Researchers Submit Patent Application, “Providing Data Associated With Insured Losses”, for Approval (USPTO 20220020095): Patent Application

2022 FEB 07 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Information Technology Business Daily -- From Washington, D.C., NewsRx journalists report that a patent application by the inventors Harvey, Brian N. (Bloomington, IL, US); Jenkins, John H. (Bloomington, IL, US); Lyons, Roxane (Chenoa, IL, US); Wyatt, Amber L. (Bloomington, IL, US), filed on September 29, 2021, was made available online on January 20, 2022.

No assignee for this patent application has been made.

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Existing techniques for coordinating a response of an insurance provider to a storm primarily involve representatives of the insurance provider accessing online weather maps to track the storm, and assessing damage after the storm. Frequently, to assess damage, initial claims data is reviewed in conjunction with reports from representatives who are at the site of the storm damage. Based on such information, representatives and other resources are deployed. Unfortunately, the site of storm damage may be physically inaccessible for some time after the storm, and initial claims data may be inaccurately reported by insured parties.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent application, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

“In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for assessing damage to a plurality of properties may be provided. The method may be performed using one or more processors and may include: after an occurrence of an event that is a potential cause of insured losses, receiving, from an aerial platform via at least one network connection, image data (i) obtained by at least one image capturing device oriented on the aerial platform and (ii) depicting an aerial view of the plurality of properties; accessing previous image data depicting the plurality of properties, the previous image data indicating, for each property of the plurality of properties, an initial condition prior to the occurrence of the event; processing the image data to determine, for each of the plurality of properties, a subsequent condition of the property after the occurrence of the event; based on processing the image data, identifying a portion of the plurality of properties each having the subsequent condition that is different from the initial condition; based on processing the image data, determining a damage severity level for each property in the portion of the plurality of properties; and displaying, in a graphical user interface, a map depicting (i) a first region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a first damage severity level, and (ii) a second region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a second damage severity level.

“In another embodiment, a system for assessing damage to a plurality of properties may be provided. The system may include a user interface; a transceiver configured to connect to an aerial platform via at least one network connection; a memory storing a set of computer-executable instructions and previous image data; and one or more processors interfacing with the user interface, the transceiver, and the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to: after an occurrence of an event that is a potential cause of insured losses, receive, from the aerial platform via the transceiver, image data (i) obtained by at least one image capturing device oriented on the aerial platform and (ii) depicting an aerial view of the plurality of properties; access, from the memory, previous image data depicting the plurality of properties, the previous image data indicating, for each property of the plurality of properties, an initial condition prior to the occurrence of the event; process the image data to determine, for each of the plurality of properties, a subsequent condition of the property after the occurrence of the event; based on processing the image data, identify a portion of the plurality of properties each having the subsequent condition that is different from the initial condition; based on processing the image data, determine a damage severity level for each property in the portion of the plurality of properties; and cause the user interface to display a map depicting (i) a first region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a first damage severity level, and (ii) a second region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a second damage severity level.

“In yet another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may store computer-readable instructions for accessing damage to a plurality of properties. When executed by one or more processors, the computer-readable instructions may cause the one or more processors to: after an occurrence of an event that is a potential cause of insured losses, receive, from an aerial platform via at least one network connection, image data (i) obtained by at least one image capturing device oriented on the aerial platform and (ii) depicting an aerial view of the plurality of properties; access previous image data depicting the plurality of properties, the previous image data indicating, for each property of the plurality of properties, an initial condition prior to the occurrence of the event; process the image data to determine, for each of the plurality of properties, a subsequent condition of the property after the occurrence of the event; based on processing the image data, identify a portion of the plurality of properties each having the subsequent condition that is different from the initial condition; based on processing the image data, determine a damage severity level for each property in the portion of the plurality of properties; and display, in a graphical user interface, a map depicting (i) a first region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a first damage severity level, and (ii) a second region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a second damage severity level.

“The figures depict various aspects of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A computer-implemented method for assessing damage to a plurality of properties, the method comprising: after an occurrence of an event that is a potential cause of insured losses, receiving, using one or more processors, from an aerial platform via at least one network connection, image data (i) obtained by at least one image capturing device oriented on the aerial platform and (ii) depicting an aerial view of the plurality of properties; accessing, using the one or more processors, previous image data depicting the plurality of properties, the previous image data indicating, for each property of the plurality of properties, an initial condition prior to the occurrence of the event; processing, using the one or more processors, the image data to determine, for each of the plurality of properties, a subsequent condition of the property after the occurrence of the event; based on processing the image data, identifying, using the one or more processors, a portion of the plurality of properties each having the subsequent condition that is different from the initial condition; based on processing the image data, determining, using the one or more processors, a damage severity level for each property in the portion of the plurality of properties; and displaying, using the one or more processors, in a graphical user interface, a map depicting (i) a first region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a first damage severity level, and (ii) a second region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a second damage severity level.

