list their own inventory and/or provide documentation to support the claimed items. In those cases, method 200 may provide useful documentation through electronic receipts that simplify the claim process for the insured and/or the claim processor. Customers and/or claim processors using method 200 may reduce the investment of time and effort required to fully populate, document, and/or verify their contents inventory.
Alternative embodiments of process 400 may include additional steps, may eliminate steps, or may perform the steps shown in an alternative order.
Initiator 402 may include any person or entity who initiates process 400. For example, initiator 402 may include an insured customer making a claim against his or her homeowner's policy. In another example, initiator 402 may include an insurance agent initiating a request for a contents inventory for use in pricing coverage for a potential customer. In another example, initiator 402 may include a claims adjuster requesting a contents inventory to assess the total value of a customer's loss.
Process 400 may include more than one access portals for initiator 402. For example, at step 404, initiator 402 may directly request an electronic receipt-based contents inventory through his or her insurer. At step 406, initiator 402 may be asked to provide email account access. Step 406 may include providing email account addresses, passwords, and/or alternative authorizations allowing a contents inventory application 410 to access data associated with the email account or accounts.
As another example, at step 408, initiator 402 may initiate a contents inventory application 410 to generate an electronic receipt-based contents inventory. For example, initiator 402 may purchase and/or download a contents inventory application 410 that resides on his or her computer system 110. As another example, initiator 402 may subscribe to and/or purchase a contents inventory application 410 residing on a vendor computer 110, a server system, and/or a web-based system.
Contents inventory application 410 may be any application software configured to generate electronic receipt-based contents inventories as described herein. Contents inventory application 410 may include software, hardware, and/or firmware provided by an insurance company and/or by a third-party processor. Contents inventory software 410 may reside on an insurance company computer 110 and/or server, on a third party computer 110 and/or server, and/or on a computer 110 owned by initiator 402 and/or an insured customer. In some embodiments, contents inventory application 410 may request and/or gather purchase data directly from initiator 402.
In some embodiments, contents inventory application 410 may include additional data gathering processes. For example, contents inventory application 410 may allow a user to upload photographs of goods and/or insured items to document their presence in the home. As another example, contents inventory application 410 may allow a user to manually enter data related to his or her contents inventory.
At step 412, contents inventory application 410 integrates with the email account access provided in step 406 to collect data from the designated email account(s). The user's email and/or receipt storage 414 may reside on the insured's computer 110, the initiator's 402 computer 110, a third-party email storage unit 106, and/or any other data storage and/or memory associated with the designated account(s). In step 412, process 400 may aggregate data collected from any location and/or source.
In some embodiments, step 412 may include accessing data from vendors and/or retailers to supplement and/or confirm data collected from the initiator 402. For example, step 412 may include accessing a user's account with a vendor (e.g., AMAZON.COM™ and/or EBAY.COM™) to gather data related to purchases (e.g., purchase date and/or price, etc.). As another example, step 412 may include gathering vendor data to assess replacement value and/or current market value.
Data gathered in various steps of process 400 may be stored in data stores 418. In some embodiments, data stores 418 may include resources associated with the insurer, the insured, the initiator, and/or third party providers.
At step 420, process 400 may use any of the data compiled in data stores 418 to create the contents inventory requested by the initiator 402. For example, step 420 may include eliminating duplicate entries, verifying replacement and/or market value, organizing the contents inventory by room, removing consumable goods (e.g., diapers and/or perishable food), and/or any other data processing and/or integration step useful to initiator 402 and/or the insurance company processes.
At step 422, process 400 may provide an electronic receipt-based contents inventory. As described more fully above, the electronic receipt-based contents inventory may be used in a variety of ways, including claims processing, policy limit evaluations, and/or fraud detection. The electronic receipt-based contents inventory may be provided to customers, insurance agents, claims adjusters, and/or any other appropriate party. In some embodiments, step 422 may include verification by the customer that the items listed were accurate, were present at the time of loss, and/or were not recovered or repairable.
Contents inventory application 410b may be used to process insurance claims after a loss and/or to assess market value and coverage levels prior to a loss. In either case, the inventory items listed in submenu 620 may be added manually, by an electronic receipt-based inventory system, and/or any other appropriate means for generating a contents inventory.
For purposes of this disclosure, the embodiments described are exemplary—for example only. Although some of the embodiments are described in detail, persons having ordinary skill in the art will understand that various changes, substitutions, and alterations made to the example embodiments do not depart from their spirit and/or scope.
