Patent Issued for Systems and methods for managing building code compliance for a property (USPTO 11815864): State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
2023 DEC 06 (NewsRx) -- By a
The patent’s assignee for patent number 11815864 is
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, the method comprising: comparing, by a processor, building code compliance information for each of the devices to building code requirements; transmitting, to a customer, a notification that identifies at least one device that does not comply with the building code requirements; automatically comparing, by the processor and without human monitoring or intervention, the building code requirements to updated building code requirements to determine changed building code requirements; automatically generating, by the processor and without human monitoring or intervention, a compliance report indicating that the devices are compliant with the changed building code requirements, the devices are non-compliant with the changed building code requirements, or the building code compliance information lacks sufficient data to determine compliance with the changed building code requirements; and transmitting the compliance report to the customer.
“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by a hardware controller, the building code requirements; for each corresponding device, analyzing, by the processor, the building code requirements to determine whether the building code requirements applies to the corresponding device; and modifying, by the processor, a data record corresponding to the corresponding device within an inventory list to track an applicable building code requirement of the 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 a 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 the processor, the additional building code compliance information to the building code requirements; and determining, by the processor, that the at least one device still does not comply with the 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 processor, a performance of the selected corrective actions.
“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: calculating, by the processor, a modified insurance coverage quote based upon the at least one device not complying with the 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 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 processor, that the building code requirements have been updated; comparing, by the processor, further building code compliance information respectively associated with the devices to the updated building code requirements; determining, by the processor, that the devices comply with the updated building code requirements; and transmitting, to the customer, another compliance report indicating at least one of a description of the changes to the building code requirements or an indication of whether the devices comply with the updated 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 an updated building code requirement categorized as lacking sufficient data to determine compliance; comparing, by the processor, the manually-determined building code compliance information to the corresponding updated building code requirement; determining, by the processor, that the manually-determined building code compliance information indicates compliance with the updated building code requirement; and updating, by the processor, an inventory list to indicate compliance with the updated 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 processor, 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, the system comprising: a communication module; a memory adapted to store non-transitory computer executable instructions; and a processor adapted to interface with the communication module, wherein the processor is configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the system to: compare, by the processor, building code compliance information for each of the devices to building code requirements; determine, by the processor, that at least one device does not comply with the 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 building code requirements; automatically compare, by the processor and without human monitoring or intervention, the building code requirements to updated building code requirements to determine changed building code requirements; automatically generate, by the processor and without human monitoring or intervention, a compliance report indicating that the devices are compliant with the changed building code requirements, the devices are non-compliant with the changed building code requirements, or the building code compliance information lacks sufficient data to determine compliance with the changed building code requirements; and transmit the compliance report to the customer.
“11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the system to: receive, via the communication module, the building code requirements; for each corresponding device, analyze, by the processor, the building code requirements to determine whether the building code requirements apply to the corresponding device; and modify, by the processor, a data record corresponding to the corresponding device within an inventory list to track an applicable building code requirement of the building code requirements.
“12. The system of claim 10, wherein prior to transmitting the notification to the customer, the processor is 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 compliance information is received after a first time period; compare, by one or more processors, the additional building code compliance information to the building code requirements; and determine, by the processor, that the at least one device still does not comply with the building code requirements after the first time period has elapsed.
“13. The system of claim 10, wherein to transmit the notification to the customer, the processor is further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the system to: transmit, via the communication module, the notification to an electronic device associated with a customer having an insurance policy, thereby causing the electronic device 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 processor, a performance of the selected corrective actions.
“14. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the system to: calculate, by the processor, a modified insurance coverage quote based upon the at least one device not complying with the building code requirements; and transmit, to the customer via the communication module, the modified insurance coverage quote.
“15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the system to: after a first time period has elapsed since determining that the at least one device does not comply with the building code requirements, facilitate, with an insurance provider, a modification to an insurance policy according to the modified insurance coverage quote.”
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.
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