Patent Application Titled “Systems and Methods for Managing Insurance Associated with Devices Populated Within a Property” Published Online (USPTO 20220261919): Patent Application

2022 SEP 01 (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 Binion, Todd (Bloomington, IL, US); Bryant, Ronny S. (Bloomington, IL, US); Call, Shawn M. (Bloomington, IL, US); Criswell, Jennifer (Bloomington, IL, US); Donovan, John (Bloomington, IL, US); Hakimi-Boushehri, Daryoush (Bloomington, IL, US); Jordan, II, Jackie O. (Bloomington, IL, US); McDermeit, Elisabeth (Bloomington, IL, US); Weekes, John H. (Bloomington, IL, US), filed on May 3, 2022, was made available online on August 18, 2022.

No assignee for this patent application has been made.

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Homeowner and personal property insurance exists to provide financial protection against damage to the home, as well as personal property owned by the policyholder, respectively. With the proliferation of the “internet of things,” more household devices and items are gaining communication and network connectivity capabilities. The new capabilities may enable data detection and more accurate information and metrics. However, current insurance policy processing systems may not account for the connected devices and/or improved information.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “The present embodiments may, inter alia, facilitate communications with connected devices and items, and/or facilitate insurance processing associated with the connected devices and items, among other functionalities. For instance, the present embodiments may dynamically manage insurance policies associated with a property (e.g., smart home) that may be populated with a plurality of devices. Each of the plurality of devices may be configured to monitor various conditions of the property and may have an associated value or worth. A controller may interface with the plurality of devices to receive sensor data from the plurality of devices as well as assess damage to the devices, estimate replacement costs for the devices, and generate proposed insurance claims associated with device conditions. The controller may also estimate device damage based upon a location of an associated insurance-related event. A customer may receive the proposed insurance claims and may be able to accept, reject, or modify the claims accordingly. The controller and/or an insurance provider may facilitate the insurance claim processing with the customer so that the customer may be afforded an effective and efficient channel for claims processing without having to manually initiate, populate, and submit insurance claims.

“In one aspect, a computer-implemented method for managing an insurance policy associated with a property may be provided. The property may be populated with a hardware controller in communication with a plurality of devices, and each of the plurality of devices may be configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property. The method may include (1) receiving, by the hardware controller via wired or wireless communication and/or a first communication network, a plurality of identifications respectively associated with the plurality of devices, such as smart appliances or other smart devices or items configured for wired or wireless communication described below; (2) updating, with the plurality of identifications, an inventory list associated with the property; (3) calculating, by one or more processors (such as one or more local or remote processors associated with a smart home controller and/or insurance provider, respectively) based upon the updated inventory list, a total amount of worth of the plurality of devices; and/or (4) estimating, by the one or more processors, a modified insurance coverage quote for the insurance policy based upon the total amount of worth of the plurality of devices. The method further may include (5) communicating, to a customer having the insurance policy, the modified insurance coverage quote, such as via wireless communication or data transmission; (6) receiving, from the customer, an acceptance of the modified insurance coverage quote, such as via wireless communication; and/or (7) facilitating a modification to the insurance policy, with an insurance provider, based upon the acceptance of the modified insurance coverage quote. The method may include additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

“In another aspect, a system for managing an insurance policy may be provided. The insurance policy may be associated with a property populated with a plurality of devices (such as smart appliances or other smart devices or items configured for wired or wireless communication described below) that are configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property, such as a smart or interconnected home. The system may include a memory adapted to store non-transitory computer executable instructions, a communication module adapted to communicate data, and/or a processor adapted to interface with the communication module. The processor may be configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the processor to (1) receive, via the communication module, a plurality of identifications respectively associated with the plurality of devices; (2) update, with the plurality of identifications, an inventory list associated with the property; (3) calculate, based upon the updated inventory list, a total amount of worth of the plurality of devices; and/or (4) estimate a modified insurance coverage quote for the insurance policy based upon the total amount of worth of the plurality of devices. The processor may be further configured to (5) communicate, via the communication module to a customer having the insurance policy, the modified insurance coverage quote; (6) receive, from the customer via the communication module, an acceptance of the modified insurance coverage quote; and/or (7) facilitate a modification to the insurance policy, with an insurance provider, based upon the acceptance of the modified insurance coverage quote. The system may include additional, less, or alternate components and functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method of managing an insurance policy associated with a property and having a coverage amount and a current premium amount, the property populated with a hardware controller in communication with a plurality of devices, the method comprising: receiving, via a first communication network by the hardware controller from a plurality of transmitters respectively associated with the plurality of devices, a plurality of identifications respectively associated with the plurality of devices; receiving a set of image data collected from a set of cameras within the property, the set of image data depicting the plurality of devices; updating, with the plurality of identifications and the set of image data, an inventory list associated with the property, the inventory list indicating a set of locations respectively associated with the plurality of devices; calculating, by one or more processors, (i) a plurality of market values respectively associated with the plurality of devices, and (ii) a total amount of worth of the plurality of devices based upon the plurality of market values; estimating, by the one or more processors, a modified insurance coverage quote for the insurance policy based upon the total amount of worth of the plurality of devices; and communicating, to an electronic device of a customer having the insurance policy, the modified insurance coverage quote, wherein the electronic device concurrently presents, in a user interface, (i) an amount that the current premium amount decreases as a result of the modified insurance coverage quote, and (ii) a selection to accept the modified insurance coverage quote.

