Patent Issued for Method And System For Enabling Interactive Communications Related To Insurance Data (USPTO 10,755,358)

2020 SEP 07 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States) has been issued patent number 10,755,358, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Urrutia, Roberta (San Antonio, TX); Diener, Pamela Glimm (San Antonio, TX); Limas, Shanna Ruth (San Antonio, TX); Darland, Jennifer Lynn (Helotes, TX); Proft, Richard Paul (San Antonio, TX); Burgess, Cleburne Robinson (Helotes, TX); Van Nest, Regina Rose (San Antonio, TX).

This patent was filed on November 8, 2016 and was published online on September 7, 2020.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Customers demand more of the products and services they use than ever before. They insist that the companies they deal with on a regular basis provide them greater and greater levels of accuracy and more tailored service offerings. Companies configure and operate ever increasing numbers of computer systems to achieve this using sources of information that have traditionally been unavailable when servicing these customers is now expected.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The present invention relates generally to insurance systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and systems for communicating between an insurer and the insured.

“It is currently challenging for loss parties and member service representatives (MSRs) to communicate with one another. When a loss party calls an MSR, the MSR is most often on the phone handling another loss. When the MSR calls the loss party, they are often not home. The result is a great deal of phone tag, voice mail and frustration. Existing electronic communication options are not supported on mobile devices and not integrated with insurer’s self-service application for claims. Loss parties cannot receive or send electronic messages from their smart phones or from within the context of existing mobile Claims application. Accordingly, claims today can be settled at first notice of loss or go on for years.

“Members do not always know the claims process, what to expect, how and to whom they can turn for advice and guidance during the claim.

“The longer a claim lasts, the harder it is for the member to maintain context as to what’s been done, and what’s left to do. There can be multiple reps involved in a loss, including specialty reps, and co-workers pitching in to help a teammate. How can the member keep track of whom to contact if they need help?

“Embodiments of the present invention, which can, in some implementations, be referred to as an Interactive Claims Wall, provide a one-stop record of all the back and forth communication between the member and the insurer. It’s a secure portal for Social Media style communication between MSRs and members regarding their claim that is integrated with the insurer’s mobile Claims application. The member can choose any channel to communicate with the insurer, but all communication is captured on the Claims Wall, with context for chronology and who the parties are who are communicating. The Claims Wall is available in any self-service channel. The insurer and the member can exchange documents, legal correspondence, photos and messages all within context of the Claims Wall.

“The member, also referred to as a customer, can send their Claims Adjuster an email and a reply can be made on behalf of the insurer by email, with the entire email conversation being captured on the Claims Wall. Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to communication between the insurer and the insured and can be extended to Claimants, vendors, body shops, attorneys, doctors, etc. The system described herein is well suited for portions of an insurer’s business that interact with Case Management (i.e. Mortgage, Financial Planning, etc.). When information is posted on the Claims Wall (also referred to as the Wall), the Member will be notified by the method of their choosing (email, text, push notification).

“According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of providing user interaction is provided. The method includes providing a processor and transmitting a communication from a first party to a second party. The method also includes posting, using the processor, an entry associated with the communication on a website, and receiving a second communication from the second party to the first party. The method further includes posting, using the processor, a second entry associated with the second communication on the website.

“According to another embodiment of the present invention, a graphical user interface is provided. The graphical user interface includes a first section including a listing of categories and a second section including a chronological list of communications. A subset of the communications are accessible by selection of one of the listing of categories.

“According to a particular embodiment of the present invention, a method of populating a Claims Wall is provided. The method includes providing a processor, identifying that an activity has occurred, and determining, using the processor that an automatic post is to be made. The method also includes determining, using the processor, a mode of communication for the post, transmitting information related to the post to a customer using the mode of communication, and populating the Claims Wall with the post.

“According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a system for receiving insurance data is provided. The system includes a processor and a network interface device configured to receive a communication for a first party from a second party. The system also includes a storage device configured to store the communication. The processor is configured to determine a post for the first party. The network interface device is further configured to receive a second communication for the second party. The processor is further configured to determine a second post for the second party. The first user can be an insurance policy holder. The storage device can include a database and the database can include a table correlating posts to members of a membership organization. In an example, the first post appears on a first Claims Wall and the second post appears on a second Claims Wall.

