U.S. patent application number 13/588576 was filed with the patent office on 2013-12-19 for system and method for use of social networks to respond to insurance related events.
The applicant listed for this patent is Seth Brewer, Ryan Owen Denning, Mushter Munib Moin, Deborah L. Perschy. Invention is credited to Seth Brewer, Ryan Owen Denning, Mushter Munib Moin, Deborah L. Perschy.
Application Number | 20130339062 13/588576 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49756715 |
Filed Date | 2013-12-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130339062 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Brewer; Seth ; et
al. |
December 19, 2013 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS TO RESPOND TO
INSURANCE RELATED EVENTS
Abstract
Pursuant to some embodiments, systems, methods, apparatus and
computer program code for responding to insurance related events
are provided. Pursuant to some embodiments, event data associated
with an insurance related event are received, and cause the
analysis of the event data, the identification of an insured entity
and an affected insurance policy, the establishment of a support
network for response to the insurance related event, and the
communication of information associated with the support network to
an insured entity. In some embodiments, the support network is a
social network that includes the insured as well as one or more
service providers selected based on the affected insurance policy,
the insured, and the insurance related event.
Inventors: |
Brewer; Seth; (New Britain,
CT) ; Denning; Ryan Owen; (West Hartford, CT)
; Moin; Mushter Munib; (Newington, CT) ; Perschy;
Deborah L.; (Southington, CT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Brewer; Seth
Denning; Ryan Owen
Moin; Mushter Munib
Perschy; Deborah L. |
New Britain
West Hartford
Newington
Southington |
CT
CT
CT
CT |
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
49756715 |
Appl. No.: |
13/588576 |
Filed: |
August 17, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61659749 |
Jun 14, 2012 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/4 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 4/021 20130101;
H04L 51/32 20130101; G06Q 40/08 20130101; G06Q 50/01 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/4 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 40/08 20120101
G06Q040/08 |
Claims
1. An insurance processing system, comprising: a communication
device to receive event data associated with an insurance related
event; a processor coupled to the communication device; and a
storage device in communication with said processor and storing
instructions adapted to be executed by said processor to: analyze
said event data; identify, based at least in part on said event
data, an insured entity and an affected insurance policy;
establish, based on said event data, said insured entity, and said
affected insurance policy, a support network in response to said
insurance related event, the support network including at least the
insured entity, a representative of an insurer and at least one
service provider; and communicate information associated with said
support network to said insured entity.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the event data includes location
information identifying a location of the insurance related
event.
3. The system of claim 2, the storage device further storing
instructions adapted to be executed by said processor to: determine
one or more policy rules associated with the insurance related
event and the affected insurance policy; and identify, based at
least in part on the one or more policy rules and the location
information, one or more service providers.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the support network is a social
network including the insured entity and the one or more service
providers.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the support network further
includes at least a first insurance company representative.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein said information associated with
said support network includes access instructions allowing said
insured entity to access said support network.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said insurance event data is
received by a direct communication from said insured entity.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein said direct communication is by
at least one of (i) an email communication, (ii) a telephone
communication, and (iii) a communication from a device associated
with said insured entity.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein said insurance event data is
received by an indirect communication from said insured entity.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein said indirect communication is
detected based on information posted on at least a first social
network.
11. The system of claim 9, the storage device further storing
instructions adapted to be executed by said processor to: validate
the occurrence of said insurance related event using information
posted on at least a second social network.
12. A computer implemented insurance processing method, comprising:
receiving, at an insurance processing platform, insurance related
event data associated with an insured; identifying, based at least
in part on said event data, an insured entity, an affected
insurance policy and a relevant policy rule; applying said relevant
policy rule to said event data to establish a support network in
response to said insurance related event, the support network
including at least the insured entity, a representative of an
insurer and at least one service provider identified based on said
relevant policy rule; and communicating information associated with
said support network to said insured entity.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the insurance related event
data includes location information identifying a location of the
insurance related event.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the relevant policy rule is
selected based at least in part on the type of insurance related
event.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein the support network is a social
network including the insured entity, the insurer and the one or
more service providers.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the support network further
includes at least a first insurance company representative.
17. The method of claim 12, wherein said information associated
with said support network includes access instructions allowing
said insured entity to access said support network.
18. The method of claim 12, wherein said insurance event data is
received by a direct communication from said insured entity.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein said direct communication is by
at least one of (i) an email communication, (ii) a telephone
communication, and (iii) a communication from a device associated
with said insured entity.
20. The method of claim 12, wherein said insurance event data is
received by an indirect communication from said insured entity.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein said indirect communication is
detected based on information posted on at least a first social
network.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: validating the
occurrence of said insurance related event using information posted
on at least a second social network.
23. A method for operating an insurance processing social network,
comprising: creating an insurance processing social network in
response to data identifying an insurance related event involving
an insured entity, and the application of a rules engine to
identify a plurality of participants in the insurance processing
social network; transmitting information for accessing the
insurance processing social network to said plurality of
participants; allowing each of said plurality of participants to
transmit messages to others of said plurality of participants
through said insurance processing social network; and displaying
said messages to said plurality of participants on a user interface
of a computing device associated with each of said plurality of
participants.
