Patent Issued for Systems and methods for managing building code compliance for a property (USPTO 11551235): State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

2023 FEB 01 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Alexandria, Virginia, NewsRx journalists report that a patent by the inventors Carlson, Gail L. (Bloomington, IL, US), Donovan, John (Bloomington, IL, US), Harr, Joseph P. (Bloomington, IL, US), Harris, Jr., Michael (Tempe, AZ, US), Jordan, II, Jackie O. (Bloomington, IL, US), Markwardt, Kerstin (Phoenix, AZ, US), Nussbaum, Bryan R. (Bloomington, IL, US), Schiebel, Kyle C. (Bloomington, IL, US), Stockweather, Deanna (Normal, IL, US), Stoiber, Jeffrey W. (Dunwoody, GA, US), Sun, Jennylind (Bloomington, IL, US), Turrentine, David (Normal, IL, US), Wagner, EllaKate (Mesa, AZ, US), Winslow, Troy (Bloomington, IL, US), Wollenschlager, Torri (Bloomington, IL, US), filed on November 5, 2019, was published online on January 10, 2023.

The patent’s assignee for patent number 11551235 is State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States).

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Homeowner and personal property insurance exists to provide financial protection against damage to the home, as well as personal property owned by the policyholder, respectively. With the proliferation of the “internet of things,” more household devices and items are gaining communication and network connectivity capabilities. The new capabilities may enable data detection and more accurate information and metrics. However, current insurance policy processing systems may not account for the connected devices and/or improved information.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The present embodiments may, inter alia, facilitate communications with connected devices and items, and/or facilitate insurance processing associated with the connected devices and items, among other functionalities. For instance, the present embodiments may dynamically manage insurance policies associated with a property (e.g., smart home) that may be populated with a plurality of devices. Each of the plurality of devices may be configured to monitor various conditions of the property (including those that affect building code compliance) and may have an associated warranty policy. A controller may interface with the plurality of devices to receive and monitor sensor data from the plurality of devices, as well as determine that the plurality of devices comply with relevant warranties and building code requirements. The controller may also propose a corrective action in the event any of the devices are non-compliant with a warranty or building code requirement. A customer may receive the proposed corrective action and/or may be able to accept, reject, or modify the proposed actions accordingly. The controller and/or an insurance provider may facilitate the action with the customer so that the customer may be afforded an effective and efficient channel for ensuring device compliance with warranty and/or building code requirements without having to manually monitor compliance.

“In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of managing an insurance policy associated with a property may be provided. The property may be populated with a hardware controller in communication with a plurality of devices and each of the plurality of devices may be configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property. The method may include (1) receiving, by the hardware controller via a first communication network, building code compliance information associated with at least a portion of the plurality of devices; (2) updating, using the building code compliance information, an inventory list associated with the property, the inventory list including the plurality of devices and/or a set of building code requirements respectively associated with the plurality of devices; (3) comparing, by one or more processors, the building code compliance information to the respective set of building code requirements for each of the plurality of devices; (4) determining, by the one or more processors, that at least one of the plurality of devices does not comply with the set of building code requirements; and/or (5) transmitting, to a customer having the insurance policy via a second communication network, a notification that identifies the at least one of the plurality of devices that does not comply with the set of building code requirements to facilitate or prompt compliance with building codes. The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

“In one aspect, a system for managing an insurance policy associated with a property may be provided. The property may be populated with a hardware controller in communication with the plurality of devices and each of the plurality of devices may be configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property. The system may include (i) a communication module adapted to communicate data; (ii) a memory adapted to store non-transitory computer executable instructions; and/or (iii) 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 system to (1) receive, via the communication module, building code compliance information associated with at least a portion of the plurality of devices; (2) update, using the building code compliance information, an inventory list associated with the property, the inventory list including the plurality of devices and/or a set of building code requirements respectively associated with the plurality of devices; (3) compare, by the one or more processors, the building code compliance information to the respective set of building code requirements for each of the plurality of devices; (4) determine, by the one or more processors, that at least one of the plurality of devices does not comply with the set of building code requirements; and/or (5) transmit, via the communication module, a notification that identifies the at least one of the plurality of devices that does not comply with the set of building code requirements to facilitate or prompt compliance with building codes. The system may include additional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

“In one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions may be provided. When executed, the instructions may cause one or more processors to (1) receive, by the one or more processors via a local communication network, building code compliance information associated with at least a portion of the plurality of devices; (2) update, using the building code compliance information, an inventory list associated with the property, the inventory list including the plurality of devices and/or a set of building code requirements respectively associated with the plurality of devices; (3) compare, by the one or more processors, the building code compliance information to the respective set of building code requirements for each of the plurality of devices; (4) determine, by the one or more processors, that at least one of the plurality of devices does not comply with the set of building code requirements; and/or (5) transmit, to a customer having the insurance policy via a remote communication network, a notification that identifies the at least one of the plurality of devices that does not comply with the set of building code requirements to facilitate or otherwise prompt compliance with building codes. The instructions may cause additional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method of managing building code compliance of devices located in a property, each of the devices configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property, the method comprising: receiving, by a hardware controller, building code compliance information from the devices; comparing, by one or more processors, the building code compliance information for each of the devices to a set of building code requirements; determining, by the one or more processors, that at least one device does not comply with the set of building code requirements; transmitting, to a customer, a notification that identifies the at least one device that does not comply with the set of building code requirements; automatically comparing, by the one or more processors and without human monitoring or intervention, the set of building code requirements to an updated set of building code requirements to determine a set of changed building code requirements; automatically generating, by the one or more processors and without human monitoring or intervention, a compliance report indicating that the devices are compliant with the set of changed building code requirements, the devices are non-compliant with the set of changed building code requirements, or the building code compliance information lacks sufficient data to determine compliance with the set of changed building code requirements; and transmitting the compliance report to the customer.