“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: automatically generating a virtual map that locates the plurality of devices within the property.

“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from the electronic device of the customer, an acceptance of the modified insurance coverage quote; and facilitating a modification to the insurance policy, with an insurance provider, based upon the acceptance of the modified insurance coverage quote.

“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein estimating the modified insurance coverage quote for the insurance policy comprises: communicating, to an insurance provider, the total amount of worth of the plurality of devices and an indication of the property; and receiving the modified insurance coverage quote from the insurance provider.

“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein communicating the modified insurance coverage quote comprises: communicating, to the electronic device of the customer via one of the first communication network or a second communication network, the modified insurance coverage quote.

“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein communicating the modified insurance coverage quote comprises: communicating, to an insurance provider, the modified insurance coverage quote and an instruction to cause the insurance provider to provide the modified insurance coverage quote to the electronic device of the customer.

“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving the plurality of identifications respectively associated with the plurality of devices comprises: receiving, via a short-range communication by the hardware controller from the plurality of transmitters respectively associated with the plurality of devices, the plurality of identifications respectively associated with the plurality of devices.

“8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the hardware controller, a set of operational data gathered from a set of sensors associated with the plurality of devices; and wherein calculating the plurality of market values respectively associated with the plurality of devices comprises: calculating, by one or more processors based at least in part on the set of operational data, the plurality of market values respectively associated with the plurality of devices.

“9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting that at least one of the plurality of devices is no longer associated with the property; and removing the at least one of the plurality of devices from the inventory list.

“10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein estimating the modified insurance coverage quote for the insurance policy comprises: calculating, based upon the current premium amount and the total amount of worth of the plurality of devices, an adjustment to the current premium amount; and generating the modified insurance coverage quote including the adjustment to the current premium amount.

“11. A computer system for managing an insurance policy associated with a property and having a coverage amount, the property populated with a plurality of devices configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property, comprising: a memory storing non-transitory computer executable instructions; a communication module for communicating data; and a processor interfacing with the communication module, wherein the processor is configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the processor to: receive, via the communication module from a plurality of transmitters respectively associated with the plurality of devices, a plurality of identifications respectively associated with the plurality of devices, receive a set of image data collected from a set of cameras within the property, the set of image data depicting the plurality of devices, update, with the plurality of identifications and the set of image data, an inventory list associated with the property, the inventory list indicating a set of locations respectively associated with the plurality of devices, calculate (i) a plurality of market values respectively associated with the plurality of devices, and (ii) a total amount of worth of the plurality of devices based upon the plurality of market values, estimate a modified insurance coverage quote for the insurance policy based upon the total amount of worth of the plurality of devices, and communicate, via the communication module to an electronic device of a customer having the insurance policy, the modified insurance coverage quote, wherein the electronic device concurrently presents, in a user interface, (i) an amount that the current premium amount decreases as a result of the modified insurance coverage quote, and (ii) a selection to accept the modified insurance coverage quote.

“12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to further cause the processor to: automatically generate a virtual map that locates the plurality of devices within the property.

“13. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to further cause the processor to: receive, from the electronic device of the customer, an acceptance of the modified insurance coverage quote, and facilitating a modification to the insurance policy, with an insurance provider, based upon the acceptance of the modified insurance coverage quote.

“14. The computer system of claim 11, wherein to estimate the modified insurance coverage quote for the insurance policy, the processor is configured to: communicate, to an insurance provider, the total amount of worth of the plurality of devices and an indication of the property, and receive the modified insurance coverage quote from the insurance provider.

“15. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the processor communicates the modified insurance coverage quote to the electronic device of the customer via a wide area network.

“16. The computer system of claim 11, wherein to communicate the modified insurance coverage quote, the processor is configured to: communicate, via the communication module to an insurance provider, the modified insurance coverage quote and an instruction to cause the insurance provider to provide the modified insurance coverage quote to the electronic device of the customer.

“17. The computer system of claim 11, wherein to receive the plurality of identifications respectively associated with the plurality of devices, the processor is configured to: receive, via a short-range communication from the plurality of transmitters respectively associated with the plurality of devices, the plurality of identifications respectively associated with the plurality of devices.

“18. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to further cause the processor to: receive a set of operational data gathered from a set of sensors associated with the plurality of devices, and wherein the processor calculates, based at least in part on the set of operational data, the plurality of market values respectively associated with the plurality of devices.

“19. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to further cause the processor to: detect that at least one of the plurality of devices is no longer associated with the property, and remove the at least one of the plurality of devices from the inventory list.

“20. The computer system of claim 11, wherein to estimate the modified insurance coverage quote for the insurance policy, the processor is configured to: calculate, based upon the current premium amount and the total amount of worth of the plurality of devices, an adjustment to the current premium amount; and generating the modified insurance coverage quote including the adjustment to the current premium amount.”

For more information, see this patent application: Binion, Todd; Bryant, Ronny S.; Call, Shawn M.; Criswell, Jennifer; Donovan, John; Hakimi-Boushehri, Daryoush; Jordan, II, Jackie O.; McDermeit, Elisabeth; Weekes, John H. Systems and Methods for Managing Insurance Associated with Devices Populated Within a Property. Filed May 3, 2022 and posted August 18, 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=%2220220261919%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20220261919&RS=DN/20220261919

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