Patent Application Titled “Systems And Methods For Vehicle Damage Identification And Insurance Claim Processing” Published Online (USPTO 20240046361): Allstate Insurance Company

2024 FEB 27 (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 Marlow, Clint J. (Barrington Hills, IL, US); Raosharada, Kartik (Northbrook, IL, US); Skillman, Joseph (Northbrook, IL, US), filed on August 2, 2022, was made available online on February 8, 2024.

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: “Weather events, such as hail storms, may damage body panels of an insured vehicle belonging to a customer of an insurance provider. Present methods for submitting claims include the customer contacting the insurance provider, scheduling an appointment, and driving to a claims center. Contacting the insurance provider, claims center hours, claims center location, and wait times may all frustrate a customer that is already dealing with stress associated with vehicle damage.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “In one embodiment, a method for processing insurance claims comprises receiving, by a provider computing system, background data; generating, by the provider computing system, a damage prediction model based on the background data; receiving, from a first customer device, a first insurance claim for a vehicle, the first insurance claim corresponding to a first storm; generating, by the provider computing system, a first storm damage prediction of damage to the vehicle due to the first storm; applying, by the provider computing system, the first storm damage prediction to the first insurance claim; receiving, from the customer device, a first storm damage information based on actual damage to the vehicle from the first storm; receiving, by the provider computing system, first storm weather data; and generating, by the provider computing system, a first updated damage prediction model based on the background data, the new storm weather data, and the first storm damage information.

“Another embodiment relates to an insurance claim processing system. The insurance claim processing system comprises a first customer device and a provider computing system communicatively coupled to the first customer device, the provider computing system comprising a processor and a memory. The memory stores instructions that cause the processor to: receive background data; generate a damage prediction model based on the background data; receive, from the first customer device, a first insurance claim for a vehicle, the first insurance corresponding to a first storm; generate a first storm damage prediction of damage to the vehicle due to the first storm; apply the first storm damage prediction to the first insurance claim; receive, from the customer device, a first storm damage information based actual damage to the vehicle from the first storm; and generate a first updated damage prediction model based on the background data, the new storm weather data, and the first storm damage information.

“Another embodiment relates to a non-transitory computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions embodied therein that, when executed by a processor of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations to process insurance claims. The operations include: receive background data; generate a damage prediction model based on the background data; receive, from the first customer device, a first insurance claim for a vehicle, the first insurance corresponding to a first storm; generate a first storm damage prediction of damage to the vehicle due to the first storm; apply the first storm damage prediction to the first insurance claim; receive, from the customer device, a first storm damage information based actual damage to the vehicle from the first storm; and generate a first updated damage prediction model based on the background data, the new storm weather data, and the first storm damage information.

“This summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, inventive features, and advantages of the devices or processes described herein will become apparent in the detailed description set forth herein, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method for processing insurance claims, the method comprising: receiving, by a provider computing system, background data; generating, by the provider computing system, a damage prediction model based on the background data; receiving, from a first customer device, a first insurance claim for a vehicle, the first insurance claim corresponding to a first storm; generating, by the provider computing system, a first storm damage prediction of damage to the vehicle due to the first storm; receiving, from the customer device, a first storm damage information based on actual damage to the vehicle from the first storm; evaluating, by the provider computing system, the first storm damage information in light of to the first storm damage prediction; receiving, by the provider computing system, first storm weather data; and generating, by the provider computing system, a first updated damage prediction model based on the background data, the first storm weather data, and the first storm damage information.

“2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving, from a second customer device, a second insurance claim for a second vehicle, the second insurance claim corresponding to the first storm; applying, by the provider computing system, the first updated damage prediction model to the second insurance claim; receiving, from the customer device, a second storm damage information based on actual damage to the second vehicle from the first storm; and revising, by the provider computing system, the first updated damage prediction model based on the background data, the first storm weather data, the second storm damage information.