24. The method of claim 23, further comprising: disabling access to
said insurance processing social network after said insurance
related event has been resolved; and archiving data associated with
said insurance processing social network for use in an insurance
claim file.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based on, and claims benefit of and
priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/659,749
filed on Jun. 14, 2012, the contents of which are hereby
incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all
purposes.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Many insurance related events require the involvement of one
or more service providers to assist in responding to the event. For
example, an insured driver who is involved in an automobile
accident while far from home may need assistance from several
different service providers to deal with the accident, including a
tow truck provider, a rental car agency, a automobile repair shop,
and a hotel. Often, when an insured driver has such an accident,
the driver must either consult their insurance policy to determine
what services are covered, call their insurance carrier to file a
first notice of loss, and/or keep their receipts and hope that
their policy will reimburse the costs of the service providers
selected by the insured driver.
[0003] Other types of insurance related events require similar
levels of involvement. For example, an insured homeowner who
suffers damage from a fire may need temporary housing,
transportation, clothing, and a contractor to repair the damage.
Unfortunately, insured individuals often are unable to quickly
contact, interact with, and manage their interactions with service
providers that are covered under their insurance policy. Further,
individuals who suffered an insurance related event (such as an
accident, fire or the like) often are not in a position to contact
appropriate service providers. For example, a driver who just
suffered a traumatic accident may not necessarily be able (or want)
to search for the most appropriate car rental agency.
[0004] Further, as consumers become more connected and reliant on
the use of social networks to share information about their
location, status and activities, they increasingly notify others in
their social network of accidents or other events even before they
consider contacting their insurance provider. For example, an
insured driver who is involved in an accident may immediately
publish an update on her Twitter.RTM. or Facebook.RTM. account
notifying those in her social network of the accident.
[0005] It would be desirable to use social networks and social
media to respond to insurance related events. Further, it would be
desirable to identify insurance related events through monitoring
of social networks.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is block diagram of a system according to some
embodiments of the present invention.
[0007] FIG. 2 is block diagram of a system according to some
embodiments of the present invention.
[0008] FIG. 3 is block diagram of a system according to some
embodiments of the present invention.
[0009] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process according to some
embodiments of the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 5 is a user interface diagram depicting a user
interface according to some embodiments of the present
invention.
[0011] FIGS. 6A and 6B are user interface diagrams depicting
further user interfaces according to some embodiments of the
present invention.
[0012] FIG. 7 is a user interface diagram depicting a claim handler
user interface according to some embodiments of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] Pursuant to some embodiments, systems, methods, apparatus
and computer program code for responding to insurance related
events are provided. Pursuant to some embodiments, event data
associated with an insurance related event are received, and cause
the analysis of the event data, the identification of an insured
entity and an affected insurance policy, the establishment of a
support network for response to the insurance related event, and
the communication of information associated with the support
network to an insured entity. In some embodiments, the support
network is a social network that includes the insured as well as
one or more service providers selected based on the affected
insurance policy, the insured, and the insurance related event.
[0014] Features of some embodiments will now be described by first
referring to FIG. 1 which is a block diagram of an insurance
processing platform 100 according to some embodiments of the
present invention. The platform 100 may, for example, facilitate
the administration of insurance policies using community, social
and business network based data such as information published by
individuals or businesses (e.g., via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or
the like), as well as information shared by individuals or
businesses via applications, memberships, or the like. For
illustrative, but not limiting, purposes such information may be
published by sites or networks including ebay.com, Facebook.com,
LinkedIn.com, Twitter.com, Blogger.com, MySpace.com,
Friendster.com, Google+, and other similar sites. Information may
also be obtained from applications (such as those provided through
the Apple.RTM. store, the Android.RTM. marketplace or the like) and
devices (such as mobile phones, navigation systems, desktop
computers or the like). For clarity and ease of exposition,
individuals and businesses using features of the present invention
to receive insurance services and information may generally be
referred to herein as "consumers" or the "insured entity".
[0015] According to some embodiments, an insurance processing
platform 110 may be provided for receiving, evaluating, and taking
action (such as initiating notifications, making underwriting
decisions, issuing policies, etc.) based on social network and
other data received from a number of different sources. By way of
example only, the insurance processing platform 110 may be
associated with and/or communicate with (or receive information
about) customers, prospects, or other individuals and entities
operating a variety of devices, including, for example, personal
computers 102 (including desktop, laptop, tablet, or other types of
computers), mobile devices 104 (such as mobile telephones), and
other data devices 106 (such as sensors, networked devices, or the
like).
[0016] The insurance processing platform 110 may, according to some
embodiments, operate to perform a number of insurance-related
activities, including the administration and support of a number of
different types of insurance policies, including personal lines,
workers compensation, health, and other commercial policies.
