U.S. patent application number 11/077038 was filed with the patent office on 2006-09-14 for auction system and system of forming investment trust and financial products and funds including viatical and life settlement.
Invention is credited to Kenji Sakaue, Reiko Sakaue.
Application Number | 20060206438 11/077038 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36972226 |
Filed Date | 2006-09-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060206438 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sakaue; Kenji ; et
al. |
September 14, 2006 |
Auction system and system of forming investment trust and financial
products and funds including viatical and life settlement
Abstract
To enable a commercial trade wherein information about dealing
an optional life settlement policy is disclosed transparently and
fairly, and deal the life settlement policy at a proper price. An
auction system between a seller and a bidder via a communication
network constructed to calculate a proper price of a viatical and
life settlement policy based on an insured, a estimated remaining
life of the insured calculated by a doctor, an insurance due to be
paid by the insured, a commission fee of an investment trust
institution and the annual interest of a viatical and life
settlement policy so that it is possible to prevent the viatical
and life settlement policy from being set at an illegally low price
and for the insured to sell the life settlement policy at an
optimized market price while fairness of a trade is maintained.
Further, whether or not already-distributed key information is used
for login, charges can be withdrawn from a trade account available
for online settlement, and a person who has carried out an illegal
action exists are verified so that troubles such as unpaid fees can
be greatly reduced.
Inventors: |
Sakaue; Kenji;
(Yokohama-shi, JP) ; Sakaue; Reiko; (Yokohama-shi,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JACOBSON HOLMAN PLLC
400 SEVENTH STREET N.W.
SUITE 600
WASHINGTON
DC
20004
US
|
Family ID: |
36972226 |
Appl. No.: |
11/077038 |
Filed: |
March 11, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/80 ;
705/37 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 40/04 20130101;
G06Q 50/188 20130101; G06Q 30/08 20130101; G06Q 40/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/080 ;
705/037 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 99/00 20060101
G06Q099/00; G06Q 40/00 20060101 G06Q040/00 |
Claims
1. An auction system, wherein an auction trade between a seller and
a bidder via a communication network is mediated by an auction
management means, said auction management means comprising: an
information receiving means for receiving information transmitted
from information terminals for said seller and said bidder
connected to said auction management means through said
communication network; a login confirmation means for verifying
whether or not said seller or said bidder attempts login from each
of said information terminals by using already-distributed key
information; an account confirmation means for confirming whether
or not said seller or said bidder has a life insurance commodity
account applicable for online settlement wherefrom charges can be
withdrawn; and a trouble confirmation means for confirming whether
or not said seller or said bidder has shirked payment of a fee or
carried out any illegal action at a past auction trade.
2. An auction system for carrying out an auction, wherein a trade
related to a viatical and life settlement and life insurance policy
between an insured and a purchaser via a communication network is
mediated by an auction management means, said auction management
means comprising: an information receiving means for receiving
information transmitted from an information terminal for said
insured and said purchaser connected to said auction management
means through said communication network; a login confirmation
means for verifying whether or not said insured or said purchaser
attempts login from each of said information terminals by using
already-distributed key information; an account confirmation means
for confirming whether or not said insured or said purchaser has a
trade account applicable for online settlement wherefrom charges
can be withdrawn; a trouble confirmation means for confirming
whether or not said seller or said bidder has shirked payment of a
fee or has carried out any illegal action in a past auction trade,
by reading information from a storage means; a proper price
calculation means for calculating a proper price of said viatical
and life settlement and insurance policy based on an amount of a
life insurance carried by said insured, a estimated remaining life
of said insured calculated by a doctor, an insurance due to be paid
by said insured, an interest rate of a commission fee of an
investment trust institution, and an annual interest rate of said
viatical and life settlement policy; and an automatic patrol means
for identifying whether or not an illegal action has been carried
out, by reading a process of an auction trade by said insured and
said purchaser from a storage means, and comparing said process to
that of a current trade.
3. An auction system according to claim 1, wherein said login
confirmation means distributes said key information to said seller
or said bidder by using a leased line or a virtual leased line.
4. An auction system according to claim 2, wherein said login
confirmation means distributes said key information to said seller
or said bidder by using a leased line or a virtual leased line.
5. An auction system according to claim 1, wherein said login
confirmation means distributes said key information when a lowest
price of a life insurance commodity traded at auction is equal to
or more than a predetermined amount.
6. An auction system according to claim 2, wherein said login
confirmation means distributes said key information when a lowest
price of a life insurance commodity traded at auction is equal to
or more than a predetermined amount.
7. An auction system according to claim 1, wherein said auction
management means further comprises a bidder grouping means for
integrating purchase requests of a plurality of bidders so that
said plurality of bidders can make a bid on a life insurance
commodity in a group.
8. An auction system according to claim 2, wherein said auction
management means further comprises a bidder grouping means for
integrating purchase requests of a plurality of bidders so that
said plurality of bidders can make a bid on a life insurance
commodity in a group.
9. An auction system according to claim 1, wherein said auction
management means further comprises a divided successful bid
processing means for making it possible of sharing a life insurance
commodity by said plurality of bidders by virtually dividing one
auctioned life insurance commodity into a plurality of units.
10. An auction system according to claim 2, wherein said auction
management means further comprises a divided successful bid
processing means for making it possible of sharing a life insurance
commodity by said plurality of bidders by virtually dividing one
auctioned life insurance commodity into a plurality of units.
11. An auction system according to claim 2, wherein said automatic
patrol means includes identification of an illegal action based on
a rate of a total unsuccessful bidding amount against a total
bidding amount of said purchaser, a number of times an unsuccessful
bidder has participated in auction, and a total unsuccessful
bidding amount of said unsuccessful bidder.
12. An auction system according to claim 2, further comprising: an
automatic settlement means for automating balance settlement
related to said viatical and life settlement and an insurance
policy transferred between trade accounts applicable to online
settlement of said insured, said purchaser, said auction management
means, an insurance company and a medical institution based on at
least any one of an insured ID, a viatical and life settlement
policy ID and unit attribute information.
13. An auction system according to claim 12, further comprising: a
consolation/donation payment means for comparing a dying date of
said insured to said estimated remaining life, when an error occurs
because of earlier death of said insured than said estimated
remaining life, transferring a refund from said account of said
insured to said account of said auction management means, and when
an error occurs because of later death of said insured than said
estimated remaining life, transferring a refund from said account
of said auction management means to said account of said
insured.
14. An auction system according to claim 12, further comprising: a
finance management means for, when an optional financial
institution finances a fund secured on said viatical and life
settlement and insurance policy of said insured and then a financed
fund is paid back, returning said viatical and life settlement
policy of said insured taken in pledge by said financial
institution.
15. An auction system according to claim 12, further comprising: an
investment activity means for opening an investment activity
account to save and manage investment activity funds and pool
investment amount so as to make it possible of transferring said
pooled money to an account of said insured, said insurance company
or said medical institution.
16. An investment trust and financial products formation system
including a plurality of viatical and life settlement policies of
which prices are set based on estimated remaining life information
of insured persons calculated by doctors, said investment trust and
financial products formation system comprising: an input means for
inputting said remaining estimated life information of said insured
persons calculated by said doctors; a storage means for storing
said input estimated remaining life information into a storage
medium; a proper price calculation means for calculating a proper
price of said viatical and life settlement policy based on
information including at least said estimated remaining life
information; a financial products formation means for forming said
investment trust, financial products and funds based on proper
prices of said viatical and life settlement policies calculated by
said proper price calculation means; a estimated remaining life
error calculation means for calculating error information of said
estimated remaining life by reading said remaining life information
stored in said storage means and comparing said read estimated
remaining life information to remaining estimated life information
newly inputted by said input means; and a commodity, financial
products and funds constitution changing means for changing a
constitution of said investment trust, financial products and funds
formed by said commodity formation means when said error
information of said estimated remaining life exceeds a
predetermined threshold value.
17. A formation system according to claim 16, wherein said
commodity, financial products and funds constitution changing means
extracts viatical and life settlement and insurance policy
satisfying a desired specification for said investment trust,
financial products and funds and changes said constitution of said
investment trust, financial products and funds by using said error
information of said estimated remaining life related to said
extracted viatical and life settlement.
18. A formation system according to any one of claims 16, further
comprising: an electronic life settlement stock creation means for
creating electronic life settlement stocks by dividing said each
viatical and life settlement insurance policy included in said
formed investment trust, financial products and funds then creating
said investment trust, financial products and funds by combining
said created electronic life settlement stocks.
19. A formation system according to any one of claims 17, further
comprising: an electronic life settlement stock creation means for
creating electronic life settlement stocks by dividing said each
viatical and life settlement insurance policy included in said
formed investment trust, financial products and funds then creating
said investment trust, financial products and funds by combining
said created electronic life settlement stocks.
20. A formation system according to claim 16, further comprising:
an automatic settlement means for taking procedures of paying a
predetermined charge generated between relevant persons based on
attribute information when an event of receiving insurance money
occurs or an obligation to pay an insurance amount is correlated to
said investment trust, financial products and funds, said attribute
information of said investment trust, financial products and funds
including at least information to specify each viatical and life
settlement insurance policy included in said formed investment
trust, financial products, funds and information to identify a
purchaser granted with said each viatical and life settlement.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a remote auction system
using a computer network and a securities exchange system operated
by said system. More specifically, the present invention relates to
the division (making electronic stocks) of rights/obligations of
properly and automatically adjusted transaction prices of
securities related to a life settlement policy.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Many of conventional online auction systems allow
unspecified number of persons to participate in auctions without
imposing any limitation on the persons. Accordingly, even a bidder
having an insufficient fund for purchase a commodity or a seller or
a bidder having his/her name registered in a black list who have
caused troubles due to illegal actions in past auctions can
participate in auction resulting in troubles after making a bid.
Further, since it is difficult for one person to buy a commodity
which is as expensive as, for example, hundreds of millions or
hundreds of billions of yen through an online auction, there is a
need for purchase of such a commodity by a plurality of persons.
However, there has not been provided a mechanism for providing a
service to make it possible of sharing proprietary rights by
unspecified number of participants of the auction according to
their invested amounts.
[0005] High-price commodities each shared by a plurality of
purchasers include not only a physically existing "article", but
also a life settlement such as a viatical and life settlement or an
obligation to pay an insurance due. It is a matter of course that
there has neither been provided a mechanism for providing a service
to make it possible of sharing the life settlement policy. In order
to further understand the present invention, the right to receive
insurance money (viatical and life settlement policy) will be
described.
[0006] As can be seen in many cases in the USA where people bear
specially expensive medical fees, each one of low-income Americans
having difficulties in payment of monthly insurance dues or of many
middle class Americans (hereinafter referred to as "insured")
having difficulties in payment of expensive medical fees is often
told by a doctor that the estimated remaining life the insured is
short due to a disease the insured is suffering.
[0007] In this case, the insured is continuously undergo medical
treatment in his/her lifetime by selling the insurance money to be
received after the insured dies. That is, the price of the viatical
and life settlement insurance policy is determined according to the
assumption of the estimated remaining life of the insured
calculated by the doctor. Then, the insured asks a person having a
right to receive the insurance money after the death of the insured
(a family member or the like) to waive the right, and sells the
right to a purchaser to receive the insurance money in advance. In
fact, such receiving of the insurance money in advance eases an
economic distress of the insured and helps the insured to
significantly lead his/her remaining years.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0008] However, there has not been provided an institution or a
system for fairly judging properness of a market price of a
viatical and life settlement insurance policy based an assumption
of an estimated remaining life of an insured calculated by a
doctor. Further, there has neither been provided a mechanism for
sharing a viatical and life settlement policy by unspecified number
of persons while ensuring the fairness of the viatical and life
settlement policy. Under such circumstances, there are problems
regarding a viatical and life settlement insurance policy from
respective viewpoints of the insured, a medical field and the
purchaser.
(1) Problem for Insured:
[0009] When an insured attempts to sell a viatical and life
settlement policy regarding the person's own estimated remaining
life calculated by a doctor, the insured tries to contact a
purchaser via an agency (insured.fwdarw.agency.fwdarw.purchaser).
On the other hand, an institution or an assessment system serving
as so-called "board of fair trade" for judging the proper price of
each viatical and life settlement insurance policy does not exist
and an accurate market price of the viatical and life settlement
insurance policy is therefore always unclear.
[0010] Consequently, many wicked agencies deliberately estimate the
price of a viatical and life settlement insurance policy by making
use of the facts that there is no proper market price of the
viatical and life settlement policy and that insured persons desire
to receive insurance money as soon as possible. The price of a
viatical and life settlement policy according to the estimated
remaining life calculated by a doctor can be determined based on a
standard price set and changes made optionally by each agency in
order to purchase the viatical and life settlement policy at
unreasonably low price, and the insured and his/her family members
put up with the low price. Further, even when the insured is aware
of the injustice and files in official complaint, the agency is not
accused of violation of the Securities Act because the viatical and
life settlement policy is not a negotiable instrument. As a result,
a social problem arises in that the insured and his/her family
members cannot make any complaint but reluctantly accept the
unreasonably low price of the viatical and life settlement
policy.
(2) Problem for Medical Field:
[0011] When an insurance of an insure person (a patient) is
canceled because of an unpaid insurance due, payment of medical
fees such as a treatment fee, a hospitalization fee and an
operation fee are likely to be delayed. Accordingly, there has been
an actual case where a hospital has no choice but to stop treating
the insured (the patient) in order to collect the unpaid medical
fees and prevent further accumulation of the unpaid medical
fees.
[0012] However, strict application of this rule results in
abandonment of the patient who is unable to pay the medical fees,
and this leads to a dispute on human grounds in that whether such
an attitude is acceptable as an action of a one concerned in the
medical field. On the other hand, there is another problem of
nonexistence of means to pay expensive fees to a doctor, regularly
prepare compensation for medical accidents, and collect unpaid
medical fees Actually, medical fees shirked by patients often
become bad debts. Therefore, hospital management is not so easy as
it seems. Accordingly, there has been desired a quick solution for
sound hospital management without interrupting a medical treatment
on a patient who has not paid medical fees. One example of a
problem to be solved is that the sound hospital management cannot
be realized without the foregoing system of purchasing the viatical
and life settlement policy.
(3) Problem for Purchaser:
[0013] As described above, the insured can contact the purchaser
via the agency and on the contrary, the purchaser needs to contact
the insured via the agency (the purchaser.fwdarw.the
agency.fwdarw.the insured). That is, anonymity can be maintained
during communication between the insured and the purchaser so that
only the agency can transfer information exchanged between the
insured and the purchaser. Accordingly, it is possible for the
agency to deliberately manipulate the information and incorrectly
disclose the information required for investment in the viatical
and life settlement policy. Consequently, a problem arises in that
a sales business is carried out in such a manner that the agency
gives only favorable information to the purchaser and hides
unfavorable information.
[0014] In addition, according to the basic structure of the
conventional viatical and life settlement policy, the longer the
insured lives, the fewer the return the purchaser receives.
Therefore, the purchaser may feel unpleasant for the long life of
the insured. For example, it cannot be denied the possibility of
killing the patient who lives longer than the estimated remaining
life. Further, any family member of the insured might claim the
viatical and life settlement policy once waived at the time of
payment of the insurance money to the purchaser after the insured
has died, and demand the insurance money to the purchaser or harass
and annoy the purchaser. For the above reasons, it is essential
that a trade between the insured and the purchaser is carried out
indirectly via the agency with anonymity maintained so that the,
insured and the purchaser do not know each other personally.
[0015] Thus, the conventional viatical and life settlement system
is enabled by purchase and resale activities by the agency instead
of direct trade between the insured (the patient) and the
purchaser. Thus, it is easy for the agency to perform illegal
mediation yet there is no organization to supervise such an illegal
action. Accordingly, many dishonest actions are carried out by
agencies making use of the deficiency of the rule. Accordingly, the
correct and proper market price of the viatical and life settlement
policy needs to be calculated and fair trade needs to be carried
out between the purchaser and the insured based on the market price
instead of the conventional way of estimating the price of the
viatical and life settlement policy based on the agreement between
the doctor and the agency.
[0016] Even when a fair trade can be directly carried out between
the purchaser and the insured based on the proper market price
however, the insured might need to add an anonym to his/her
personal information (including a name, an address, a contact
destination and the like wherefrom the insured is identifiable) in
particular so that the personal information is not disclosed by
negligence unless a written consent agreed by the insured and
his/her family members exists. Further, it is desired to realize a
mechanism for a direct fair trade between the purchaser and the
insured while grasping personal information of each other and
collating the personal information to the proper market price by
adding unique IDs to the purchaser and the insured to identify each
other or encrypting the IDs.
[0017] Accordingly, in viewpoint of the foregoing problems, an
object of the present invention is to provide a commercial
transaction system and a method of making it possible of
transparently and fairly disclosing an optional life settlement
policy exchanged between a seller and a purchaser to all persons or
institutions concerned in the trade of the life settlement policy
in addition to the seller and the purchaser.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0018] In the auction system according to the present invention, an
auction trade between a seller and a bidder via a communication
network is mediated by an auction management means. The auction
management means comprises: an information receiving means for
receiving information transmitted from the seller and the bidder; a
login confirmation means for verifying whether or not the seller or
the bidder attempts login using already-distributed key
information; an account confirmation means for confirming whether
or not the seller or the bidder has a life insurance commodity
account applicable for online settlement wherefrom charges can be
withdrawn; and a trouble confirmation means for confirming whether
or not the seller or the bidder has shirked payment of a fee or
carried out any illegal action at a past auction trade.
[0019] In the auction system according to the present invention, an
auction trade related to a viatical and life settlement policy
between an insured and a purchaser via the communication network is
further mediated by the auction management means. The auction
management means comprises: an information receiving means for
receiving information transmitted from the insured and the
purchaser; a login confirmation means for verifying whether or not
the insured or the purchaser attempts login using
already-distributed key information; an account confirmation means
for confirming whether or not the insured or the purchaser has a
life insurance commodity account applicable for online settlement
wherefrom charges can be withdrawn; a trouble confirmation means
for confirming whether or not the seller or the bidder has shirked
a fee or has carried out any illegal action in a past auction trade
by reading information from a storage means; a proper price
calculation means for calculating a proper price of the viatical
and life settlement policy based on an amount of an insurance
carried by the insured, a estimated remaining life of the insured
calculated by a doctor, an insurance due to be paid by the insured,
an interest rate of an investment trust institution, and an annual
interest rate of the viatical and life settlement policy; and an
automatic patrol means for identifying an illegal action by reading
a process of auction trade carried out by the insured and the
purchaser from the storage means and comparing the read process to
that of a current trade.
