“Virtual Simulation for Insurance” in Patent Application Approval Process (USPTO 20220148094): Allstate Insurance Company

2022 MAY 30 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent application by the inventors Carbery, Andrew L. (Bartlett, IL, US); Koza, Daniel (Hinsdale, IL, US); Plachta, Christopher G. (Glenview, IL, US); Ramirez, Philip Peter (Arlington Heights, IL, US), filed on November 12, 2021, was made available online on May 12, 2022, according to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx correspondents.

This patent application is assigned to Allstate Insurance Company (Northbrook, Illinois, United States).

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Selecting an appropriate level of insurance is a challenge for most insurance customers. It can be difficult to gauge what kinds of liability coverage, deductible levels, and other options a particular user may wish to have, and many users end up selecting coverage that is either too much coverage or not enough coverage. There remains an ever-present need to help insurance customers make better-informed decisions when selecting their insurance.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “In light of the foregoing background, the following presents a simplified summary of the present disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the features described herein. This summary is not an extensive overview of all of the features described herein. The following summary merely presents some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

“In some embodiments, a user may undertake a driving simulator on a computing device, and when a simulated accident occurs, the computing device may evaluate the estimated damages from the simulated accident. The computing device may then calculate a plurality of liability estimates for the user corresponding to different insurance coverage options, indicating how much the user would have paid for the simulated accident had the user purchased the different insurance coverage options, and present these liability estimates to the user. The user may then use these liability estimates to determine a level of coverage to select, and the computing device may initiate the establishment of insurance coverage for the user under the selected insurance options. The driving simulator may also offer the user the option of viewing a simulated accident from the perspective of another driver involved in the accident, or from a different viewing angle such as the driver’s passenger, or a point of view outside of the simulated automobile, such as overhead, behind, etc.

“In some embodiments, the driving simulator need not result in a simulated accident. The computing device may simply observe the user’s driving habits, and use those habits to determine an insurance premium rate, or level of risk and driving skill, for the user. The computing device may then offer the user a plurality of insurance coverage options with corresponding premium rates based on the user’s evaluated level of risk and driving skill. In some embodiments, the mere fact that the user subjected himself/herself to the driving simulator may earn the user a premium discount on insurance coverage.

“In some embodiments, the driving simulator may present the user with a variety of driving impairments to test the user’s ability to handle driving under adverse conditions.

“In some alternative embodiments, the computing device may offer simulations for activities other than driving. For example, a home simulation may be performed to observe and/or simulate a user’s home living conditions, and to assess the user’s risk for home accidents or crimes that would be covered by a homeowner’s insurance policy. The computing device may then offer the user a plurality of homeowner’s insurance coverage options, with information identifying different liability estimates under the different options.

“In some embodiments, the simulations described herein may be used to train insurance adjusters in estimating costs of repair. The computing device may determine an actual cost estimate for damages incurred in an accident, and may then allow the adjuster to provide his/her own estimate of the damages. The adjuster’s performance may then be evaluated by comparing the adjuster’s estimate with the estimate generated by the computing device. In some instances, the simulated accident may use data from actual accidents (e.g., providing photographs from an actual accident, and using the actual cost of repair).

“The various simulations described herein may be implemented using virtual reality (VR) computing hardware. For example, a head-mounted VR display device may be used to display a simulated environment for the user, such as a simulated automobile interior, a simulated home, etc. Driver distractions may also be simulated using the head-mounted VR display. Augmented reality (AR) systems may also be used, to project driving simulation images onto an interior side of an automobile windshield, allowing some driving simulation activities to be provided while a driver is actually driving the automobile.

“The methods and systems of the above-referenced embodiments may also include other additional elements, steps, computer-executable instructions, or computer-readable data structures. In this regard, other embodiments are disclosed and claimed herein as well. The details of these and other embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A driving simulation system, comprising: a plurality of input/output devices, wherein the plurality of input/output devices comprise: one or more driving simulation input devices; and a virtual-reality display device; and a first computing device communicatively coupled to the one or more driving simulation input devices and the virtual-reality display device, wherein the first computing device comprises: at least one first processor; and a first memory storing first computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one first processor, cause the first computing device to: generate, based on user interactions with the one or more driving simulation input devices, a simulation of an accident involving a virtual vehicle in a simulated driving environment; send, to the virtual-reality display device, the simulation of the accident for display in the simulated driving environment; estimate a cost of damages associated with the simulated accident; receive a plurality of liability estimates for the damages, from a second computing device configured to determine the plurality of liability estimates based on the estimated cost of the damages, wherein the plurality of liability estimates correspond to coverage under a plurality of insurance policy options; and send the plurality of liability estimates for the damages to the virtual-reality display device for display.

“2. The driving simulation system of claim 1, further comprising: the second computing device, wherein the second computing device is located remotely from the first computing device, and wherein the second computing device comprises: at least one second processor; and a second memory storing second computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one second processor, cause the second computing device to: receive, from the first computing device, information relating to the simulated accident and the estimated cost of the damages; select, based on the information relating to the simulated accident and the estimated cost of the damages, the plurality of insurance policy options; and determine the plurality of liability estimates using the plurality of insurance policy options.