Pursuant to some embodiments, insurance processing platform 110
receives data from a wide variety of sources including one or more
social media or other websites or properties 120-130 and devices
102, 104, 106. The data received is used to enhance interactions
with consumers and insured individuals and businesses. Further,
insurance processing platform 110 may transmit data and
notifications to consumers and insured individuals and businesses
directly to devices 102, 104 or 106 or through one or more social
media sites 120-130.
[0017] Further, pursuant to some embodiments, insurance processing
platform 110 may cause the creation, maintenance, and updating of
one or more support networks which are created in response to
insurance related events as described herein. Those support
networks may be created using platforms such as one or more
existing social media sites 120-130. For example, in one
illustrative embodiment, an insurance company may use the
infrastructure of an existing social network (such as that provided
by Facebook.RTM. or Google+.RTM.) to create private social networks
for insured individuals in response to an insurance related event.
Such private social networks may be created on a subdomain or other
secure area of the existing social network so that the participants
in the private social network are limited in a secure and
controlled manner. As used herein, the term "support network" or
"private social network" is used to refer to a social network
created in response to identification of an insurance related
event.
[0018] As used herein, devices including those associated with the
insurance processing platform 110, and any other device described
herein may exchange information via any communication network 160
which may be one or more of a Local Area Network (LAN), a
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a
proprietary network, a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) network, a Bluetooth network, a
wireless LAN network, and/or an Internet Protocol (IP) network such
as the Internet, an intranet, or an extranet. Note that any devices
described herein may communicate via one or more such communication
networks.
[0019] Sites 120-130 may store, publish or otherwise provide access
to information about consumers. For example, a consumer with a
Facebook account may post status updates, information and comments
to Facebook, and Facebook may publish or otherwise make the status
updates, information or comments available to authorized
individuals or entities. In some embodiments, one or more of the
sites 120-130 may publish or otherwise disseminate the information
via an application programming interface ("API"), an RSS feed, or
some other structured format. The information may be analyzed or
used by the insurance processing platform 110 on an individual item
basis or on an aggregate basis with other information. Further the
data may be combined with one or more other data sources, such as
publicly available data disseminated by local police or fire
authorities, or the like.
[0020] As shown, the insurance processing platform 110 may include
a number of modules or components, including one or more
underwriting modules 112, quoting modules 114, issuing modules 116,
notification modules 118 and rules engine 119. Insurance processing
platform 110 may be deployed as a number of different platforms in
communication with each other (for example, one insurance
processing platform may be deployed as an underwriting platform,
while another may be deployed to function as a policy issuance
platform). Pursuant to the present invention, the notification
modules 118 may be used to transmit information to insured
individuals, to service providers, and to other entities, including
information relating to one or more support networks established
pursuant to the present invention. In some embodiments, one or more
rules engines 119 may be provided to receive data associated with
an insurance related event and determine appropriate actions
(including appropriate notifications to be transmitted by
notification modules 118, service providers to contact, or the
like). In some embodiments, application of rules by the rules
engines 119 may result in a first notice of loss ("FNOL") being
generated in response to an insurance related event.
[0021] As will be described further below, the underwriting modules
112 may be used in conjunction with the creation and updating of
one or more rating schedules for use in pricing and rating
insurance policies pursuant to embodiments of the present
invention. For example, in some embodiments, the underwriting
modules 112 are used to analyze both conventional underwriting data
such as historical loss information in conjunction with social and
business network based data for use in rating and pricing business
insurance policies. Referring still to FIG. 1, the quoting and
issuing modules 114 and 116 may be used in conjunction with the
quoting, rating and pricing of insurance policies (e.g., in
response to requests for quotes received from a mobile device, web
server or agents operating agent devices, etc.). Note that the
underwriting module 112, quoting module 114, and/or issuing module
116 may be associated with various types of insurance policies,
including automobile and home insurance policies, for individuals
and/or companies.
[0022] Although a single insurance processing platform 110 is shown
in FIG. 1, any number of such devices may be included. Moreover,
various devices described herein might be combined according to
embodiments of the present invention. For example, in some
embodiments, the insurance processing platform 110 and modules
112-118 might be co-located and/or may comprise a single apparatus.
In some embodiments, some or all of the underwriting analysis may
be performed using a spreadsheet based program or other analytic
program utilizing one or more servers or server farms in a network
based environment.
[0023] The insurance processing platform 110 and the modules
112-118 may also access information in one or more databases 170,
180 and 190. The databases may include, for example, risk
characteristic data 170, historical loss data 180 associated with
previously-issued insurance policies, and policy data 190
associated with active policies. As will be described further
below, the policy data 190 may be used to process information
associated with insurance related events to identify appropriate
service providers and support network features needed to provide
support an insured individual.
[0024] Referring now to FIG. 2, one embodiment of the present
invention is shown for utilizing social networks for responding to
insurance related events associated with different types of
insurance policies. As shown in FIG. 2, the insurance processing
platform 200 communicates via network 210 to send data to, and
receive data from, a plurality of user devices 220 (such as mobile
phones, computers, or the like), a plurality of data sources 230
(such as social networking sites, public data sources, or the
like), and a plurality of service provider devices 240 to enable an
insurance company to provide quick, appropriate and relevant
responses and support to insured entities after insurance related
events occur.