[0020] The investment trust, financial products and funds formation
system according to the present invention includes a plurality of
viatical and life settlement policies of which prices are set based
on estimated remaining life information of insured persons
calculated by doctors. The investment trust and financial products
formation system comprises: an input means for inputting the
remaining estimated life information of tan insured calculated by a
doctor; a storage means for storing the input estimated remaining
life information into a storage medium; a estimated remaining life
error calculation means for reading the estimated remaining life
information stored in the storage means and comparing the read
remaining life information to remaining estimated life information
newly inputted by the input means to calculate error information of
the estimated remaining life; and a commodity, financial products
and funds constitution changing means for changing the constitution
of the investment trust, financial products and funds when the
error information of the estimated remaining life exceeds a
predetermined threshold value.
[0021] The auction system according to the present invention is
constructed so as to verify whether or not a seller or a bidder
attempts login using already-distributed key information, has a
life insurance commodity account applicable to online settlement
wherefrom charges can be withdrawn, or has shirked payment of a fee
or carried out any illegal action during an auction trade between
the seller and the bidder via a communication network. Accordingly,
it is possible to check if the seller and the bidder are qualified
to participate in auction so that occurrence of troubles such as
shirking payment of a fee can be greatly reduced.
[0022] Further, the auction system according to the present
invention is formed so as to calculate a proper price of a viatical
and life settlement policy based on an insurance amount carried by
an insured, a estimated remaining life of the insured calculated by
a doctor, an insurance due to be paid by the insured, a commission
fee of an investment trust institutions and an annual interest of
the viatical and life settlement policy in the auction system so
that it is possible to prevent the viatical and life settlement
policy from being set at an unreasonably low price. Accordingly,
the insured can sell the life settlement policy of a proper market
price while a fairness of a trade is maintained.
[0023] The investment trust and financial products formation system
according to the present invention is formed so as to calculate an
error in remaining life information of an insured which has been
updated by comparing the same to already-stored remaining life
information, and when the calculated error exceeds a predetermined
threshold value, change the constitution of the investment trust
and financial products. Accordingly, it is possible to simulate the
operation on the investment trust and financial products based on
the current and correct error data so that a risk of a customer can
be reduced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a structure of a online
auction system of one embodiment according to the present
invention.
[0025] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing procedures of entire operation
of the online auction system of one embodiment according to the
present invention.
[0026] FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a data structure of a
database in the online auction system of one embodiment according
to the present invention.
[0027] FIG. 4 is a view showing procedures of divided successful
bid made by a plurality of bidders in the online auction system of
one embodiment according to the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 5 is a view showing an entire structure of a life
settlement policy auction system related to a viatical and life
settlement policy of one embodiment according to the present
invention.
[0029] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a processing means of a
terminal device for a manager who operate and manage the online
auction system of one embodiment according to the present
invention.
[0030] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing processing means for a
manager who operates and manages the life settlement policy auction
system of one embodiment according to the present invention.
[0031] FIG. 8 is a view showing a money transaction. (a money flow)
showing a money data flow between online accounts treated by the
life settlement policy auction system.
[0032] FIG. 9 is a view of a money transaction (a money flow)
related to an investment activity account in the life settlement
policy auction system of one embodiment according to the present
invention.
[0033] FIG. 10 is a view showing procedures of automatically
forming a composite life settlement policy in a life settlement
policy formation system of one embodiment according to the present
invention.
[0034] FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of a screen wherefrom a
specification desired by a customer who desires to purchase the
composite life settlement policy in the life settlement policy
formation system.
[0035] FIG. 12 is a view showing an example of an executing result
of operation simulation.
[0036] FIG. 13 is a view showing an example of an input screen
displayed when a life settlement policy commodity with a fixed
return wherein a purchase amount of a viatical and life settlement
policy is fixed is formed and an annual dividend (return) is cashed
back.
[0037] FIG. 14 is a view showing an example of a statistical graph
displayed when a specific key item among analytical data key items
shown in FIG. 13 is clicked.
[0038] FIG. 15 is a view showing an example of a statistical graph
displayed when a specific key item among analytical data key items
shown in FIG. 13 is clicked.
[0039] FIG. 16 is a conceptual drawing showing creation/operation
of an electronic stock of the viatical and life settlement policy
in the life settlement policy formation system.
[0040] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing procedures to make it
possible of automatic risk hedging of the composite life settlement
policy in the life settlement policy formation system.
[0041] FIG. 18 is a view showing a hardware configuration of a
terminal device used in each embodiment according to the present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS IS AS FOLLOWS
[0042] 1: Information terminal of seller [0043] 2: Information
terminal of bidder [0044] 3, 23: Information terminals for auction
manager [0045] 2, 24: Communication networks [0046] 5: Database
[0047] 6, 26: Online accounts for auction manager [0048] 7: Online
account for seller [0049] 8: Online account of bidder [0050] 21:
Information terminal of insured [0051] 22: Information terminal of
purchaser [0052] 25: Life settlement policy database [0053] 27:
Online account for insured [0054] 28: Online account for purchaser
[0055] 31, 41: Bid information receiving means [0056] 32, 42:
Auction information receiving means [0057] 33, 43: Participation
qualification confirmation means [0058] 34, 44: Online account
confirmation means [0059] 35, 45: Login confirmation means [0060]
36, 46: Trouble confirmation means [0061] 37, 47: Bidder grouping
means [0062] 39, 49: Auction execution control means [0063] 40, 50:
Divided successful bid processing means [0064] 42, 52: Auction
postprocessing means [0065] 48: Proper price calculation means
[0066] 51: Automatic patrol means [0067] 54. Automatic settlement
processing means [0068] 55: Consolation/donation payment means
[0069] 56: Finance management means [0070] 57: Investment activity
means [0071] 83: Account of hospital [0072] 84: Insurance account
[0073] 85: Consolation account [0074] 86: Investment activity
account [0075] P.149 [0076] 700: Computer [0077] 702: Processor
[0078] 704: Memory [0079] 706: Disk [0080] 708: Bus [0081] 710: I/O
port [0082] 712: Network interface [0083] 714: Process [0084] 716:
Data [0085] 718: I/O device [0086] 720: Network [0087] 722: Remote
computer
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0088] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be
described hereunder with reference to accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1
<Entire Configuration of Online Auction System 100>
[0089] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an
online auction system 100 (hereinafter abbreviated to "auction
system 100"). As shown in FIG. 1, the auction system 100 allows a
person who desires to purchase each commodity (life insurance
commodity) auctioned by a seller to participate in an auction as a
bidder. A bidder who offers the highest price for the commodity can
successfully bid and purchase the commodity.
[0090] The auction system 100 according to the present invention is
constructed so that a terminal device 3 for an auction manager to
which a database 5 is connected and terminal devices 1(1) to 1(n)
of a plurality of sellers (the sellers and the terminal devices
thereof are hereinafter assumed to be the same and represented by a
seller 1(x)), and terminal devices 2(1) to 2(n) of a plurality of
bidders (the bidders and the terminal devices thereof are
hereinafter assumed to be the same and represented by a bidder
2(x)) can be interconnected via a network 4.
[0091] A terminal device 3 is for management and operation to carry
out normal and smooth trade between the seller 1(x) and the bidder
2(x). The auction manager has an online account 6 in an optional
banking facility. The online account 6 is accessible from a
terminal device 3 for the auction manager. The terminal device 3
for the, auction manager accesses the database 5 to obtain
information required for auction or information about trade between
the seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x) after the conclusion of the
auction. Further, the terminal device 3 for the auction manager
distributes key information to log into the auction system 100 for
the seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x). The terminal device 3 is not
necessarily limited to one, but a plurality of terminal devices 3
may be connected to the system.
[0092] The seller 1(x) is an information terminal device of the
seller side to participate in the auction system 100. The bidder
2(x) is an information terminal device of the bidder side to
participate in the auction system 100. A type of either terminal
device is not particularly limited so far as the same is an
information terminal device capable of accessing the communication
network 4. Specific examples of the information terminal devices
usable herein include a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a
notebook computer, a handy computer and a Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA).
[0093] The detailed structures of these terminal devices 3, 1(x)
and 2(x) will be described later. However, it is clear for those
skilled in the art that each of these terminal devices include a
data processor or a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a memory, a user
interface, a communication interface circuit and a path.
[0094] Further, the seller and the bidder have online accounts 7(x)
and 8(x) accessible from the seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x),
respectively, in optional banking facilities. A commodity charge is
paid from a successful bidder (x) to a seller (x) via the online
accounts 7(x) and 8(x) after the conclusion of an auction.
Furthermore, the seller and the bidder need to pay the auction
manager a fee to participate in auction, a commission fee at making
a deal and the like. These fees are also transferred to the online
account for the auction manager from online accounts 7(x) and
8(x).
[0095] Although details of the database 5 will be described later,
the database 5 stores various types of information about at least
the seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x). For example, the database 5
stores an opening condition, an auction history, a bidding history
and the like correlated with the seller and the bidder.
[0096] The communication network 4 interconnects the seller 1(x)
and the bidder 2(x) with the terminal device 3 for the auction
manager. It is possible for the communication network 4 to be
interconnected with another network (not shown) and to include a
subnetwork (not shown). The communication network 4 is realized by,
for example, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Metropolitan Area
Network (MAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN).
[0097] Further, the communication network 4 does not specify a type
of an access service (e.g., a Public Switched Telephone Network
[PSTN]), an Integrated Service Digital Network [ISDN], a Digital
Subscriber Line System [DSL], or an Asynchrnous Transmission Mode
[ATM]). In addition, the communication network 4 does not specify a
type of a protocol (e.g., a Wireless Access Protocol [WAP], a
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), a NetBIOS
Extended User Interface [NetBEUI], or Internet work Packet
Exchange/Sequence Packet Exchange [IPX/SPX]).
<Entire Operation of Auction System 100>
[0098] The entire operation of the auction system 100 will be
described next. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a schematic
procedures of the operation. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing
processing steps of the terminal device 3 for the manager. In
addition, components that are not directly related to the present
invention such as a means for outputting data to a monitor screen
are omitted in the figures and the descriptions. However, these
components are necessary.
[0099] The auction system 100 includes a participation
qualification confirmation means 33 comprising an online account
confirmation means 34, a login confirmation means 35 and a trouble
confirmation means 36, and automatically complies with rules at the
time of auction trade. Accordingly, the purpose of the compliance
(significance of existence) will be described in detail.
[0100] The automatic compliance is necessary for the following
purposes:
[0101] 1. Normally and fairly carry out a trade according to the
relevant laws.
[0102] 2. Control and prevent a money laundering and a trade with a
doubtful fund to be investigated with regard to a money
laundering.
[0103] 3. Prevent the malicious use of an account provided by this
system for the purpose of an illegal or a criminal action and to
take a precautionary measure to control the malicious use.
[0104] 4. Check an unfair or an illegal trade to be registered in a
black list such as deliberately raising a price by a plurality of
by-bidders cooperating in auction time to time, and give the
bidders warning. If the bidders repeats the illegal trade after the
warning is given, the bidders are registered in the black list and
deprived of the participation right.
[0105] 5. In order to authenticate an individual more accurately, a
purchaser (a successful bidder or an auction participant, i.e., a
purchaser or a financier) who carries out a trade must be a person
qualified to carry out a trade in this system. In viewpoint of the
money laundering and the law to control the same, the sources of
the fund the income of the person must be legal and sound ones, and
there is a major premise that a third person who borrows an account
and an ID of another person to disguise as the other person must
not be concerned in a trade. Accordingly, only an authorized person
must hold/manage an account and carry out a trade in the
system.
[0106] Accordingly, in any case, a disguised bidder must not
participate in the trade. It is an important object in online trade
or auction not to grant the participation right to a person
specified to cause a compliance problem or a person having his/her
name registered in the black list from the first place because such
a person interferes with fair trade.
[0107] Accordingly, when the auction information receiving means 32
and the bid information receiving means 31 (see FIG. 6) of the
terminal device 3 for the manager detect login from the seller 1(x)
and the bidder 2(x), the login confirmation means 35 checks if the
seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x) log into the auction system 100 by
using key information then permits or refuses logging into an
auction (Step 20 in FIG. 2). The key information is preferably a
unique information for each category or item of a commodity treated
at auction. The seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x) need to obtain the
key information from the auction manager before participating in
auction. In addition, in order to prevent the key information from
being leaked illegally to a third person, the terminal device 3 for
the manager can distribute the key information to the seller 1(x)
and the bidder 2(x) via a virtual leased line using a leased
communication line or a Virtual Personal Network (VPN) without
using a network opened to the public (e.g., internet).
[0108] Here, the auction information receiving means 2 and the bid
information receiving means 31 together correspond to the
"information receiving means" claimed in the clams of this
specification.
[0109] Alternatively, the automatic compliance may also be realized
as follows. First, an auction approval to become a member to obtain
a right for trade in a board of fair trade is sent (via the
network, by facsimile or with a document) to the management bureau
(company) of the system and take a compliance test and an
investigation. The compliance test is specified by SEC (the
Securities and Exchange Commission of the USA) or a qualifying
examination for a purchaser approved and specified by the Financial
Supervisory Agency of Japan. The nucleus (a function for a basic
idea of an action) to be the brain of the automatic compliance is a
law. Accordingly, it can be said that the automatic compliance is
specialized for the Securities Exchange Law, the Financial
Instruments Sales Law and other laws, and all financial businesses
and financial trades, and the automatic compliance makes use of a
database including mainly all existing laws related to the
financial businesses and financial trades. In addition, the
database used by the automatic compliance includes not only laws
related to the financial businesses and financial trade in Japan,
but also all laws of the USA related to finance such as the Federal
Securities Exchange Law of the USA based on international finance,
and all laws related to financial businesses and financial trades
in 26 principal countries including the UK, China, the Euro
economic zone, Taiwan and Canada. The automatic compliance
functions according to the above laws as a basic idea. If an action
or a trade against any law is found, the automatic compliance
checks and observes the action or trade, and when, for example, a
volume of trade is rapidly increased, automatically sends mail to
purchasers if necessary.
[0110] Thereafter, a person recognized as a large-amount debtor by
a debtor association, a wanted person and a person registered in a
black list of a financial institution or a credit card company are
excluded from the auction. When the purchaser who approved for
opening an account passes the compliance test to deal the viatical
and life settlement policy or other commodity at auction of this
system (board of fair trade), the purchaser becomes a member of the
system and is given a dedicated account, and a card and a card
reader for identifying himself/herself.
[0111] The purchaser who has passed the compliance test
participates in the auction system 100 in the following
procedures:
[0112] Procedure 1: The purchaser who has passed the compliance
test is given a card for identifying himself/herself. This
purchaser may be a purchaser, a successful bidder, an auction
participant and a founder. However, the word "purchaser" used
herein is a generic name of the above relevant persons. The card
can be identified with, for example, a 16-digit number. In
addition, purchasers are first classified into "purchasers with
cards" and "purchasers without cards". Cards of the purchasers with
cards are classified into the following three types:
[0113] (a) A card having an additional function of a credit card
such as VISA, MASTER or the like. (This card is sent to a purchaser
having a specific credit according to a past trade history to whom
a credit card can be issued, when requested by the purchaser.)
[0114] (b) A card which can also be used as a debit card. (A system
which allows cashing of 50% of a saving in an account with an ATM
is provided.)
[0115] (c) An individual authentication card for participation in
auction (and the board of fair trade). (This card has a function of
neither a debit card nor a credit card and is simply provided to a
person who have passed the compliance test of this system and is
granted with the participation right.
[0116] According to the rule, this driver's license-like card needs
to be read by the card reader each time the card owner participate
in a trade.)
[0117] The purchaser without a card is a purchaser who does not
desire to purchase a set of the card and the card reader in advance
yet desires to participate in auction. For such a purchaser, the
upper limit of a volume of trade is set as low as two to three
hundred thousand yen so that the purchaser can deal within this
range. In other words, it is assumed that it is often impossible
for the purchaser to purchase or successfully bid a beneficial
commodity (including the life settlement policy) and hence the
purchaser often registers himself/herself in a waiting list.
[0118] Procedure 2: The card reader connectable to the terminal
device (PC) of the purchaser is installed to read the card when the
purchaser participates in auction.
[0119] Procedure 3: Data sent to the network is encrypted to
enhance security management.
[0120] Procedure 4: Further, in order to thoroughly eliminate the
case where the card is sold to a third person and the third person
who essentially has no participation right thus can participate in
auction, secondary (additional) individual authentication is
carried out. This individual authentication is to correctly
identify an individual with a device for instantaneously reading
the physical information of the purchaser (e.g., a fingerprint, a
voice, identification of DNA in sputum or a hair [by a halogen
light or a laser beam], and information about a measured volume of
a hand or a face) when the purchaser logs in the terminal device.
This apparatus is however generally expensive and hence
identification of a fingerprint, an iris or DNA is preferable. In
addition, it is clear that the details of these techniques are
already known.
[0121] Procedure 5: Since an individual authentication number of
each purchaser is stored in the database 5 of the auction system
106, when the authentication number of Mr./Ms. RM is A1234567, and
the individual is authenticated only when this number matches the
number read from the card that has been granted to Mr./Ms. RM the
purchaser by the card reader. Mr./Ms. RM can thus participate in
auction trade (the board of fair trade). In addition, the
individual authentication number is not changed in principle
(except the case where the system manager wants and instructs to
change the individual authentication number).
[0122] Procedure 6: The card is automatically updated to a card
having a new number at each predetermined time period based on a
trade history and a credit of each purchaser. This procedure is a
measure for further preventing the card from being given to a third
person resulting the malicious use of the account by the third
person. In this case, the terminal device 3 for the manager
automatically updates the information of the updated card number
and stores the updated information in the database 5.
[0123] Procedure 7: When the purchaser participate in auction after
the above procedure, matching between the new card number read from
the purchaser's card and the individual authentication number
stored in the database 5 is verified to identify the purchaser
having the new card number as himself/herself.
[0124] The person in question is authenticated in the above
procedures. The system manager (company) per se serves as a nucleus
function of the compliance and bears an obligation of entire
transaction to control the normal operation of the whole system.
For this purpose, in the first compliance test, the system manager
(company) preferably investigates major criminal records of the
purchaser or whether the purchaser has been registered in the black
list of any banking facility in addition to the automatic
investigation.
[0125] In particular, the cards used in the auction system 100
preferably has the following features:
[0126] 1. Purchasers are ranked by colors of the cards (e.g.,
silver, gold, and platinum). Each card color is determined
according to an income, a fund constantly prepared in an account
and a social credit of each purchaser. In principle, a purchaser
having a card of any color can purchase any high-price commodity or
any viatical and life settlement policy alone or with other
purchasers within the amount of a balance remaining in the account.
