Patent Issued for Feedback loop in mobile damage assessment and claims processing (USPTO 11580605): Allstate Insurance Company

2023 MAR 06 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx journalists, a patent 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 June 12, 2020, was published online on February 14, 2023.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 11580605, 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, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “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: providing a software application configured to execute on a mobile computing device of a customer of an insurance company, wherein the insurance company provides an insurance claim processing system, wherein the software application is configured to obtain insurance claim information associated with an insurance claim for damage to a vehicle insured by the insurance company, wherein the insurance claim information comprises a plurality of images of the damage to the vehicle, and wherein the software application is configured to transmit, to a server of the insurance claim processing system, the insurance claim information; receiving, by the insurance claim processing system and via the software application, an insurance claim number for the insurance claim; validating, by the insurance claim processing system, the insurance claim number; based on a successful validation of the insurance claim number, outputting, via the software application and on a screen of the mobile computing device, instructions indicating, to the customer, how to capture the plurality of images of the vehicle for the insurance claim, wherein the instructions comprise: an instruction to capture an image of a front portion of the vehicle; an instruction to capture an image of a side portion of the vehicle; an instruction to capture an image of a rear portion of the vehicle; an instruction to capture an image of the damage to the vehicle; and an instruction to capture an image of a vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle; obtaining, by the mobile computing device via the software application and based on the instructions, the plurality of images of the vehicle, wherein the plurality of images comprise: the image of the front portion of the vehicle; the image of the side portion of the vehicle; the image of the rear portion of the vehicle; the image of the damage to the vehicle; and the image of the VIN of the vehicle; receiving, via the software application and based on user input received by the mobile computing device, a text description of the damage to the vehicle; based on receiving the text description, associating the text description with at least one of the plurality of images; automatically processing image data of the image of the VIN to determine, by the insurance claim processing system, the VIN; based on an instruction to recapture a first image of the plurality of images, obtaining, by the mobile computing device and via the software application, a first replacement image; based on obtaining the first replacement image, replacing, in the plurality of images, the first image with the first replacement image; based on obtaining the plurality of images, processing the plurality of images to determine whether the plurality of images are suitable for determining the estimate for repairing the damage, wherein processing the plurality of images comprises: automatically processing by the software application image data of a second image of the plurality of images to determine a blurriness of the second image; and automatically determining by the software application whether the blurriness of the second image causes the second image to be unsuitable for determining the estimate for repairing the damage; and based on determining that the blurriness of the second image causes the second image to be unsuitable for determining the estimate for repairing the damage, automatically outputting, via the software application and on the screen of the mobile computing device, an instruction to recapture the second image; providing, via the software application and to the server of the insurance claim processing system, the plurality of images comprising the first replacement image; receiving, via the software application and from the server of the insurance claim processing system, an estimate for repairing the damage to the vehicle; and outputting, via the software application and on the screen of the mobile computing device, the estimate for repairing the damage to the vehicle.

“2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, via the software application and from the server of the insurance claim processing system, a request to replace a second image of the plurality of images; based on receiving the request to replace the second image, outputting, via the software application and on a screen of the mobile computing device, an instruction to recapture the second image; based on the instruction to recapture the second image, obtaining, by the mobile computing device and via the software application, a second replacement image; and based on obtaining the second replacement image, replacing, in the plurality of images, the second image with the second replacement image.

“3. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing the plurality of images to the server of the insurance claim processing system comprises providing at least one of the plurality of images to the server before receiving a request to replace a second image.

“4. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing the plurality of images to the server of the insurance claim processing system comprises providing the first replacement image to the server before receiving a request to replace a second image.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing the plurality of images to the server of the insurance claim processing system comprises transmitting, via a plurality of transmissions to the server of the insurance claim processing system, the plurality of images.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing the plurality of images to the server of the insurance claim processing system comprises: transmitting, via a first transmission, at least one image of the plurality of images; and transmitting, via a second transmission, different from the first transmission, the first replacement image.

“7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause: sending, to a server of an insurance claim processing system, an insurance claim number for an insurance claim; based on a successful validation of the insurance claim number, outputting instructions indicating, to a customer, how to capture a plurality of images of a vehicle for the insurance claim, wherein the instructions comprise: an instruction to capture an image of a front portion of the vehicle; an instruction to capture an image of a side portion of the vehicle; an instruction to capture an image of a rear portion of the vehicle; an instruction to capture an image of damage to the vehicle; and an instruction to capture an image of a vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle; obtaining, based on the instructions, the plurality of images of the vehicle, wherein the plurality of images comprise: the image of the front portion of the vehicle; the image of the side portion of the vehicle; the image of the rear portion of the vehicle; the image of the damage to the vehicle; and the image of the VIN of the vehicle; receiving, based on user input, a text description of the damage to the vehicle; based on receiving the text description, associating the text description with at least one of the plurality of images; based on an instruction to recapture a first image of the plurality of images, obtaining a first replacement image; based on obtaining the first replacement image, replacing, in the plurality of images, the first image with the first replacement image; based on obtaining the plurality of images, processing the plurality of images to determine whether the plurality of images are suitable for determining the estimate for repairing the damage, wherein processing the plurality of images comprises: automatically processing image data of a second image of the plurality of images to determine a blurriness of the second image; and automatically determining whether the blurriness of the second image causes the second image to be unsuitable for determining the estimate for repairing the damage; and based on determining that the blurriness of the second image causes the second image to be unsuitable for determining the estimate for repairing the damage, automatically outputting, via the software application and on the screen of the mobile computing device, an instruction to recapture the second image; providing, to the server of the insurance claim processing system, the plurality of images comprising the first replacement image; receiving, from the server of the insurance claim processing system, an estimate for repairing the damage to the vehicle; and outputting the estimate for repairing the damage to the vehicle.

“8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed further cause: receiving, from the server of the insurance claim processing system, a request to replace a second image of the plurality of images; based on receiving the request to replace the second image, outputting an instruction to recapture the second image; based on the instruction to recapture the second image, obtaining a second replacement image; and based on obtaining the second replacement image, replacing, in the plurality of images, the second image with the second replacement image.

“9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the providing the plurality of images to the server of the insurance claim processing system comprises providing at least one of the plurality of images to the server before receiving a request to replace a second image.

“10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the providing the plurality of images to the server of the insurance claim processing system comprises providing the first replacement image to the server before receiving a request to replace a second image.”

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

For more information, see this patent: Brandmaier, Jennifer A. Feedback loop in mobile damage assessment and claims processing. U.S. Patent Number 11580605, filed June 12, 2020, and published online on February 14, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11580605)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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