Patent Issued for Systems and methods for determining cause of loss to a property (USPTO 11042942)
2021 JUL 09 (NewsRx) -- By a
The patent’s inventors are Binion, Todd (
This patent was filed on
From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Homeowner and personal property insurance exists to provide financial protection against damage to the home and personal property owner by the policyholder, respectively. These insurance products may provide different levels of coverage depending on the source of damage. For instance, some insurance products may fully cover wind damage but only allows the insured to recover half the loss for water damage. After an insurance-related event causes damage, it may be difficult, using hindsight, to determine the actual source of the damage. As an example, in some insurance-related events, a window may be broken due to an unknown cause, such as by either violent winds or debris in the winds, or by a water swell.”
Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The present embodiments may, inter alia, relate to interconnected or smart homes. The interconnected or smart homes may have a smart home controller and/or smart devices interconnected (or in wired or wireless communication) with the smart home controller for gathering data. The data gathered may be analyzed by the smart home controller or a remote processor associated with an insurance provider to determine the actual cause of loss (such as water, wind, fire, hail, or other causes) associated with an insurance-related event. After which, insurance policies or claims may be adjusted or handled by the insurance provider remote processor based upon the analysis of the data gathered.
“In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of assessing damage to a property may be provided. The property may be populated with a controller in communication with a plurality of devices in the property. Each of the plurality of devices may be configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property. The method may include (1) receiving, via a first wired or wireless communication, a first set of sensor data from at least one of the plurality of devices, and/or (2) based upon the first set of data, generating, by one or more processors (such as one or more local or remote processors associated with a smart home controller and/or an insurance provider, respectively), a baseline condition for the property. While an insurance related event is occurring, the method may include (3) receiving, via the first wired or wireless communication network, a second set of sensor data from the at least one of the plurality of devices. Subsequently, the method may include (4) comparing, by the one or more processors, the second set of data to the baseline condition to detect damage to the property, and/or (5) based upon the comparison, determining, by the one or more processors, a sequence of events that caused the damage to the property. The method may also include (6) generating, by the one or more processors, a proposed insurance claim for the damage to the property based upon the sequence of events, and/or (7) transmitting, by the one or more processors (such as via wireless communication or data transmission), the proposed insurance claim to a mobile device (or other computer or communications device) of an insured for their review, approval, or modification. The method may include additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.
“In another aspect, a system for assessing damage to a property may be provided. The property may be populated with a controller in communication with a plurality of devices located within the property. Each of the plurality of devices may be configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property. The system may include a communication module adapted to communicate data; a memory adapted to store non-transitory computer executable instructions; and/or one or more processors adapted to interface with the communication module. The one or more processors may be configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to (1) receive, via the communication module, a first set of sensor data from at least one of the plurality of devices, and/or (2) based upon the first set of data, generate, by the one or more processors, a baseline condition for the property. While an insurance related event is occurring, the one or more processors may be configured to (3) receive, via the communication module, a second set of sensor data from the at least one of the plurality of devices. Subsequently, the one or more processors may be further configured to (4) compare, by the one or more processors, the second set of data to the baseline condition to detect damage to the property, and/or (5) based upon the comparison, determine, by the one or more processors, a sequence of events that caused the damage to the property. The one or more processors may also be configured to (6) to generate a proposed insurance claim for the damage to the property based upon the sequence of events, and/or (7) transmit the proposed insurance claim to a mobile or computing device of the insured for their review, approval, or modification. The system may include additional, fewer, or alternate components or functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein.
“In still another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions may be provided. When executed, the instructions may cause the one or more processors to (1) receive, via a first wired or wireless communication network, a first set of sensor data from at least one of the plurality of devices, and/or (2) based upon the first set of data, generate, by the one or more processors, a baseline condition for the property. While an insurance related event is occurring, the instructions may cause the one or more processors to (3) receive, via the first wired or wireless communication network, a second set of sensor data from the at least one of the plurality of devices. Subsequently, the instructions may cause the one or more processors to (4) compare the second set of data to the baseline condition to detect damage to the property, and/or (5) based upon the comparison, determine a sequence of events that caused the damage to the property. The instructions may further cause the one or more processors to (6) generate a proposed insurance claim for the damage to the property based upon the sequence of events, and/or (7) cause the proposed insurance claim to be presented on a display of a mobile device (or other computing device) of the insured for their review, approval, or modification. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may store additional, fewer, or alternate instructions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.”
