Systems and methods for assigning damage caused by an insurance-related event

• US 10,181,160 B1
• Filed: 04/22/2015
• Issued: 01/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Original Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Inventors: Hakimi-Boushehri, Daryoush, Jordan, II, Jackie O., Call, Shawn M., Weekes, John H., Bryant, Ronny S., Criswell, Jennifer, Binion, Todd, McDermeit, Elisabeth, Donovan, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaikh, Mohammad Z
• Application Number:
  US14/693,039
• Time in Patent Office: 1,364 Days
• CPC Class Codes: E03B 7/071 Arrangement of safety devices in domestic pipe systems, e.g. devices for automatic shut-off
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/163 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart, intelligent house
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0278 Product appraisal
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/16 Real estate
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/163 Real estate management
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/043 detecting an emergency event, e.g. a fall
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/20 responsive to moisture
• CPC Class Codes: G16Y 10/50 Finance; Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G16Y 40/10 Detection; Monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2823 Reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network device-related reporting H04L43/065; arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality

Abstract

Methods and systems for assigning damage to a property to causes of loss are provided. A smart home controller and/or an insurance provider remote processor (or server) may generate a time sequence of events for damage associated with an insure-related event. The time-sequence of events may be analyzed to identify causes of loss associated with damage to the property. The smart home controller or insurance provider remote processor may further analyze the time-sequence of event to determine a portion of the overall damage associated with each cause of loss. Subsequently, according to certain aspects, the smart home controller or insurance provider remote processor may automatically generate a prepopulated insurance claim for damage associated with the insurance-related event, and/or transmit the automatically prepared insurance claim to an insured for their review, approval, and/or modification, such as via wireless communication to a mobile device associated with the insured.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of determining a cause of damage to a property populated with a plurality of smart devices on the property, each of the plurality of smart devices configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property, the method comprising:

receiving, at a smart home controller disposed on the property, a set of sensor data from the plurality of smart devices recorded before, during, and after an insurance-related event;

comparing, by one or more processors of the smart home controller disposed on the property, the data recorded before the insurance-related event to the data recorded during and after the insurance-related event to automatically generate a time-sequence of events for the insurance-related event;

identifying from the time-sequence of events, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller disposed on the property, a first cause of loss and a second cause of loss associated with the insurance-related event;

based upon the comparison, analyzing, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller disposed on the property, the set of sensor data to estimate an overall amount of damage caused by the insurance-related event;

based upon the time-sequence of events, assigning, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller disposed on the property, (i) a first portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and (ii) a second portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss, wherein each of the first portion and the second portion of the overall damage comprises at least one of a percentage of the overall amount of damage to the property or a dollar amount of the overall amount of damage; and

automatically generating, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller disposed on the property, a proposed insurance claim based upon the assignment of the first portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and the second portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second causes of loss comprises at least one of:

water damage, wind damage, fire damage, earthquake damage, or a breach of structural integrity.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the data recorded by the plurality of smart devices comprises at least one of:

time-stamped audio data, status data, visual data captured on the property, or visual data captured above the property by an airborne sensor.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein assigning the first portion and the second portion comprises:

determining, by the one or more processors, whether the first cause of loss is (i) a primary cause of loss that led to a secondary cause of loss or (ii) a secondary cause of loss that occurred due to the primary cause of loss; and

when the first cause of loss is the primary cause of loss, assigning, by the one or more processors, (i) a larger portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and (ii) a smaller portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss, and

when the first cause of loss is the secondary cause of loss, assigning, by the one or more processors, (i) a smaller portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and (ii) a larger portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the proposed insurance claim comprises:

prepopulating, by the one or more processors, the proposed insurance claim with the overall amount of damage, the first and second causes of loss, and the first and second portions of damage respectively associated with first and second causes of loss.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, via a communication network, the proposed insurance claim to an individual associated with the property; and

receiving, via the communication network, from the individual at least one of an acceptance of the proposed insurance claim or a modification to the proposed insurance claim.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

verifying, by the one or more processers, that the modification to the proposed insurance claim is consistent with the time-sequence of events.

