Patent Issued for Using a distributed ledger to determine fault in subrogation (USPTO 11734770): State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

2023 SEP 12 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States) has been issued patent number 11734770, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Call, Shawn M. (Bloomington, IL, US), Clayton, Wendy H. (Franklin, TN, US), Flesher, Kim E. (Normal, IL, US), Graff, Douglas A. (Mountain View, MO, US), Leise, William J. (Normal, IL, US), Magerkurth, Melinda Teresa (Utica, IL, US), McCoy, Anthony (Normal, IL, US), McCullough, Stacie A. (Bloomington, IL, US), Runge, Travis Charles (Heyworth, IL, US), Skaggs, Jaime (Chenoa, IL, US).

This patent was filed on November 17, 2022 and was published online on August 22, 2023.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “The insurance claim process may involve a tremendous number of communications and interactions between parties involved in the process. Potential parties to the claim process may be insurance companies, repair shops, lawyers, arbitrators, government agencies, hospitals, drivers, and collection/collections agency. Sometimes the costs of repairs may be disputed and parties may pursue subrogation for particular charges. As an example, when an insured person suffers a covered loss, an insurer may pay costs to the insured person and pursue subrogation from another party involved in the loss. If an insured vehicle is involved in a collision and suffers a loss, the insurer may compensate the vehicle owner according to an insurance agreement. If, for example, the vehicle owner was not at fault in the collision, the insurer may pursue damages from another party, such as the insurer of the party who was at fault in the collision. An insurance agreement may include an obligation of an insured to assign the insured’s claim against a party at fault to the insurer, who may then collect on the claim on the insured’s behalf.

“Settling a subrogation payment may be a lengthy, complicated process. The various parties (e.g., parties at fault in a vehicle collision, owners of the vehicles, insurers, etc.) may need to exchange information relating to the collision to determine which party was at fault. Sources of information relevant to a fault information and/or subrogation payment may include information regarding parties involved in a loss, forensic data regarding the loss, vehicle data regarding a loss, etc. The various parties may verify and share information from a variety of sources, including information held by parties involved in a loss and their insurers, and information obtained from third parties (e.g., governmental entities, independent contractors, etc.).

“The parties to a subrogation payment (e.g., insurers) may make proposals to one another to settle the subrogation claim. A proposal may include an accounting of damages, such as the costs to a vehicle owner whose vehicle was damaged. If an insured person suffered an injury in a collision, the injured person’s health care costs may be included in the accounting of damages. One or both of the parties to a subrogation claim may rely on independent third parties to assess costs, such as a repair cost estimate by an authorized automotive repair services provider for damage incurred in a collision. To settle the subrogation claim, the parties may indicate acceptance or approval of damages calculations, and a payment amount agreed upon between the parties to settle the claim. Parties may rely on a third-party intermediary to handle subrogation negotiations and resolution (e.g., validate information relating to a loss and facilitating communications between the insurers) at added expense.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “Systems and methods are disclosed for utilizing a distributed ledger, or blockchain, to manage an insurance claim process, in particular, a subrogation claim process. The systems and methods disclose using evidence oracles for inputting information into the blockchain, utilizing machine learning to suggest amounts for the subrogation process, a line item dispute mechanism, and creating/managing a distributed ledger in response to a vehicle being in an collision. The methods and systems may make use of secure transactions and smart contracts stored on the blockchain.

“The present embodiments further may relate to insurance and handling insurance claims. Sensor, image, or other data may be collected from various sources, such as mobile devices, one or more vehicles (such as smart or autonomous vehicles), smart infrastructure, satellites, drones, and/or smart or interconnected homes. The data collected may be analyzed by artificial intelligence or machine learning algorithms to (1) identify whether a vehicle collision occurred; (2) determine a percentage of fault (for the drivers or autonomous vehicles or systems); (3) determine the veracity of an insurance claim or identify potential fraud or buildup; (4) facilitate subrogation or arbitration processes; (5) determine and assign liability to vehicle manufacturers or drivers; (6) create new blockchains and/or individual blocks for blockchains associated with a particular insurance claim, individual, or vehicle; (7) provide payments or e-payments among parties; and/or (8) facilitate other functionality discussed herein.