The claims supplied by the inventors are:
“1. A computer-implemented method of assessing damage to a property populated with a plurality of smart devices, each of the plurality of smart devices (i) configured with at least one transceiver that communicates with a smart home controller, and (ii) configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property, the method comprising: while an insurance related event is occurring, receiving, via a communication network, data generated by at least one sensor associated with at least one of the plurality of smart devices; comparing, by one or more processors of the smart home controller, the data generated by the at least one sensor to a baseline condition for the property to detect damage to the property; in response to detecting the damage to the property, determining, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller, a sequence of events that caused the damage to the property; assigning, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller, a first percentage to a first cause of damage and a second percentage to a second cause of damage; automatically generating, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller, a proposed insurance claim for at least one of (i) the first cause of damage, and (ii) the second cause of damage based upon the sequence of events; prepopulating, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller, the proposed insurance claim with at least one of (a) the assigned first percentage to the first cause of damage, and (b) the assigned second percentage to the second cause of damage; transmitting, via the wireless communication network, the proposed insurance claim to an individual associated with the property such that the individual is capable of viewing the proposed insurance claim; receiving from the individual, via the communication network, a modification to the proposed insurance claim; determining, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller, whether the modification is consistent with the determined sequence of events by analyzing at the data; when the modification is consistent with the determined sequence of events, submitting, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller, the modified insurance claim to an insurance provider for processing; and when the modification is not consistent with the determined sequence of events, notifying, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller, the individual that the modification is not consistent with the determined sequence of events.
“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: after the insurance-related event has concluded, receiving, via the communication network, a second set of data generated by the at least one sensor; and comparing, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller, the second set of data generated by the at least one sensor to the baseline condition to estimate an amount of the damage to the property.
“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, at the smart home controller via the communication network, an initial set of data generated by the at least one sensor and based upon the initial set of data, generating, by one or more processors of the smart home controller, the baseline condition for the property.
“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the damage to the property is at least one of water damage, wind damage, fire damage, earthquake damage, or damage caused by a breach of structural integrity.
“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the damage to the property is at least one of: water damage or wind damage.
“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving from the insurance provider, via the communication network, at least one of a recommendation to purchase new smart devices or insurance products or an evaluation of how at least one of the plurality of smart devices withstood the insurance-related event.
“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting that the insurance related event is occurring by at least one of: (i) analyzing, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller, the comparison between the data generated by the at least one sensor and the baseline condition to detect a variance indicative of a commencement of the insurance-related event, or (ii) receiving, from the at least one of the plurality of smart devices via the communication network, a status update indicative of the commencement of the insurance-related event.
“8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the status update indicates at least one of: a window shattering, a breach in structural integrity, or a triggered alarm.
“9. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the data generated by the at least one sensor comprises at least one of time-stamped audio data, status data, visual data captured on the property, or visual data captured above the property by an airborne sensor.
“10. A system comprising a smart home controller for assessing damage to a property populated with a plurality of smart devices on the property, each of the plurality of smart devices (i) configured with at least one transceiver that communicates with a smart home controller, and (ii) configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property, the smart home controller comprising: a communication module adapted to communicate data; a memory adapted to store non-transitory computer executable instructions; and one or more processors adapted to interface with the communication module, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to: while an insurance related event is occurring, receive, via the communication module, data generated by at least one sensor associated with at least one of the plurality of smart devices; compare, by the one or more processors, the data generated by the at least one sensor to a baseline condition for the property to detect damage to the property; in response to detecting the damage to the property, determine, by the one or more processors, a sequence of events that caused the damage to the property; assigning, by the one or more processors, a first percentage to a first cause of damage and a second percentage to a second cause of damage; automatically generate, by the one or more processors, a proposed insurance claim for at least one of (i) the first cause of damage, or (ii) the second cause of damage based upon the sequence of events; prepopulate, by the one or more processors, the proposed insurance claim with the assigned first percentage to the first cause of damage or the assigned second percentage to the second cause of damage; and transmit, via the communication module, the proposed insurance claim to an individual associated with the property such that the individual is capable of viewing the proposed insurance claim; receive from the individual, via the communication module, a modification to the proposed insurance claim; determine whether the modification is consistent with the determined sequence of events by analyzing the data; when the modification is consistent with the determined sequence of events, submit the modified insurance claim to an insurance provider for processing; and when the modification is not consistent with the determined sequence of events, notify the individual that the modification is not consistent with the determined sequence of events.
“11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to: after the insurance-related event has concluded, receive, via the communication module, a second set of data generated by the at least one sensor; and compare, by the one or more processors, the second set of data generated by the at least one sensor to the baseline condition to estimate an amount of the damage to the property.
“12. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to: receive, via the communication module, an initial set of data generated by at least one sensor associated with at least one of the plurality of smart devices; based upon the initial set of data, generate, by the one or more processors, the baseline condition for the property.
“13. The system of claim 10, wherein the damage to the property is at least one of: water damage, wind damage, fire damage, earthquake damage, or damage caused by a breach of structural integrity.
“14. The system of claim 10, wherein the damage to the property is at least one of: water damage or wind damage.
“15. The system of claim 10, the one or more processors are further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to: detect that the insurance related event is occurring by at least one of: (i) analyzing, by the one or more processors, the comparison between the data generated by the at least one sensor and the baseline condition to detect a variance indicative of a commencement of the insurance-related event, or (ii) receiving, at the smart home controller via the communication module, a status update indicative of the commencement of the insurance-related event.
“16. The system of claim 10, wherein the data comprises at least one of: time-stamped audio data, status data, visual data captured on the property, or visual data captured above the property by an airborne sensor.”
There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.
For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Binion, Todd. Systems and methods for determining cause of loss to a property.
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