“Multi-Cluster Policy Consolidation System” in Patent Application Approval Process (USPTO 20220164890): Patent Application

2022 JUN 09 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent application by the inventors Bachtold, Mark (Fairbury, IL, US); Cottrell, Troy (Chenoa, IL, US); Figueroa, Isaac (Bloomington, IL, US); Harrison, Tyhad (Bloomington, IL, US); Musser, Byron (Chenoa, IL, US); Parker, Jay Thomas (Bloomington, IL, US); Polukonda, Hari (Bloomington, IL, US); Poppen, David (Gridley, IL, US); Stalter, Evan (Normal, IL, US); Supryn, Maximilian Thomas (Bloomington, IL, US); Wagner, Lynne (Normal, IL, US); Wenzel, Peter R. (Bloomington, IL, US), filed on November 18, 2021, was made available online on May 26, 2022, according to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx correspondents.

This patent application has not been assigned to a company or institution.

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Individuals, companies, and other entities often hold insurance policies with insurance companies. For example, insurance policies can include automobile insurance policies, fire insurance policies, and other types of insurance policies. Insurance companies can use computer-implemented policy management systems to store information about insurance policies, create new insurance policies, change existing insurance policies, and/or otherwise manage insurance policies.

“In some cases, a single entity may have multiple insurance policies of the same type with the same insurance company. For example, if an individual owns multiple automobiles, the individual may have multiple automobile insurance policies that cover different automobiles.

“However, it can be inefficient to separately manage multiple related insurance policies for the same insured party. For example, a policy management system may need to create, store, and manage separate digital records for each of the different insurance policies. Separately managing distinct records for related insurance policies can be complex, and/or use large amounts of storage space in databases. Additionally, in some examples, records for different related insurance policies may be stored in databases of different servers or server clusters. Accordingly, an instance of the policy management system executing in a first cluster may not be able to access data about related insurance policies that are stored in a second cluster.

“As another example, each related insurance policy may have a different policy number. This can lead to confusion and/or frustration for customers, and/or lead to an inefficient use of resources for the insurance company. For example, the insurance company may routinely send letters, emails, or other notifications to insured parties regarding their insurance policies. However, because each related insurance policy may have a different policy number and be considered a different insurance policy, the insurance company may send a customer numerous copies of essentially the same notification for each different insurance policy associated with the customer. For example, if an individual has two insured automobiles, the individual may receive two emails and/or two letters in the mail about the insurance coverage for each automobile that explains the same type of regulatory notice, because each automobile is covered under a different automobile insurance policy with a different policy number. It can be inefficient for the insurance company to send numerous communications with substantially duplicated information to the same individual in such cases. For example, an email server associated with the insurance company may use extra processing cycles, memory, and bandwidth to generate and send multiple email messages containing similar content to the same individual. It can also be frustrating or confusing for customers to receive substantially duplicated communications that may be similar or identical in content, except for the associated policy number.

“As yet another example, different related insurance policies may have different terms, and thus come up for renewal at different times. For instance, if an individual has two insurance policies that cover two different automobiles, the term of the first insurance policy may end in July while the term of the second insurance policy may end in September. Accordingly, the first insurance policy may come up for renewal months before the second insurance policy. This may be confusing for the individual, who may expect that both insurance policies would renew at the same time. It may also be frustrating or confusing for the individual to receive renewal notices for the first insurance policy, and then receive separate renewal notices for the second insurance policy a few months later.

“It can also be inefficient and/or complex for the insurance company to separately manage terms and renewals for different insurance policies that are related to one another. For example, an email server associated with the insurance company may use extra processing cycles, memory, and bandwidth to generate and send multiple renewal notices to the same customer via email in association with related insurance policies. As another example, the insurance company may use digital records to store information associated with insurance policies. However, separately managing related insurance policies may increase the amount of computer memory used to store corresponding digital records, and can increase the amount of processing cycles and other computing resources used to manage and process the digital records.

“The example systems and methods described herein may be directed toward mitigating or overcoming one or more of the deficiencies described above.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “Described herein are systems and methods that can consolidate information about different insurance policies into a combined insurance policy. A policy management system can identify database records for related insurance policies, such as a first automobile insurance policy for a first vehicle and a second automobile insurance policy for a second vehicle owned by the same party, and can consolidate the information into a single database record that represents a consolidated insurance policy. For example, the consolidated insurance policy can cover both the first vehicle and the second vehicle. Such consolidation can simplify management of the insurance policies. For example, the insurance coverage for both vehicles can renew at the same time going forward after the consolidation, which can lead to more efficient renewal of the insurance policies and/or reduce customer confusion that may occur when related insurance policies renew at different times. For instance, consolidating multiple related insurance policies can reduce bandwidth usage by reducing the number of email messages or other electronic notifications that are sent over a network in association with renewals of the insurance policies, and/or reduce the number of processing cycles used to generate and send such electronic notifications. Additionally, consolidating information about multiple related insurance policies into a single database record can decrease the size of a database, and/or reduce the amount of processor cycles and other computing resources that are used to process the digital records.