“In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of handling an insurance claim via a shared ledger may be provided. The method may include, via one or more local or remote processors, servers, sensors, and/or associated transceivers: (1) receiving, at one or more processors, an electronic notification of a vehicle collision; (2) receiving, at the one or more processors, sensor data (such as telematics, image, audio, vehicle operational, or other data) related to the vehicle collision; (3) determining, at the one or more processors, a percentage of fault of the vehicle collision for one or more vehicles, vehicle systems, and/or drivers based upon at least in part analysis of the sensor data collected; and/or (4) creating, at the one or more processors, a blockchain for the vehicle collision with one or more links to the sensor image data and an indication of the percentage of fault(s) determined to facilitate blockchain-based claim handling. The method may include additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

“In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of handling an insurance claim via a shared ledger may be provided. The method may include, via one or more local or remote processors, servers, sensors, and/or associated transceivers: (1) receiving, at one or more processors, sensor data (such as telematics, image, audio, vehicle operational, or other data); (2) determining, at the one or more processors, a vehicle collision occurred by at least in part analysis of the sensor data; (3) determining, at the one or more processors, a percentage of fault of the vehicle collision for one or more vehicles, vehicle systems, and/or drivers based upon at least in part analysis of the sensor data; and/or (4) creating, at the one or more processors, a blockchain for the vehicle collision with one or more links to the sensor image data and an indication of the percentage of fault(s) determined to facilitate blockchain-based claim handling. The method may include additional, fewer, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

“In another aspect, a computer system configured to handle or process an insurance claim via a shared ledger may be provided. The system may include one or more processors, servers, sensors, and/or associated transceivers configured to: (1) receive an electronic notification of a vehicle collision; (2) receive sensor data (such as telematics, image, audio, vehicle operational, or other data) related to the vehicle collision; (3) determine a percentage of fault of the vehicle collision for one or more vehicles, vehicle systems, and/or drivers based upon at least in part analysis of the sensor data; and/or (4) create a blockchain for the vehicle collision with one or more links to the sensor data and an indication of the percentage of fault(s) determined to facilitate blockchain-based claim handling. The system may include additional, fewer, or alternate components and actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method of handling an electronic subrogation demand via a shared ledger, the method comprising: specifying, in a smart contract of the electronic subrogation demand and via one or more processors, an identity of a subrogation claimant by assigning a first cryptographic public key to the subrogation claimant; specifying, in the smart contract and via the one or more processors, an identity of a subrogation defendant by assigning a second cryptographic public key to the subrogation defendant; signing, with the one or more processors, a message with private keys corresponding to the first and second public keys identifying the subrogation claimant and the subrogation defendant; and sending, to the smart contract and via the one or more processors, data including the message signed by the private keys corresponding to the first and second public keys identifying the subrogation claimant and the subrogation defendant.

“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to the specifying of the subrogation defendant: adding, via the one or more processors, to a blockchain, a block that includes a link to or an indication of the electronic subrogation demand, wherein the electronic subrogation demand is associated with a vehicle collision.

“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, via the one or more processors, sensor data related to the vehicle collision; determining, via the one or more processors, a percentage of fault of the vehicle collision for a vehicle based upon, at least in part, analysis of the received sensor data; receiving, via the one or more processors, an electronic arbitration demand associated with the vehicle collision; and generating, via the one or more processors, a recommendation based upon, at least in part, analysis of the percentage of fault and the electronic arbitration demand.

“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising: generating, via the one or more processors, a new block including the recommendation; and adding, via the one or more processors, the new block to the blockchain.

“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, via the one or more processors, sensor data related to the vehicle collision; determining, via the one or more processors, a percentage of fault of the vehicle collision for a vehicle based upon, at least in part, analysis of the received sensor data; and generating, via the one or more processors, a recommendation based upon, at least in part, analysis of the percentage of fault and the electronic subrogation demand.

“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising: generating, via the one or more processors, a new block including the recommendation, or an indication thereof, or a link thereto; and adding, via one or more the processors, the new block to the blockchain.

“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, via the one or more processors, sensor data related to the vehicle collision; determining, at the one or more processors, a percentage of fault of the vehicle collision for a vehicle based upon, at least in part, analysis of the received sensor data; and generating, at the one or more processors, the electronic subrogation demand based upon, at least in part, analysis of the sensor data collected and the determined percentage of fault.

