Patent Issued for Using vehicle telematics to compensate drivers for increases in fuel prices (USPTO 11449843): Allstate Insurance Company

2022 OCT 12 (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 Biemer, Edward A. (Glencoe, IL, US), Irey, Grady (Des Plaines, IL, US), Kazas, Frank (Inverness, IL, US), Verney, Steven Carl (Wadsworth, IL, US), filed on January 16, 2015, was published online on September 20, 2022.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 11449843, is Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Fuel and energy prices are prone to constant fluctuation. This constant fluctuation of prices may thus be a source of anxiety for individuals and entities that need to budget their fuel and energy expenditures. Previous attempts to reduce fuel-related and energy-related anxiety resulting from increases in fuel and energy prices might only consider the actual expenditures of the individuals. These previous approaches, however, might not provide incentives to increase fuel and energy efficiency.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “The following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements or to delineate the scope of the claimed subject matter. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

“Aspects of the present disclosure are directed toward systems and methods for using vehicle telematics information to compensate individuals for increases in fuel prices above a guaranteed fuel price. The approaches described herein compensate the individuals based on the difference between a guaranteed fuel price and a comparison fuel price observed during a coverage period, the distance traveled during the coverage period, and the estimated fuel economy of the vehicle type.

“A fuel price for a baseline time period is determined and used to set a guaranteed price for a coverage period. During the coverage period, a telematics device collects telematics information associated with trips taken in a vehicle. That telematics information is then stored at a data store and used to compensate an individual associated with the vehicle when fuel prices rise during the coverage period to exceed the guaranteed fuel price.

“Some example embodiments may include one or more of the following features. The compensation may be delivered as an electronic payment to a financial account of an individual associated with the vehicle. The guaranteed fuel price may be determined based on a fuel price associated with a time period that precedes the coverage period. The fuel price may be an average fuel price associated with a geographic area such as a zip code. The telematics information may also include an actual fuel economy achieved by the vehicle during the coverage period. An average actual fuel economy for the vehicle during the coverage period may be determined as well as a surplus compensation amount based on the average actual fuel economy. The surplus compensation amount may be based on the difference between the guaranteed fuel price and the comparison fuel price for the coverage period, the total distance traveled during the coverage period, and the difference between the estimated fuel economy of the vehicle and the average actual fuel economy achieved during the coverage period.

“A notification indicating the compensation amount and the surplus compensation amount may be transmitted to a computing device operated by an individual associated with the vehicle. The notification may also include a set of options for accepting delivery of the compensation amount. A response may be received indicating which option has been selected, and delivery of the compensation amount may be initiated based on the selected option. If the selected option is a credit toward an insurance policy premium, the compensation amount may be doubled (subject to any applicable rebate laws in the jurisdiction where the compensation is provided). The telematics information may also include one or more vehicle operation scores. Individual vehicle operation scores may be associated with individual portions of the distance traveled by the vehicle during the coverage period.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method comprising: storing, by a compensation system, a first fuel price; receiving, via a wireless network and at the compensation system from an on-board telematics device of a vehicle, telematics information collected by the on-board telematics device during an operation of the vehicle in a first time period, wherein the telematics information comprises a total number of distance units traveled by the vehicle during the first time period; determining, by the compensation system, that a second fuel price for the first time period is higher than the first fuel price; determining, by the compensation system, an estimated fuel economy based on a vehicle type of the vehicle; in response to the second fuel price being higher than the first fuel price, determining, by the compensation system, a compensation amount based at least on a difference between the first fuel price and the second fuel price, the total number of distance units traveled, and the estimated fuel economy; and initiating, by the compensation system, an electronic payment to a financial account of an individual associated with the vehicle, wherein the electronic payment is based on the compensation amount.

“2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the compensation system, a third fuel price for a second time period that precedes the first time period; and determining, by the compensation system, the first fuel price based on the third fuel price.

“3. The method of claim 2, wherein: determining the third fuel price for the first time period comprises determining an average fuel amount for the first time period within a geographic area associated with the vehicle.

“4. The method of claim 3, wherein: the geographic area associated with the vehicle comprises an area defined by a zip code in which the vehicle is registered.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein: the telematics information further comprises an actual fuel economy achieved by the vehicle during the first time period, wherein the compensation amount is further determined based on the actual fuel economy.

“6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: determining, by the compensation system, an average actual fuel economy of the vehicle for the first time period, wherein the compensation amount is determined based on the average actual fuel economy.

