Method and system for determining the condition of insured properties in a neighborhood

• US 10,565,658 B1
• Filed: 12/11/2017
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Original Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Inventors: Harvey, Brian N., Tofte, Nathan L., Schmidgall, Roger D., Aviles, Michael Jeffrey, Pott, Kyle, Grant, Rosemarie Geier, Jacob, Michael Shawn
• Primary Examiner(s): Ebersman, Bruce I
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sharvin, David P
• Application Number:
  US15/837,649
• Time in Patent Office: 799 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/20 Finite element generation, e.g. wire-frame surface description, tesselation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/04 Architectural design, interior design
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/176 Urban or other man-made structures

Abstract

A method and system may determine the condition of insured properties in a neighborhood using aerial images captured from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or from a satellite device. The neighborhood may be selected by identifying a neighborhood that includes properties which are insured by a particular insurance provider. Aerial images of the entire neighborhood may then be captured and received from the UAV or the satellite device. For each insured property in the neighborhood, a condition and level of risk may be automatically determined based on the received aerial images. Then a level of risk indicator may be assigned to the insured property based on the determined level of risk. The aerial images of the insured property may be displayed on a user interface with indications of the level of risk overlaying the aerial images.

Claims

1. A method for determining the condition of insured properties using aerial images, the method executed by one or more processors programmed to perform the method, the method comprising:

identifying, by the one or more processors, that a neighborhood includes properties insured by an insurance provider;

capturing, by an aerial image capturing device, a plurality of aerial images which display the neighborhood including the insured properties;

receiving, at the one or more processors, a plurality of aerial images from the aerial image capturing device; and

for each of the insured properties in the identified neighborhood;

determining, by the one or more processors, a condition of the insured property based on one or more of the plurality of aerial images corresponding to the insured property;

determining, by the one or more processors, a level of risk of the insured property based on the condition of the insured property and a change in the condition of the insured property over time, wherein the level of risk of the insured property differs according to a length of time that the insured property is in a particular condition;

assigning, by the one or more processors, a level of risk indicator to the insured property based on the determined level of risk; and

causing, by the one or more processors, the insured property to be displayed on a user interface including the level of risk indicator overlaying the insured property;

wherein the one or more processors automatically direct the aerial image capturing device to capture the plurality of aerial images which display the neighborhood.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the one or more processors, a location of each of the received plurality of aerial images; and

filtering, by the one or more processors, the plurality of aerial images based on the determined locations to determine a subset of the plurality of aerial images, wherein each aerial image in the subset displays at least one insured property; and

for each of the insured properties in the identified neighborhood, determining one or more aerial images of the subset of the plurality of aerial images which display at least a portion of the insured property.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the aerial image capturing device is an unmanned aerial vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

directing, by the one or more processors, the unmanned aerial vehicle to one or more locations for capturing the plurality of aerial images.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the level of risk indicator to the insured property includes assigning a first level of risk indicator corresponding to a first portion of the insured property, and assigning a second level of risk indicator corresponding to a second portion of the insured property, wherein the second level of risk indicator is different from the first level of risk indicator.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

for each of the insured properties in the identified neighborhood, aggregating the respective one or more aerial images corresponding to the insured property to generate a three dimensional display of the insured property on a user interface; and

wherein determining the condition of the insured property includes determining the condition of the insured property based on the three dimensional display.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the condition of the insured property includes determining a separate condition for one or more property components of the insured property.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more property components include at least one of:

a window, a door, a roof, siding, an exterior wall, a garage, a backyard, a swimming pool, a lawn, a driveway, a fence, a tree, a deck, or a patio.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the aerial image capturing device includes one or more stabilization sensors which control aerial movement of the aerial image capturing device and an image sensor.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the change in the condition of the insured property over time includes comparing the respective one or more aerial images corresponding to the insured property to one or more historical images of the insured property, wherein the historical images were captured before the respective one or more aerial images.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining the condition of the insured property includes determining at least one of:

an age of the insured property or a level of maintenance for the insured property.

12. A system for determining the condition of insured properties in a neighborhood, the system comprising:

an aerial image capturing device which captures a plurality of aerial images that display insured properties;

a user interface;

a communication network; and

one or more computing devices communicatively coupled to the communication network, the aerial image capturing device, and the user interface, each of the one or more computing devices having a memory and one or more processors and at least one of the computing devices configured to;

identify that a neighborhood includes properties insured by an insurance provider;

receive a plurality of aerial images via the communication network from the aerial image capturing device; and

for each of the insured properties in the identified neighborhood;

determine a condition of the insured property based on one or more of the plurality of aerial images corresponding to the insured property;

determine a level of risk of the insured property based on the condition of the insured property and a change in the condition of the insured property over time, wherein the level of risk of the insured property differs according to a length of time that the insured property is in a particular condition;

assign a level of risk indicator to the insured property based on the determined level of risk; and

cause the insured property to be displayed on the user interface including the level of risk indicator overlaying the insured property;

wherein the at least one computing device automatically directs the aerial image capturing device to capture the plurality of aerial images which display the neighborhood.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:

determine a location of each of the received plurality of aerial images; and

filter the plurality of aerial images based on the determined locations to determine a subset of the plurality of aerial images, wherein each aerial image in the subset displays at least one insured property; and

for each of the insured properties in the identified neighborhood, determine one or more aerial images of the subset of the plurality of aerial images which display at least a portion of the insured property.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the aerial image capturing device is an unmanned aerial vehicle.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:

direct the unmanned aerial vehicle to one or more locations for capturing the plurality of aerial images.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:

display one or more user controls on the user interface configured to receive directions for navigating the unmanned aerial vehicle.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein to assign the level of risk indicator to the insured property, the at least one computing device is configured to assign a first level of risk indicator corresponding to a first portion of the insured property, and assign a second level of risk indicator corresponding to a second portion of the insured property, wherein the second level of risk indicator is different from the first level of risk indicator.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:

for each of the insured properties in the identified neighborhood;

aggregate the respective one or more aerial images corresponding to the insured property to generate a three dimensional display of the insured property on the user interface; and

wherein to determine the condition of each insured property, the at least one computing device is configured to determine the condition of the insured property based on the three dimensional display.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein to determine the condition of each insured property, the at least one computing device is configured to determine a separate condition for one or more property components of the insured property.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein the aerial image capturing device includes one or more stabilization sensors which control aerial movement of the aerial image capturing device and an image sensor.