Further, unlike a usual credit card, the purchaser is not upgraded
by paying more annual member fee, and cannot determine the card
color by himself/herself according to his/her intention, desire or
purchasing power. The card color is unilaterally determined based
on "a social credit", "a constant income", "a balance and an assets
power", "evaluation of other banking facilities" and "a total
amount of successful bids and the number of times the purchaser
uses the card" judged by the compliance of the auction system 100.
Further, when the purchaser is assumed to be a good purchaser based
on the number of trades, the number of successful bids and
statistics of amounts, the card color is naturally changed to a
color representing a higher rank. However, if the purchaser carries
out any illegal action such as "being a by-bidder" or "deliberately
raising a price", the purchaser is not authorized as a good
purchaser because of the violation of the rule even when the volume
of a trade and the number of times the purchaser uses the card are
"good".
[0127] 2. For the purchaser who carries out legal trade without
being a "by-bidder" or "deliberately raising a price" and is not
concerned in any illegal action with others, the specific number of
points are given and summed up when the trade history exceeds a
specific time period. Then, when the number of points exceeds a
specific value, the card color can be upgraded. However, upgrading
to the silver color or higher color is not possible under a simple
condition that the purchaser is not concerned in an illegal
action.
[0128] 3. Points of the card are added regardless of a credit or
illegal trade of the purchaser. The points are summed up according
to the number of times the purchaser uses the card, the number of
successful bids, an amount of a final successful bid, investment
amount in each trade and accumulated investment amount in trades,
and then the card is automatically updated. The number of points is
a value indicating an evaluation and a credit of each purchaser in
the auction system 100. However, the points shall not to be
accumulated for the purpose of being exchanged with money.
[0129] 4. A specific alias such as a plant name is given to the
purchaser showing a special tendency or action pattern to identify
the purchaser and the information thereof is inputted to the card.
The special tendency and action pattern mean a particular way of
investment by the purchaser through all trades. More specifically,
the particular way means such an attitude that the purchaser
participates in many trades, but makes few successful bids or an
amount the purchaser spends to make successful bids through all
trades.
[0130] 5. More points are summed up to identify the purchaser
according to his/her rank based on the average upper limit of an
amount at which the purchaser stops trading in every trade.
[0131] Next, the terminal device 3 for the manager further checks
if the seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x) who has logged in using the
key information obtained from the terminal device 3 for the
manager-by the participation qualification confirmation means 33
are qualified to participate in the auction system 100. More
specifically, the seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x) who desire to
participate in an auction are requested to open online accounts
7(x) and 8(x) by the online account confirmation means 34 (Step
S21). When these online accounts have not been opened, the online
account confirmation means 34 keeps requesting to open the accounts
(Step S22).
[0132] Next, the terminal device 3 for the manager further searches
the history of auctions up to now of the bidder 2(x) who desires to
participate in the bid with the trouble confirmation means 36 to
check if the bidder has caused optional problems including a
monetary trouble (Step S23). The past conditions of the seller 1(x)
may also be checked in addition to the history of the bidder 2(x).
For example, the auction history of the seller 1(x) is searched to
check if the seller 1(x) has caused a trouble related to
commodities auctioned so far. These information items are
accumulated in the database 5 and can be searched from the terminal
device 3 for the manager.
[0133] FIG. 3 shows an example of a data structure of the database
5. As shown in FIG. 3, seller ID information to identify the seller
1(x) permitted to participate in the auction system 100 and bidder
ID information to identify the bidder 2(x) correlated with online
account information and auction history information (a sole source
bid, a group bid, an auctioned or successfully bidden commodity,
auction or bidding date and time, successfully bidding date and
time, a transfer condition of a successful bidding amount, a
condition of payment to a management account, details of a trouble
and a history of illegal raising of a successful bidding amount [by
the seller disguising as a bidder]) of the seller 1(x) and the
bidder 2(x) are stored. The trouble confirmation means 36 can
specify the seller ID information from the seller 1(x) to obtain
the trouble history of the seller 1(x). Likewise, the trouble
confirmation means 36 can specify the bidder ID information from
the bidder 2(x) to obtain the trouble history information of the
bidder 2(x).
[0134] When it is assumed that the seller 1(x) or the bidder 2(x)
has caused any trouble in Step S23, the trouble confirmation means
36 refuses making a bid by the seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x)
(Step S29). On the contrary, when no past trouble is found, a
bidder grouping means 37 of the terminal device 3 for the manager
then specifies whether the bidder 2(x) makes a sole source bid or a
group bid (Step S24). This step will be described in detail.
[0135] First, the bidder grouping means 37 presents an input screen
related to a desired specification item to the bidder 2(x) and has
the bidder 2(x) return the desired specification item marked with a
check mark to the bid information receiving means 31. Specific
examples of desired specification items include a commodity
classification category, an ID of a commodity (scheduled) to be
auctioned, a seller ID and the highest successful group bid price
in particular. The bidder grouping means 37 receives the desired
specification items from the bid information receiving means 31,
extracts surplus bidders 2(x) above the specific number of bidders
with desired items marked with check marks, and form a virtual
group (Step S25). The bidder grouping means 37 then presents the
contents of specification items of the virtual group to the members
of the virtual group. Each of the presented specification items is
a logical product (AND) of items which frequently match other items
within the group members. The bidder grouping means 37 has each
group member return a response saying whether or not the member
desires to participate in auction in a group to prompt confirmation
of whether the group member has an intention to make a bid
regarding the specification items presented by the virtual member.
When the specific number (not less than two) of bidders 2(x) who
desire to participate in auction as a group with the specification
items are finally gathered, a group formed of these bidders 2(x) as
group members is formed.
[0136] The bidder grouping means 37 gives a qualification for a
group bid and a group ID to a plurality of bidders 2(x) who have
returned a desire to make a bid in a group. On the other hand, the
bidder grouping means 37 renders a qualification to make a bid as
an individual and an individual ID to a bidder who has returned a
desire to participate in auction as an individual.
[0137] The bidder grouping means 37 fixedly or variably sets
investment ratios of the members preferably under an agreement of
the members made at the time of grouping for bidders 2(x) who have
participated in the auction as a group (for example, 50% for
Mr./Ms. A, 30% for Mr./Ms. B, 10% for Mr./Ms. C and 10% for Mr./Ms.
D). Then, final intention to make a bid is determined by voting of
the members to make sure whether the members agree to the amount to
make a bid by the group of 50 million yen for a commodity currently
priced 49 million yen. At this time, voting rights of the members
may be weighted according to the foregoing investment ratios of the
members. Communications between the members can be carried out
separately from the auction manager. The terminal device 3 for the
manager is however preferably able to generally manage information
from the bidders 2(x).
[0138] Further, when the group makes a successful bid on a
commodity, shares of proprietary rights are preferably determined
according to ratios of shares (investment ratios of the bidders
2(x) within the group) determined within the group. Decisions are
thus made in a unit of a group and the decision making by the group
is reflected to the auction system 100. In addition, in this
embodiment, making a bid in a unit of a group will be referred to
as "auction bid by proxy" and the group will be referred to as
"proxy auction bidder".
[0139] Next, the online account confirmation means 34 checks an
online account 8(x) of the bidder 2(x) who desires to participate
in a bid and confirms whether or not a commodity charge can be
withdrawn therefrom (Step S26). A balance in the account needed
herein is preferably determined according to the existence of an
amount required for a successful bid in the case of an auction bid
by proxy. At the auction bid by proxy however, every member needs
not to have the amount required for a successful bid. As
aforementioned, since an investment ratio is set for every member
in the case of the auction bid by proxy, the online account
confirmation means 34 may check whether it is possible to withdraw
an amount obtained by multiplying the desired successful bid price
by the investment ratio. However, the operation of the online
account confirmation means 34 is not limited to this. (For example,
according to the foregoing example of the investment ratios, the
online account confirmation means 34 checks if 25 million yen or
above remains in the account of Mr./Ms. A and 50 million yen or
above remains in the account of Mr./Ms. B.) Further, for example,
when an auction bid is desired to be made by a proxy (group) formed
of 10 on a commodity of 100 million yen, the online account
confirmation means 34 may request a balance of ten million yen in
an account of each member which makes the total amount in accounts
of all member 100 million yen. When a commodity price exceeds a
predetermined amount (e.g., 10 million yen) in the case of the
auction bid by proxy, the online account confirmation means 34 may
request a balance account of 30% in the case of the auction bid by
proxy or 80% in the case of a sole source bid. Alternatively, the
online account confirmation means 34 may always request a
predetermined balance in the account(s) regardless of whether a
auction bid by proxy or a sole source bid is made.
[0140] In addition, the confirmation of the balance in the
account(s) is necessarily carried out at least at the time of
making a bid. However, in the case of an auction requiring a long
time from the start of a bid to a successful bid, it is safer to
confirm the balance in the account(s) at an optional time interval
(e.g., every few hours, every half day, every day, etc.). Further,
the confirmation of the balance in the account(s) is applicable to
a unit division system, which will be described later, and other
usual systems.
[0141] When the participation qualification confirmation means 33
judges that a required amount of saving or above is not deposited
in the online account 8(x) of the bidder 2(x) who desires to
participate in a bid and hence it is impossible to withdraw a bid
price as a result of the confirmation of withdrawal in Step S26,
the participation qualification confirmation means 33 refuses the
bid (Step S29). In particular, when the participation qualification
confirmation means 33 judges that the group is unqualified as an
auction bid by proxy because of any group member has an
insufficient fund, the participation qualification confirmation
means 33 dismisses the group. In addition, when any group member is
an object of refusal to make a bid, the participation qualification
confirmation means 33 may permit reorganization of the group
excluding the object of exclusion from a bid, and inclusion of
another member in the group.
[0142] On the contrary, when the bid price can be withdrawn from
the account(s), an auction execution means 39 starts an actual
auction to determine a so called a successful bidder after an ID (a
commodity ID) is added to each commodity auctioned by the auction
information receiving means 32 (Step S27). In one preferred
embodiment, the auction system 100 is provided with a "proxy bid
function" for integrating purchase requests of a plurality of
bidders 2(x). That is, the conventional auction system is operated
on premise that a bidder is an individual, and a plurality of
bidders are not assumed to make a decision together in a successful
bid. The present invention makes it possible of a divided
successful bid by a plurality of bidders. FIG. 4 shows the auction
procedures for the divided successful bid.
[0143] Accordingly, a target commodity of an auction shown in FIG.
4 is physically dividable (e.g., an optional credit). The flowchart
in FIG. 4 shows the procedures to dynamically divide the target
commodity of the auction into units when a plurality of sole source
bids are made or an auction bid by proxy (group bid) is made. The
divided auction is started by a start instruction from a divided
successful bid processing means 40 (Step S40). Thereafter, the
auctioned commodity is divided into n price units in Step S41. For
example, a commodity of a suggested sales price as high as 100
million yen is divided into n=1,000 units. In this case, it is
assumed that 1,000 units of commodities each of which costs 100
million yen are auctioned at auction. The value of the number of
divided units n at the start of the auction can be set freely by
the seller 1(x) or optionally by the divided successful bid
processing means 40 according to the suggested sales price, or an
appropriate number of divided units can be set according to a
successful bid condition of a similar commodity in a past
auction.
[0144] A predetermined time period is specified to be one session
for convenience of proceeding the auction. When the predetermined
time period is expired and one session ends, 2,000 units, for
example, are bidden. That is, the auction system 100 accepts a bid
of units desired to be purchased by all bidders even when the total
number of units (n=2,000) exceeds the number of units (n=1,000) on
sale. These 2,000 units is a sum of the number of sole source bids
and the number of auction bids by a proxy (group bids). For
example, one individual makes a bid for 100 units (10 million yen)
and one group makes a bid for 1,900 units (19 million yen). In
addition, as aforementioned, the auction bid by proxy is treated as
a sole source bid. Accordingly, the auction bid by proxy
corresponds to the sole source bid on 1,900 units. Then, for
instance, the auction bid by proxy makes a bid on 1,900 units, each
member of the auction bid by proxy obtains his/her share out of
1,900 units.
[0145] At first, n=1,000 units on sale are auctioned and a bid is
made on 2,000 units, which is twice as large as the number released
units, after the end of one session. Accordingly, it can be judged
that an auction is successful even when a price of one unit is
raised. Then, when the total number of units desired to be
purchased by all members is more than the number of units (n) on
sale, the divided successful bid processing means 40 re-sets a unit
price to 100 thousand yen.times.2=200 thousand yen according to an
equation 2,000 U/1,000 U=2 then put the units up again at auction
(Step S42).
[0146] Again, a bid is assumed to be made on, for example, 1,500
units at the end of one session. In this case, in the same manner
as in the above example, the divided successful bid processing
means 40 sets a unit price to 200 thousand yen.times.1.5=300
thousand yen according to an equation 1,500 U/1,000 U=1.5 (Step
S43). Again, a bid is assumed to be made on, for example, 800
units. In this case, the number of units whereon a bit is desired
to be made is less than the number of units on sale n=1,000. Thus,
when the number of units desired to be purchased by all bidders is
less than the number of released units, whether to close the
auction or to lower a unit price then exhibit the units again at an
auction is judged by a means which will be described later (Step
S44). When the auction is not closed as a result of this judgment,
the divided successful bid processing means 40 lowers a unit price
to 300 thousand yen.times.0.8=240 thousand yen according to an
equation 800 U/1,000 U=0.8 (Step S45).
[0147] Further again, a bid is made on, for example, 900 units at
the end of one session. In this case also, the number of units
desired to be purchased by all members is less than the number of
units on sale. Accordingly, whether to close the auction or to
reduce a unit price to exhibit the units again at an auction is
judged (Step S46). When the auction is not closed as a result of
this judgment, the unit price is changed in the same manner as in
the above example and the next one session of the auction is
repeated. On the other hand, when the divided successful bid
processing means 40 judges to close the auction, a successful bid
is made on the final number of units and the seller takes back the
rest of units (Step S47). For example, when the auction is closed
as a result of the judgment in Step S46, the bidder 2(x) makes a
successful bid on 900 units and the seller 1(x) of the commodity
takes back the remaining 100 units. Finally, the auction is closed
in Step S48.
[0148] In addition, when the number of units desired to be
purchased by all bidders is less than the number of units on sale
when one session of the auction is ended due to a timeout, judgment
of whether to close the auction or to reduce a unit price enabled
by the seller 1(x) determining the minimum number of units to be
successfully bidden in advance and sending the same to the bid
information receiving means 31. Alternatively, the judgment is done
by the seller 1(x) when, at the end of each session, the divided
successful bid processing means 40 sends a judgment request to the
seller 1(x) to ask what to do via the communication network 4 then
the seller 1(x) sends the result of the judgment to the bid
information receiving means 31 via the communication network 4
while grasping changes in the number of units and the unit
price.
[0149] When the auction procedures shown in FIG. 4 are completed,
the processing returns to Step S28 shown in FIG. 2 then an auction
postprocessing means 42 keeps all rights of the successfully bidden
commodity by proxy in custody. When any bidder is granted with a
right, the auction postprocessing means 42 gives assets
corresponding to the right according to the number of successfully
bidden units to the bidder. When the bidder becomes liable for
debts, the auction postprocessing means 42 collects assets
corresponding to the debts according to the number of successfully
bidden units by proxy. In addition, when the units are kept in
custody by proxy, an ID number (proxy keeper ID) is added to each
successfully bidden commodity.
[0150] The auction postprocessing means 42 further transfer a
predetermined commission fee or the like from the online accounts
1(x) and 8(x) of the seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x) to the online
account 6 for the manager. On the other hand, when a desire of the
seller 1(x) does not accommodate with that of the bidder 2(x), a
successful bid is not made resulting in an unsuccessful auction. In
this case, the auction postprocessing means 42 collects only the
predetermined commission fee from the online accounts 1(x) and
8(x).
[0151] Thus, when the number of units on sale presented when
auctioned by the seller does not match the number of units desired
to be purchased by all bidders, the dynamic setting function of an
auction unit price provided to the auction system 100 according to
the present invention makes it possible of exhibiting the units
again at auction by automatically changing the unit price.
[0152] In addition, as has been described, the flowchart in FIG. 4
shows the procedures to make it possible of a divided bit by a
plurality of bidders. However, the present invention does not
intend to exclude the conventional auction system wherein one
bidder exclusively makes a successful bid. The present invention
improves conveniences for sellers and the bidders by building the
function for enabling a divided bid in the conventional auction
procedures.
[0153] In addition, in the flowchart of the processing procedures
according to the present invention shown, in FIG. 2, the procedures
are described in sequential blocks for simplification. However,
sequential procedures in some of the blocks are different from
those shown in the figure or it is possible that the sequential
procedures are carried out simultaneously with those in other
blocks. Accordingly, it should be noted that the method of the
present invention is not limited by the sequences of the blocks.
For example, the transfer confirmation processing of Step S26 may
be first carried out then the troublemaker processing of Step S23
is carried out followed by the group bid processing of Steps S24
and S25. Thus, there is no problem when these processing items are
completed regardless of order before the start of the auction
processing of Step S27.
[0154] Further, fewer blocks than all blocks shown in the figure
may be necessary to execute the method in the embodiment. Still
further, in an additional or another method, additional blocks (not
shown) may be used. In this case, a rectangular block is a
"processing block" which can be executed by, for example, software.
Likewise, a diamond-shape block is a "determination block" or a
"flow control block" which can be executed by, for example,
software. In addition, the processing block and the determination
block can be executed with a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an
ASIC, or a similar functionally equivalent circuit.
[0155] Further, the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 does not represent a
syntax for a specific programming language, method or style (e.g.,
procedure-oriented or object oriented). On the contrary, the
flowchart shows functional information that can be used by those
skilled in the art for software programming and circuit design. It
should be understood that program elements such as initial values
of a loop and a variable, use of a primary variable and a routine
loop are not shown in some embodiments including this
embodiment.
[0156] According to this embodiment, when the seller 1(x) and the
bidder 2(x) participate in auction via the communication network 4,
the terminal device 3 for the manager checks if the seller 1(x) and
the bidder 2(x) has logged in the terminal device 3 by using the
key information given to the seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x) in
advance. Moreover, this key information is distributed to the
seller 1(x) and the bidder 2(x) via a leased line or a VPN line
without using a general public communication network such as
internet. Accordingly, there is not much danger of leakage of the
key information to a third person so that security can be further
taken into consideration when the communication network type
auction is realized.
[0157] Further, according to this embodiment, when a bidder who
desires to participate in the auction system 100 is accepted, the
auction system 100 checks if a bid price can be withdrawn from the
account of bidder or if the bidder has a trouble history, and
accepts the bidder if possible or when there is no problem, or
refuses the bidder if impossible or when there is a problem.
