Patent Issued for System And Method For Facilitating Vehicle Insurance Services (USPTO 10,832,340)

2020 NOV 20 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States) has been issued patent number 10,832,340, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Mullen, Christina P. (Normal, IL); Leise, William J. (Normal, IL); Graff, Douglas Albert (Mountain View, MO).

This patent was filed on October 31, 2017 and was published online on November 23, 2020.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Millions of manned and unmanned vehicles are used throughout the world every day. The vehicles may be powered or unpowered (e.g., transported or towed by another vehicle) and are commonly used to transport people and cargo that range in size from a single occupant operator to multiple occupant passengers and freight. These vehicles also include a wide range of types, including motorcycles, automobiles, busses, trucks, trains, bicycles, aircraft, and watercraft. To protect a vehicle against the risk of a loss resulting from theft, collision, accident, or other event, a vehicle owner may purchase an insurance policy for the vehicle from a vehicle insurance provider. The insurance policy outlines the conditions and circumstances under which the insured vehicle owner will be financially compensated should the insured vehicle suffer a loss.

“Providing for vehicle insurance coverage is a sophisticated technical process that involves many disciplines, including actuarial science, marketing, finance, and government regulation to name but a few. Intricately connected with these disciplines is the vast amount of available information associated with vehicles. For example, each vehicle typically includes a vehicle manufacturer’s coded vehicle identification number (VIN and/or VIN number), which when fully decoded, identifies a unique vehicle. The VIN number includes various sections or segments that may be standardized depending where the VIN number is being used, e.g., U.S.A., European Union. Segments of the VIN number may be associated with the vehicle manufacturer identifier, vehicle type identifier, and vehicle serial number. A VIN number with fully populated segments identifies a unique vehicle, while an incomplete or semi-populated VIN number may generally pertain to a group, type, make, model, trim level, class, etc., of vehicle.

“Enormous amounts of other information associated with vehicles is also attainable from various resources, for example, collision statistics, marketing statistics, vehicle demographics, governmental vehicle statistics, vehicle recall alerts, vehicle owner information, consumer information research, academic journals, blogs, and researcher publications. By effectively accumulating, maintaining, and coordinating the use of a seemingly endless amount of vehicle information, a vehicle insurance provider may enhance many of the services it provides to insured vehicle owners.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “Example systems and methods for facilitating vehicle insurance services provided by a casualty insurance provider are herein described. In accordance with a first example aspect of the invention, a method comprises providing a specialty vehicle data identifier (VDI) template for facilitating translation of a specialty vehicle data identifier used to identify a vehicle. The specialty vehicle data identifier is a coded descriptor for identifying a vehicle and may be configured to include one or more segments of coded representations of vehicle attributes associated with any desired type or category of information that a user may find useful in providing vehicle insurance services. A fully populated specialty vehicle data identifier may correspond to a unique vehicle and a partially populated specialty vehicle data identifier may correspond to a group of vehicles having at least one vehicle attribute in common. The method further includes receiving, by one or more processors, vehicle information; correlating, by the one or more processors, the received vehicle information with one or more segments of the plurality of segments of the specialty vehicle data identifier template; and storing, by the one or more processors, the correlated received vehicle information in memory. The method further includes associating, by the one or more processors, the correlated one or more segments of the received vehicle information with one or more discrete vehicle data identifiers stored in memory; receiving, by the one or more processors, a request for information based on a search term; identifying, by the one or more processors, each discrete vehicle data identifier stored in memory including vehicle information that substantially matches at least a portion the search term. The method further includes compiling, by the one or more processors, an output including any identified discrete vehicle data identifier; and providing, by the one or more processors, the output in an accessible format in response to the request for information.

“A second example aspect of the invention is directed to a system for facilitating vehicle insurance services provided by a casualty insurance provider. The system comprises one or more processors configured to receive vehicle information, a user interface module coupled to the one or more processors and facilitating interaction between the system and a user, and a specialty vehicle data identifier template for facilitating translation of a specialty vehicle data identifier used to identify a vehicle. The specialty vehicle data identifier includes a plurality of segments, wherein each segment is representative of a vehicle attribute. A fully populated specialty vehicle data identifier may correspond to a unique vehicle and a partially populated specialty vehicle data identifier may correspond to a group of vehicles having at least one vehicle attribute in common. The system further includes a correlation module coupled to the one or more processors and configured to correlate the received vehicle information with one or more segments of the plurality of segments of the specialty vehicle data identifier template, a storage module coupled to the one or more processors and configured to store the correlated received vehicle information, and a linkage module coupled to the one or more processors and configured to associate the correlated one or more segments of the received vehicle information with one or more discrete vehicle data identifiers stored in memory. The system further includes an interface module coupled to the one or more processors and configured to receive a request for information including a search term, a search module operatively coupled to the one or more processors and configured to identify each discrete vehicle data identifier stored in the storage module including vehicle information that substantially matches at least a portion of the search term, a compiler module operatively coupled to the one or more processors and configured to accumulate any identified discrete vehicle data identifier into an output, and an output module operatively coupled to the one or more processors and providing the output in an accessible format in response to the request for information.