[0025] Platform 200 also may include a number of devices or
components, including computer processor(s) 275 and text processing
units 250. The computer processor 275 and the text processing unit
250 may include one or more conventional microprocessors and may
operate to execute programmed instructions to provide functionality
as described herein. Among other functions, the computer processor
275 and/or the text processor 250 may access and retrieve
information from data source(s) 230 via network interface unit 260
and input/output controller 270 via system bus 280.
[0026] The insurance processing platform 200 may further include a
program memory 282 that is coupled to the computer processor 275.
The program memory 282 may include a random access memory 284 and a
read only memory 286. System memory 282 is further coupled via bus
280 to one or more fixed storage devices 290, such as one or more
hard disk drives, flash memories, tape drives or other similar
storage devices. Storage devices 290 may store one or more
application programs 292, an operating system 294, and one or more
databases such as a provider database 296 for storing data
identifying service providers that may be used in conjunction with
providing services to insured entities, as well as a policy
database 298 for storing data associated with a plurality of
insurance policies.
[0027] Platform 200 may be, according to some embodiments,
accessible via a Graphical User Interface (GUI) rendered at least
in part by input/output controller 270. The GUI might be used, for
example, to dynamically display information associated with insured
entities, policies, and insurance related events. Further, the GUI
may be used to display information about one or more private social
networks or support networks that have been established in response
to one or more insurance related events, allowing a user to view
and otherwise interact with the insured entity and one or more
service providers associated with the support network. For example,
in some embodiments, a user interface such as that shown and
described below in conjunction with FIG. 7 may be used by an
insurance company claim handler operating a device to display and
interact with data associated with the support network.
[0028] Referring still to FIG. 2, the platform 200 performs
processing to receive, process and extract relevant information
from data source(s) 230 (such as social network data). The
processing and extraction of information from the data source(s)
230 may take one or more of a number of different forms (as will be
described in the various embodiments introduced further below). For
example, the processing platform 200 may monitor or search for
activity associated with certain known policy holders to identify
insurance related events or occurrences in which a policy coverage
or benefit may be triggered. As another example, the processing
platform 200 may perform actions to verify or validate insurance
related events, or to identify one or more relevant service
providers that are available to provide support to an insured
entity after an insurance related event has occurred. Other
examples will be introduced in the embodiments described below. The
search and processing of processing platform 200 may involve the
use of natural language processing techniques to determine whether
certain search, posting, or other activities of consumers contain,
in substance, information relevant to insurance related events.
[0029] It is contemplated that the processing platform 200 may
process data and information in one or more languages, such
English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, German, Japanese and the
like. In an exemplary embodiment, underwriting analysis by the
platform 200 also can be employed for sophisticated text analyses,
wherein text can be recognized irrespective of the text language.
The relationships between the various words/phrases can be
clarified by using an insurance rules engines for classifying
words/phrases as a predictor of certain underwriting risk.
[0030] Pursuant to some embodiments, the insurance processing
system of the present invention may be used to more proactively
offer assistance when policy coverage is triggered. For insured
individuals and businesses, insurance coverage provides a hedge
against the risk of a loss. The loss typically involves the
occurrence of an event, such as an auto accident, a fire, etc.
Pursuant to some embodiments, social media and other data sources
are used to identify events that involve customers of an insurance
company and, based on the customer's policy and the type of event,
allow the insurance company to proactively provide assistance, loss
remediation services, and other policy benefits. As an example, if
an insured is involved in a car accident while on a trip, social
media, or other data sources (such as data from an OnStar system,
or from the insured's mobile phone) may be monitored so that the
insurance company is made aware of the event as it happens (or
within a short time of the accident). Then, based on the nature of
the event and the insured's policy, the insurance company can
proactively provide assistance. For example, an instant private
social network or support network may be established for the
insured to deal with the event. The instant private social network
may be a social circle that connects the insured with one or more
service providers that may assist the insured in dealing with the
event. For example, the instant network may include car rental
agencies, towing services, auto body shops, hotel chains, etc. The
insured may interact with others in the group to select and access
services and assistance needed to handle the insurance related
event.
[0031] Prior to reference to FIG. 3, in which an illustrative
embodiment is shown, a brief illustrative (but not limiting)
example will be provided. In the illustrative example, a consumer
has an automobile policy issued by an insurance company. The
automobile policy includes certain benefits or coverages that are
triggered in the event of an automobile accident involving the
insured. In the illustrative embodiment, the insurance company
operates an insurance processing platform pursuant to the present
invention, and allows certain (or all) insured individuals to enjoy
proactive policy benefits and assistance pursuant to the present
invention. In the example, the insured has chosen to participate in
the program, and has registered her mobile device (and installed an
insurance benefit application on her mobile device). She has also
notified the insurance company of certain social media accounts
that she regularly uses (such as, for example, her Twitter feed and
her Facebook page). In the example, the insured has also informed
the insurance company of her OnStar account information. The
insurance company then establishes a monitoring process to monitor
those accounts for any information or status updates which may
indicate the insured has suffered a loss or accident.