“3. The driving simulation system of claim 2, wherein the first computing device further comprises: a wireless network interface configured to communicate wirelessly with the second computing device to receive and transmit information relating to the simulated accident and the estimated cost of the damages.

“4. The driving simulation system of claim 1, further comprising: wherein the first computing device further comprises a wireless network interface configured to communicate wirelessly with a smartphone of a user interacting with the simulated driving environment, wherein the smartphone comprises a display, wherein the first computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one first processor, further cause the first computing device to transmit, via the wireless network interface and to the smartphone, the plurality of liability estimates for display on the display of the smartphone.

“5. The driving simulation system of claim 1, wherein the first computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one first processor, further cause the first computing device to: receive, via a wireless network interface of the first communication device configured to communicate wirelessly with a smartphone of a user interacting with the simulated driving environment, an indication of a selection of one of the plurality of liability estimates; and in response to receiving the indication of the selection of one of the plurality of liability estimates, automatically initiate establishment of insurance coverage under an insurance policy option corresponding to the liability estimate.

“6. The driving simulation system of claim 1, wherein the first computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one first processor, further cause the first computing device to: control feedback delivered via the one or more driving simulation input devices.

“7. The driving simulation system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of input/output devices further comprise a second virtual-reality display, and wherein the first computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one first processor, further cause the first computing device to send to the second virtual-reality display for display, the simulated driving environment from a perspective of a passenger of the virtual vehicle.

“8. The driving simulation system of claim 1, wherein the first computing device further comprises a wireless network interface configured to communicate wirelessly with a smartphone of the user interacting with the simulated driving environment, wherein the smartphone comprises a display, wherein the first computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one first processor, further cause the first computing device to transmit, via the wireless network interface and to the smartphone, information identifying a discount to be awarded to the user in response to the user using the driving simulation system for display on the display of the smartphone.

“9. The driving simulation system of claim 1, wherein the first computing device further comprises a wireless network interface configured to communicate wirelessly with a smartphone of the user interacting with the simulated driving environment, wherein the smartphone comprises a display, wherein the first computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one first processor, further cause the first computing device to transmit, via the wireless network interface and to the smartphone, information identifying premiums corresponding to the coverage under the plurality of insurance policy options for display on the display of the smartphone.

“10. The driving simulation system of claim 1, wherein the driving simulation system comprises a kiosk.

“11. The driving simulation system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of input/output devices comprise a dashboard interface device, and wherein the dashboard interface device is configured to: display a simulated automobile dashboard, and receive, from the simulated automobile dashboard, indications of user inputs controlling simulated dashboard operation of the virtual vehicle.

“12. The driving simulation system of claim 1, wherein the first computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one first processor, cause the first computing device to: display, in the simulated driving environment, a virtual ghost vehicle exhibiting safe driving behavior as a guide for a user controlling the virtual vehicle to mimic the safe driving behavior of the virtual ghost vehicle.

“13. A driving simulation system, comprising: one or more driving simulation input devices; a virtual-reality display device; and a first computing device communicatively coupled to the one or more driving simulation input devices and the virtual-reality display device, wherein the first computing device comprises: at least one first processor; and a first memory storing first computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one first processor, cause the first computing device to: send, to the virtual-reality display device for display, a simulation of a driving environment, including a first virtual vehicle and a second virtual vehicle; receive, via the one or more driving simulation input devices, indications of user interactions controlling virtual driving of the first virtual vehicle in the simulated driving environment; generate, based on the indications of the user interactions, a simulation of a virtual vehicle accident between the first virtual vehicle and the second virtual vehicle, in the simulated driving environment; send, to the virtual-reality display device, the simulation of the virtual vehicle accident from a point of view of a driver of the first virtual vehicle for display in the simulated driving environment; after receiving, from the virtual-reality display device, an indication that the virtual-reality display device has displayed the simulation of the virtual vehicle accident from the point of view of the driver of the first virtual vehicle, generate, based on the indications of the user interactions, a simulation of the virtual vehicle accident between the first virtual vehicle and the second virtual vehicle, in the simulated driving environment, from a point of view of a driver of the second virtual vehicle; send, to the virtual-reality display device, the simulation of the virtual vehicle accident -from the point of view of the driver of the second virtual vehicle for display in the simulated driving environment; determine a plurality of insurance policies having varying insurance options; determine, based on actual historical accident data, damage liability estimates, associated with the simulated virtual vehicle accident, under each of the plurality of insurance policies; and send, to the virtual-reality display device for display, the damage liability estimates under each of the plurality of insurance policies.”

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

URL and more information on this patent application, see: Carbery, Andrew L.; Koza, Daniel; Plachta, Christopher G.; Ramirez, Philip Peter. Virtual Simulation for Insurance. Filed November 12, 2021 and posted May 12, 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=%2220220148094%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20220148094&RS=DN/20220148094

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