Troubles such as unpaid fees which have occurred in the
conventional auction system can be thus reduced significantly.
[0158] Further, according to this embodiment, there is provided an
online auction technology enabling a plurality of bidders to
purchase a high-price commodity in a cooperative manner and share
the proprietary right easily and safely. Such a bid and proprietary
right sharing could not be enabled by the conventional auction
system.
Embodiment 2
[0159] Next, an example of applying the foregoing auction system
100 to a trade of a viatical and life settlement policy will be
described.
[0160] The viatical and life settlement policy is a right to
receive an insurance money after a patient suffering a fatal
decease dies or an elder (an insured) whose remaining life is
estimated to be a few year by a doctor. The insured obtains the
viatical and life settlement policy, which the surviving family
members of the insured should receive in principle, while he/she is
alive and sells the same to a third person, then the third person
receives the insurance money after the insured really dies. In
addition, the viatical and life settlement might be abbreviated to
"life settlement" and the life settlement has the same meaning as
that of the viatical and life settlement unless the words "life
settlement" includes a viatical and life settlement as an
"optional" life settlement.
[0161] As aforementioned, the viatical and life settlement policy
is traded between the insured and the third person (hereinafter
referred to as "purchaser") via an agency. By the way, when a
remaining life is estimated by a doctor, a predetermined fixed
return rate has hitherto been applied according to the estimated
remaining life. For example, when the estimated remaining life is 1
year, a return rate of 12% is applied, when 2 years, 28% is
applied, when 3 years, 42% is applied, when 4 years, 50% is
applied, when 5 years, 60% is applied and so on. Assume that a
person takes out a policy of 100 million yen on his/her life and
the remaining life of the insured is estimated to 3 years. The
estimated remaining life of 3 years is merely a value estimated by
the doctor and the insured therefore does not definitely die after
three years. Consequently, the insured usually obtains a sum
calculated by subtracting an insurance money corresponding to 4.5
years, which is 1.5 times of 3 years (assuming that the insurance
money per month is 30 thousand yen) and a commission fee for the
agency (15%) from 100 million yen represented by the following
equation: 100 million yen-30 thousand yen.times.12 months.times.4.5
years-15 million yen-office work commission fee=83 million yen by
selling the viatical and life settlement policy.
[0162] On the other hand, the purchaser deposited (invested) 100
million yen corresponding to the insurance money into a reliable
account (so-called escrow account) and paid monthly insurance dues
of the insured. Then, when the insured died, the purchaser received
142 million yen calculated by adding a return (disbursement) of 42%
corresponding to the estimated remaining life of 3 years.
[0163] For the purchaser, the viatical and life settlement policy
is a target of investment because the actual estimated remaining
life of 3 years differs from a calculated value. More specifically,
according to the foregoing example, when the estimated remaining
life is 3 years, the return rate of the viatical and life
settlement policy is 42% which can be converted into 42% 3=14% in
terms of annual interest. When the insured dies after 1 year, the
insurance money to be received after three years is really received
after 1 year. This means that the purchaser can receive a high
return of the insurance money converted into 14%.times.3=42% in
terms of annual interest.
[0164] That is, the purchaser is promised to receive 142 million
yen including a return from the life insurance when ever the
insured really dies. When the insured dies before the end of the
estimated remaining life, the purchaser receives the money from the
life insurance earlier than the scheduled date.
[0165] The purchaser can use the collected money from the life
insurance to make an investment in another viatical and life
settlement policy. Thus, the viatical and life settlement policy
always includes a change of a return so as to be an investment
target. On the contrary, when the insured dies after 4 years, this
means that the purchaser has an investment target of a low
return.
[0166] The problem is that the purchaser can only obtain the
information about the viatical and life settlement policy via an
agency because the insured and the purchaser communicate each other
with anonyms. Accordingly, the agency can deliberately and
maliciously manipulate the information so that the correct
information is not transferred and the agency can obtain the
insurance money in an illegal manner.
[0167] Thus, an auction system 200 related to the viatical and life
settlement policy, which adopts the auction system 100, capable of
solving the above problem (hereinafter referred to as "life
settlement policy auction system 200") will be described.
[0168] FIG. 5 shows the entire structure of the life settlement
policy auction system 200. The life settlement policy auction
system 200 provides a mechanism for carrying out an auction trade
of the viatical and life settlement policy via the communication
network 4 and adjusting a market price of the life settlement
policy.
[0169] The life settlement policy auction system 200 comprises a
terminal device 23 for an auction manager connected with a life
settlement policy database 25, terminal devices 21(1) to 21(n) of a
plurality of insured persons (the insured persons and the terminal
devices thereof are hereinafter assumed to be the same and
represented by an insured 21(x)), and terminal devices 22(1) to
22(n) of a plurality of purchasers (the purchasers and the terminal
devices thereof are hereinafter assumed to be the same and
represented by a purchaser 22(x)) interconnected via a
communication network 24 so as to communicate each other. FIG. 7 is
a configuration block diagram showing a processing means of the
terminal device 23 of the auction manager.
[0170] In addition, the functions of the components of the life
settlement policy auction system 200 are the same as those of the
corresponding auction system 100 in principle. In this embodiment
2, detailed description of the functions of the components which
are common to those of the auction system 100 will be omitted, and
only functions additionally provided to the life settlement policy
auction system 200 will be described. More specifically, a proper
price calculation means 48 and an automatic patrol means 51 of the
terminal device 23 for the auction manager will be mainly
described.
[0171] An ID number (an auction ID) to be an identifier is added to
each viatical and life settlement policy auctioned by the insured
21(x). A data storage/reading means 53 of a terminal device 23 for
the auction manager stores the ID number correlated with detail
data of each life settlement policy in a life settlement policy
database 25, and manages the database 25. The detail data of the
viatical and life settlement is not limited. However, the detail
data specifically includes, for example, information about a sex,
an age and a DNA of an insured, a name and a condition of a disease
of the condition of the insured, a estimated remaining life, the
name of the doctor in charge of calculating the estimated remaining
life, a calculation standard of the estimated remaining life,
contents of a contracted insurance, an agreement of a policy, a
rank of an insurance company and various types of information of
the insurance company (e.g., a value of a digitized ability to pay
insurance money of the insurance company and a legal position of
the insurance company for an applicable law to the insurance
company is dependent on a country where the main office thereof is
located).
[0172] Further, a participation qualification confirmation means 43
checks if the insured 21(x) and the purchaser 22(x) are qualified
to participate in the life settlement policy auction system 200.
Tat is, the participation qualification confirmation means 43
permits only the insured 21(x) and the purchaser 22(x) who has
passed a compliance test of an auction system operation institution
to seller bid on a commodity.
[0173] The life settlement policy auction system 200 is
characterized in that the same permits the insured 21(x) and the
purchaser 22(x) having the participation qualification to access
the database 5 of the auction system 100, which can be accessed
only via the terminal device 3 for the auction manager. When the
proper price calculation means 48 discloses the detail data of the
viatical and life settlement policy stored in the life settlement
policy database 25 to the insured 21(x) and the purchaser 22(x),
the insured 21(x) can confirm whether the proper price of the
viatical and life settlement policy is calculated according to
correct information of the insured 21(x), and the purchaser 22(x)
can obtain detail information required to purchase the auctioned
viatical and life settlement policy.
[0174] In addition, it is a matter of course that an attention
should be paid not to disclose information regarded to be
unnecessary for actual purchase of the viatical and life settlement
policy of the insured 21(x) to protect the personal rights of the
seller. This information includes all personal information insured
obtainable from a medical certificate created by a doctor, a health
condition of the insured, a estimated remaining life, the name of
the doctor in charge of calculating the estimated remaining life, a
calculation standard of the estimated remaining life, contents of a
contracted insurance, an agreement of a policy, a rank of an
insurance company and various types of information of the insurance
company (e.g., a value of a digitized ability to pay insurance
money of the insurance company and a legal position of the
insurance company for an applicable law to the insurance company is
dependent on a country where the main office thereof is
located).
[0175] Further, a participation qualification confirmation means 43
checks if the insured 21(x) and the purchaser 22(x) are qualified
to participate in the life settlement policy auction system 200.
Tat is, the participation qualification confirmation means 43
permits only the insured 21(x) and the purchaser 22(x) who has
passed a compliance test of an auction system operation institution
to seller bid on a commodity.
[0176] The life settlement policy auction system 200 is
characterized in that the same permits the insured 21(x) and the
purchaser 22(x) having the participation qualification to access
the database 5 of the auction system 100, which can be accessed
only via the terminal device 3 for the auction manager. When the
proper price calculation means 48 discloses the detail data of the
viatical and life settlement policy stored in the life settlement
policy database 25 to the insured 21(x) and the purchaser 22(x),
the insured 21(x) can confirm whether the proper price of the
viatical and life settlement policy is calculated according to
correct information of the insured 21(x), and the purchaser 22(x)
can obtain detail information required to purchase the auctioned
viatical and life settlement policy.
[0177] In addition, it is a matter of course that an attention
should be paid not to disclose information regarded to be
unnecessary for actual purchase of the viatical and life settlement
policy of the insured 21(x) to protect the personal rights of the
seller. This information includes all personal information items to
identify, for example, the insured 21(x) (i.e., a seller) such as
the name and address of the seller, a name of a family doctor or a
hospital name.
[0178] Further, as a data leakage prevention means (not shown) of
the terminal device 23 for the auction manager, a usual security
action is taken for security of and prevention of data leakage from
the life settlement policy database 25. For example, the data
leakage prevention means confirms that the insured 21(x) and the
purchaser 22(x) are finally permitted to participate in an auction
then grants the right of accessing the life settlement policy
database 25 to only the insured 21(x) and the purchaser 22(x).
[0179] Further, the proper price calculation means 48 treat not
only a single viatical and life settlement policy, but also treats
a composite commodity formed by integrating a plurality of viatical
and life settlement policies (e.g., commodities of various types of
unions, investment trust commodities and fraternal commodities) as
a commodity, and sets lowest trade prices of both single commodity
and a composite commodity according to an official
audits/regulations. Furthermore, in actual auction processing (Step
S27 in FIG. 2), the proper price calculation means 48 automatically
calculate the proper market price of the viatical and life
settlement policy based on the data and the like stored in the life
settlement policy database 25.
[0180] The automatic calculation of the proper price will be
described in details hereunder.
[0181] A single commodity life settlement policy DB newly treated
by the auction system 200 (hereinafter referred to as "single
commodity life settlement policy DB"), a single commodity life
settlement policy DB already traded (hereinafter referred to as
"global life settlement policy DB"), a estimated remaining life
error statistics data DB (hereinafter referred to "estimated
remaining life DB") and an item evaluation DB are required of the
automatic calculation. A calculation mechanism (e.g., the terminal
device 23 for the auction manager) for calculating the proper price
of the viatical and life settlement policy accesses the above DBs
to obtain the proper price.
[0182] The single commodity life settlement policy DB includes at
least the following items: [0183] Age, sex and nationality of
insured [0184] Estimated remaining life (P1) [0185] Type of decease
(P2) [0186] Average remaining life (value obtained from subtracting
age of insured from average life span) (P3) [0187] Estimated
remaining life judged from DNA (value obtained from subtracting age
of insured from estimated remaining life judged from DNA) (P.4)
[0188] Measured immunity value (P5) [0189] Insurance company
ranking information/insurance money payment ability (P.6) [0190]
Life settlement policy evaluation point (Pt) [0191] Life settlement
policy evaluation index (Ph)
[0192] Death probabilities in estimated remaining life data (i.e.,
probabilities of dyeing in a estimated remaining life) for a type
of decease, a nationality, an age and a sex, respectively, is
stored in the estimated remaining life DB. Point conversion tables
and weighting coefficients for search items (P1 to P6) are stored
in the item evaluation DB.
[0193] An evaluation index, which means quantification of the
reliability of the single commodity life settlement policy, is
first calculated. For this purpose, an evaluated value of each
search item is obtained from the point conversion table by
referencing the item evaluation DB and weighted points of items are
summarized and assumed as evaluation points (Pt). Specific examples
of calculating Pt are as follows. Pt is a value evaluated on the
basis of 100 points, and ri is a weighting coefficient ranging from
1 to 5. [0194] Estimated remaining life: 2 years: P1=8, r1=3 [0195]
Name of decease: Lung cancer: P2=5, r2=5 [0196] Average remaining
life span: 10 years: P3=7, r3=2 [0197] Estimated remaining life
judged from DNA: 15 years: P4=3, r4=1 [0198] Measured immunity
value: 5 (on the basis of 10 points): P5=5, r5=1 [0199] Insurance
company ranking information/insurance money payment condition:
[0200] Single A/unconditioned at death: P6=7, r6=4 Life .times.
.times. settlement .times. .times. policy evaluation .times.
.times. point .times. .times. Pt = .times. P .times. .times. 1
.times. r .times. .times. 1 + P .times. .times. 2 .times. r .times.
.times. 2 + P .times. .times. 3 .times. r .times. .times. 3 + P
.times. .times. 4 .times. r .times. .times. 4 + .times. P .times.
.times. 5 .times. r .times. .times. 5 + P .times. .times. 6 .times.
r .times. .times. 6 + = .times. 24 + 25 + 14 + 3 + 5 + 28 = .times.
99 ##EQU1##
[0201] In addition, the evaluated values (P1 to P6) and the life
settlement policy evaluation points (Pt) may be obtained by
accessing the item evaluation DB when the proper price of the
viatical and life settlement policy is calculated or based on
current data at an optional time point when data in each database
is updated. Needless to say, the item evaluation DB is always
updated based on current medical information and the like.
[0202] Further, the weighting coefficients (r1 to r6) are
preferably set so that degrees of life settlement policy risks, in
particular, are reflected thereto. In the above example, the values
of the weighting coefficients (r2 and r6) of the type of decease
and the insurance company ranking/insurance money payment condition
are larger than other weighting coefficients because, when the
decease can be cured by virtue of drastic progress of the medical
science or development of a specific medicine, or when the
purchaser suddenly becomes unable to receive an insurance money due
to a financial problem of the insurance company, the above events
need to be greatly reflected to the life settlement policy
evaluation index (Ph).
[0203] When the life settlement policy evaluation point (Pt) is
determined, the deviation value of the evaluation point of the
relevant single commodity life settlement policy is obtained using
samples of all evaluation points of the global life settlement
policy DB as parameters, and the obtained deviation value is
assumed to be the evaluation index (Ph) of the single commodity
life settlement policy. In addition, the life settlement policy
evaluation index (Ph) may be obtained by accessing the global life
settlement policy DB when the proper price of the viatical and life
settlement policy is calculated or based on current data when the
data of the global life settlement policy DB is updated. The
obtained life settlement policy evaluation index (Ph) may be stored
in the single commodity life settlement policy DB.
[0204] An example of calculating the life settlement policy
evaluation index (Ph) assuming that an average value is 50 and 1
sigma indicating a variation is 10 is as follows:
Ph=50+10.times.(Pt=Ptm)/s s= {square root over ( )}v where, Ptm
represents a mean value of evaluation indexes Pt of all life
settlement policies which have been bought in the industry, s
represents a standard deviation value, and v represents a
variation.
[0205] For example, when Ptm=89, v=100 and s=10, the life
settlement policy evaluation index is Ph=50+10.times.(99-89)/10=60.
When the life settlement policy evaluation index (Ph) is close to
the mean value of all Ptm values, the life settlement policy
evaluation index (Ph) becomes a value close to 50. When the life
settlement policy evaluation index (Ph) is in the range from 40 to
60, which is.+-.1 sigma, it can be known instinctively that the
life settlement policy evaluation index is included in orders
occupying 2/3 of all Ptm values.
[0206] An annual rate R of the life settlement policy can be
obtained by correlating the life settlement policy evaluation index
(Ph) thus obtainable with a standard life settlement policy
interest rate (Rm). In addition, the standard life settlement
policy interest rate (Rm) can be obtained by a reverse operation
from a value establishing an investment activity model and
determined by approval of, for example, a board of fair trading run
by an official institution. Further, an interest rate may be
converted mechanically from the life settlement policy evaluation
index (Ph) by using a conversion table prepared in a computer for
calculating a fair price (e.g., the terminal device 23 for the
auction manager) in advance or by calculation following the
definition of a life settlement policy interest rate function
(Fr).
[0207] An example of the calculation using the life settlement
policy interest rate function (Fr) is as follows:. R=life
settlement policy interest rate function (Ph, Rm)=(50/Ph).times.Rm
where, R is Rll when Rll>R, or R=Rul when Rul<R, Rll:R is a
lower limit value and Rul:R is an upper limit value.
[0208] Assuming that Ph=60 and Rm=12%, R=(50/60).times.12%=10%,
Rll=8% and Rul=116%.
[0209] That is, the value of R is lowered when the life settlement
policy evaluation index (Ph) is high, and this means that a
speculation mechanism starts operating to reduce the return (i.e.,
the interest rate) because the risk of the life settlement policy
is low. On the contrary, when the life settlement policy evaluation
index (Ph) is low, the value or R is increased and this means that
the interest rate- of the life settlement policy is high in return
to the high risk. A lower limit of R/an upper limit of R (Rul) is a
parameter to specify a lower limit/an upper limit of the interest
rate. This parameter is also preferably determined taking into
consideration of the real transaction model and approved by the
board of fair trade or the like.
[0210] A proper life settlement policy price (J) can be calculated
from an insurance money (SY), an annual insurance due (hy), an
interest rate of a commission fee for an investment trust
institution (.alpha.) and an annual interest rate of life
settlement policy (R). The interest rate of a commission fee for an
investment institution (.alpha.) in this embodiment is an amount
obtained by multiplying a proper price by a specific ratio. In
addition, a commission fee to be collected in the actual operation
is obtained by, for example, multiplying total investment amount by
a specific ratio. As one preferred embodiment, the foregoing
calculation is applied.
[0211] Assume that investment amount (I) is
I=J+SY.times.hy.times.1.5+J.times..alpha..
[0212] The purchaser requires as total investment amount a life
settlement policy purchase amount (transfer amount) J, an insurance
due for a estimated remaining life (SY) and a commission fee to the
investment trust institution. The purchaser however, should obtain
the foregoing R value on premise of paying a larger amount of an
insurance due taking into consideration of a variation of the
estimated remaining life. For this purpose, the insurance due to be
paid is calculated by SY.times.hy.times.1.5.
[0213] The annual interest rate of the life settlement policy (R)
is (H-1/1)/SY. When the investment amount (I) is substituted for
this equation to obtain a proper purchase amount of a life
settlement policy, i.e., a proper life settlement policy price (J),
as follows.
