Patent Issued for Systems and methods for processing vehicle or driver performance data (USPTO 11631140): United Services Automobile Association

2023 MAY 05 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx journalists, a patent by the inventors Hopkins, John Chandler (San Antonio, TX, US), filed on February 8, 2021, was published online on April 18, 2023.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 11631140, is United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “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 service and competitive pricing. More competitive pricing requires greater levels of information. Products can be priced more exactly when all the components that affect pricing are taken into account. For instance, in the insurance industry, information about an individual is used to properly quote insurance policies. Two 35 year old single males may appear, based on age and gender, to be similar. However, each of those individuals may have different jobs, different family medical histories, and different hobbies. By using all the information that may be obtained, the policy for the less risky of the two can be priced lower than the higher risk. By performing operations on exact data, or more robust data, risk to the company can be properly managed.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In an embodiment, a method comprises receiving vehicle behavior data measuring at least a driving behavior; calculating, in response to receiving the vehicle behavior data, a quantitative measure of probable liability associated with the vehicle behavior data; determining, by a premium calculating engine, a premium for a vehicle insurance policy covering a vehicle associated with the vehicle behavior data; and offering the vehicle insurance policy to an owner of the vehicle.

“In an embodiment, a system is configured to receive vehicle behavior data measuring at least a driving behavior; calculate, in response to receiving the vehicle behavior data, a quantitative measure of probable liability associated with the vehicle behavior data; determine, by a premium calculating engine, a premium for a vehicle insurance policy covering a vehicle associated with the vehicle behavior data; and offer the vehicle insurance policy to an owner of the vehicle.

“In an embodiment, processors are configured to, or memory stores instructions that when executed are configured to, receive vehicle behavior data measuring at least a driving behavior; calculate, in response to receiving the vehicle behavior data, a quantitative measure of probable liability associated with the vehicle behavior data; determine, by a premium calculating engine, a premium for a vehicle insurance policy covering a vehicle associated with the vehicle behavior data; and offer the vehicle insurance policy to an owner of the vehicle.

“This summary is intended only to provide non-limiting examples and alternative or complementary embodiments are disclosed and may be claimed separately from what is set forth above. Those of ordinary skill in the art will better appreciate such embodiments on review of the entirety of the disclosure.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor perform a method of receiving and managing networked communications for configuring a vehicle insurance policy, the method comprising: receiving vehicle behavior data measuring at least a driving behavior; calculating, in response to receiving the vehicle behavior data, a quantitative measure of probable liability associated with the vehicle behavior data; determining, by a premium calculating engine, a premium for the vehicle insurance policy covering a vehicle associated with the vehicle behavior data; and offering the vehicle insurance policy to an owner of the vehicle.

“2. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle behavior data is further calculated by systems operated by an underwriter of the vehicle insurance policy using vehicle performance data.

“3. The method of claim 2, wherein the vehicle performance data includes at least one of vehicle speed, g-load, mileage, acceleration, deceleration, engine performance, oil temperature, fluid levels, cylinder temperature, spark plug voltage, fuel-air mixture, fuel flow, air pressure, boost pressure, or emissions gas readings.

“4. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle behavior data is aggregated from one or more drivers operating the vehicle without regard to any individual driver.

“5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving external data from a source other than the vehicle.

“6. The method of claim 5, wherein the external data includes aggregate behavior data from one or more members of a demographic.

“7. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle behavior data is calculated at the vehicle.

“8. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle behavior data is generated by a data processing module.

“9. A system, comprising: a data processing module installed in a vehicle including a hardware sensor for measuring vehicle performance data; and a computer-readable code for receiving and managing network communications, the computer-readable code being stored on a computer-readable medium, and, when executed, causing a computer processor to: receive vehicle behavior data measuring at least a driving behavior; calculate, in response to receiving the vehicle behavior data, a quantitative measure of probable liability associated with the vehicle behavior data; determine, by a premium calculating engine, a premium for a vehicle insurance policy covering a vehicle associated with the vehicle behavior data; and offer the vehicle insurance policy to an owner of the vehicle.

“10. The computer-readable code of claim 9, wherein the vehicle behavior data is further calculated by systems operated by an underwriter of the vehicle insurance policy using the vehicle performance data.

“11. The computer-readable code of claim 9, wherein the vehicle behavior data is aggregated from one or more drivers operating the vehicle without regard to any individual driver.

“12. The computer-readable code of claim 9, wherein the computer-readable code, when executed, causes the computer processor to receive external data from a source other than the vehicle.

“13. The computer-readable code of claim 12, wherein the external data includes aggregate behavior data from one or more members of a demographic.

“14. The computer-readable code of claim 9, wherein the vehicle performance data includes at least one of vehicle speed, g-load, mileage, acceleration, deceleration, engine performance, oil temperature, fluid levels, cylinder temperature, spark plug voltage, fuel-air mixture, fuel flow, air pressure, boost pressure, or emissions gas readings.

“15. The computer-readable code of claim 9, wherein the vehicle behavior data is generated by a data processing module.

“16. A system, comprising: a data processing module installed in a vehicle including a hardware sensor for measuring vehicle performance data; and a device for receiving and managing electronic communications, the device comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to: receive vehicle behavior data measuring at least a driving behavior; calculate, in response to receiving the vehicle behavior data, a quantitative measure of probable liability associated with the vehicle behavior data; determine, by a premium calculating engine, a premium for a vehicle insurance policy covering a vehicle associated with the vehicle behavior data; and offer the vehicle insurance policy to an owner of the vehicle.

“17. The device of claim 16, wherein the vehicle behavior data is further calculated by systems operated by an underwriter of the vehicle insurance policy using the vehicle performance data.

“18. The device of claim 16, wherein the vehicle behavior data is aggregated from one or more drivers operating the vehicle without regard to any individual driver.

“19. The device of claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to receive external data from a source other than the vehicle.

“20. The device of claim 19, wherein the external data includes aggregate behavior data from one or more members of a demographic.”

For more information, see this patent: Hopkins, John Chandler. Systems and methods for processing vehicle or driver performance data. U.S. Patent Number 11631140, filed February 8, 2021, and published online on April 18, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11631140)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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