“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein displaying the map includes: displaying, in the first region, a first pattern; and displaying, in the second region, a second pattern different from the first pattern.

“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: causing, using the one or more processors, funds to be provided to an insured party associated with a particular property of the portion of the plurality of properties based at least upon a damage severity level of the particular property.

“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: causing, using the one or more processors, an indication of a damage severity level of a particular property to be provided to an insured party associated with the particular property.

“5. The computer-implemented of claim 1, wherein determining the damage severity level is further based on weather data associated with the event.

“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, using the one or more processors, prior to receiving the image data, a type of aerial platform from which to receive the image data.

“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein determining the type of aerial platform is based on weather conditions at one or more of the plurality of properties.

“8. A system for assessing damage to a plurality of properties, comprising: a user interface; a transceiver configured to connect to an aerial platform via at least one network connection; a memory storing a set of computer-executable instructions and previous image data; and one or more processors interfacing with the user interface, the transceiver, and the memory, and configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to: after an occurrence of an event that is a potential cause of insured losses, receive, from the aerial platform via the transceiver, image data (i) obtained by at least one image capturing device oriented on the aerial platform and (ii) depicting an aerial view of the plurality of properties; access, from the memory, previous image data depicting the plurality of properties, the previous image data indicating, for each property of the plurality of properties, an initial condition prior to the occurrence of the event; process the image data to determine, for each of the plurality of properties, a subsequent condition of the property after the occurrence of the event; based on processing the image data, identify a portion of the plurality of properties each having the subsequent condition that is different from the initial condition; based on processing the image data, determine a damage severity level for each property in the portion of the plurality of properties; and cause the user interface to display a map depicting (i) a first region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a first damage severity level, and (ii) a second region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a second damage severity level.

“9. The system of claim 8, wherein, to cause the user interface to display the map, the one or more processors are configured to: cause the user interface to display, in the first region, a first pattern; and cause the user interface to display, in the second region, a second pattern different from the first pattern.

“10. The system of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to: cause funds to be provided to an insured party associated with a particular property of the portion of the plurality of properties based at least upon a damage severity level of the particular property.

“11. The system of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to: cause an indication of a damage severity level of a particular property to be provided to an insured party associated with the particular property.

“12. The system of claim 8, wherein, to determine the damage severity level, the one or more processors are configured to: determine the damage severity level further based on weather data associated with the event.

“13. The system of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to: determine, prior to receiving the image data, a type of aerial platform from which to receive the image data.

“14. The system of claim 13, wherein, to determine the type of aerial platform, the one or more processors are configured to: determine the type of aerial platform based on weather conditions at one or more of the plurality of properties.

“15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions for accessing damage to a plurality of properties that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: after an occurrence of an event that is a potential cause of insured losses, receive, from an aerial platform via at least one network connection, image data (i) obtained by at least one image capturing device oriented on the aerial platform and (ii) depicting an aerial view of the plurality of properties; access previous image data depicting the plurality of properties, the previous image data indicating, for each property of the plurality of properties, an initial condition prior to the occurrence of the event; process the image data to determine, for each of the plurality of properties, a subsequent condition of the property after the occurrence of the event; based on processing the image data, identify a portion of the plurality of properties each having the subsequent condition that is different from the initial condition; based on processing the image data, determine a damage severity level for each property in the portion of the plurality of properties; and display, in a graphical user interface, a map depicting (i) a first region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a first damage severity level, and (ii) a second region including properties of the portion of the plurality of properties having a second damage severity level.

“16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein, to display the map, the instructions cause the one or more processors to: display, in the first region, a first pattern; and display, in the second region, a second pattern different from the first pattern.

“17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to: cause funds to be provided to an insured party associated with a particular property of the portion of the plurality of properties based at least upon a damage severity level of the particular property.

“18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to: cause an indication of a damage severity level of a particular property to be provided to an insured party associated with the particular property.

“19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to: determining, using the one or more processors, prior to receiving the image data, a type of aerial platform from which to receive the image data.

“20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein, to determine the type of aerial platform, the instructions cause the one or more processors to: determine the type of aerial platform based on weather conditions at one or more of the plurality of properties.”

For additional information on this patent application, see: Harvey, Brian N.; Jenkins, John H.; Lyons, Roxane; Wyatt, Amber L. Providing Data Associated With Insured Losses. Filed September 29, 2021 and posted January 20, 2022. Patent URL: https://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220220020095%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20220020095&RS=DN/20220020095

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