J=((H/(R.times.SY+1))-SY.times.hy.times.1.5)/(1+.alpha.) (Formula
1)
[0214] For example, assume that H is 100 million yen, R is 10%, SY
is 2 years, hy is 1 million yen and .alpha. is 5%, then the
purchase amount for a life settlement policy (transfer amount) J is
about 76.5 million yen. The proper price of the viatical and life
settlement policy can be thus calculated.
[0215] The proper price calculation means 48 presents the viatical
and life settlement policy of the proper price to the insured 21(x)
and the purchaser 22(x). On a presentation screen, the proper price
is displayed in a commodity content introduction column of an
auctioned item, and an evaluation item used to calculate the proper
price is preferably displayed. In particular, an evaluation index
is preferably displayed as an important factor.
[0216] In addition, when the foregoing evaluation index of the
single commodity life settlement policy is calculated, a reason and
a background of such calculation (that is, detailed information of
the insurance company such as ranking of the insurance company,
legal verification of the agreement of the policy, a payment
ability of the insurance company and a legal position of the
insurance company; a condition and a name of a decease, a estimated
remaining life and information about a basis of the estimated
remaining life of the insured; a health condition, an age and the
like) are preferably disclosed to the insured 21(x) and the
purchaser 22(x).
[0217] The terminal device for the auction manager is preferably
provided with the automatic patrol means 51 corresponding to a fair
trade observation committee related to the viatical and life
settlement policy. The automatic patrol is a function for checking
a trade history or data of a process of a trade recorded during the
trade to see if there is any suspicious tendency or process of an
unnatural or illegal action during the trade. The automatic patrol
means 51 then finds an illegal trade together with immediately
notifying the system management bureau of the illegal trade and,
when the illegal trade meets a specific standard, checks the
tendency of the process of the trade to automatically give a
warning to the purchaser concerned in the illegal trade.
[0218] Procedures and a method of the automatic patrol will be
described.
[0219] (1) A database for storing a history and a record of a
tendency and a process from the beginning to the end of each trade
is created. The data stored in the database includes a process and
all records of a trade such as how and when prices were named by
whom at which life settlement policy trade and at how much a
successful bid was made. Thus, an attitude, a style of investment
and an available sum of each purchaser can be known making it easy
to add points to and rank the purchaser.
[0220] (2) A creditworthness of each purchaser that can be known
from the rank (i.e., a rank indicated by a color) and the number of
points of the purchaser. When the purchaser suddenly pays (invests)
a much larger amount of money than the largest amount estimated
from the creditworthness, the tendency of the investment is judged
to be unnatural then checked and observed. A specific example is
that, although a balance in the account of purchaser has been 20
million yen, the balance suddenly increases to 300 million yen and
the purchaser who usually purchases a commodity of about 2 million
yen suddenly starts investing 100 million yen. Whether or not
investment amount remarkably increases in comparison with an
investment history up to now is thus judged, and when the
investment amount apparently increases, a check sheet in which
questions of specific items prepared in advance such as "where does
this fund come from?", "to whom this fund belongs?", "is this fund
yours?" and "what kind of fund (income) is this?" are written is
automatically mailed from the server (e.g., the terminal device 23
for the auction manager) of this system to the purchaser.
[0221] (3) The purchaser clicks a corresponding item in the check
sheet and answers thereto then returns the mail to the server. In
addition, the purchaser might ignore the check sheet.
[0222] (4) When response mail is not returned from the purchaser to
the server of this system, the automatic patrol means 51 is
programmed to be doubtful as follows. "The purchaser
himself/herself is not possibly concerned in the trade, or even
when the purchaser himself/herself is concerned in the trade, since
the volume of trade has remarkably increased, where does the fund
come from and what kind of fund has been invested?" Consequently,
the fund might need to be investigated in relation to money
laundering. Accordingly, when the questions contained in the check
sheet has been mailed a plurality of times and the response mail is
however not returned from the purchaser, the automatic patrol
automatically notify the person in charge at the system management
bureau of that fact.
[0223] (5) Thereafter, a person in charge of compliance makes a
telephone call to the purchaser and identify the purchaser
himself/herself then ask the questions in the check sheet and have
the purchaser answer the questions.
[0224] (6) When the check sheet is returned from the purchaser, the
patrol means 51 checks items programmed in advance, and when no
check mark is entered in any normal response column, contacts the
system manager. In this case, the purchaser is asked questions to
identify himself/herself directly by a person from the system
management bureau later on, then possibly asked questions about the
source and the background of the fund by the same person. When the
contents of answers given this time are proper, the compliance
check is ended. If not, submission of documents to prove the
legality of the fund might be asked. ("Submission of documents"
means presentation of a proof to be checked. For example, when the
purchaser answers "the source of the suddenly increased volume of
trade is the property inherited from my parent," is it assumed that
the purchaser has a deed and so the purchaser is asked to submit a
copy of the deed. When the purchaser answers "the fund was saved in
another account," the purchaser is asked to submit a copy of a
corresponding page of the bankbook indicating the process of the
trade.)
[0225] (7) When the purchaser cannot prove the legality of the fund
to the compliance (main body) of this system, the purchaser is
warned and handed over with a yellow card. As the case may be, a
certification card proving that the purchaser has an account in the
auction system 200 and the right to use an auction or the right to
participate in auction is confiscated and participation in a next
and later auctions is reconsidered. When the purchaser is warned
consecutively for a several times, the purchaser is registered in a
black list and temporarily prohibited to use the auction system
200.
[0226] (8) A specific purchaser who repeats a unique plot or
pattern in a trade is classified and identified by the compliance
based on past examples. When each type of purchaser starts a trade
at auction (board of fair trade), the automatic patrol means 51 is
programmed to pay attention to the tendency of the purchaser
labeled as the above type more carefully than to an unlabeled
purchaser.
[0227] Other patrol procedures of the automatic patrol means 51
will be described.
[0228] (i) First, assume that a sum value of successfully bid
prices is M1, a sum value of unsuccessful bid prices is M2. The sum
value of unsuccessful bid prices means a value obtained by
summarizing the highest bid prices recorded when successful bids
are not made after bids are made or successful bids are canceled
after the end of an auction. Next, a bidder with M2/M1 exceeding a
specific value is preferably marked and the fact that the bidder
will be known to the public in an auction is preferably announced
(sent) to prevent an illegal operation.
[0229] (ii) Unsuccessful bidders who participate (makes a bit) in
an auction per auction seller, the number of times each bidder
participate in auction and the unsuccessful bid price sum M3 are
recorded. Here, when the number of times the bidder participate in
auction or the unsuccessful bid price sum M3 exceeds a specific
value, the value is marked.
[0230] (iii) A database containing commercial trade results and
capital relations (affiliated company, etc.) between auction
participants is installed to record annual commercial trade sums.
In addition, the installation of the database is preferably
announced (sent) to prevent an illegal operation.
[0231] (iv) When the value is marked as described in the above
procedure (ii), the database described in the above procedure (iii)
is checked. When the database contains a result of a commercial
trade, the bidder is marked and temporarily prohibited to
participate in auction. Further, as the case may be, the bidder is
deprived of the right to participate in an auction depending on a
result of a manual investigation.
[0232] The automatic patrol means 51 thus periodically accesses the
insured 21(x) and the purchaser 22(x) via the communication network
24 to automatically extract a bidder who has illegally raised a bid
price in an auction deal.
[0233] Thereafter, the automatic patrol means 51 stores the bidder
2(x) other than a final successful bidder into the life settlement
policy database 25 via the auction execution control means 49 or
directly each time the bidder 2(x) raises a bid price. When the
number of times the bidder 2(x) is stored in the database 25
exceeds a specified value (e.g., 3 times), the automatic patrol
means 51 registers the bidder 2(x) as an object of refusal of
participation in an auction in a black list table (not shown). By
this virtue, it is possible to check the purchaser 22(x) and the
insured 21(x) participating in an auction and, even during the
auction, automatically observe a bidder intending to perform an
illegal action and exclude the bidder from the auction.
[0234] Like the auction system 100, the life settlement policy
auction system 200 is also provided with a function of an auction
bid by proxy which integrates bid requests from a plurality of
purchasers 22(x). For a viatical and life settlement policy from
the plurality of purchasers 22(x), a bidder grouping means 47 can
automatically extract and group bidders with approximate
specifications by the foregoing grouping means and grant the right
of making a bid to each group. A decision making right of a proxy
auction bidder is determined by the means which has been described
regarding the auction system 100. In addition to this, the decision
making right may also be determined, for example, according to the
highest payable amount of each group member for a life settlement
policy desired to be successfully bidden. In this case, when this
group successfully bids the desired viatical and life settlement
policy, a right ownership ratios/insurance due payment duty ratios
of the viatical and life settlement policy at the time of making a
successful bid are preferably determined according to the highest
payable amounts of the members. For example, when one member
(Mr./Ms. A) pays 50 million yen to successfully bid a viatical and
life settlement policy of 100 million yen, Mr./Ms. A owns a 50%
ownership right and a 50% insurance due payment duty. In addition,
the insured 21(x) (i.e., a seller) may exhibit a viatical and life
settlement policy of a price including an amount corresponding to
an insurance due at auction to prevent a trouble in that the
purchaser 22(x) does not pay the insurance due after a successful
bid. In this case, for example, the price of the viatical and life
settlement policy includes an insurance due corresponding to a
estimated remaining life.times.2 years.
[0235] In addition, the desired specification items to be presented
to the bidder 2(x) at grouping by the auction system 100 include a
commodity classification category, an ID of a commodity (scheduled)
to be auctioned, a seller ID and the highest price of a successful
bid made by a group. On the other hand, specification items related
to the viatical and life settlement policy to be presented
preferably include a estimated remaining life span (e.g., not more
than 3 years), a type of a disease (a plurality of types may be
presented), a lower limit of an age (lower limit of an age of an
insured).
[0236] Like the auction system 100, the life settlement policy
auction system 200 is also provided with a function (a divided
successful bid processing means 50) for a divided bid of one
viatical and life settlement policy by a plurality of purchasers
22(x). The plurality of purchasers 22(x) is more than one
individual purchaser or more than one proxy auction bidder formed
of a plurality of individual purchasers as members. The divided
auction is carried out in the procedures shown in the flowchart of
FIG. 4.
[0237] In addition, right sharing in Step S28 in FIG. 2 after the
end of an auction may be carried out by, for example, a proxy
commission company other than the terminal device 23 for the
auction manager provided with the auction postprocessing means 52.
Further, the insured 21(x) concerned in the life settlement policy
auction system 200 includes an agency (i.e., a mediator) and the
purchaser 22(x) includes an agency of an investment trust for an
organized purchaser, a pension fund, a mutual aid association, a
union and a corporation.
[0238] According to the life settlement policy auction system 200,
the proper price calculation means 48 automatically calculates a
proper market price of the viatical and life settlement policy of
the insured 21(x) based on the fact that the minimum volume of
trade of the viatical and life settlement policy auctioned
according to an official audits/regulations is set. By this virtue,
when the insured 21(x) sells the viatical and life settlement
policy to the purchaser 22(x), it is possible to prevent the price
of the viatical and life settlement policy from being set illegally
low by a life settlement policy provider who mediates general
services related to purchase and resale, a broker thereof or the
like. Consequently, the insured 21(x) can sell the life settlement
policy of an optimized market price while fairness of a trade is
maintained.
[0239] Further, it is possible to solve problems related to
conventional unclear or illegal disclosure of information about a
life settlement policy provider which often occur in the USA. For
the purchaser 22(x) in particular, information about the viatical
and life settlement policy to be purchased is disclosed
transparently with the life settlement policy auction system 200
and hence it is possible to carry out a further proper and fair
trade than ever.
[0240] Further, the life settlement policy auction system 200 can
greatly contribute to pursuant of an illegal gain of the life
settlement policy provider by carrying out a suspicious business,
unclear information disclosure, false explanation and bully.
[0241] Further, in the conventional auction system, the interest
rate of the viatical and life settlement policy is fixed and the
expiration date of the life insurance policy is the day when the
insured dies and hence the time point at which the purchaser 22(x)
can receive the insurance money as a dividend is uncertain.
[0242] On the contrary, the life settlement policy auction system
200 divides the viatical and life settlement policy into a
plurality of units, add identifiers (IDs) to the divided units and
manage the units based on the IDs in the online database. The
registered units have attribute information necessary for
transaction processing including online settlement derived from the
units so that it is possible of taking automatic procedures by a
computer. The viatical and life settlement policy can be dealt and
the owner registration can be changed freely, and the viatical and
life settlement policy can be automatically securitized even after
the registration of the units in the database. This means that it
is possible of securitizing the viatical and life settlement policy
as an electronic stock.
[0243] Thus, as an existing stock, a net asset value of the
viatical and life settlement policy always varies according to
various types of detail data related to the viatical and life
settlement policy. Accordingly, the viatical and life settlement
policy can have the same characteristics as those of a stock. This
means that the equal transparency as that in a trade at a stock
market complying with the Securities Exchange Law is required of
the trade of the viatical and life settlement policy. Accordingly,
it is easy to prevent an illegal trade violating the Securities
Exchange Law in the conventional auction system such as an action
trade wherein the agency gains a large interest rate by the
purchase of the viatical and life settlement policy from the
insured 21(x) at an unreasonably low price by setting a price of
the life settlement policy to low in an illegal manner, or a
fraudulent business of illegal disclosure of information for
selling the viatical and life settlement policy. This means that
the life settlement policy auction system 200 can greatly
contribute to nurturing the future market of the viatical and life
settlement policy in countries all over the world to a very
transparent and sound market under a condition of a strict audit at
the stock market or an audit as strict as that at the stock
market.
Embodiment 3
[0244] The automation of the procedures required of institutions
(the insured 21(x), the purchaser 22(x), the auction manager 23 and
the like) related to the life settlement policy auction system in
Embodiment 2 and updating of the life settlement policy database 25
to enable automatic settlement between the related institutions,
will be described. In order to enable the above processing, the
terminal device 23 for the auction manager in this embodiment is
further provided with the automatic settlement means 54 in addition
to the means shown in FIG. 7. The terminal device 23 for the
auction manager, a terminal device of a hospital (not shown) and
the terminal device of the insurance company (not shown) are
interconnected via the communication network 24 so as to
communicate each other.
[0245] As aforementioned, the life settlement policy auction system
200 can carry out a divided auction by dividing an auctioned
viatical and life settlement policy into units. For example, when
hundreds of to thousands of unspecified persons make a successful
bid on and share the life settlement policy of hundreds of millions
of yen, an extremely large number of procedures are required of the
auction manager 23 resulting in a difficulty in the smooth
operation of a transaction. In order to solve this problem, in the
case of the divided auction, the foregoing divided successful bid
processing means 50 adds a unit ID to each auctioned unit and store
unit attribute information liked to the unit ID into the life
settlement policy database 25. The unit attribute information
preferably includes number of divided units of the life settlement
policy n (i.e., the total number of units), contents of a policy
including insurance company information and an insurance amount, a
estimated remaining life, a bidder ID, a successful bidder ID and a
proxy keeper ID added by the auction postprocessing means 52.
[0246] When the insured 21(x) (i.e., the seller) exhibits, for
example, the viatical and life settlement policy with an insurance
amount of 1 billion yen and a monthly insurance due of 100 thousand
yen at a suggested sales price of 100 million yen and the number of
divided units n=100 units at auction, and a successful bid is
finally made on the viatical and life settlement policy under the
above conditions. When a purchaser A makes a successful bid on 10
units at a price of 1 million yen, the purchaser A is granted with
the right of receiving 100 million yen, which is his/her share of
10% (=10 units/100 units), and obliged to pay 10 thousand yen,
which is 10% of the share (=100 thousand yen.times.10%).
Accordingly, the divided successful bid processing means 50 can
prepare a written contract to report, for example, the formal
contents of the bid (the total insurance money, the total insurance
due, the share of A, the insurance money received by A, the
insurance due paid by A, the date of the successful bid and the
like) to the purchaser A by extracting the attribute information of
the units by using the unit IDs as keys from the life settlement
policy database 25 and processing the units having the same
successful bidder IDs together to prepare the written contract of
the units successfully bidden by the purchaser A. In addition, it
is clear for those skilled in the art that a transaction processing
means (not shown) provided to the terminal device 23 for the
auction manager or another computer can automatically carry on the
sequential processing to prepare the above documents.
[0247] Thus, according to this embodiment, since processing such as
making a business contact to the purchaser A, collecting a fee from
and paying a charge to the purchaser A after the successful bid can
be automated by managing the unit information, various procedures
can be made highly efficient. In addition, for an auction other
then the divided auction, the processing after a successful bid can
be automated by using an insured ID or an auction ID of each
auctioned commodity (the viatical and life settlement policy).
[0248] The automatic settlement means 54 receives information about
a death of the insured (that is, information about when and by a
decease of what name the insured died), a health condition or a
medical fee (medical report) sent from a health manager (e.g., a
hospital) periodically (e.g., at every 3 months or every month).
The automatic settlement means 54 then searches the information
about the estimated remaining life of the insured already stored in
the life settlement policy database 25 and compares this
information to the received information to calculate an annual
return to the purchaser from the insurance due to be collected from
and the insurance money to be paid to the purchaser. The automatic
settlement means 54 then issues a settlement instruction to send
the money to the account 82 of the purchaser every year when the
return is annually paid in cash to the purchaser. Thus, a balance
is settled (with electronic money) between the online accounts of
the purchaser and the insurance company. In addition, when a
balance settlement instruction has been issued or a balance has
been settled between online accounts of relevant persons, the data
storage means 53 stores these facts as current information in the
life settlement policy database 25.
[0249] The target of the foregoing balance settlement is not
limited to a return or not carried out only between the online
accounts of the purchaser and the insurance company. FIG. 8 is a
money transaction (money flow) diagram showing the entire process
of exchanging financial data among online accounts of the insured
21(x), the purchaser 22(x) and the auction manager 23 (the account
of insured 81, the account of purchaser 82 and the account the
manager 80) indicated in the life settlement policy auction system
200 and, in addition, an account of a hospital 83 of a medical
institution (hospital) of the insured and an insurance account 84
of the insurance company with which the insured has made a
contract. Money flows for balance settlements of the online
accounts are as follows. Each of these balances is automatically
settled between predetermined online accounts based on the
information stored in the life settlement policy database 25 in the
same manner as the foregoing return.