“According to a first aspect, a policy management system can include a first cluster having a first database storing a first set of insurance policy records. The policy management system can also include a second cluster having a second database storing a second set of insurance policy records. The policy management system can further include a policy consolidator configured to identify, in the first database or the second database, a first record corresponding to a target policy representative of a first insurance coverage. The policy consolidator can also be configured to identify, in the first database or the second database, a second record corresponding to a source policy representative of a second insurance coverage. The policy consolidator can additionally be configured to determine that the first record is characterized by a set of attributes, and determine that the second record is also characterized by the set of attributes. The policy consolidator can further be configured to add, based on determining that the first record and the second record are characterized by the set of attributes, a set of policy data from the second record to the first record. The adding can cause the first record to represent both the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage, and can cause renewals of the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage to occur in association with the first record. The policy consolidator can also be configured to withdraw a pending future renewal of the source policy in association with the second record.

“According to a second aspect, a computer-implemented method can include assigning, by a policy management system, a set of records to a set of databases associated with a set of clusters, wherein each record of the set of records corresponds to a respective insurance policy. A first record, of the set of records, can represent a first insurance coverage, and a second record, of the set of records, can represent a second insurance coverage. The method can include determining, by the policy management system, that the first record and the second record are characterized by a set of common attributes. The method can also include, adding, by the policy management system, and based on determining that the first record and the second record are characterized by the set of common attributes, a set of policy data from the second record to the first record. The adding can cause the first record to represent both the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage, and cause renewals of the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage to occur in association with the first record. The method can further include withdrawing, by the policy management system, a pending future renewal of the source policy in association with the second record.

“According to a third aspect, one or more computing devices can include one or more processors and memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations. The operations can include identifying, in a set of databases associated with a set of clusters that store different sets of insurance policy records, a first record corresponding to a target policy representative of a first insurance coverage. The operations can also include identifying, in the set of databases, a second record corresponding to a source policy representative of a second insurance coverage. The operations can also include determining that the first record is characterized by a set of attributes, and that the second record is also characterized by the set of attributes. The operations can further include adding, based on determining that the first record and the second record are characterized by the set of attributes, a set of policy data from the second record to the first record. The adding can cause the first record to represent both the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage, and cause renewals of the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage to occur in association with the first record. The operations can also include withdrawing a pending future renewal of the source policy in association with the second record.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A policy management system, comprising: a first cluster comprising a first database storing a first set of insurance policy records, a second cluster comprising a second database storing a second set of insurance policy records; and a policy consolidator configured to perform operations comprising: identifying, in the first database or the second database, a first record corresponding to a target policy representative of a first insurance coverage; identifying, in in the first database or the second database, a second record corresponding to a source policy representative of a second insurance coverage; determining that the first record is characterized by a set of attributes; determining that the second record is also characterized by the set of attributes; adding, based on determining that the first record and the second record are characterized by the set of attributes, a set of policy data from the second record to the first record, wherein the adding causes: the first record to represent both the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage, and renewals of the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage to occur in association with the first record; and withdrawing a pending future renewal of the source policy in association with the second record.

“2. The policy management system of claim 1, wherein the policy consolidator: executes at a cross-cluster service outside the first cluster and the second cluster, and has access to the first database of the first cluster and the second database of the second cluster.

“3. The policy management system of claim 1, further comprising a cluster assignment system configured to: receive the second record during an import of the second record to the policy management system; determine a policy consolidation key associated with the second record; determine, based on a cross-cluster policy index, that the policy consolidation key corresponds with a cluster identifier of the first cluster based on the first record being stored in the first database; and cause the second record to be stored in the first database of the first cluster.

“4. The policy management system of claim 3, wherein the cluster assignment system is further configured to: determine that a named insured party associated with a third record stored in the second database of the second cluster has been changed; determine a second policy consolidation key associated with the third record; determine, based on the cross-cluster policy index, that the second policy consolidation key corresponds with the cluster identifier of the first cluster; and cause the third record to be migrated from the second cluster to the first cluster.