[0032] Continuing the example, if the insured is involved in an
accident, the insurance company can initiate proactive (and, in
some embodiments, automated) policy assistance as soon as an
indication of an accident is received (via one or more of the
social media accounts, via a phone call, via a text message, via a
message from the OnStar system, or the like). Upon receipt of the
indication of an accident, the insurance company may initiate one
or more automated and substantially immediate proactive steps to
assist the insured. For example, a phone connection between an
insurance customer service agent and the insured may be initiated.
As another example, a support network or support circle may be
triggered, which provides a collection of services appropriate to
the type of event or incident and the insured's policy benefits.
The support network or support circle may include a number of items
of information which provide a single source of information for the
insured to receive assistance. The support network may remain
active and available to the insured for a period of time (such as
until a claim resolution has been reached), or may continue as a
historical repository of interactions and information between the
insurance company and the insured relating to the event. An example
of such an embodiment will now be described by reference to FIG.
3.
[0033] Reference is now made to FIG. 3, in which an embodiment of a
system 300 configured to provide such proactive policy assistance
is shown. As shown, system 300 includes a mobile device 310 in
communication with a social network server 320 via network 330.
Mobile device 310 may be in further communication with an insurance
company operating an insurance processing platform 340 pursuant to
the present invention. The mobile device 310 is coupled to capture
or otherwise receive data and information associated with social
network server 320. More particularly, in some embodiments, the
mobile device 310 is configured to display information assembled by
the social network server 320 in conjunction with data received
from the insurance company 340 to provide proactive assistance to a
policyholder. For example, the mobile device 310 may display
information relevant to the provision of assistance, loss
remediation services, and other policy benefits in the event that
an insured suffers a loss or other insurance related event. The
insurance company 340 operates systems to process, and administer
insurance policies based on data received from social network
server 320, mobile device 310 and/or from other devices (such as an
OnStar or other communication device associated with the insured,
such as the insured's automobile 302).
[0034] The insurance processing platform 340 may operate one or
more rules engines to process data received from the mobile device
310, social network server 320 and/or from other devices to
identify the appropriate processing. For example, when an accident
occurs involving an insured, data associated with the event are
received by the insurance processing platform 340 and used to
identify the insured, the associated policy(s) (and the relevant
policy form(s)). Key policy status and billing information may also
be identified (e.g., by querying a database such as policy database
350). The policy database 350 may store information associated with
the insured, the policy forms, the policy status, the covered
vehicle(s), the covered driver(s), as well as policy coverages and
services. For example, a policy form which provides for immediate
roadside assistance, rental car, towing and travel benefits, may
result in a different support network than a policy form that only
provides for rental car and towing benefits. Application of the
rules engine may cause one or more queries of other databases,
including databases of service providers 355. For example, if an
insured has immediate roadside assistance benefits as a policy
feature, application of the rules engine may cause queries of the
service provider database 355 to identify one or more roadside
assistance service providers that offer service in the geographical
area in which the accident occurred. In some embodiments,
application of the rules engine may also result in the generation
of a first notice of loss ("FNOL") in the insurance processing
platform 340.
[0035] The mobile device 310 may be any of a number of different
types of mobile devices that allow for wireless communication and
that may be carried with or by a user. For example, in some
embodiments, mobile device 310 is an iPhone.RTM. from Apple, Inc.,
a BlackBerry.RTM. from RIM, a mobile phone using the Google
Android.RTM. operating system, a portable or tablet computer (such
as the iPad.RTM. from Apple, Inc.), a mobile device operating the
Android.RTM. operating system or other portable computing device
having an ability to communicate wirelessly with a remote entity
such as social network server 320 and/or insurance company 340.
[0036] The mobile device 310 is configured to display information
relating to policy benefits or assistance relating to the insurance
related event on a display screen 360. As shown, the insured has
been involved in an accident, and the insurance processing platform
340 has initiated a support network for the insured. Information
displayed on the display screen 360 may include information
associated with the insured's policy, as well as information
allowing the insured to immediately take advantage of one or more
policy benefits or features. For example, as shown, the insurance
processing platform 340 has identified the location of the insured,
and has automatically collected information about a number of
service providers 370, including car rental agencies, hotels, and
other resources available to the insured which are in close
geographic proximity to the insured's current location (as
determined by geolocation information transmitted from the mobile
device 310 and/or the vehicle 302 or other sources). In some
embodiments, the resources may be identified from a provider
database 355 maintained by or on behalf of the insurance company.
In some embodiments, the resources or service providers 370 may be
identified using one or more data APIs, such as the Google Places
API or the like. In some embodiments, the insured may view details
of the resources (such as information about specific hotels, towing
companies, auto repair shops, or the like), and may easily initiate
contact with the service providers 370. In some embodiments,
contact between the resource providers and the insured may be
facilitated by the insurance processing platform 340.