“3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first storm is a hail storm.

“4. The method of claim 1, wherein the damage prediction model is generated by an artificial intelligence algorithm.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first storm damage information comprises: damage information; and damage images.

“6. The method of claim 5 further comprising: validating, by the provider computing system, the first storm damage information by verifying whether the damage images correspond to the damage information.

“7. The method of claim 6, wherein verifying whether the damage images correspond to the damage information comprises: extracting, by the provider computing system using an artificial intelligence algorithm, characteristics from the damage images; and comparing, by the provider computing system, the characteristics from the damage images to the damage information.

“8. An insurance claim processing system, the insurance claim processing system comprising: a first customer device; and a provider computing system communicatively coupled to the first customer device, the provider computing system comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions that cause the processor to: receive background data; generate a damage prediction model based on the background data; receive, from the first customer device, a first insurance claim for a vehicle, the first insurance corresponding to a first storm; generate a first storm damage prediction of damage to the vehicle due to the first storm; apply the first storm damage prediction to the first insurance claim; receive, from the customer device, a first storm damage information based actual damage to the vehicle from the first storm; and generate a first updated damage prediction model based on the background data, the first storm weather data, and the first storm damage information.

“9. The insurance claim processing system of claim 8, wherein the provider computing system is further configured to: receive, from a second customer device, a second insurance claim for a second vehicle, the second insurance claim corresponding to the first storm; apply the first updated damage prediction model to the second insurance claim; receive, from the customer device, a second storm damage information based on actual damage to the second vehicle from the first storm; and revising the first updated damage prediction model based on the background data, the first storm weather data, the second storm damage information.

“10. The insurance claim processing system of claim 8, wherein the first storm is a hail storm.

“11. The insurance claim processing system of claim 8, wherein the damage prediction model is generated by an artificial intelligence algorithm.

“12. The insurance claim processing system of claim 8, wherein the first storm damage information comprises: damage information; and damage images.

“13. The insurance claim processing system of claim 12, wherein the provider computing system is further configured to: validate the first storm damage information by verifying whether the damage images correspond to the damage information.

“14. The insurance claim processing system of claim 13, wherein verifying whether the damage images correspond to the damage information comprises: extract, using an artificial intelligence algorithm, characteristics from the damage images; and comparing the characteristics from the damage images to the damage information.

“15. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions embodied therein that, when executed by a processor of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations to process insurance claims, the operations comprising: receive background data; generate a damage prediction model based on the background data; receive, from the first customer device, a first insurance claim for a vehicle, the first insurance corresponding to a first storm; generate a first storm damage prediction of damage to the vehicle due to the first storm; apply the first storm damage prediction to the first insurance claim; receive, from the customer device, a first storm damage information based actual damage to the vehicle from the first storm; and generate a first updated damage prediction model based on the background data, the first storm weather data, and the first storm damage information.

“16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: receive, from a second customer device, a second insurance claim for a second vehicle, the second insurance claim corresponding to the first storm; apply the first updated damage prediction model to the second insurance claim; receive, from the customer device, a second storm damage information based on actual damage to the second vehicle from the first storm; and revising the first updated damage prediction model based on the background data, the first storm weather data, the second storm damage information.

“17. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the damage prediction model is generated by an artificial intelligence algorithm.

“18. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first storm damage information comprises: damage information; and damage images.

“19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise: validating the first storm damage information by verifying whether the damage images correspond to the damage information.

“20. The computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein verifying whether the damage images correspond to the damage information comprises: extracting, using an artificial intelligence algorithm, characteristics from the damage images; and comparing the characteristics from the damage images to the damage information.”

For more information, see this patent application: Marlow, Clint J.; Raosharada, Kartik; Skillman, Joseph. Systems And Methods For Vehicle Damage Identification And Insurance Claim Processing. U.S. Patent Application Number 20240046361, filed August 2, 2022 and posted February 8, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20240046361)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

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