“5. The policy management system of claim 1, wherein: the operations performed by the policy consolidator further comprise detecting an occurrence of a trigger event associated with the source policy, and the policy consolidator performs the identifying, the determining, the adding, and the withdrawing in response to detecting the occurrence of the trigger event.

“6. The policy management system of claim 1, wherein the set of attributes includes a client identifier.

“7. The policy management system of claim 6, wherein the set of attributes further includes one or more of: a named insured party, an insurance company, an insurance agent, an address, one or more mandatory coverages, vehicle use information, a guaranteed renewal status, a term length, one or more driver exclusions, and billing information.

“8. A computer-implemented method, comprising: assigning, by a policy management system, a set of records to a set of databases associated with a set of clusters, wherein: each record of the set of records corresponds to a respective insurance policy, a first record of the set of records, represents a first insurance coverage, and a second record of the set of records, represents a second insurance coverage; determining, by the policy management system, that the first record and the second record are characterized by a set of common attributes; adding, by the policy management system, and based on determining that the first record and the second record are characterized by the set of common attributes, a set of policy data from the second record to the first record, wherein the adding causes: the first record to represent both the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage, and renewals of the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage to occur in association with the first record; and withdrawing, by the policy management system, a pending future renewal of the second insurance coverage in association with the second record.

“9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein: the assigning of the set of records to the set of databases is performed on a random basis or based on load balancing relative to fullness levels of the set of databases associated with the set of clusters, the assigning causes the first record to be stored in a first database of a first cluster of the set of clusters, the assigning causes the second record to be stored in a second database of a second cluster of the set of clusters, the adding causes the renewals of the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage to occur in association with the first record and the first cluster, and the withdrawing withdraws the pending future renewal of the second insurance coverage in association with the second record and the second cluster.

“10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving the second record during an import of the second record to the policy management system; determining a policy consolidation key associated with the second record; and determining, based on a cross-cluster policy index, that the policy consolidation key corresponds with a cluster identifier of a first cluster of the set of clusters, based on the first record being stored in a first database of the first cluster, wherein the assigning comprises storing the second record in the first database of the first cluster based on determining that the policy consolidation key corresponds with the cluster identifier of the first cluster.

“11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising: determining that a named insured party associated with a third record stored in a second database of a second cluster has been changed; determining a second policy consolidation key associated with the third record; determining, based on the cross-cluster policy index, that the second policy consolidation key corresponds with the cluster identifier of the first cluster; and causing the third record to be migrated from the second cluster to the first cluster.

“12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the determining is based on: determining that the first record and the second record have a common client identifier; and determining that the first record and the second record both share a set of additional attributes.

“13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the set of additional attributes includes one or more of: a named insured party, an insurance company, an insurance agent, an address, one or more mandatory coverages, vehicle use information, a guaranteed renewal status, a term length, one or more driver exclusions, and billing information.

“14. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein: the first record has a bound status in the policy management system, due to an initiation of a first renewal process associated with the first insurance coverage, and at a time at which the adding occurs, the second record does not have the bound status in the policy management system due to a second renewal process for the pending future renewal not having begun.

“15. One or more computing devices, comprising: one or more processors; memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: identifying, in a set of databases associated with a set of clusters that store different sets of insurance policy records, a first record corresponding to a target policy representative of a first insurance coverage; identifying, in the set of databases, a second record corresponding to a source policy representative of a second insurance coverage; determining that the first record is characterized by a set of attributes; determining that the second record is also characterized by the set of attributes; adding, based on determining that the first record and the second record are characterized by the set of attributes, a set of policy data from the second record to the first record, wherein the adding causes: the first record to represent both the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage, and renewals of the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage to occur in association with the first record; and withdrawing a pending future renewal of the source policy in association with the second record.

“16. The one or more computing devices of claim 15, wherein: the first record is stored in a first database of a first cluster of the set of clusters, the second record is stored in a second database of a second cluster of the set of clusters, the adding causes the renewals of the first insurance coverage and the second insurance coverage to occur in association with the first record and the first cluster, and the withdrawing withdraws the pending future renewal of the source policy in association with the second record and the second cluster.”

There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.

URL and more information on this patent application, see: Bachtold, Mark; Cottrell, Troy; Figueroa, Isaac; Harrison, Tyhad; Musser, Byron; Parker, Jay Thomas; Polukonda, Hari; Poppen, David; Stalter, Evan; Supryn, Maximilian Thomas; Wagner, Lynne; Wenzel, Peter R. Multi-Cluster Policy Consolidation System. Filed November 18, 2021 and posted May 26, 2022. Patent URL: https://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220220164890%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20220164890&RS=DN/20220164890

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