[0037] Pursuant to some embodiments, varying levels of interaction
between the insured entity and service providers 370 may be
facilitated. For example, an insured entity who just experienced an
automobile accident may want to initiate a call to a tow truck
driver (by clicking on a "call" button on a display screen of the
mobile device 310), but may want to have one or more repair shops
call her the next morning (by selecting an option to schedule a
call from the repair shops to her mobile phone the next morning).
Further, the insured entity may wish to engage in a three-way call
involving an insurance company representative (e.g., by selecting a
three-way call option) when discussing repair options with one or
more repair shops. Further still, the insured may instead wish to
communicate via text messages, emails, or posts in the private
social network. In this way, users of mobile devices configured to
operate in conjunction with the present invention may receive
proactive support in their preferred mode of communication.
[0038] In the user interface depicted in FIG. 3, the mobile device
310 of the insured displays a view of the support network created
in response to the accident in which one or more rules have been
applied to both identify service providers as well as to initiate
transactions with those service providers on behalf of the insured.
For example, as depicted, the system has identified that the
insured has a policy in which rental car coverage is provided, and
the support network has initiated contact with rental car companies
and made three different rental car reservations for the insured at
two different rental car companies. The insured, operating the
mobile device 310, may either decline the options or connect with
one or more of the companies to finalize details of the rental.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, application of the rules engine has
identified that the insured is eligible for certain hotel benefits
(e.g., based on the location of the accident as well as the
insured's policy) and two different hotel room options have been
reserved. Again, the insured can operate mobile device 310 to
finalize the reservation details or decline the options. Those
skilled in the art, upon reading this disclosure, will recognize
that a wide variety of different services, support features and
user interfaces may be provided to insured individuals. For
example, in some embodiments, operation of the support network in
response to an event may allow the insured to view a list of
available service providers, and the insured may review the
providers and choose which specific service provider to use. An
example of such a user interface is shown in FIG. 6A. In other
embodiments, such as the user interface depicted in FIG. 3,
operation of the system will automatically initiate reservations
with one or more service providers, allowing the insured to simply
confirm the reservations.
[0039] As a result, insured individuals may receive proactive, and
in some instances, substantially instantaneous support and
resources from their insurance provider.
[0040] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a process 400 for establishing an
insurance support network pursuant to some embodiments. The process
400 can be performed by the processing platform 110 (as shown in
FIG. 1) or a combination of devices as described herein. The
process 400 begins at 402 with the identification of an insurance
related event. The identification of an insurance related event may
involve a number of different types of communications between a
user (such as the insured), a device associated with the user (such
as an automobile having a communications system such as the OnStar
system, a mobile device, a computing device, or the like) which
contains a message or information that is either communicated
directly to the insurance processing platform 110 (e.g., by a phone
call, a text message, a notification from an insurance processing
application installed on a mobile device, or the like), or is
communicated indirectly to the insurance processing platform 110
(e.g., via a social network message posted by the insured on a
social network monitored by the insurance processing platform
110).
[0041] At 404, in some embodiments the insurance processing
platform 110 determines how the notification of the event was
received. For example, if the notification was directly received
from the insured, processing continues at 408. If the notification
was indirectly received, processing continues at 406 where the
indirect communication is validated. Continuing the illustrative
example introduced above, the insurance related event may be an
automobile accident. The notification of the event may be directly
transmitted from the insured to the insurance company (that is,
processing at 404 indicates that the event was communicated
directly from the insured).
[0042] As an example, the insured individual may have a mobile
phone that has an insurance processing application installed on it
which provides multiple options for communicating the event to the
platform 110. In the event that the event notification is
transmitted directly to the insurance processing platform 110
(e.g., the insured called, emailed, or otherwise directly notified
the insurance company about the event), processing continues at 408
where the insured and any affected policy(s) are identified. An
illustrative user interface of such an application is shown in FIG.
5. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a user has a mobile device 502
which has an insurance processing application installed thereon.
The insurance processing application may have been previously
installed on the mobile device 502 from an application store such
as the Apple iTunes Store, the Android Marketplace, or the like.
Pursuant to some embodiments, when the insurance processing
application is installed on the mobile device 502, the user may be
prompted to enter information about themselves including
information identifying their insurance policy(s). The user may
also be prompted to specify any contact or communication
preferences, as well as emergency contact information. In the event
of an accident, the user may launch the insurance processing
application on the mobile device 502 and interact with one or more
user interfaces 504 to report the event to the insurance
company.
[0043] For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the user may be presented
with one or more contact options which allow quick contact with the
insurance company. In some embodiments, the user is also provided
with information about their current location (e.g., obtained via
geo location resources associated with the mobile device, such as a
GPS or cellular location device). In some embodiments, when the
user wishes to report the event, information associated with the
mobile device 502 and the insurance processing application are
automatically transmitted to the insurance processing platform 110
for use in responding to the event. For example, the mobile device
502 may transmit information about the user (including the user's
name and policy information) as well as information about the
location of the user. Further, in some embodiments, the user may be
prompted to provide further information identifying the type of
event (such as information specifying that the event is an
automobile accident), the severity of the event (whether the
automobile is drivable, whether any injuries occurred and the
nature of the injuries, whether emergency medical or police
assistance is required, and the like).
