Fidelity Life Association Assigned Patent

By Targeted News Service

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 27 -- Fidelity Life Association, Oak Brook, Ill., has been assigned a patent (8,209,198) developed by James Harkensee, Arlington Heights, Ill., and Richard A. Hemmings, Glenview, Ill., for "methods for selling insurance using hybrid life."

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: "An insurer sells a life insurance policy with two distinct coverage periods. Prior to accepting the offer of insurance, the insurer underwrites the insurance contract on a limited basis using information obtainable by querying a remote database. During the first coverage period, full coverage is provided and the premium rates approximate a comprehensively underwritten risk. The value of coverage provided at the end of the first coverage period may be reduced if the insured fails to satisfy various obligations. If before a contractually defined compliance period the insured undergoes medical tests and submits blood, urine, or other tissue samples to an underwriter or approved laboratory, the underwriter comprehensively underwrites the policy. If the comprehensive underwriting is satisfactory, the insurance contract is amended, modified, or replaced with a new contract effectively extending full coverage for a longer, extended coverage period, while maintaining or even reducing the premiums owed."

The patent application was filed on Jan. 14, 2008 (12/013,959). The full-text of the patent can be found at http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=8,209,198.PN.&OS=PN/8,209,198&RS=PN/8,209,198

Written by Shabnam Sheikh; edited by Jaya Anand.

SH0627JA0627-753851

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