“Numerous benefits are achieved by way of the present invention over conventional techniques. For example, embodiments of the present invention provide for increased efficiency in claims processing. These and other embodiments of the invention along with many of its advantages and features are described in more detail in conjunction with the text below and attached figures.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“What is claimed is:

“1. A method of managing networked communications between a plurality of parties, the method comprising: electronically receiving an indication of an insurance claim; generating a claim wall comprising a website page and associated with the insurance claim, wherein the claim wall is configured to be output to a user interface as one or more entries, wherein the one or more entries are output in a reverse chronological order on the user interface, and wherein each of the one or more entries is configured to display at least one comment associated with the entry; providing access to the claim wall for an insured party, an insuring party, and a third party service provider, wherein the user interface is configured to receive the at least one comment associated with the entry from at least one of the insured party, the insuring party, and the third party service provider; generating a process map associated with the insurance claim, the process map including one or more tasks and one or more-service level objectives associated respectively with the one or more tasks; posting the process map, including the one or more tasks and the one or more service level objectives, on the claim wall; identifying that an activity has occurred, wherein the activity relates to a status change of the one or more tasks; and populating the claim wall with status information regarding the status change of the one or more tasks.

“2. The method of claim 1, the claim wall is accessible to at least one other party associated with the claim.

“3. The method of claim 2, wherein access to the claim wall is restricted to the insured party, the insuring party, and the third party service provider.

“4. The method of claim 1, a portion of the claim wall is provided using a secure interface.

“5. The method of claim 4, wherein the status information includes confidential information restricted to the secure interface.

“6. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying a different mode of communication according to a type of loss associated with the insurance claim.

“7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: posting a second entry on the claim wall.

“8. The method of claim 1, wherein the status information includes a voice call.

“9. The method of claim 8, the third party service provider includes at least one of a doctor or an attorney.

“10. A method comprising: electronically receiving an indication of an insurance claim; generating a claim wall comprising a website page and associated with the insurance claim, wherein the claim wall is configured to be output to a user interface as one or more entries, wherein the one or more entries are output in a reverse chronological order on the user interface, and wherein each of the one or more entries is configured to display at least one comment associated with the entry; providing access to the claim wall for an insured party, an insuring party, and a third party service provider, wherein the user interface is configured to receive the at least one comment associated with the entry from at least one of the insured party, the insuring party, and the third party service provider; generating a process map associated with the insurance claim, the process map including one or more tasks and one or more service level objectives associated respectively with the one or more tasks; posting the process map, including the one or more tasks and the one or more service level objectives, on the claim wall; identifying that an activity has occurred, wherein the activity relates to a status change of the one or more tasks; and populating the claim wall with information regarding the status change of the one or more tasks.

“11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: providing an agreement related to the insurance claim using the claim wall; receiving a network communication related to the agreement; and electronically executing the agreement on behalf of the at least one of a party related to the insurance claim.

“12. The method of claim 11, the agreement relates to a payment for the insurance claim.

“13. The method of claim 11, the agreement relates to a rental associated with the insurance claim.

“14. The method of claim 11, the agreement relates to service associated with the insurance claim.

“15. The method of claim 10, further comprising posting an entry related to a milestone related to the insurance claim on the claim wall.

“16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for managing networked communications that cause a processor executing the instructions to effectuate operations comprising: electronically receiving an indication of an insurance claim; generating a claim wall comprising a website page and associated with an insurance claim, wherein the claim wall is configured to be output to a user interface as one or more entries, wherein the one or more entries are output in a reverse chronological order on the user interface, and wherein each of the one or more entries is configured to display at least one comment associated with the entry; providing access to the claim wall for an insured party, an insuring party, and a third party service provider, wherein the user interface is configured to receive the at least one comment associated with the entry from at least one of the insured party, the insuring party, and the third party service provider; generating a process map associated with the insurance claim, the process map including one or more tasks and one or more service level objectives associated respectively with the one or more tasks; posting the process map, on the claim wall including the one or more tasks and the one or more service level objectives, on the claim wall; identifying that an activity has occurred, wherein the activity relates to a status change of the one or more tasks; and populating the claim wall with information regarding the status change of the one or more tasks.

“17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, the insurance claim relating to a catastrophic cause.

“18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising generating a catastrophe wall available to parties in a catastrophe area, the catastrophe wall including common information for a plurality of insurance claims including the insurance claim and catastrophe-related information.

“19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, the catastrophe-related information including a catastrophe map, information about services available in the catastrophe area, and catastrophe-specific contact information.

“20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, further comprising generating an adjuster view including a plurality of wall summaries.”

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Urrutia, Roberta; Diener, Pamela Glimm; Limas, Shanna Ruth; Darland, Jennifer Lynn; Proft, Richard Paul; Burgess, Cleburne Robinson; Van Nest, Regina Rose. Method And System For Enabling Interactive Communications Related To Insurance Data. U.S. Patent Number 10,755,358, filed November 8, 2016, and published online on September 7, 2020. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=10,755,358.PN.&OS=PN/10,755,358RS=PN/10,755,358

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