[0044] In some embodiments, an insured (or other individual) may
notify the insurance company of an insurance related event
indirectly. For example, an insured may post a message or note on a
social network which is not necessarily directed solely to the
insurance company, but to other individuals and entities as well.
As a specific illustrative but not limiting example, an insured who
is in an automobile accident may post a status update on her
Facebook page notifying her social network of the fact of the
accident. Similar updates may be posted on Twitter or other
networks. Pursuant to some embodiments, an insurance company
operating an insurance processing platform 110 of the present
invention may monitor such social networks for updates that suggest
that an insurance related event has occurred. The insurance
processing platform 110 may execute monitoring processes to monitor
the feeds of social networks associated with insured individuals
and use natural language processing and other search and text
retrieval processes to identify messages (or sets of messages) that
suggest an insurance related event has occurred. As an
illustrative, but not limiting example, an insured individual who
wishes to participate in the system of the present invention may
allow the insurance processing platform 110 to monitor specific
social network account(s) held by the insured. In some embodiments,
the insurance company may be notified of the account(s) when the
insured applies for an insurance policy or at a later time.
[0045] Pursuant to some embodiments, when the insurance processing
platform 110 identifies a possible insurance related event via an
indirect communication (e.g., such as via a social media comment or
other message), processing may continue at 406 where the indirect
communication is validated to ensure that an insurance related
event did in fact occur, and that policy benefits and/or assistance
are required (or desired) by an insured. The validation of such an
indirect communication may occur in any of a number of ways. For
example, if a possible insurance related event is identified by
monitoring an insured individual's social networking account, and
if the insured individual's contact information is known, a phone
call may be automatically triggered between a customer service
agent and the insured individual so that the customer service agent
can verify the event and that policy benefits and/or assistance are
required. As another example, a text message, email or the like may
be automatically triggered. Processing at 406 may also include
validating the indirect communication by obtaining data regarding
the event from other sources. As an illustrative example, the
insurance processing platform 110 may cause searches to be
performed from other data sources to validate the event, such as
searches of other social networks for mentions of the event or
searches of police or other data sources.
[0046] Whether the insurance processing platform identifies an
insurance related event as a result of a direct communication from
an insured (e.g., via processing at 402, 404) or as a result of an
indirect communication from an insured (e.g., via processing at
402, 406), processing continues at 408 where the processing
platform identifies the insured and any affected policy(s). In the
case where the insured is operating a mobile device having an
insurance processing application thereon, information identifying
the insured and the insured's policy(s) may be provided as a direct
message or interaction between the mobile device and the insurance
processing platform (e.g., information identifying the insured and
the policy(s) may be stored in the application or accessible via
interacting with the application). In other situations, the
identification may be inferred from information associated with the
information identifying the event (e.g., if an insurance related
event is identified by monitoring an insured's Twitter account, the
insured's identity and related policies may be looked up based on
the Twitter account information).
[0047] Once the insured and related policy(s) are identified,
processing continues at 410 where the insurance processing platform
causes a private social network or support network to be
established for use by the insured. The private social network may
be automatically created and populated with information associated
with the insured's policy data, as well as information about the
location of the event and the nature of the event. For example, if
the insured is in an auto accident in Norwalk Conn., and the
insured lives in Topeka Kans., the private social network may be
created with information about relevant service providers in the
Norwalk Conn. area. In some embodiments, the relevant service
providers are determined based on a set of known or approved
providers. In some embodiments, some or all of the relevant service
providers are determined based on location and relevance. In some
embodiments, the service providers may further be ranked based on
user feedback, satisfaction ratings, or the like. Each of the
identified service providers, as well as the insured (and one or
more customer support specialists) are identified as participants
in the support network and are allowed to interact with each other
through the support network.
[0048] In some embodiments, the creation of the support network is
based on the application of one or more rules (e.g., from rules
engine 119 of FIG. 1) which are applied based on the nature of the
event, the insured's policy information, and other information. As
an example, in the case of an auto accident, an accident rules
engine may be applied which analyzes data and ensures the
appropriate communications are made to the insured as well as to
any service providers needed to respond to the accident. In some
embodiments, the application of the rules engine may result in the
creation of a FNOL on behalf of the insured. Examples of rules
applied by the rules engine may include accident criteria or
characteristics, geo-location, preferred or approved repair shops,
rental car agencies, emergency services, hotel accommodations,
towing information (company, if covered), other towing services (if
not covered), whether authorities were contacted, and the like.
[0049] In some embodiments, if the accident involves other parties
(e.g., in the case of a multi-vehicle accident), once information
associated with the other parties is obtained (e.g., from the
insured operating a mobile device, or from a claims handler), the
other parties may be allowed to receive services through the
support network as well. For example, a driver of the other vehicle
involved in an accident may be eligible to receive roadside
assistance, rental car, hotel or other services and may be prompted
to download an insurance application onto their mobile device or
access a support network from a personal computer or the like.
