Optimized inventory analysis for insurance purposes

• US 10,223,750 B1
• Filed: 09/20/2013
• Issued: 03/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Inventors: Loo, William, Hughes, Stephen, Gillespie, James, Brandmaier, Jennifer A., Koza, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Eric T
• Application Number:
  US14/032,709
• Time in Patent Office: 1,992 Days
• Field of Search: 705 4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

Systems and methods may provide for generating, maintaining, and using an inventory for insurance purposes. An optimized inventory analysis server may use a demographic classification for a given user along with data related to items owned by other users to determine one or more items for recommendation to the given user. Details associated with existing insurance coverage levels may also be used to recommend new insurance products to the user. In addition, the optimized inventory analysis server may determine a depreciated value of each item within an inventory. These values may be used to assess loss and settle an insurance claim for damage to one or more of the items in the inventory. Finally, the optimized inventory analysis server may recommend incentives on products/services sold by third party entities and may further recommend incentives on insurance products for insuring items purchased by a given user.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of an inventory analysis server, cause the inventory analysis server at least to:

receive, via a modem and from a first device with a camera, a video of a room of a building;

analyze, by executing video processing of the received video with the processor of the inventory analysis server, the video to determine a set of items in the room, the set of items comprising a first item;

determine metadata, based on executing video processing of the received video with the processor of the inventory analysis server, associated with the first item of the set of items;

store, in a first database stored in the inventory analysis server and in association with an inventory that indicates a plurality of items associated with the building, data indicating the set of items, the room in which the set of items are located, metadata associated with the set of items, and a corresponding user profile;

transmit, from the inventory analysis server to the first device and in response to receiving the video and determining the set of items comprising the first item, a first request for an original purchase price of the first item and a date the first item was purchased;

receive from the first device, in response to the first request to the first device, first information indicating the date the first item was purchased;

receive, via the modem and from a second device, text data regarding a second item to be added to the inventory, the second device being different from the first device;

transmit a second request from the inventory analysis server to the second device, in response to receiving the text data, for an original purchase price of the second item and a date the second item was purchased;

receive from the second device, in response to the second request, second information indicating the original purchase price of the second item and the date the second item was purchased;

in response to the second request, receive second information indicating the original purchase price of the second item and the date the second item was purchased;

determine that the original purchase price of the first item is not available;

automatically determine, in response to the determination that the original purchase price of the first item is not available, a third item based at least on a portion of the first information for the first item;

automatically determine, in response to determining the third item, a current price of the third item, wherein the current price of the third item is determined by retrieving the current price of the third item from a second database that is external to the inventory analysis server over a network;

in response to receiving the first information indicating the date the first item was purchased and in response to retrieving the current price of the third item, calculate a first depreciated value of the first item based on the current price of the third item and the date the first item was purchased;

store, in the first database stored in the inventory analysis server and in association with the first item of the inventory, the calculated first depreciated value of the first item;

in response to receiving the second information indicating the original purchase price of the second item and the date the second item was purchased, calculate a second depreciated value of the second item based on the original purchase price of the second item and the date the second item was purchased; and

store, in the first database stored in the inventory analysis server and in association with the second item of the inventory, the calculated second depreciated value of the second item.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1,

wherein the computer-executable program instructions cause the inventory analysis server to receive depreciation information regarding damage of the first item and calculate the first depreciated value of the first item further based on the depreciation information.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1,

wherein the first request for the original purchase price of the first item and the date the first item was purchased is transmitted to the first device from which the video was received.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1,

wherein the first request for the original purchase price of the first item and the date the first item was purchased is transmitted to one or more databases remote from the inventory analysis server and associated with one or more entities that sell the first item,

wherein the one or more databases are different from the first device,

wherein the first device is a mobile device, and

wherein the second request for the original purchase price of the second item and the date the second item was purchased is transmitted to the second device from which the text data was received.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable program instructions cause the inventory analysis server to:

receive, from a remote computer of a business, information that a fourth item was purchased from the business by a user associated with the building; and

store, in the first database, identification data to associate the fourth item with the inventory, the identification data identifying the fourth item.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable program instructions cause the inventory analysis server to receive an email and extract the text data from the email.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable program instructions cause the inventory analysis server to receive a short message system (SMS) text message and extract the text data from the SMS text message.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable program instructions further cause the inventory analysis server to:

receive an audio file regarding a fourth item to be added to the inventory stored in the first database;

analyze, using a speech processing technique, the audio file to generate information regarding the fourth item; and

store the information regarding the fourth item in the first database in association with the inventory.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1,

wherein the portion of the first information for the first item comprises a model number of the first item,

wherein calculating the first depreciated value of the first item based on the current price of the third item comprises adjusting the current price of the third item based on a difference between the third item and the first item and calculating the first depreciated value of the first item based on the adjusted current price of the third item.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1,

wherein the room in the building is a living room in a home.

11. A system, comprising:

a mobile device executing a home inventory application and comprising a battery, an antenna, and a camera configured to capture a video of a room of a building;

a computer comprising a display and configured to capture text data regarding a second item;

an inventory database configured to store an inventory of a plurality of items in association with the building; and

an inventory analysis server, wherein the inventory analysis server comprises memory and a processor and is configured to;

receive, via a modem and from the mobile device, the video;

receive, via the modem and from the computer, the text data regarding the second item;

analyze, by executing video processing of the received video with the processor of the inventory analysis server, the video to determine a set of items in the room, the set of items comprising a first item;

determine metadata, based on executing video processing of the received video with the processor of the inventory analysis server, associated with the first item of the set of items;

in response to receiving the video and determining the set of items, store, in the inventory database stored in the inventory analysis server and in association with the inventory, first data indicating the set of items, comprising the first item, the room in which the set of items are located, metadata associated with the set of items, and a corresponding user profile;

transmit, in response to receiving the video and determining the set of items comprising the first item, a first request for an original purchase price of the first item and a date the first item was purchased;

receive from the mobile device, in response to the first request, first information indicating the date the first item was purchased;

in response to receiving the text data, store, in the inventory database and in association with the inventory, second data indicating the second item;

in response to receiving the text data, transmit a second request for an original purchase price of the second item and a date the second item was purchased;

in response to the second request, receive second information indicating the original purchase price of the second item and the date the second item was purchased;

determine that the original purchase price of the first item is not available;

automatically determine, in response to determining that the original purchase price of the first item is not available, a third item based at least on a portion of information for the first item;

automatically determine, in response to determining the third item, a current price of the third item, wherein the current price of the third item is determined by retrieving the current price of the third item from an external database that is external to the system over a network;

in response to receiving the first information indicating the date the first item was purchased and in response to retrieving the current price of the third item, calculate a first depreciated value of the first item based on the current price of the third item and the date the first item was purchased;

store, in the inventory database stored in the inventor analysis server and in association with the first item of the inventory, the calculated first depreciated value of the first item;

in response to receiving the second information indicating the original purchase price of the second item and the date the second item was purchased, calculate a second depreciated value of the second item based on the original purchase price of the second item and the date the first item was purchased; and

store, in the inventory database stored in the inventory analysis server and in association with the second item of the inventory, the calculated second depreciated value of the second item.

12. The system of claim 11,

wherein the server is further configured to interface with one or more databases of one or more entities different from a manager of the inventory analysis server, and

wherein the first request for the original purchase price of the first item and the date the first item was purchased is transmitted to a particular database associated with a particular entity that sells the first item, wherein the particular entity is one of the one or more entities different from the manager of the inventory analysis server.

13. A method, comprising:

receiving, via a modem by an inventory analysis server from a mobile device, a video of a room of a building, wherein the inventory analysis server comprises a memory and processor and wherein the mobile device comprises a battery, an antenna, and a camera;

analyzing, by executing video processing of the received video of the room with the processor of the inventory analysis server, the video to determine a set of items in the room, the set of items comprising a first item;

determining, by the inventory analysis server and based on executing video processing of the received video of the room with the processor of the inventory analysis server, metadata associated with the first item of the set of items;

in response to receiving the video and determining the set of items comprising the first item, storing, in a first database stored in the inventory analysis server and in association with inventory that is stored in the first database, first data indicating the set of items, comprising the first item, the room in which the set of items are located, metadata associated with the set of items, and a corresponding user profile;

in response to receiving the video and determining the set of items comprising the first item, transmitting a first request for an original purchase price of the first item and a date the first item was purchased;

in response to the first request, receiving first information indicating the date the first item was purchased;

receiving, via the modem by the inventory analysis server from a remote computer, text data regarding a second item to be added to an inventory of items at the building;

in response to receiving the text data, storing, in the first database and in association with the inventory stored in the first database, second data indicating the second item;

in response to receiving the text data, transmitting a second request for an original purchase price of the second item and a date the second item was purchased;

in response to the second request, receiving second information related to the original purchase price of the second item and the date the second item was purchased;

determining, by the inventory analysis server, that the original purchase price of the first item is not available;

automatically selecting, by the inventory analysis server and in response to the determining that the original purchase price of the first item is not available, a third item based at least on a portion of information for the first item;

automatically determining, by the inventory analysis server and in response to the selecting the third item, a current price of the third item, wherein the current price of the third item is determined by retrieving the current price of the third item from a second database that is external to the inventory analysis server over a network;

in response to receiving the first information indicating the date the first item was purchased and in response to retrieving the current price of the third item, calculating a first depreciated value of the first item based on the current price of the third item and the date the first item was purchased;

store, in the first database stored in the inventory analysis server and in association with the first item of the inventory, the calculated first depreciated value of the first item;

in response to receiving the second information indicating the original purchase price of the second item and the date the second item was purchased, calculating a second depreciated value of the second item based on the original purchase price of the second item and the date the second item was purchased; and

store, in the first database stored in the inventory analysis server and in association with the second item of the inventory, the calculated second depreciated value of the second item.