8. A system for determining a cause of damage to a property populated with a plurality of smart devices on the property, each of the plurality of smart devices configured to monitor various conditions associated with the property, the system being disposed on the property and comprising:

one or more transceivers adapted to communicate data;

a memory adapted to store non-transitory computer executable instructions; and

one or more processors of a smart home controller adapted to interface with the communication module, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to;

receive, via the one or more transceivers, a set of sensor data from the plurality of smart devices recorded before, during, and after an insurance-related event;

compare, by the one or more processors, the data recorded before the insurance-related event to the data recorded during and after the insurance-related event to automatically generate a time-sequence of events for the insurance-related event;

identify from the time-sequence of events, by the one or more processors, a first cause of loss and a second cause of loss associated with the insurance-related event;

based upon the comparison, analyze, by the one or more processors, the set of sensor data to estimate an overall amount of damage caused by the insurance-related event;

based upon the time-sequence of events, assign, by the one or more processors, (i) a first portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and (ii) a second portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss, wherein each of the first portion and the second portion of the overall damage comprises at least one of a percentage of the overall amount of damage to the property or a dollar amount of the overall amount of damage; and

automatically generate, by the one or more processors, a proposed insurance claim based upon the assignment of the first portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and the second portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the first and second causes of loss comprises at least one of:

water damage, wind damage, fire damage, earthquake damage, or a breach of structural integrity.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the data recorded by the plurality of smart devices comprises at least one of:

time-stamped audio data, status data, visual data captured on the property, or visual data captured above the property by an airborne sensor.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein to assign the first portion and the second portion of the overall damage, the one or more processors are further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to:

determine, by the one or more processors, whether the first cause of loss is (i) a primary cause of loss that led to a secondary cause of loss or (ii) a secondary cause of loss that occurred due to the primary cause of loss; and

when the first cause of loss is the primary cause of loss, assign, by the one or more processors, (i) a larger portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and (ii) a smaller portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss, and

when the first cause of loss is the secondary cause of loss, assign, by the one or more processors, (i) a smaller portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and (ii) a larger portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein to generate the proposed insurance claim, the one or more processors are further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to:

prepopulate, by the one or more processors, the proposed insurance claim with the overall amount of damage, the first and second causes of loss, and the first and second portions of damage respectively associated with first and second causes of loss.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the communication module is further configured to:

transmit the proposed insurance claim to an individual associated with the property; and

receive from the individual at least one of an acceptance of the proposed insurance claim or a modification to the proposed insurance claim.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the one or more processors to:

verify, by the one or more processers, that the modification to the proposed insurance claim is consistent with the time-sequence of events.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions, that when executed cause one or more processors to:

receiving, at a smart home controller disposed on a property, a set of sensor data from a plurality of smart devices recorded before, during, and after an insurance-related event;

comparing, by one or more processors of the smart home controller disposed on the property, the data recorded before the insurance-related event to the data recorded during and after the insurance-related event to automatically generate, by the one or more processors of a smart home controller, a time-sequence of events for the insurance-related event;

identify from the time-sequence of events, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller disposed on the property, a first cause of loss and a second cause of loss associated with the insurance-related event;

based upon the comparison, analyze, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller disposed on the property, the set of sensor data to estimate an overall amount of damage caused by the insurance-related event;

based upon the time-sequence of events, assign, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller disposed on the property, (i) a first portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and (ii) a second portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss, wherein each of the first portion and the second portion of the overall damage comprises at least one of a percentage of the overall amount of damage to the property or a dollar amount of the overall amount of damage; and

automatically generate, by the one or more processors of the smart home controller disposed on the property, a proposed insurance claim based upon the assignment of the first portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and the second portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein to assign the first portion and the second portion of the overall damage, the instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to:

determine, by the one or more processors, whether the first cause of loss is (i) a primary cause of loss that led to a secondary cause of loss or (ii) a secondary cause of loss that occurred due to the primary cause of loss; and

when the first cause of loss is the primary cause of loss, assign, by the one or more processors, (i) a larger portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and (ii) a smaller portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss, and

when the first cause of loss is the secondary cause of loss, assign, by the one or more processors, (i) a smaller portion of the overall amount of damage to the first cause of loss and (ii) a larger portion of the overall amount of damage to the second cause of loss.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein to generate the proposed insurance claim, the instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to:

prepopulate, by the one or more processors, the proposed insurance claim with the overall amount of damage, the first and second causes of loss, and the first and second portions of damage respectively associated with first and second causes of loss.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to:

transmit, via a communication network, the proposed insurance claim to an individual associated with the property; and

receive, via a communication network, from the individual at least one of an acceptance of the proposed insurance claim or a modification to the proposed insurance claim.