[0050] Once the support network has been created, processing
continues at 412 where information about the support network is
communicated to each of the participants, including, for example,
the insured, the customer support specialist(s), and the identified
service providers. The information communicated may include
instructions for accessing the network (including user names and
passwords) as well as information identifying the nature of the
insurance event that the network has been establish to support.
Third parties (such as other drivers involved in a multi-vehicle
accident, for example) may also receive information to participate
in the support network.
[0051] Once a support network has been established in response to
an event, a number of participants may easily interact with each
other to resolve issues associated with the event. For example,
referring now to FIG. 6B, the insured may view and interact with
the support network using a mobile device 610 (or other computing
devices) and interact with other parties, such as the assigned
claim representative or handler, the agent, rental car companies,
towing companies, repair companies, or the like. As depicted in
FIG. 6B, a comment or message stream may be displayed, allowing
easy communication between the insured and other participants in
the support network.
[0052] Other parties in the support network are also able to easily
communicate using the present invention. For example, referring now
to FIG. 7, insurance company representatives (such as claim
handlers) may interact with the support network and other
participants using a user interface 700 displayed on a device 702
such as a personal computer, mobile device, or a tablet computer.
As depicted in FIG. 7, a claims handler may have the ability to
interact with and work on a number of current claims 706. Each
claim 706 may be associated with a separate support network that
has been established pursuant to the present invention. As shown, a
claims handler ("Jane Smith") is interacting with a support network
associated with a claim made by "Bob Jones". Information associated
with the current claim file 704 may be displayed for ease of
reference by the claims handler, as well as a message stream 708 of
comments or messages between individuals and entities within the
support network that has been established for the current claim
file 704. In some embodiments, the message stream 708 may be
displayed as a threaded stream of messages, grouping comments,
messages and replies to comments or messages together. The message
stream 708 may include all messages or interactions between the
participants of the support network and may be stored or archived
as part of an insurance claim file for future use.
[0053] As depicted, a list of the participants in the support
network for the current claim file 704 are shown at 710, and the
claims handler may message any or all of the participants directly
from the user interface. A set of related documents or materials
may also be provided at 712. In this manner, a claims handler may
easily interact with a number of claims and participate in a number
of support networks to resolve issues and provide service and
support. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the user
interface 700 may be presented in other layouts, with additional
(or different) items of information, and that the specific layout
and data shown in FIG. 7 is for illustrative, but not limiting,
purposes.
[0054] Similar user interfaces may be provided for service
providers participating in a support network of the present
invention. For example, a service provider such as "Bob's
Auto-Body" that has been identified as participating in a support
network to resolve claim "7-304857" may be presented with a user
interface that allows the service provider to view certain messages
associated with their interactions with the claim handler and the
insured. In some embodiments the permissions associated with each
service provider may be set by a rules engine or by a claims
handler to ensure that service providers are able to only access
information relevant to their provision of services.
[0055] The following illustrates various additional embodiments of
the invention. These do not constitute a definition of all possible
embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand that the
present invention is applicable to many other embodiments. Further,
although the following embodiments are briefly described for
clarity, those skilled in the art will understand how to make any
changes, if necessary, to the above-described apparatus and methods
to accommodate these and other embodiments and applications.
[0056] Although specific hardware and data configurations have been
described herein, not that any number of other configurations may
be provided in accordance with embodiments of the present invention
(e.g., some of the information associated with the databases
described herein may be combined or stored in external
systems).
[0057] The term "computer-readable medium" as used herein refers to
any non-transitory medium that provides or participates in
providing instructions to the processor of the computing device (or
any other processor of a device described herein) for execution.
Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to,
non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include,
for example, optical, magnetic, or opto-magnetic disks, or
integrated circuit memory, such as flash memory. Volatile media
include Dynamic Random Access Memory ("DRAM"), which typically
constitutes the main memory. Common forms of computer-readable
media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard
disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any
other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical
medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM or
Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory ("EEPROM"), a
FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other
non-transitory medium from which a computer can read.
[0058] Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in
carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a
processor (such as the processor 275 of FIG. 2, or any other
processor of a device described herein) for execution. For example,
the instructions may initially be borne on a magnetic disk of a
remote computer (not shown). The remote computer can load the
instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over
an Ethernet connection, cable line, or even telephone line using a
modem. A communications device local to a computing device (e.g., a
server) can receive the data on the respective communications line
and place the data on a system bus for the processor. The system
bus carries the data to main memory, from which the processor
retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received
by main memory may optionally be stored in memory either before or
after execution by the processor. In addition, instructions may be
received via a communication port as electrical, electromagnetic or
optical signals, which are exemplary forms of wireless
communications or data streams that carry various types of
information.
[0059] The present invention has been described in terms of several
embodiments solely for the purpose of illustration. Persons skilled
in the art will recognize from this description that the invention
is not limited to the embodiments described, but may be practiced
with modifications and alterations limited only by the spirit and
scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *