Patent Issued for Systems And Methods For Simulating Home Loss Prevention (USPTO 10,565,541)

2020 MAR 03 (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 Payne, Kevin William (Lexington, IL); Marzinzik, Duane Lee (Springfield, IL), filed on March 27, 2018, was published online on March 2, 2020.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 10,565,541, is State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “In home insurance, insurance providers generally seek to determine an insurance policy premium for a residence or home that is appropriate given the risk of losses (e.g., fire, water damage, theft, etc.) associated with the home. For purposes of making this determination, it is well understood that various features of the home can influence the probability that the home will experience a loss that is recognizable under the policy. For example, devices or sensors in the home (e.g., smoke detectors, burglar alarms, etc.) can detect and monitor threats to the home. As such, homes fitted with home sensors generally have a lower risk of loss, and therefore may be offered lower premiums for a given level of coverage. Conversely, homes without such sensors correspond to a higher risk of loss, and therefore may be offered higher premiums for the same level of coverage.

“Currently, however, there is little information or mechanism available to aid individuals (e.g., current or potential insurance policy holders) in setting up their home sensors in order to optimize their home loss prevention. Consequently, many individuals are uncertain of whether or not to invest in home sensors, or how to deploy such sensors in their homes to obtain benefits, such as improving their home insurance coverage.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The features and advantages described in this summary and the following detailed description are not all-inclusive. Many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification, and claims hereof. Additionally, other embodiments may omit one or more (or all) of the features and advantages described in this summary.

“A computer-implemented method for simulating home loss prevention may include configuring, via one or more processors, a simulation model of a home environment. The simulation model of the home environment may include a plurality of rooms and each of the plurality of rooms includes a plurality of items. The method may also display, via one or more processors, the simulation model of the home environment and simulation models of one or more home sensors to a user. Further, the method may receive, via one or more processors, indications from the user regarding the placement of the simulation models of the one or more home sensors in the plurality of rooms or on the plurality of items in the simulation model of the home environment. The method may simulate, via one or more processors, the simulation model of the home environment by using one or more loss-related simulation scenarios. The method may then determine, via one or more processors, one or more losses in the simulation model of the home environment based on the one or more loss-related simulation scenarios and the placement of the simulation models of the one or more home sensors. Moreover, the method may provide, via one or more processors, feedback on the determined one or more losses in the simulation model of the home environment to the user.

“A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may comprise computer-readable instructions to be executed on one or more processors of a system for simulating home loss prevention. The instructions when executed, may cause the one or more processors to configure a simulation model of a home environment. The simulation model of the home environment may include a plurality of rooms and each of the plurality of rooms includes a plurality of items. The instructions when executed, may also cause the one or more processors to display the simulation model of the home environment and simulation models of one or more home sensors to a user. Further, the instructions when executed, may cause the one or more processors to receive indications from the user regarding the placement of the simulation models of the one or more home sensors in the plurality of rooms or on the plurality of items in the simulation model of the home environment. The instructions when executed, may cause the one or more processors to simulate the simulation model of the home environment by using one or more loss-related simulation scenarios. The instructions when executed, may then cause the one or more processors to determine one or more losses in the simulation model of the home environment based on the one or more loss-related simulation scenarios and the placement of the simulation models of the one or more home sensors. Moreover, the instructions when executed, may cause the one or more processors to provide feedback on the determined one or more losses in the simulation model of the home environment to the user.

“A computer system for simulating home loss prevention may comprise a simulation database and a simulation server that includes a memory having instructions for execution on one or more processors. The instructions when executed by the one or more processors, may cause the simulation server to retrieve, via a network connection, a simulation model of a home environment from the simulation database and configure the simulation model of the home environment. The simulation model of the home environment may include a plurality of rooms and each of the plurality of rooms includes a plurality of items. The instructions when executed by the one or more processors, may also retrieve, via a network connection, simulation models of one or more home sensors from the simulation database, and display, via a network connection, the simulation model of the home environment and the simulation models of the one or more home sensors to a user. The instructions when executed by the one or more processors, may further receive, via a network connection, indications from the user regarding the placement of the simulation models of the one or more home sensors in the plurality of rooms or on the plurality of items in the simulation model of the home environment. Moreover, the instructions when executed by the one or more processors, may retrieve, via a network connection, one or more loss-related simulation scenarios from the simulation database. The instructions when executed by the one or more processors, may then simulate the simulation model of the home environment by using the one or more loss-related simulation scenarios, and determine one or more losses in the simulation model of the home environment based on the one or more loss-related simulation scenarios and the placement of the simulation models of the one or more home sensors. Finally, the instructions when executed by the one or more processors, may provide, via a network connection, feedback on the determined one or more losses in the simulation model of the home environment to the user.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“What is claimed is:

“1. A computer-implemented method for simulating property loss prevention using a simulation model of a property having a plurality of rooms, the method comprising: displaying, in a user interface, (i) a depiction of at least a portion of the property, and (ii) a set of indications of a set of sensors; receiving, by a processor via the user interface, at least one selection indicating placement of at least one of the set of sensors in at least one of the plurality of rooms; accessing a set of loss-related scenarios derived from loss data; performing, by the processor, a loss simulation by applying the set of loss-related scenarios according to the placement of the at least one of the set of sensors in the at least one of the plurality of rooms, wherein performance of the loss simulation specifies possible damage in the property that can occur based on the placement of the at least one of the set of sensors in the at least one of the plurality of rooms; and displaying, in the user interface, information associated with the possible damage in the property.

“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the loss simulation comprises: determining a likelihood that the possible damage will occur in the property.

“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the home loss simulation comprises: determining a financial cost associated with the possible damage.

“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein displaying the information associated with the possible damage in the property comprises: displaying instructional information associated with the placement of the at least one of the set of sensors.

“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: calculating a rating score based on the possible damage.

“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein displaying the information associated with the possible damage in the property comprises: displaying a set of benefits based on the rating score, wherein the set of benefits includes at least one of: an adjusted insurance premium and a discount.

“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the loss simulation has a difficulty level, and wherein the method further comprises: performing, by the processor, an additional loss simulation having an additional difficulty level by applying the set of loss-related scenarios according to the placement of the at least one of the set of sensors in the at least one of the plurality of rooms.

“8. A system for simulating property loss prevention using a simulation model of a property having a plurality of rooms, comprising: a user interface; a memory storing at least a set of instructions; and a processor interfacing with the user interface and the memory, and configured to execute the set of instructions to cause the processor to: cause the user interface to display (i) a depiction of at least a portion of the property, and (ii) a set of indications of a set of sensors, receive, via the user interface, at least one selection indicating placement of at least one of the set of sensors in at least one of the plurality of rooms, access, from the memory, a set of loss-related scenarios derived from loss data, perform a loss simulation by applying the set of loss-related scenarios according to the placement of the at least one of the set of sensors in the at least one of the plurality of rooms, wherein performance of the loss simulation specifies possible damage in the property that can occur based on the placement of the at least one of the set of sensors in the at least one of the plurality of rooms, and cause the user interface to display information associated with the possible damage in the property.

“9. The system of claim 8, wherein to perform the loss simulation, the processor is configured to: determine a likelihood that the possible damage will occur in the property.

“10. The system of claim 8, wherein to perform the loss simulation, the processor is configured to: determine a financial cost associated with the possible damage.

“11. The system of claim 8, wherein to cause the user interface to display the information associated with the possible damage in the property, the processor is configured to: cause the user interface to display instructional information associated with the placement the at least one of the set of sensors.

“12. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to execute the set of instructions to further cause the processor to: calculate a rating score based on the possible damage.

“13. The system of claim 12, wherein to cause the user interface to display the information associated with the possible damage in the property, the processor is configured to: cause the user interface to display a set of benefits based on the rating score, wherein the set of benefits includes at least one of: an adjusted insurance premium and a discount.

“14. The system of claim 8, wherein the loss simulation has a difficulty level, and wherein the processor is configured to execute the set of instructions to further cause the processor to: Perform an additional loss simulation having an additional difficulty level by applying the set of loss-related scenarios according to the placement of the at least one of the set of sensors in the at least one of the plurality of rooms.

“15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including computer-readable instructions to be executed on one or more processors of a system for simulating property loss prevention using a simulation model of a property having a plurality of rooms, the instructions when executed causing the one or more processors to: display, in a user interface, (i) a depiction of at least a portion of the property, and (ii) a set of indications of a set of sensors; receive, via the user interface, at least one selection indicating placement of at least one of the set of sensors in at least one of the plurality of rooms; access a set of loss-related scenarios derived from loss data; perform a loss simulation by applying the set of loss-related scenarios according to the placement of the at least one of the set of sensors in the at least one of the plurality of rooms, wherein performance of the loss simulation specifies possible damage in the property that can occur based on the placement of the at least one of the set of sensors in the at least one of the plurality of rooms; and display, in the user interface, information associated with the possible damage in the property.

“16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions to perform the home loss simulation cause the one or more processors to: determine a likelihood that the possible damage will occur in the property.

“17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions to perform the home loss simulation cause the one or more processors to: determine a financial cost associated with the possible damage.

“18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions to display the information associated with the possible damage cause the one or more processors to: display instructional information associated with the placement of the at least one of the set of sensors.

“19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions when executed further cause the one or more processors to: calculate a rating score based on the possible damage.

“20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions to display the information associated with possible damage in the property cause the one or more processors to: display a set of benefits based on the rating score, wherein the set of benefits includes at least one of: an adjusted insurance premium and a discount.”

For more information, see this patent: Payne, Kevin William; Marzinzik, Duane Lee. Systems And Methods For Simulating Home Loss Prevention. U.S. Patent Number 10,565,541, filed March 27, 2018, and published online on March 2, 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=10,565,541.PN.&OS=PN/10,565,541RS=PN/10,565,541

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