“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the hardware controller, the set of building code requirements; for each corresponding device, analyzing, by the one or more processors, the set of building code requirements to determine whether the set of building code requirements applies to the corresponding device; and modifying, by the one or more processors, a data record corresponding to the corresponding device within an inventory list to track an applicable building code requirement of the set of building code requirements.

“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein prior to transmitting the notification to the customer, the method further comprises: receiving, by the hardware controller, additional building code compliance information associated with the at least one device, wherein the additional building code information is received after a threshold duration has elapsed; comparing, by one or more processors, the additional building code compliance information to the set of building code requirements; and determining, by the one or more processors, that the at least one device still does not comply with the set of building code requirements after the threshold duration has elapsed.

“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the notification to the customer comprises: transmitting, to a customer having an insurance policy associated with the property, the notification, wherein transmitting the notification causes an electronic device associated with the customer to enable the customer to select corrective actions including at least one of hiring a professional to repair the at least one device or purchasing a replacement device; and automatically facilitating, by the one or more processors, a performance of the selected corrective actions.

“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: calculating, by the one or more processors, a modified insurance coverage quote based upon the at least one device not complying with the set of building code requirements; and transmitting, to the customer, the modified insurance coverage quote.

“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising: upon a threshold duration elapsing since determining that the at least one device does not comply with the set of building code requirements, facilitating, with an insurance provider, a modification to an insurance policy according to the modified insurance coverage quote.

“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting, by the one or more processors, that the set of building code requirements has been updated; receiving, by the hardware controller, further building code compliance information respectively associated with the devices; comparing, by the one or more processors, the further building code compliance information to the updated set of building code requirements; determining, by the one or more processors, that the devices comply with the updated set of building code requirements; and transmitting, to the customer, another compliance report indicating at least one of a description of the changes to set of building code requirements or an indication of whether the devices comply with the updated set of building code requirements.

“8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the hardware controller, manually-determined building code compliance information corresponding to a changed building code requirement categorized as lacking sufficient data to determine compliance; comparing, by the one or more processors, the manually-determined building code compliance information to the corresponding updated building code requirement; determining, by the one or more processors, that the manually-determined building code compliance information indicates compliance with the updated building code requirement; and updating, by the one or more processors, an inventory list to indicate compliance with the changed building code requirement.

“9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: upon determining that the manually-determined building code compliance information indicates compliance with the updated building code requirement, calculating, by the one or more processors, a modified insurance coverage quote based upon the devices complying with the changed building code requirement; and transmitting, to the customer, the modified insurance coverage quote.

“10. A system for managing building code compliance of devices located in a property, each of the devices configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property, the system 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 system to: receive, via the communication module, building code compliance information associated with the devices; compare, by the one or more processors, the building code compliance information for each of the devices to a set of building code requirements; determine, by the one or more processors, that at least one device does not comply with the set of building code requirements; transmit, via the communication module, to a customer a notification that identifies the at least one device that does not comply with the set of building code requirements; automatically compare, by the one or more processors and without human monitoring or intervention, the set of building code requirements to an updated set of building code requirements to determine a set of changed building code requirements; automatically generate, by the one or more processors and without human monitoring or intervention, a compliance report indicating that the devices are compliant with the set of changed building code requirements, the devices are non-compliant with the set of changed building code requirements, or the building code compliance information lacks sufficient data to determine compliance with the set of changed building code requirements; and transmit the compliance report to the customer.

“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 system to: receive, via the communication module, the set of building code requirements; for each corresponding device, analyze, by the one or more processors, the set of building code requirements to determine whether the set of building code requirements applies to the corresponding device; and modify, by the one or more processors, a data record corresponding to the corresponding device within an inventory list to track an applicable building code requirement of the set of building code requirements.

“12. The system of claim 10, wherein prior to transmitting the notification to the customer, the one or more processors are further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the system to: receive, via the communication module, additional building code compliance information associated with the at least one device, wherein the additional building code information is received after a threshold duration has elapsed; compare, by one or more processors, the additional building code compliance information to the set of building code requirements; and determine, by the one or more processors, that the at least one device still does not comply with the set of building code requirements after the threshold duration has elapsed.

“13. The system of claim 10, wherein to transmit the notification to the customer, the one or more processors are further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the system to: transmit, to a customer having an insurance policy via the communication module, the notification, wherein transmitting the notification causes an electronic device associated with the customer to enable the customer to select corrective actions including at least one of hiring a professional to repair the at least one device or purchasing a replacement device; and automatically facilitate, by the one or more processors, a performance of the selected corrective actions.”

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

For additional information on this patent, see: Carlson, Gail L. Systems and methods for managing building code compliance for a property. U.S. Patent Number 11551235, filed November 5, 2019, and published online on January 10, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11551235)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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