“8. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the electronic subrogation demand includes one or more line items directed to medical expenses, vehicle repair costs, vehicle towing services, rental vehicle expenses, or combinations thereof.

“9. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, via the one or more processors, sensor data related to the vehicle collision; determining, via the one or more processors, a percentage of fault of the vehicle collision for a vehicle based upon, at least in part, analysis of the received sensor data; analyzing, via the one or more processors, the electronic subrogation demand, the sensor data collected, and the percentage of fault determined for the vehicle; generating, via the one or more processors, a recommendation for the subrogation demand; and generating, via the one or more processors, a new block including a link to, or an indication of, the recommendation to add to the blockchain.

“10. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, via the one or more processors, sensor data related to the vehicle collision; determining, at the one or more processors, a percentage of fault of the vehicle collision for a vehicle based upon, at least in part, analysis of the received sensor data; generating, via the one or more processors, an electronic arbitration demand based upon, at least in part, the sensor data and the percentage of fault determined for the vehicle or the vehicle driver; and generating, via the one or more processors, a block to add to the blockchain that includes a link to, or an indication of, the electronic arbitration demand.

“11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein: the subrogation claimant and the subrogation defendant are network participants; and the method further comprises the subrogation claimant and subrogation defendant generating the public and private keys offline, and providing only the public keys to other network participants.

“12. A computer system configured to handle an electronic subrogation demand via a shared ledger, the computer system comprising one or more processors configured to: specify, in a smart contract of the electronic subrogation demand, an identity of a subrogation claimant by assigning a first cryptographic public key to the subrogation claimant; specify, in the smart contract, an identity of a subrogation defendant by assigning a second cryptographic public key to the subrogation defendant; sign a message with private keys corresponding to the first and second public keys identifying the subrogation claimant and the subrogation defendant; and send, to the smart contract, data including the message signed by private keys corresponding to the first and second public keys identifying the subrogation claimant and the subrogation defendant.

“13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: add, to a blockchain, a block that includes a link to or an indication of the electronic subrogation demand, wherein the electronic subrogation demand is associated with a vehicle collision; determine a percentage of fault of the vehicle collision for a vehicle based upon, at least in part, analysis of the received sensor data; and generate the electronic subrogation demand based upon, at least in part, analysis of the sensor data collected and the determined percentage of fault.

“14. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: add, to a blockchain, a block that includes a link to or an indication of the electronic subrogation demand, wherein the electronic subrogation demand is associated with a vehicle collision; determine a percentage of fault of the vehicle collision for a vehicle by inputting the sensor data into a machine learning program trained to identify a percentage of fault for a vehicle based upon sensor data.

“15. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the subrogation claimant and the subrogation defendant are network participants, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive the public and private keys generated by the subrogation claimant and subrogation defendant offline; and provide only the public keys to other network participants.

“16. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: add, to a blockchain, a block that includes a link to or an indication of the electronic subrogation demand, wherein the electronic subrogation demand is associated with a vehicle collision; and determine a percentage of fault of the vehicle collision for a vehicle by inputting the sensor data into a machine learning program trained to identify a percentage of fault for a vehicle based upon sensor data.

“17. A computer system for handling an electronic subrogation demand via a shared ledger, the system comprising: a network interface configured to interface with one or more processors; a memory configured to store non-transitory computer executable instructions and configured to interface with the one or more processors; and the one or more processors configured to interface with the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to: specify, in a smart contract of the electronic subrogation demand, an identity of a subrogation claimant by assigning a first cryptographic public key to the subrogation claimant; specify, in the smart contract, an identity of a subrogation defendant by assigning a second cryptographic public key to the subrogation defendant; sign a message with private keys corresponding to the first and second public keys identifying the subrogation claimant and the subrogation defendant; and send, to the smart contract, data including the message signed by private keys corresponding to the first and second public keys identifying the subrogation claimant and the subrogation defendant.”

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

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Call, Shawn M. Using a distributed ledger to determine fault in subrogation. U.S. Patent Number 11734770, filed November 17, 2022, and published online on August 22, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11734770)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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