Patent Application Titled “Systems And Methods For Early Identification Of A Total Loss Vehicle” Published Online (USPTO 20220277265): Allstate Insurance Company

2022 SEP 20 (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 Galant, Alan D. (Grayslake, IL, US); Kane, Michael Sinclair (Bartlett, IL, US); Woirol, Angela K. (Gumee, IL, US), filed on October 12, 2021, was made available online on September 1, 2022.

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: “When a vehicle has been involved in an incident, a claims adjuster typically inspects the vehicle in the field. The inspection, however, may not occur for several days after the accident has been reported to the insurance company.

“If the adjuster determines that the cost to repair the vehicle comes close to or exceeds the cash value of the vehicle, the adjuster deems the vehicle a total loss. He then works with the vehicle owner to reach a settlement, and secures the required paper work so the insurance company will issue payment to the owner for the loss. This process is often time consuming and expensive. Furthermore, the length of time spent may decrease the customer’s satisfaction with the level of service provided by the insurance company.

“One reason for the length of time spent in this process is that the insurance company does not know the extent of damage to the vehicle until an adjuster can inspect the vehicle, and the adjuster may be unable to do so immediately. Upon learning that a vehicle has been damaged or involved in an accident, the insurance company normally assigns the vehicle to a repair shop or to an adjuster that will inspect the vehicle at a location agreed to by the insured. The inspection may occur days or weeks after the vehicle is in the repair shop or storage lot. In addition, this conventional procedure may cause the insurance company to incur storage and other operation costs, such as the cost to transport the vehicle.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “Consistent with the present invention, a method is provided for identifying a likely total loss vehicle. The method comprises: receiving data for criteria that describe the condition of a vehicle; analyzing the data using a data processor to determine whether the data meets a threshold of likelihood of total loss; and generating a notification if the data meets the threshold.

“Also consistent with the present invention, a system is provided for identifying a likely total loss vehicle. The system comprises: a network; a server coupled to the network that receives data for criteria that describe the condition of a vehicle; and a decision engine running on the server to analyze the data received for the criteria to determine whether the data meets a threshold of likelihood of total loss, and to generate a notification if the data meets the threshold.

“Both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and do not restrict the scope of the invention. Embodiments consistent with the invention may include features in addition to or different from those set forth in the following description.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A data processing system for identifying a likely total loss vehicle comprising: a processor controlling operation of the data processing system; an interface through which the data processing system receives data comprising criteria that describe the condition of a vehicle, said condition being determined prior to inspecting a vehicle to generate a repair estimate; and a decision engine running on the data processing system, said decision engine programmed to analyze the data received for the criteria to determine whether the data meets a threshold of likelihood of total loss, and to generate a notification if the data meets the threshold.”

For more information, see this patent application: Galant, Alan D.; Kane, Michael Sinclair; Woirol, Angela K. Systems And Methods For Early Identification Of A Total Loss Vehicle. Filed October 12, 2021 and posted September 1, 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=%2220220277265%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20220277265&RS=DN/20220277265

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