“7. The method of claim 6, wherein the average actual fuel economy is higher than the estimated fuel economy, wherein a portion of the compensation amount that corresponds to a surplus compensation amount is determined based at least on (i) the difference between the first fuel price and the second fuel price, (ii) the total number of distance units traveled, and (iii) a difference between the estimated fuel economy and the average actual fuel economy, and wherein the method further comprises: transmitting, by the compensation system to a computing device of an individual associated with the vehicle, a notification comprising an indication of the surplus compensation amount.

“8. The method of claim 1 wherein: the telematics information further comprises a plurality of vehicle operation scores; each of a plurality of portions of the total number of distance units traveled is associated with one of the plurality of vehicle operation scores; and determining the compensation amount comprises determining the compensation amount based at least on only those portions of the total number of distance units traveled that are associated with an operation score above a predetermined vehicle operation score threshold.

“9. The method of claim 1 wherein: the total number of distance units traveled is a total number of miles driven; the estimated fuel economy comprises an estimated urban fuel economy and an estimated highway fuel economy; and determining the compensation amount further comprises: determining an urban usage percentage and a highway usage percentage associated with the vehicle, determining a total number of urban miles driven based on the urban usage percentage and the total number of miles driven, determining a total number of highway miles driven based on the highway usage percentage and the total number of miles driven, and determining the compensation amount further based on: (i) the total number of urban miles driven and the estimated urban fuel economy, and (ii) the total number of highway miles driven and the estimated highway fuel economy.

“10. The method of claim 1 wherein: the estimated fuel economy is determined based on one or more actual fuel economies received from one or more other vehicles having the same vehicle type as the vehicle.

“11. The method of claim 1 wherein: the total number of distance units traveled is an aggregate number of distance units traveled by the vehicle for a plurality of trips taken by the vehicle during the first time period.

“12. A compensation system comprising: one or more processors; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the compensation system to: store, at a data store, a first fuel price, receive, via a wireless network and from an on-board telematics device of a vehicle, telematics information, wherein the telematics information comprises a total number of distance units traveled by the vehicle during a first time period, determine that a second fuel price for the first time period is higher than the first fuel price, determine an estimated fuel economy based on a vehicle type of the vehicle, and in response to the second fuel price being higher than the first fuel price, determine a compensation amount based at least on a difference between the first fuel price and the second fuel price, the total number of distance units traveled, and the estimated fuel economy; and initiate an electronic payment, wherein the electronic payment is based on the compensation amount.

“13. The compensation system of claim 12 wherein: the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the compensation system to: determine a third fuel price for a second time period that precedes the first time period, and determine the first fuel price based on the third fuel price.

“14. The compensation system of claim 13 wherein: the third fuel price is an average fuel price associated with a geographic area.

“15. The compensation system of claim 12 wherein: the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the compensation system to: transmit a notification to a computing device of an individual associated with the vehicle, wherein the notification includes an indication of the compensation amount and options for accepting delivery of the compensation amount, receive a response from the computing device, wherein the response includes an indication of one of the options selected at the computing device, and initiate delivery of the compensation amount based on the one of the options selected.

“16. The compensation system of claim 15 wherein: the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the compensation system to double the compensation amount responsive to determining that the one of the options selected is a credit toward a premium of an insurance policy.

“17. The compensation system of claim 12 wherein: the total number of distance units traveled is a total number of miles driven; the estimated fuel economy comprises an estimated urban fuel economy and an estimated highway fuel economy; and the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the compensation system to: determine an urban usage percentage and a highway usage percentage associated with the vehicle, determine a total number of urban miles driven based on the urban usage percentage and the total number of miles driven, determine a total number of highway miles driven based on the highway usage percentage and the total number of miles driven, and determine the compensation amount further based on: i) the total number of urban miles driven and the estimated urban fuel economy, and ii) the total number of highway miles driven and the estimated highway fuel economy.

“18. The compensation system of claim 12 wherein: the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the compensation system to adjust the estimated fuel economy based on an analysis of at least a portion of the telematics information received from the on-board telematics device.”

For more information, see this patent: Biemer, Edward A. Using vehicle telematics to compensate drivers for increases in fuel prices. U.S. Patent Number 11449843, filed January 16, 2015, and published online on September 20, 2022. 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=11449843.PN.&OS=PN/11449843RS=PN/11449843

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