Patent Application Titled “Feedback Loop In Mobile Damage Assessment And Claims Processing” Published Online (USPTO 20230186401): Allstate Insurance Company

2023 JUL 05 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx journalists, a patent application by the inventors Brandmaier, Jennifer A. (Chicago, IL, US); Faga, Mark E. (Evanston, IL, US); Johnson, Robert H. (Hoffman Estates, IL, US); Koza, Daniel (Hinsdale, IL, US); Loo, William (Arlington Heights, IL, US); Marlow, Clint J. (Barrington Hills, IL, US); Stricker, Kurt M. (Northfield, IL, US), filed on February 13, 2023, was made available online on June 15, 2023.

The assignee for this patent application is Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Conventional insurance claims processing is a complex process that starts with a first notification of loss related to an insured item. Upon notification of loss, the claim may be routed to multiple claims adjusters that analyze different aspects of the damage associated with the insured item in order to determine whether compensation for the loss is appropriate.

“In general, conventional claims adjustment can involve paperwork processing, telephone calls, and potentially face-to-face meetings between claimant and adjuster. In addition, a significant amount of time can elapse between a first notice of loss from the claimant and the final settlement of the claim.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “The following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure or to delineate the scope of the disclosure. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

“Aspects of the disclosure involve a streamlined and efficient process for claims management and disclose methods, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for automating the processing and settling of claims related to an insured item. A mobile device may transmit data (e.g., images, video, etc.) related to damage associated with an insured item to an enhanced claims processing server. The enhanced claims processing server may manage analysis of damage associated with the insured item and settlement of a claim related to the damage.

“In another aspect of the disclosure, an enhanced claims processing server may analyze damage data received from a mobile device to generate a repair cost estimate for repairing the insured item.

“Further aspects of the disclosure may be provided in a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer, user terminal, or other apparatus to at least perform one or more of the processes described herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method comprising: displaying, on a remote user device, instructions indicating how to capture a set of data including a plurality of images of a vehicle for an insurance claim; receiving the set of data corresponding to the vehicle, wherein the set of data comprises the plurality of images; generating image data using image processing and object recognition, wherein the image data comprises at least one of blur data, depth data, angle data, or at least one identified object with their corresponding locations within each image; determining whether each of the plurality of images is acceptable for use in a machine learning algorithm for determining a cost of repair for the vehicle; based on determining that at least one of the set of data is not acceptable, displaying on the remote user device instructions indicating how to capture images related to damage to the vehicle, to the remote user device, wherein the determination causes the remote user device to display a user interface screen including feedback regarding changes to be made to the set of data and a request to capture a replacement image, the plurality of images being updated with the replacement image; determining, based on the plurality of images, damage information comprising a location of damage on the vehicle and an indication of severity of damage on the vehicle, wherein the indication of severity of damage of the vehicle is made using image processing and machine learning to classify dents and determine depth of dents on the vehicle; and determining a repair estimate for the damage to the vehicle.

“2. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions indicating how to capture the plurality of images comprise an instruction to capture an image of a portion of the vehicle.

“3. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions indicating how to capture the plurality of images comprise an instruction to capture an image of damage to the vehicle.

“4. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions indicating how to capture the plurality of images comprise an instruction to capture an image of a vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle.

“5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, based on the damage information and using machine learning, whether an area adjacent to the location of damage on the vehicle will require refinishing.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of data includes text description of damage to the vehicle.

“7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the repair estimate comprises comparing the determined location of damage and severity of damage to a database of prior vehicle repair costs.

“8. The method of claim 7, further comprising determining a confidence factor for the comparison of the determined location of damage and severity of damage to the database of prior vehicle repair costs.

“9. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, on the remote user device, a settlement proposal for settling the insurance claim associated with the damage to the vehicle.

“10. A method comprising: displaying, on a remote user device, instructions indicating how to capture a set of data including a plurality of images of a vehicle for an insurance claim; receiving the set of data corresponding to the vehicle, wherein the set of data comprises the plurality of images; determining whether each of the plurality of images is acceptable for use in a machine learning algorithm for determining a cost of repair for the vehicle; based on determining that at least one of the set of data is not acceptable, displaying on the remote user device, instructions indicating how to capture images related to damage to the vehicle, to the remote user device, wherein the determination causes the remote user device to display a user interface screen including feedback regarding changes to be made to the set of data and a request to capture a replacement image, the plurality of images being updated with the replacement image; displaying, on the remote user device, a series of images of vehicle damage; receiving comparability data regarding user evaluation of the comparability of the series of images to the vehicle damage; determining, based on the plurality of images and the comparability data, damage information comprising a location of damage on the vehicle and an indication of severity of damage on the vehicle; and determining a repair estimate for the damage to the vehicle.

“11. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining whether each of the plurality of images is acceptable for use in the machine learning algorithm for determining the cost of repair for the vehicle.

“12. The method of claim 11, wherein the indication of severity of damage of the vehicle is made using image processing and machine learning to classify dents and determine depth of dents on the vehicle.

“13. The method of claim 10, wherein the instructions indicating how to capture the plurality of images comprise an instruction to capture an image of a portion of the vehicle.

“14. The method of claim 10, wherein the instructions indicating how to capture the plurality of images comprise an instruction to capture an image of damage to the vehicle.

“15. The method of claim 10, wherein the instructions indicating how to capture the plurality of images comprise an instruction to capture an image of a vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle.

“16. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining, based on the damage information and using machine learning, whether an area adjacent to the location of damage on the vehicle will require refinishing.

“17. The method of claim 10, wherein the set of data includes text description of damage to the vehicle.

“18. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the repair estimate comprises comparing the determined location of damage and severity of damage to a database of prior vehicle repair costs.

“19. The method of claim 18, further comprising determining a confidence factor for the comparison of the determined location of damage and severity of damage to the database of prior vehicle repair costs.

“20. The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying, on the remote user device, a settlement proposal for settling the insurance claim associated with the damage to the vehicle.”

For more information, see this patent application: Brandmaier, Jennifer A.; Faga, Mark E.; Johnson, Robert H.; Koza, Daniel; Loo, William; Marlow, Clint J.; Stricker, Kurt M. Feedback Loop In Mobile Damage Assessment And Claims Processing. U.S. Patent Application Number 20230186401, filed February 13, 2023 and posted June 15, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20230186401)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)