[0250] (i) Flow of payment for viatical and life settlement policy:
Account of purchaser.fwdarw.account of manager.fwdarw.account of
insured
[0251] (ii) Flow of monthly insurance due payment: Account of
purchaser.fwdarw.account of manager.fwdarw.insurance account
[0252] (iii) Flow of life insurance payment: Insurance
account.fwdarw.account of manager.fwdarw.account of purchaser
[0253] (iv) Flow of payment of medical fee covered by insurance:
Insurance account.fwdarw.account of hospital
[0254] (v) Flow of payment of medical fee not covered by insurance
in (iv): Account of insured.fwdarw.account of hospital
[0255] (vi) Flow of commission fee payment: Each
account.fwdarw.account of manager
[0256] The automatic settlement means 54 further knows death
information of the insured by periodically receiving the
information from the terminal device of the hospital and, in
addition, confirms that the insured is alive by using an optional
sensor for automatically identifying existence of a person (e.g., a
body heat sensor or an infrared ray sensor). The automatic
settlement means 54 may further locate the insured by using a
position detector (e.g., a GPS) to grasp existence information or a
present location of the insured. The health condition (or the
existence condition) of the insured may be automatically checked by
having the insured always wear accessories for curing stiffness of
shoulders such as a bracelet or a necklace or a pacemaker, but the
checking method is not limited to this. The data storage means 53
then stores the obtained death information or the health condition
of the insured as current information in the life settlement policy
database 25.
[0257] Thus, according to this embodiment, the balance settlement
related to the viatical and life settlement policy can be automated
and hence the hospital can surely and automatically collect a
treatment fee or a hospitalization feed without hiring a collection
agent or taking a legal action resulting in a stable management of
the hospital without having bad debts. Further, in transaction
processing accompanied with the balance settlement, various
transactions can be made efficient by automating document creation
in the same manner as the transaction processing in the divided
auction.
[0258] Further, since the health condition information of the
insured is periodically obtained to update the life settlement
policy database 25, an institution (e.g., an investment trust
institution, an investment bank, a manager of a specific type of
union, a fund operation company or a financial company), which
forms a financial commodity based on the viatical and life
settlement policy and operates the financial commodity, is enabled
to carry out a transaction by making a full use of the life
settlement policy database 25 storing the above accurate
information. Consequently, conveniences of the customer purchaser
in addition to the investment trust institution can be
improved.
[0259] In addition, in this embodiment, the form and effect of
collecting the medical fee of the insured by the hospital via the
online account is described, and this form can be applied in
exactly the same manner to collect a fund from a nursing-care
facility such as a home for the aged or an elder care facility. In
this case, the "account of hospital" and the "account of insured"
shown in FIG. 8 should be replaced with a "account of nursing-care
facility" and an "account of ender," respectively. However, when
the insurance money amount of an elder is as small as less than the
total amount spent to take care of the elder (an amount of
uncollected obligations), the nursing-care facility bears the
amount as a loss. Accordingly, a necessity for the elder to make an
agreement to bear a surplus expense above the insurance amount with
the nursing-care facility before starting an auction should be paid
attention to as a practical note. More preferably, the auction
manager 23 should set a proper price of the viatical and life
settlement policy based on the health condition of the elder and
judges a risk which can/cannot be borne by the nursing-care
facility.
[0260] Thus, according to this embodiment, an elder who cannot live
in a home for the aged or the like due to a shortage of money to
live on in his/her old age can live on without being worried about
an entrance fee of and monthly payment to the home for the aged by
selling his/her viatical and life settlement policy at auction.
That is, even an elder without any kin or enough money to live on
can be taken care by taking the viatical and life settlement policy
in pledge so as to give merits to both the elder and the
nursing-care facility.
Embodiment 4
[0261] The contents of the money flows for balance settlements in
online accounts described in Embodiment 3 added with exchanging
money data related to a donation (consolation) money, will be
described.
[0262] In the same manner as in Embodiment 3, the automatic
settlement means 54 compares received death information to
calculated remaining life information stored in the life settlement
policy database 25. When a real life is shorter than the estimated
remaining life as a result of the comparison, a
consolation/donation money payment means 55 automatically sends an
adjustment sum according to the error between the real life and the
estimated remaining life from the account of insured 81 to the
account of manager 80. On the contrary, when the real life is
longer than the estimated remaining life, the consolation/donation
money payment means 55 automatically sends the adjustment sum from
the account of manager 80 to the account of insured 81. This money
transfer has a meaning as a consolation money to the insured who
has lived long. In addition, the adjustment sum may be sent to a
consolation account 85 opened separately from the account of
insured 81.
[0263] Further, an appeal for a donation to the insured for an
optional life settlement policy other than the viatical and life
settlement policy is made by an optional advertisement. When the
donation is deposited in the online accounts of the investment
trust institution and the financial commodity formation institution
(not shown) from the purchaser 22(x) via the account of purchaser
82, and in the online accounts of this investment trust institution
and the financial commodity formation institution directly from a
third person other than the purchaser 22(x) as a result of the
above advertisement, the consolation/donation money payment means
55 assigns the donation money to a consolation money according to
an error between the real life of the insured and the estimated
remaining life and automatically sends the money to the account of
insured 81.
[0264] The donation money sending function of the
consolation/donation money payment means 55 can solve the essential
problem of the mechanism of the conventional viatical and life
settlement policy anonymous with a vicious cycle in that the
insured does not desire to live longer than the estimated remaining
life.
[0265] In addition, in the first step of selling the own viatical
and life settlement policy by the insured, the insured may join a
society for mutual aid of insured persons called, for example,
"mutual aid society for insured persons" (hereinafter abbreviated
to "mutual aid society"). Whether to join such a society is
determined optionally by the insured. When the insured joins the
society, the insured pays a predetermined member fee into the
mutual aid society's online account (not shown) when the insured
sells the viatical and life settlement policy. The member fees
collected in the online account of mutual aid society are managed
and used only as the consolation money as aforementioned and sent
to the account of insured 81.
[0266] Further, in order to make it possible of sending a fund to
the insured even when the mutual aid society's online account is
run out of fund, a dedicated donation account to receive donations
from unspecified number of persons all over the world may be opened
to manage and use the fund as the member fees in the mutual aid
society's online account.
Embodiment 5
[0267] A mechanism for making it possible of financing monthly
necessary expenses for the insured to pay an insurance due and a
medical fee by taking the viatical and life settlement policy of
the insured in pledge, will be described.
[0268] As shown in FIG. 9, a finance management means 56 (see FIG.
7) of the auction manager 23 automatically pays an insurance money
from the investment activity account 86 to the insurance account 84
via the account of insured 81 and a medical fee from the investment
activity account 86 to the account of hospital 83 via the account
of insured 81 at due dates thereof.
[0269] Here, the financing institution is a generic name of, for
example, the auction manager 23 and banks, and companies,
institutions and financing service providing parties established
for the purpose of financing the insured.
[0270] The financing institution finances the insured on the
security of the viatical and life settlement policy of the insured.
When the insured is successfully cured and rehabilitates, the
insured can return the financed money with interest. Further, terms
of a contract on the finance may include a term of returning the
viatical and life settlement policy of the insured taken by the
financing institution in pledge when the insured liquidates the
financed money with interest within a predetermined period. Simply
stated, this mechanism is the same as the logic of a pawnshop as
follows. The insured put the life settlement policy in a pawn (as
security) at the pawnshop (the financing institution) so as to
receive a specific amount of a divided finance every month or every
six months. Meanwhile, the financing institution keeps the viatical
and life settlement policy as financial security then the pawnshop
(the financing institution) returns the viatical and life
settlement policy to the insured when the insured liquidates the
financed money and the interest thereof. However, the financing
institution preferably calculates the money to be financed after
investigating the minimum volume of trade of the viatical and life
settlement policy of the insured based on the official
institution/laws.
[0271] According to the financing function of this embodiment, the
longer the insured lives, the more the amount of interest received
by the financing institution increases. Accordingly, it is possible
to solve the foregoing essential problem of the mechanism of the
conventional viatical and life settlement policy anonymous with a
vicious cycle in that the insured does not desire to live longer
than the estimated remaining life. Further, the fund flows and
transaction flows in all relevant institutions can be automated as
in Embodiment 3.
Embodiment 6
[0272] A mechanism for risk hedging an obligation (risk) of the
purchaser to pay an insurance money when the insured lives longer
the estimated remaining life will be described.
[0273] This embodiment is characterized in that the purchaser and
the insured cooperate with each other to finance the insurance
money corresponding to a surplus of the life of the insured for
each other from a benefit of the purchaser instead of a bank.
Specific examples of types of insured persons applicable to this
embodiment include an elder who has a difficulty in paying a
monthly insurance due. Further, specific examples of types of
purchasers applicable to this embodiment include an optional
corporation or pension fund body aiming to mainly treat a long-term
assets operation such as a pension fund.
[0274] Like the divided investment on a financial commodity
including a plurality of investment trusts, in the case of the
viatical and life settlement policy including a plurality of single
viatical and life settlement policies, shares of the interest of
the invested money divided according to the estimated remaining
life and the type of decease have hitherto been collected every
year or by lump-sum payment at the expiration date.
[0275] In this embodiment, an online account (the investment
activity account) 86 is opened to manage a saving of an investment
activity fund. An investment activity means 57 (see FIG. 7) pools
money to be invested from the account of purchaser 82 to the
investment activity account 86 until the expiration data of a
financial commodity (e.g., an investment trust) formed by sharing a
plurality of viatical and life settlement policies. Then, in order
to pay the insurance due or the medical fee of the insured, the
investment activity means 57 automatically transfer money from the
investment activity account 86 to the insurance account 84,
transfers the investment amount pooled in the investment activity
account 85 to the account of insured 81 and automatically sends
money to the account of hospital 83, or make an investment in
another investment trust commodity based on the pooled investment
amount.
[0276] On the other hand, at the expiration date, the investment
activity means 57 transfers an amount obtained by subtracting the
medical fee from the purchase amount of the viatical and life
settlement policy from the account of purchaser 86 to the account
of insured 81 so that the purchaser can receive the remainder of
the pooled money. The money received by the purchaser includes the
insurance money. Further, the expiration date is preferably set by
multiplying the maximum estimated remaining life of calculated
expected lives included in the plurality of single viatical and
life settlement policies by, for example, 1.5. That is, when a
viatical and life settlement policy of the longest term of all the
plurality of viatical and life settlement policies is due in 4
years, the term is 4.times.1.5=6 years hence in this embodiment. By
thus extending the term of the viatical and life settlement policy,
the money obtained by selling the life settlement policy can be
pooled and managed by the investment trust institution for a long
period of time, and the insurance money paid by the purchaser can
be covered by the interest of the pooled money. Further, the
investment activity means 57 can solve the essential problem of
negative image in that the purchaser does not desire the insured to
live longer than the estimated remaining life.
[0277] In addition, the insurance money received by the insured is
preferably adjusted at the expiration date according to an error
between the estimated remaining life of the insured and the real
time of death. When the real life of the insured is shorter than
the estimated remaining life, the insurance money is adjusted to
lower, and when the real life is longer than the estimated
remaining life, the insurance money is adjusted to higher.
Consequently, the insurance money can be adjusted according to the
error between the estimated remaining life and the real life of the
insured so that profits can be fairly shared between the purchaser
and the insured.
Embodiment 7
[0278] Next, a life settlement policy composition system for
automatically compose a financial commodity( financial products,
funds and trust) by combining a plurality of viatical and life
settlement policies with different calculated expected lives (e.g.,
an investment trust of fixed expiration date type or an optional
unit commodity which is hereinafter referred to as "composite
right"), will be described.
[0279] Basic information to set a price of the viatical and life
settlement policy is the calculated remaining life information of
an insured. However, once the estimated remaining life is
determined by a doctor, the estimated remaining life has not
hitherto been reviewed according to a lapse of time. Accordingly,
when the insured dies earlier than the estimated remaining life or
lives longer than the estimated remaining life, the value of the
viatical and life settlement policy greatly varies at the time of
determining the estimated remaining life. Accordingly, some
purchaser suffers from an extreme loss due to a various risks
generated during operation up to the expiration date.
[0280] Hence, the life settlement policy composition system of this
embodiment extracts the life settlement policy which is likely to
cause a risk and replaces the life settlement policy by another
life settlement policy to drastically change the constitution of
the composite right so as to make it possible of risk hedging for
the purchaser.
[0281] The life settlement policy composition system comprises a
life settlement policy forming device accessibly connected to a
database and one or more information terminal for updating
information in the database interconnected via a communication
network so as to communicate each other. The information terminal
includes, for example, a device accessed by the doctor who
calculates the estimated remaining life of the insured. The
database may be one or a plurality of databases may be provided
according to purposes. Further, the same auction system as the
auction system 200 described in Embodiment 2 may also be
constructed.
[0282] In order to make the composite right a commodity,
investigations of single viatical and life settlement policies need
to be integrated to form the life settlement policy taking into
consideration of various purposes. Accordingly, the life settlement
policy forming device calculates a proper market price of a single
life settlement policy by analyzing the relativity between price
assessment and market factors of the single life settlement policy
to make it possible of dynamic re-formation of the composite right.
Further, various transactions accompanied with the formation of the
composite right can be handled automatically for the purpose of
labor saving.
[0283] Still further, the single life settlement policy can be
divided into a plurality of units (making electronic life
settlement stocks) and processed.
[0284] First, an example of a method of calculating the proper
price related to the single viatical and life settlement policy
will be described.
[0285] For this purpose, a estimated remaining life error DB, an
item evaluation DB and a DB of a single life settlement policy
already or to be purchased by the investment activity institution
and a single life settlement policy that has been traded in the
industry (hereinafter abbreviated to "single life settlement policy
DB) are required. The life settlement policy forming device
accesses these DBs to obtain a proper price.
[0286] The single receiving DB includes at least the following
items: [0287] Age, sex and nationality of insured [0288] Estimated
remaining life (P1) [0289] Type of decease (P.2) [0290] Average
remaining life (value obtained from subtracting age of insured from
average life span) (P3) [0291] Estimated remaining life judged from
DNA (value obtained from subtracting age of insured from estimated
remaining life judged from DNA) (P.4) [0292] Measured immunity
value (P5) [0293] Insurance company ranking information/insurance
money payment ability (P.6) [0294] Life settlement policy purchase
amount [0295] Life settlement policy price-insurance money-(life
settlement policy purchase amount+(estimated remaining
life.times.annual insurance due.times.1.5+life settlement policy
purchase amount.times.commission fee interest rate))=insurance
money-investment amount [0296] Annual interest=(insurance
money-investment amount/investment amount)/estimated remaining
life
[0297] The following items are calculated from the above items by a
formula, which will given later, and stored in the single life
settlement policy DB: [0298] Life settlement policy evaluation
point (Pt) [0299] Life settlement policy evaluation index (Ph)
[0300] In addition, when the foregoing life settlement policy
purchase amount is this life settlement policy, a proper price to
be used instead of the life settlement policy purchase amount is
calculated from the life settlement policy evaluation index.
[0301] The estimated remaining life error DB stores an error
between a estimated remaining life finally calculated by a doctor
before an insured dies (final estimated remaining life) and a real
dying date of the insured (estimated remaining life error). One of
major features of this system is a mechanism for predicting a
purchaser risk by periodically collecting the final estimated
remaining life and drastically reform the composite right to
automatically carry out risk hedging. Accordingly, this system
collects and manages data of calculated expected lives laying
stress on the final estimated remaining life. The life settlement
policy forming device refers to the estimated remaining life error
or obtain the deviation value of the error to check a variation, a
distortion and the like by using a type of decease, an age, a sex,
a nationality, an average remaining life, a estimated remaining
life judged from DNA, a measured immunity value, a medical
institution and a family doctor as search conditions to investigate
the correlation between the search conditions and estimated
remaining life errors.
[0302] The item evaluation DB stores point conversion tables and
weighting coefficients of search items (P1 to P6).
[0303] The proper price of the single viatical and life settlement
policy is obtained by a predetermined formula (formula 2) after
calculating a life settlement policy evaluation point (Pt) then
calculating a life settlement policy evaluation index (Ph) from the
life settlement policy evaluation point (Pt).
[0304] That is, assuming that H is an insurance money, R is an
annual interest, SY is a estimated remaining life, hy is an annual
insurance due and .alpha. is a trust investment activity
institution commission rate, the proper price J is obtained as
follows: J=((H/(R.times.SY+1))-SY.times.hy.times.1.5)/(1+.alpha.)
(Formula 2)
[0305] The life settlement policy evaluation point (Pt) and the
life settlement policy evaluation index (Ph) are calculated in the
same manner as in Embodiment 2 and the description thereof is
therefore omitted here.
[0306] In addition, the evaluation values (P1 to P6) and the life
settlement policy evaluation points (Pt) may be obtained by
accessing the foregoing item evaluation DB at the time of automatic
formation of the viatical and life settlement policy or obtained
based on current data at an optional time point when the data in
each database is updated. When the life settlement policy
evaluation point (Pt) is obtained, the deviation value of the
evaluation point of the single life settlement policy is obtained
by using samples of all evaluation points in the single life
settlement policy DB as parameters and the obtained deviation value
is assumed to be the evaluation index (Ph) of the single life
settlement policy. The life settlement policy evaluation index (Ph)
may be obtained by accessing the foregoing single life settlement
policy DB at the time of automatic formation of the viatical and
life settlement policy or based on current data at an arbitrary
time point when the data in the single life settlement policy DB is
updated then stored in the single life settlement policy DB. When
the viatical and life settlement policy is not purchased, the
proper price of the life settlement policy is calculated by a
computer and the calculated proper price is used to carry out
automatic formation and simulation.
[0307] Calculation of the proper price of the single life
settlement policy described above is merely an example and the
present invention is not limited to this. It should be noted that
the proper price of the single life settlement policy can be
calculated with an optional algorithm by using the following
information: [0308] Changes in health condition of insured [0309]
Estimated remaining life of insured [0310] Medical certification
created by family doctor to be basis of estimated remaining life of
insured [0311] Diagnosis of family doctor entered in clinical chart
in specific time period in past to be basis of estimated remaining
life of insured [0312] Result of family doctor of insured (past
hitting ratio of calculated expected lives) [0313] Past main
results and specialized skills of doctors other than family doctor
[0314] Ranking of insurance company contracted with insured [0315]
Payment ability and economic stability of insurance company [0316]
Legal verification of insurance contract of insurance company (This
verification is necessary because an insurance money is dependent
on a cause or a place of death.) [0317] Legal regulation related to
location of main office of insurance company [0318] Nationality of
insured [0319] Age of insured [0320] Past clinical history of
insured [0321] Current condition of decease of insured [0322]
Information about medical technology innovativeness and change
thereof related to various types of decease [0323] Current
condition of each type of decease (curing rate against medical
technology) [0324] Annual total trade amounts of viatical and life
settlement policies in various countries (That is, the total number
of insured persons, the total number of auctions, the total number
of purchasers and a total bidding amount. This data in respective
26 principal countries including the USA, Japan, China, the UK,
Germany, France, India, Swiss and Canada is collected.) [0325]
Accumulated data of dates of deaths of object insured persons of
viatical and life settlement policies and annual mortality data
based on probability density function (In addition, data of each
estimated remaining life, each type of decease, each age and each
sex in respective 26 countries including the USA, Japan, Germany,
the UK and France is collected. [0326] Statistical data of each
external factor related to dying date of object insured of viatical
and life settlement policy (i.e., sigma deviation value of
mortality based on data of each estimated remaining life, each type
of decease, each age and each sex in respective 26 countries
including the USA, Japan, Germany, the UK and France)
[0327] The following databases really sore the above information.