“A third example aspect of the invention is directed to a system for providing information for use by a casualty insurance provider to facilitate providing insurance services related to a vehicle. The system comprises one or more processors coupled to one or more memory devices and one or more user interfaces, wherein the system is configured to: provide a specialty vehicle data identifier template for facilitating translation of a specialty vehicle data identifier used to identify a vehicle, the specialty vehicle data identifier including a plurality of segments, wherein each segment of the plurality of segments is representative of a vehicle attribute. A fully populated vehicle data identifier may correspond to a unique vehicle and a partially populated vehicle data identifier may correspond to a group of vehicles having at least one vehicle attribute in common. The system is further configured to: receive, at the one or more processors, vehicle information; correlate, by the one or more processors, the received vehicle information with one or more segments of the plurality of segments of the specialty vehicle data identifier template; store, by the one or more processors, the correlated received vehicle information in memory; and associate, by the one or more processors, the correlated one or more segments of the received vehicle information with one or more discrete vehicle data identifiers stored in the memory. The system is further configured to: receive, by the one or more processors, a request for information based on a search term; identify, by the one or more processors, each discrete vehicle data identifier stored in memory including vehicle information that substantially matches at least a portion the search term; compile, by the one or more processors, an output including any identified discrete vehicle data identifier; and provide, by the one or more processors, the output in an accessible format in response to the request for information.

“A fourth example aspect of the invention is directed to a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for providing information for use by a casualty insurance provider to facilitate insurance services related to a vehicle, wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the one or more processors to: provide a vehicle data identifier template for facilitating translation of a vehicle data identifier used to identify a vehicle, the vehicle data identifier including a plurality of segments, wherein each segment of the plurality of segments is representative of a vehicle attribute. A fully populated vehicle data identifier may correspond to a unique vehicle and a partially populated vehicle data identifier may correspond to a group of vehicles having at least one vehicle attribute in common. The executed instructions further cause the one or more processors to: receive vehicle information; correlate the received vehicle information with one or more segments of the plurality of segments of the vehicle data identifier template; store the correlated received vehicle information in a memory; and associate the correlated one or more segments of the received vehicle information with one or more discrete vehicle data identifiers stored in the memory. The executed instructions further cause the one or more processors to: receive a request for information based on a search term; identify each discrete vehicle data identifier stored in the memory including vehicle information that substantially matches at least a portion the search term; compile an output including any identified discrete vehicle data identifier; and provide the output in an accessible format in response to the request for information.

“The functionalities provided by these various aspects and embodiments are attained through the benefit of a computer network, wherein the user is better able to use and understand the vast amount of vehicle related data.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“What is claimed:

“1. A method for facilitating vehicle insurance services provided by a casualty insurance provider, the method comprising: providing a specialty vehicle data identifier template for facilitating translation of a specialty vehicle data identifier used to identify vehicles, the specialty vehicle data identifier template including a plurality of segments, each segment of the plurality of segments capable of including a code representative of a vehicle attribute, wherein the vehicle attribute of at least one segment includes original equipment manufacturer data of a vehicle type; automatically periodically gathering from a public source, by one or more processors, a recall notice including original equipment manufacturer data; correlating, by the one or more processors, the gathered recall notice and original equipment manufacturer data with the at least one segment of the plurality of segments of the specialty vehicle data identifier template including the original equipment manufacturer data; storing, by the one or more processors, the correlated recall notice and original equipment manufacturer data in a memory; associating, by the one or more processors, the stored and correlated recall notice and original equipment manufacturer data with one or more discrete vehicle data identifiers including the same vehicle type; receiving, by the one or more processors, a request for information based on a search term including the original equipment manufacturer data of the recall notice of the vehicle type; identifying, by the one or more processors, a vehicle owner associated with each discrete vehicle data identifier stored in the memory including the original equipment manufacturer data substantially matching at least a portion the search term; compiling, by the one or more processors, an output including any identified discrete vehicle data identifier; providing, by the one or more processors in response to the request for information, the output in an accessible format to a department of the casualty insurance provider including one or more of: a vehicle claims department, a vehicle underwriting department, a vehicle marketing department, a vehicle consumer department, research department, or a vehicle actuarial department; and transmitting, by the one or more processors via a communication network, the recall notice in an accessible format to the identified vehicle owner.