The system of this embodiment comprises a plurality of databases.
However, needless to say, one database may store all data. In
addition, information required of all transaction flows to
institutions related to the viatical and life settlement policy
including office procedures, mediations, office work, creation and
distribution of financial statements and the like should also be
stored in databases of relevant institutions.
[0328] (1) Patient Personal Information DB (DB=Database)
[0329] The patient personal information DB includes personal
information, except for a health condition, such as a name, a
personal ID, an address, a contact destination, an occupation, a
family structure, a current economic condition, a motivation of
selling the life settlement policy, a dream or a wish which has
come true until the dying date, a family hospital and a doctor
name. When, for example, when "doctor name" is clicked on a
terminal device or the like which can access this database, data of
that doctor can be obtained.
[0330] (2) Individual Purchaser Personal Information DB
[0331] The individual purchaser personal information DB includes a
name, an address, a sex, a contact destination, an occupation, a
work history, an annual income, a work place, an asset condition, a
current source of income, a name of a company with, for example,
not less than 25% of share is owned by this purchaser, a family
constitution, a beneficially, a list of the number of investments
made by the purchaser and investment target commodities, a
motivation of making an investment in the life settlement policy, a
nationality, a target amount of dividend, a fund type, a source of
income and a purpose of investment.
[0332] (3) Organized Purchaser Corporation Information DB
[0333] The organized purchaser corporation information DB includes
a corporation name, an address, a contact destination, a type of
business, an amount of fund, an amount of ordinary revenue, the
number of employees, an establishment date, a stock holder
constitution, a fund type, a purpose of investment, a permission or
a proxy letter from a representative director (when an approver is
a person other than a president such as an accountant), a target
amount of dividend and a copy of a register.
[0334] (4) Pension Fund, Foundation and Corporation DB
[0335] The pension fund, foundation and corporation DB includes
names, financial statements, the number of persons who pay for a
reserve fund (for pension), a target operation plan, an amount of a
target annual interest, a source of fund, accumulated revenues and
expenditures in a past management and the minimum operation
number.
[0336] (5) Hospital Information DB
[0337] The hospital information DB includes a hospital name, an
establishment date, the number of employees, a management condition
of a hospital and information about an insured to whom the life
settlement policy is transferred.
[0338] (6) System Manager Information DB
[0339] The system manager information DB includes financial
statements, disclosure of an annual balance sheet and a statement
of accounts, a comment from an audit corporation, a ranking, a
capital, an address of a main office, an annual ordinary revenue,
results, a corporate doctrine and a report of social
contribution.
[0340] (7) Current Conditions of Decease Investigation DB
[0341] The current conditions of decease investigation DB includes
medical treatment innovation progress data and information about a
fact of complete cure of decease and the history thereof.
[0342] (8) Doctor DB
[0343] The doctor DB includes a doctor name, a working hospital, a
specialty and the result thereof, estimated remaining life hitting
data (scoring degree), an expert skill, a career and a specialty
study.
[0344] (9) Transaction Flow DB
[0345] The transaction flow DB includes information about various
transaction flows and the history thereof
[0346] (10) Money Flow DB
[0347] The money flow DB includes result data of various money
flows and data for retaining and managing the accumulated data
(that is, detailed transaction information about when, who, where,
how much and the like necessarily entered in account details).
[0348] (11) Single Viatical and Life Settlement Policy DB
[0349] The single viatical and life settlement policy DB is data
indicating information about or reliability of the life settlement
policy being retained or operated including all data necessary for
decision of investment.
[0350] (12) Financial Commodity of Life Settlement Policy DB
[0351] The financial commodity of life settlement policy DB
includes data of a financial commodity based on the life settlement
policy being retained or operated including a commodity structure,
an amount of target achieved interest, an assumed value of a
current net assets amount such as the life settlement policy,
various securities and claimable assets composing a financial
commodity being operated, calculated and analyzed values of the
risk hedging based on the contents of the financial commodity, and
strategy proposal data.
[0352] (13) Creation of Statement of Account (Operation Report) for
Purchaser DB
[0353] The creation of statement of account (operation report) for
purchaser DB includes an operation report of a financial commodity
of a life settlement policy and a document of a calculating formula
for an account.
[0354] (14) Online Compliance DB
[0355] The online compliance DB includes standards and compliance
items of compliance for the purchaser and the insured.
[0356] (15) Black List DB
[0357] The black list DB includes a career, characteristics, a
photograph and a hobby of a person registered or possibly
registered in a black list due to a fraudulent business, and a
reason and a history of registration in the black list.
[0358] (16) Online Protocol DB
[0359] The online protocol DB includes data related to a person who
carries out a suspicious trade and a history of the information of
the person.
[0360] (17) Board of Fair Trade DB
[0361] The board of fair trade DB includes check data of a
transaction flow and the like to trade the life settlement policy
at a proper price.
[0362] (18) Consoled Patient DB
[0363] The consoled patient DB includes information about when and
how much a consolation money received/has been received by
whom.
[0364] (19) Donation Escrow Account DB
[0365] The donation escrow account DB includes record data in
respective transactions for who, when and how much related to
donation and the history of the information about the
transactions.
[0366] (20) Home for Aged and Elder Care Facility DB
[0367] The home for aged and elder care facility DB is data of
various facilities including a name, a location, a condition, an
initiation fee, an annual fee, a condition to determine a condition
of the life settlement policy on which acceptance of an elder is
secured, each condition of an elder to be accepted, personal data
of an elder who actually entered a home for the aged on the
security of the life settlement policy, and information about a
living situation and a health condition of the elder to be reported
from a facility and the history of the information.
[0368] (21) Accounts Opened in System DB
[0369] The accounts opened in system DB includes information of
states of accounts and the history of the information. In addition,
types of accounts are an account of patient, an account of
hospital, an account of ender care facility, an insurance account,
an account of manager, a consolation account, a donation account, a
life settlement policy mediated transfer account, an account for
investment in the life settlement policy, a composite life
settlement policy account, a composite life settlement policy
operation account, a bidder's (successful bidder's) account and an
account of seller.
[0370] (23) Insured (Patient) Death Information DB
[0371] The insured (patient) death information DB includes data
related to decease, a time, a place and a condition of death of the
insured and process data of a range of activity and health
condition of the insured during three to six months before his/her
death.
[0372] It should be noted regarding the above databases that the
information stored in the databases is managed with electronic IDs,
and when new information is generated with the lapse of time in the
money flows or the transaction flows in the relevant institutions,
the new information is sequentially added in a predetermined
database automatically or manually and the contents of the database
is updated. By the update of the information in the database,
analysis between the life settlement policy price and the market
factor of this embodiment can be carried out more precisely on a
practical basis resulting in improvement of the commodity value of
the composite life settlement policy.
[0373] Next, a method of automatically forming the single viatical
and life settlement policy obtained by the foregoing method will be
described. Types and characteristics of financial commodities
(composite life settlement policies) formed by the life settlement
policy forming device of this embodiment will be described
first.
[0374] (a) This financial commodity is such a type that, when the
insured dies, a total amount of insurance money received by all
organized purchasers such as a financial commodity formation
institution, a pension fund, a trust bank, an investment trust and
a union fund operation company is calculated and dividends divided
according to investment (financing) ratios of the purchasers are
cashed and paid to the purchasers in the form of cash-back. The
viatical and life settlement policy can have various forms such as
cash-back at every year or every six month (twice in every year). A
term of the financial commodity is preferably set to a long or an
intermediate term, for example, 3 years, 5 years or 7 years
according to an operation purpose.
[0375] (b) This financial commodity is different from the financial
commodity described in (a) and such a type that an annual insurance
money or a part of a capital is paid as a dividend to the purchaser
until the expiration date. However, the dividend is not paid in
cash but used for a cyclic investment (reinvestment) in a financial
commodity of a further life settlement policy. The characteristic
of this financial commodity is that the dividend can be increased
with the lapse of time according to the "rules of right" by
continuing the reinvestment of the annual profit corresponding to
the cash-back until the expiration date. In addition, all the
dividends are paid by lump-sum payment at the expiration date.
[0376] (c) This financial commodity is the same commodity as that
described in (b) and such a type that the fund is not locked in
(cannot be withdrawn) until the expiration date and instead, the
fund can be withdrawn and cashed when necessary without canceling
the contract even before the expiration date. The upper limit of an
amount that can be withdrawn is however, a balance in the
account,
[0377] (d) This financial commodity is such a type that an
investment trust, a financial commodity, a stock, a security and a
securitized REIT (Real-Estate Investment Trust) stock are
integrated on the basis of the foregoing financial commodities (a)
to (c) to compose one financial commodity. That is, a fund can be
divided and invested to form portfolios by freely incorporating an
investment fund, a union commodity and various stocks in the
economic market (e.g., an Asian market, an American market or a
Euro market) into the financial commodity of the viatical and life
settlement policy. A desired return aimed in advance can be thus
achieved. Further, the financial commodity composed of the above
financial commodities (like the structure of funds of funds),
wherein a plurality of single commodities of viatical and life
settlement policies with an undefined expiration date and a fixed
return are combined which is the conventional fundamental type,
includes financial commodities of a capital-secured type and a
capital-guaranteed type.
[0378] (e) The capitals for the financial commodities in (a) to (d)
based on the single viatical and life settlement policy and the
viatical and life settlement policy are secured with the interests
of conventional national bonds and 0 coupons of a bank. This
financial commodity is operated in parts of each investment trust
of so-called capital-secured type and a union commodity in which
the capitals thereof are secured.
[0379] (f) This financial commodity is such a type that a fund is
financed for the insured by a bank taking the viatical and life
settlement policy in pledge and the interest of the fund is
cyclically invested in financial commodities like those in (a) to
(e) to divide and distribute the interest while making a profit.
This financial commodity is of a fixed expiration date type, and
whether to receive the dividend of the interest by lump-sum payment
or annual cash-back can be selected by the purchaser
himself/herself.
[0380] (g) This financial commodity is such a type that a bank or a
fund financing institution takes a financial commodity composed of
a securitized life settlement policy or a plurality of securitized
life settlement policies as are so as to form the financial
commodities themselves to "a fixed expiration date type and a
secured (guaranteed) capital type" and "a fixed interest type."
That is, this financial commodity is the viatical and life
settlement policy of "a fixed expiration date, a fixed interest
type and a fixed (guaranteed) capital type."
[0381] (h) The life settlement policy forming device of this
embodiment can expand a trade by dividing the same into a plurality
of processes because the single viatical and life settlement policy
is computerized and securitized. That is, instead of selling one
whole car as is, the car is disassembled into parts, then the parts
can be automatically priced according to values and degrees of
importance thereof and sold. For instance, the life settlement
policy divided into 10, 100, or 500 units are appropriately sold in
the market by individual and organized purchasers and each of the
units can be freely traded as securities.
[0382] Accordingly, this financial commodity composed of various
securities is such a type that the single life settlement policy is
divided into a plurality of units and incorporated into respective
financial commodities according to a plurality of different
purposes, various operation methods and various schemes. Further,
this financial commodity includes a financial commodity formed by
freely incorporating the life settlement policy into each type of
the financial commodity in (a) to (g) and can be transferred,
replaced or exchanged by another commodity before the expiration
date.
[0383] (i) All kinds of financial commodities accompanied with the
composition of the financial-commodities in (a) to (h).
[0384] Next, the procedures of automatic creation of the composite
life settlement policy by the life settlement policy forming device
will be described. FIG. 10 shows the procedures.
[0385] (1) Specifications desired by a customer who desires to
purchase the composite life settlement policy are input.
[0386] The desired specifications items include the following
items: [0387] Operation type (existence of cash-back of annual
dividend, etc.) [0388] Highest investment amount [0389] Lowest life
settlement policy value (=insurance money investment amount [0390]
Lowest annual interest [0391] Expiration date [0392] Type of
decease (A plurality of types may be selected.) [0393] Age group
[0394] Maximum investment ratio of each estimated remaining life
for total investment amount (values which make the maximum
investment ratio not more than 20% for 1-year course, not more than
40% for 2-year course, not more than 40% for 3-year course, not
more than 50% for 4-year course and not more than 60% for 5-year
course when a term to the expiration date is 6 years as shown in an
example of a screen display shown in FIG. 11) [0395] Minimum
evaluation index of single life settlement policy [0396] Selection
of an interest rate type, a relief type (an evaluation index
stressing type), a distribution type, or a random type is
preferably included.
[0397] In addition, FIG. 11 shows an input screen displayed when an
annual dividend (return) from a portfolio is cashed back in the
case where a life settlement policy commodity with a fixed return
of which a purchase amount of the viatical and life settlement
policy is fixed is formed. It is a matter of course that there is
another structure wherein a dividend in a year with no dividend
from a portfolio is reinvested in cyclic operation with the life
settlement policy until the expiration date. However, the figure
shows an example of the screen of a commodity with an annual
dividend cashed back.
[0398] For example, when a portfolio is formed, an operation style
can be selected from an interest rate priority type, a stable type,
a distribution type and a random type.
[0399] (2) Next, a single life settlement policy satisfying
specification conditions among life settlement policies to be
targets of investment by a trust institution managing the life
settlement policy composition system is searched from the single
life settlement policy DB by using one or more of the specification
conditions as a search key, listed up, and displayed on the screen
if necessary.
[0400] (3) Next, n single life settlement policies are selected
from those listed up in (2) for each estimated remaining life (for
the purpose of risk sharing). When the interest rate priority type
is selected as a desired specification, life settlement policies
are selected in descending order of interest rates R.
[0401] When the stable type is selected, life settlement policies
are selected in descending order of evaluation indices Ph. When the
distribution type is selected, a plurality of life settlement
policies with high interest rates R and high interest rates Ph are
selected. When the random type is selected, life settlement
policies are randomly selected.
[0402] (4) Next, the number of stocks of life settlement policies
to compose a financial commodity is determined according to the
highest investment amount input as a desired specification and the
maximum investment ratio of a estimated remaining life. At this
time, the financial commodity is formed so that money to purchase
the stocks of the life settlement policies to compose the financial
commodity and the total amount of the proper price of a single life
settlement policy calculated by the foregoing method are in the
range of the foregoing maximum investment amount. Further, when a
financial commodity with a term of 2 years, for example, is
composed of n single life settlement policies, a configuration
ratio of life settlement policies may be weighted or equally
divided (1/n) according to an adopted style selected from the
interest rate type, the relief type, the distribution type and the
random type. In this case, a setting function of detailed option
specification can be provided on the specification input screen to
make it possible of any one of the above operation styles. P.34
[0403] (5) Next, the operation on the composite life settlement
policy is simulated according to a desired specification of a
customer. The operation simulation is to calculate returns received
by the customer until the expiration date. The screen shown in FIG.
12 shows an example of execution in cases where a commodity is
composed of life settlement policies with fixed returns of which a
purchase amount of the viatical and life settlement policy is fixed
and an annual dividend (return) from a portfolio is cashed
back.
[0404] The life settlement policy forming device searches a
viatical and life settlement policy corresponding to the category
with the contents conditioned on the example of the input screen
shown in FIG. 11 then creates and displays a portfolio. Judgment of
the availability of the composite commodity specification is
required of the portfolio. When YES, the formation ends. When NO,
another life settlement policy is searched. On this screen, past
statistics of key items of analytical data below evaluated value
indices of single viatical and life settlement policies (e.g., key
items which greatly affect values of single life settlement
policies such as past statistics and average death values, various
types of decease, home doctors of insured persons, medical
specialist doctors, DNA analysis doctors, immunity inspection
doctors or nutritionists) and mean value data of the industry can
be referenced (by presenting current information from the DB).
Further, each data item can be compared to each single life
settlement policy to be incorporated into the portfolio of the
financial commodity by the purchaser.
[0405] As aforementioned, the proper price of the single life
settlement policy is calculated by updating the estimated remaining
life error DB based on current calculated remaining life
information stored in the database. Accordingly, this simulation
for the life settlement policy composed of single life settlement
policies of proper prices is carried out based on the current
calculated remaining life information. However, this means that a
estimated remaining life error is indirectly evaluated by
evaluating a type of decease from the composition. When items of
the evaluation index Ph and the interest rate R are referenced and
listed up in (2), the item evaluation DB is referenced for the
purpose of obtaining a point of a type of decease by calculating
the evaluation index Ph. This point for each type of decease in the
item evaluation DB is determined by referencing the estimated
remaining life DB. For example, when the insured is suffered from
AIDS, a estimated remaining life error becomes as great as 2 years
resulting in a large deviation, the point is 3 on the basis of 10
points. When the insured is suffered from a stomach cancer, since a
estimated remaining life error is few, the point is 7.
[0406] On the other hand, the estimated remaining life error DB is
also accessed and the estimated remaining life error is used during
simulated of an operation. The reason why is because a estimated
remaining life error is an important factor in the operation
simulation and the estimated remaining life error is therefore
directly evaluated. Accordingly, it is assumed that estimated
remaining life errors of life settlement policies of the same
category as that of the life settlement policy of a simulation
target are preferably collected to obtain a mean value added with
the estimated remaining life to improve accuracy of a predicted
timing of death to improve precision of the simulation. Thus, a
estimated remaining life (a dying date of the insured) at the
operation simulation is, for example, 3.5 year when an average
error is +0.5 year and a estimated remaining life is 3 years, or
2.3 year when an average error is -0.7 year.
[0407] (6) When there are many samples in the single life
settlement policy DB at the time of calculating the mean estimated
remaining life error of the life settlement policy of a simulation
target, a search condition (a desired specification) at the time of
extracting the single life settlement policy from the single life
settlement policy DB is preferably set in detail to improve the
precision of the result of the simulation. For example, a search is
executed under AND conditions of a type of decease, a estimated
remaining life, a home doctor (a medical institution) rank, a mean
estimated remaining life, a estimated remaining life determined
from DNA, a measured immunity value, a nationality and a sex then
life settlement policies satisfying the specified conditions are
listed up. On the contrary, when the number of samples in the
single life settlement policy DB is equal to or less than a
predetermined value, the number of search conditions is decreased
(e.g., only a type of decease is specified) to increase the number
of candidates of life settlement policies to be listed up. In
addition, the number of search items may also automatically be
determined by feeding back the number of candidates retrieved from
the single life settlement policy DB.
[0408] In addition, needless to say, other various calculated
expected lives can be adjusted by using the estimated remaining
life error statistical data.
[0409] (7) Next, if the result of simulating the operation
satisfies the minimum annual interest desired by the customer is
checked. The reason of this is that, since calculated dying dates
(calculated expected lives) of target insured persons of composite
life settlement policies are various and a mean value of estimated
remaining life errors is summed up at the time of simulating an
operation, different from the estimated remaining life initially
assumed by the composite life settlement policy, whether or not the
annual interest is satisfied cannot be known until the operation on
the estimated remaining life added with the mean value is
simulated. When the interest rate type has been selected at the
time of finding out that the minimum annual interest is not
satisfied after the execution of the operation simulation, the
processing returns, to specification input described in (1), the
minimum annual interest is corrected to a lower value, and the
operation simulation is re-executed. When the relief type or the
distribution type is selected, the processing returns to selection
of life settlement policies from the list described in (3), the
life settlement policy with the second highest evaluation index Ph
next to the highest evaluation index Ph of the previously selected
is selected and the operation simulation is re-executed. (Note: To
lower the evaluation index Ph means to raise the interest rate R).
When the result of repeating this processing is NG, the processing
returns to the specification input described in (1) and the minimum
annual interest is corrected to a lower value and thereafter the
operation simulation is re-executed. Further, when the random type
is selected and the minimum annual interest is not satisfied, the
processing returns to (3), life settlement policies are randomly
selected and the operation simulation is re-executed.
[0410] FIG. 13 shows an example of a screen whereon a data DB of
key items of single viatical and life settlement policies are
compared to life settlement policies purchased by the purchaser
himself/herself. (For example, since a estimated remaining life is
periodically repeated from viewpoints of a home doctor, a medical
specialist doctor, a DNA analysis doctor, an immunity inspection
doctor and a nutritionist, a change in a substantially correct
decease condition of a patient can be seized.) On the portfolio
screen shown in FIG. 13, data of key items of analytical data
related to single viatical and life settlement policies and
evaluated value indices incorporated in the portfolio (e.g., key
items which greatly affect values of single life settlement
policies such as past statistics and average death values, various
types of decease, home doctors of insured persons, medical
specialist doctors, DNA analysis doctors, immunity inspection
doctors or nutritionists) are compared to past statistics and mean
value data of the industry and referenced. FIGS. 14 and 15 show a
next screen related to past statistics and mean death values of
various decease displayed by clicking a button.
[0411] Finally, when the minimum annual interest is satisfied, the
contents of a composite life settlement policy at the time are
displayed on the screen and the screen enters a wait state until
the customer judges whether to approves the contents of the
composite life settlement policy. When the customer does not
approve the contents, the processing returns to the specification
input described in (1) and the processing is repeated or ended when
the customer approves the contents.
[0412] As is clear from the foregoing example, the life settlement
policy is different from a fund composed of other stocks and the
like in that the interest rate of the life settlement policy can be
clearly calculated, and this is a great advantage of congeniality
with automatic formation by a computer.
[0413] However, the life settlement policy has a structural problem
of a estimated remaining life error as an uncertainty factor.
Accordingly, it is essential to provide a mechanism to improve
precision of the estimated remaining life error. The life
settlement policy forming device of this embodiment has a structure
so as to collect current estimated remaining life error data from a
medical institution such as a doctor and store the collected data
in a database. Thus, the current and correct error data can be
obtained and operation simulation can be executed based on the
error data resulting in reduction of a customer risk. When the life
settlement policy forming device securitizes (forms) the viatical
and life settlement policy, it is important to take into
consideration risk hedging on various risks (including a risk
generated when decease once assumed to be incurable is cured and
risk accompanied with payment of insurance money due to bankruptcy,
acquisition or merger of an insurance company related to the life
settlement policy). More specifically, when a specific medicine or
a curative means for a cancer is developed, a value of a viatical
and life settlement granted to an insured who suffers from a cancer
is lowered. Accordingly, risk hedging such as to sell a risky life
settlement policy and purchase another life settlement policy is
necessarily carried out.
[0414] Further, the life settlement policy formation system is
preferably provided with databases for various composite life
settlement policies including single life settlement policies to be
components and items of purchasers who transfer life settlement
policies. When an event of receiving an insurance money related to
a composite life settlement policy occurs or an obligation to pay
an insurance due is imposed, a part of the procedures of paying a
specific commission fee between relevant persons can be automated
by computer processing.
[0415] Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the life settlement policy
formation system is characterized in that it is made possible to
divide a single life settlement policy as electronic life
settlement policies each of which is made an independent electronic
viatical and life settlement policy security (stock), and
incorporate the divided security (stock) into financial commodities
of various schemes or distribute the divided security (stock) to a
plurality of financial commodities so as to be operated
automatically. That is, it is possible to divide the single life
settlement policy into a plurality of units (the "unit" is
hereinafter referred to as "electronic life settlement policy") and
combine electronic life settlement policies of a plurality of life
settlement policies with different estimated remaining life to
automatically form and operate the financial stock. Since financial
commodities can be formed in units of electronic life settlement
policies unlike a combination of single life settlement policies,
it is possible to form the financial commodities more flexibly and
hence further efficient risk hedging can be expected.
[0416] Further, the procedures for forming a commodity composed of
stock units is very complicated. In this embodiment however, a life
settlement policy ID (a life settlement policy wherefrom a stock is
derived), the number of divisions of a life settlement policy (the
total number of issued electronic life settlement policies), a
composite commodity ID wherein the purchaser himself/herself is
incorporated, a purchaser ID, and an electronic life settlement
policy including items of investment ratios for the composite
commodity including the electronic life settlement policy of the
purchaser can be managed as attribute information in a database to
support the automation of the procedures resulting in improvement
of a transaction efficiency of a trust institution. For example,
the insurance money and the insurance due of the composite
commodity can be determined as ratios of the number of stocks.
Further, a mechanism to add the purchaser ID to each electronic
life settlement policy and, when an event of receiving an insurance
money occurs or an obligation to pay an insurance due is imposed,
automatically pay the due or transfers the money to the purchaser
who is an owner of each electronic life settlement policy according
to the attribute information of the electronic receiving stock
related to the purchaser ID.
[0417] That is, the settlement related to a composite commodity can
be automated as that of the conventional commodity composed of
single life settlement policies.
[0418] Next, an embodiment of dynamically change components of a
composite life settlement policy according to external conditions
will be described.
[0419] Specific examples of the external conditions include a
change of a estimated remaining life (due to a change in a health
condition of a patient or drastic progress of the medical science),
insurance company management conditions (including suffering from a
sudden disaster, an event such as an error in a stock price due to
acquisition or merger of a corporate and the like), change in legal
conditions of payment of insurance money by an insurance company at
the time of death of a patient (includes not only an agreement of a
policy but also a change in a law of a country where the main
office of the insurance company is located and a change in a low of
a country where an insured resides) and the like. The estimated
remaining life of the insured is periodically calculated by a
medical institution or the like, the current estimated remaining
life and the ranking information of the insurance company are
updated at specific intervals, and the contents of a composite
viatical and life settlement policy commodity are dynamically
changed according to the contents of a database to automatically
carry out risk hedging. The estimated remaining life has hitherto
been judged only once when the insured transfers the viatical and
life settlement policy. This conventional system is corrected so
that the estimated remaining life of the insured is periodically
(e.g., at every 6 months or every 1 year) recalculated to make it
possible to predict a change of the estimated remaining life in
advance so that more accurate and safe risk hedging can be
automatically carried out.
[0420] FIG. 17 is a schematic view showing the above procedures. A
function for periodically inputting a current evaluation index, an
annual interest, a information of the electronic receiving stock
related to the purchaser ID.
[0421] That is, the settlement related to a composite commodity can
be automated as that of the conventional c composed of single life
settlement policies.
[0422] Next, an embodiment of dynamically change components of a
composite life settlement policy according to external conditions
will be described.
[0423] Specific examples of the external conditions include a
change of a estimated remaining life (due to a change in a health
condition of a patient or drastic progress of the medical science),
insurance company management conditions (including suffering from a
sudden disaster, an event such as an error in a stock price due to
acquisition or merger of a corporate and the like), change in legal
conditions of payment of insurance money by an insurance company at
the time of death of a patient (includes not only an agreement of a
policy but also a change in a law of a country where the main
office of the insurance company is located and a change in a low of
a country where an insured resides) and the like. The estimated
remaining life of the insured is periodically calculated by a
medical institution or the like, the current estimated remaining
life and the ranking information of the insurance company are
updated at specific intervals, and the contents of a composite
viatical and life settlement policy commodity are dynamically
changed according to the contents of a database to automatically
carry out risk hedging. The estimated remaining life has hitherto
been judged only once when the insured transfers the viatical and
life settlement policy. This conventional system is corrected so
that the estimated remaining life of the insured is periodically
(e.g., at every 6 months or every 1 year) recalculated to make it
possible to predict a change of the estimated remaining life in
advance so that more accurate and safe risk hedging can be
automatically carried out.
[0424] FIG. 17 is a schematic view showing the above procedures. A
function for periodically inputting a current evaluation index, an
annual interest, a estimated remaining life and insurance company
ranking information to the life settlement policy formation system
is provided. There is provided a function for automatically and
dynamically changing the number of electronic life settlement
policies composing a composite commodity when the estimated
remaining life is remarkably changed. For example, assume the cases
where an evaluation index or an annual interest is decreased by not
less than 20%, a estimated remaining life of an insured first
calculated to 3 years is extended to a current estimated remaining
life of 6 years as a result of reinspection and the change of the
estimated remaining life exceeds a threshold value (e.g., 2 years),
or the rank of the insurance company is lowered due to a financial
problem. When the life settlement policy formation system detects
the above event, the life settlement policy formation system
dynamically and automatically makes such a change of decreasing
composing ratios of relevant electronic life settlement policies so
as to prevent a risk. In addition, the above predetermined event
and the threshold value are determined as rules so as to be
referenced by the life settlement policy formation system.
[0425] Needless to say, automatic forming processing is re-executed
according to the foregoing desire of the customer when the life
settlement policy formation system changes the component of the
composite life settlement policy. Further, when a change of the
estimated remaining life exceeds the predetermined threshold value,
the automatic formation is re-executed to remove the life
settlement policy from the composite commodity or the composing
ratio of the electronic stock of the life settlement policy is
lowered to apply another life settlement policy. Then, if the
minimum annual interest desired by the customer is satisfied is
checked. If satisfied, the operation is continued on the re-created
composite commodity as a new composite commodity after announcing
the use of the new commodity to the customer. A process of
automatically announcing the specifications of the newly created
composite commodity to the customer if necessary and obtaining
approval of the customer may also be incorporated in the system. On
the other hand, when the customer does not satisfy with the
composite commodity because the interest is not satisfied, another
life settlement policy can be applied.
[0426] When the financial commodity composed of such single life
settlement policies is automatically operated, changes of various
items are occasionally checked as external conditions and made a
database so as to predict a possible future risk by analyzing
various factors and information. Then a function for automatically
notifying a manager of the life settlement policy formation system,
fund managers of various financial commodities, financial commodity
forming companies managing the financial commodities, and traders
and managers of various union commodities managing the financial
commodities of the prediction information and a result of analysis,
which is a reason of prediction, in advance may be provided.
Further, a function for automatically calculating a proper price of
an electronic stock predicated to be highly risky by the life
settlement policy formation system by the foregoing method then
automatically exhibit the electronic stock at the online auction
may also be provided. In this case, the system can automatically
prevent a risk.
[0427] An example of the foregoing terminal device 3 for the
auction manager of Embodiment 1, the terminal device 23 for the
auction manager in Embodiment 2, and the hardware configuration of
the life settlement policy forming device in Embodiment 7
(hereinafter abbreviated to "arithmetic unit 700") will be
described. FIG. 18 shows the configuration of the arithmetic unit
700.
[0428] As shown in FIG. 18, the arithmetic unit 700 is a so-called
computer 700 comprises a processor 702 operationally connected by a
bus 708, a memory 704, a disk 706, an I/O port 710 and a network
interface 12. The methods executable by a computer described in
this specification can be executed on a computer like the computer
700. In addition, it should be understood that a configuration of a
computer is not limited to that of the computer 700, but other
computer may also be used for the methods described in this
specification.
[0429] The processor 702 is any type of processor including a dual
microprocessor and another multiprocessor architectures. An example
of block diagrams showing components provided in the processor 702
are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In addition, components which is not
directly related to the present invention such as a data output
means for the I/O device 718 (a monitor screen) are omitted in
FIGS. 6 and 7.
[0430] The memory 704 may comprise a volatile memory and/or a
nonvolatile memory. Specific examples of the nonvolatile memory
include but not limited to a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable
Read Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
(EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
(EEPROM) and the like. Specific examples of the volatile memory
include a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Synchronous RAM (SRAM), a
Dynamic RAM (DRAM), a Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Double Data Rate
SDRAM (DDR SDRAM) and a Direct RAM bus RAM (DRRAM). Specific
examples of the disk 706 include but not limited to devices such as
a magnetic disk drive, a floppy (registered trademark) disk drive,
a magnetic tape drive, a Zip drive, a flash memory card and/or a
memory stick. Specific examples of the disk 706 further includes
optical disk drives such as a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), a CD
Recordable drive (CD-R drive), a CD Rewritable drive (CD-RW drive)
and/or a Digital Versatile Disk ROM drive (DVD ROM drive). Further,
the memory 704 can store, for example, a process 714 and/or data
16.
[0431] Specific examples of the data 716 may include a seller 1(x),
a bidder 2(x), an insured 21(x), a purchaser 22(x) and data
transmitted from an information terminal of the medical
institutions in Embodiment 3. The disk 706 and/or the memory 704
can store an operating system for controlling and allocating
resources of the computer 700.
[0432] The bus 708 can be a single internal bus interconnection
architecture and/or another bus architecture. The format of the bus
708 can be but not limited to any one of various formats including
a memory bus or a memory controller, a peripheral bus or an
external bus, and/or a local bus. The type of the local bus can be
but not limited to any one of various types including an industry
standard architecture bus (ISA) bus, a microchannel architecture
(MSA) bus, an extended ISA (EISA) bus, a peripheral component
interconnect (PCI) bus, a universal serial bus (USB) and a small
computer system interface (SCSI).
[0433] The computer 700 interacts with a I/O output device 18 via
the I/O port 710. Specific examples of the I/O device 718 includes
but not limited to a handle, a keyboard, a microphone, a pointing
and selection device, a camera, a video card, a display and the
like connected to an insertable device such as a catheter. Specific
examples of the I/O port 710 includes but not limited to a serial
port, a parallel port and a USB port. The I/O device 18 can be
divided into an input device and an output device.
[0434] The computer 700 can operate in a network environment and is
therefore connected to a network 720 via an interface 712. The
computer 700 can be logically connected to a remote computer 722
via a network 720. Accordingly, execution of the methods described
in this specification can be shared by 2 or more communicating and
cooperating computers. Local area network technologies to which the
network interface 712 can be connected include but not limited to
an optical Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), a Copper
Distributed Data Interface (CDDI), Ethernet/IEEE802.3,
Tokenring/IEEE802.5 and the like. Likewise, wide area network
technologies to which the network interface 712 can be connected
include but not limited to circuit-switched networks such as a
point-to-point link, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), a
packet switching network and a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL).
[0435] As described above, needless to say, the auction system
according to the present invention and hardware devices for forming
composite life settlement policies are not limited to the
configuration shown in FIG. 18. That is, the arithmetic unit 700
may form an arithmetic unit or system wherein a plurality of
devices mutually exchange data via the network 720.
[0436] One example of this system is a system wherein a plurality
of hardware devices are interconnected via a communication network
(e.g., internet) so as to communicate each other and exchange data
therebetween. The present invention can be realized by a
server/client system, a grid computer system or the like.
[0437] Thus, it can be said through Embodiments 1 to 7 that
unspecified number of persons make bids at a conventional online
auction. However, there is a problem in that even a seller or a
bidder registered in a black list who has caused a trouble due to
an illegal action in a past auction can make a bit at an auction.
However, the auction system in this embodiment can exclude in
advance a seller or a bidder registered in a black list who has
caused a trouble due to an illegal action in a past auction so as
to reduce troubles after a successful bid.
[0438] Further, the auction system can provide a service to share
an ownership of a successfully bidden stock such as a life
settlement policy (a viatical and life settlement policy/an
obligation to pay insurance money) by purchasing a financial
commodity at, for example, hundreds of or tens of million yen by a
plurality of bidders instead of an individual.
[0439] The auction system further provides a mechanism and a system
for determining a proper price of trading a stock related to the
life settlement policy to solve a social problem of purchase of a
commodity from an insured at unreasonably low price by an agency.
Even when the life settlement policy is shared by unspecified
number of persons, a quick service can be provided by automating
the business procedures.
[0440] Further, the financial commodity of the life settlement
policy can be automatically formed to suppress increase of a labor
cost caused by complicated back-office transactions with documents
such as business procedures and settlement procedures, and reduce
an expense and a management cost required of a financial commodity
formation institution, a financial commodity management company, a
bank and the like for back-office transactions.
[0441] Further, there is provided a technology for
compensate/guarantee a purchase amount of the life settlement
policy when an error of a estimated remaining life of the insured
occurs in a life settlement policy.
[0442] Still further, payment of a medical fee including an
insurance due included in a monthly medical fee in a medical
institutions were the insured is treated can be automated resulting
in remarkable improvement of business efficiencies of relevant
institutions.
[0443] Furthermore, since a mismatch of a purchase price of the
life settlement policy occurs due to a estimated remaining life
error resulting in separation between a required expense related to
a medical treatment and a price of life settlement policy transfer.
Consequently, a relationship between a demand and a supply is often
unbalanced. Or, when a large amount of payment to the insured (the
patient) is generated at one time, it is difficult to install an
automatic online divided transfer mechanism and this leads to
complicated or insufficient procedures, or loss of a chance for
support by a purchaser because the purchaser cannot invest any more
money for support. However, these problems can be solved by proving
a financial system technology for receiving insurance money as
security.
[0444] Further, a problem of great reduction of a dividend for the
purchaser when the estimated remaining life is greatly extended due
to a progress of the medical science can be solved.
[0445] Still further, there is provided a technology for forming a
financial composite commodity of each investment trust or each
union based on the life settlement policy composed of electronic
life settlement policies so as to make it possible of more flexible
risk hedging.
* * * * *