“2. A system for facilitating vehicle insurance services provided by a casualty insurance provider, the system comprising: one or more processors configured to automatically periodically gather receive a recall notice from a public source, the recall notice including original equipment manufacturer data; a user interface module coupled to the one or more processors and facilitating interaction between the system and a user; a specialty vehicle data identifier template for facilitating translation of a specialty vehicle data identifier used to identify the vehicle, the specialty vehicle data identifier including a plurality of segments, each segment of the plurality of segments representative of a vehicle attribute, wherein the vehicle attribute of at least one segment includes original equipment manufacturer data; a correlation module coupled to the one or more processors and configured to correlate the gathered recall notice and original equipment manufacturer data with one or more segments of the plurality of segments of the specialty vehicle data identifier template; a storage module coupled to the one or more processors and configured to utilize the specialty vehicle data identifier to store the correlated received recall notice and original equipment manufacturer data in a memory; a linkage module coupled to the one or more processors and configured to associate the correlated one or more segments of the received recall notice and original equipment manufacturer data with one or more discrete vehicle data identifiers stored in the memory; an interface module coupled to the one or more processors and configured to receive a request for information based on a search term including the original equipment manufacturer data of the recall notice of the vehicle type; a search module operatively coupled to the one or more processors and configured to identify each discrete vehicle data identifier stored in the memory including the original equipment manufacturer data substantially matching at least a portion of the search term; a compiler module operatively coupled to the one or more processors and configured to accumulate any identified discrete vehicle data identifier into an output; an output module operatively coupled to the one or more processors and providing, in response to the request for information, the output in an accessible format to a department of the casualty insurance provider including one or more of: a vehicle claims department, a vehicle underwriting department, a vehicle marketing department, a vehicle consumer department, research department, or a vehicle actuarial department; and a communication module operatively coupled to the one or more processors and transmitting the recall notice to a vehicle owner associated with one of the identified discrete vehicle data identifiers.

“3. A system for providing information for use by a casualty insurance provider to facilitate insurance services related to a vehicle, the system comprising: one or more processors coupled to one or more memory devices and one or more user interfaces, wherein the system is configured to: provide a specialty vehicle data identifier template for facilitating translation of a specialty vehicle data identifier used to identify vehicles, the specialty vehicle data identifier template including a plurality of segments, each segment of the plurality of segments capable of including a code representative of a vehicle attribute, wherein the vehicle attribute of at least one segment includes original equipment manufacturer data of a vehicle type; automatically periodically gather via the one or more processors a recall notice from a public source, the recall notice including original equipment manufacturer data; correlate the gathered recall notice and original equipment manufacturer data with the at least one segment of the plurality of segments of the specialty vehicle data identifier template including the original equipment manufacturer data; store the correlated recall notice and original equipment manufacturer data in a memory; associate the stored and correlated recall notice and original equipment manufacturer data with one or more discrete vehicle data identifiers including the same vehicle type; receive a request for information based on a search term including the original equipment manufacturer data of the recall notice of the vehicle type; identify a vehicle owner associated with each discrete vehicle data identifier stored in the memory including the original equipment manufacturer data substantially matching at least a portion the search term; compile an output including any identified discrete vehicle data identifier; provide, in response to the request for information, the output in an accessible format to a department of the casualty insurance provider including one or more of: a vehicle claims department, a vehicle underwriting department, a vehicle marketing department, a vehicle consumer department, research department, or a vehicle actuarial department; and transmit via a communication network, the recall notice in an accessible format to the identified vehicle owner.”

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Mullen, Christina P.; Leise, William J.; Graff, Douglas Albert. System And Method For Facilitating Vehicle Insurance Services. U.S. Patent Number 10,832,340, filed October 31, 2017, and published online on November 23, 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=10,832,340.PN.&OS=PN/10,832,340RS=PN/10,832,340

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