CERTIFICATION AND RISK-MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A RENTAL AGREEMENT
First Claim
1. A method for administering a vehicle rental agreement, the method comprising:
- a. receiving, at a point of enrollment, qualification data associated with an individual;
b. evaluating the qualification data using one or more risk-analysis criteria;
c. determining whether the individual is an acceptable risk based on the evaluation;
d. certifying the individual as an acceptable risk based upon the determination, wherein certifying the individual qualifies the individual to participate with a reduced hindrance in a vehicle rental agreement for which the individual would otherwise be hindered;
e. issuing to the individual an identifier, wherein the identifier indicates that the individual is certified;
f. receiving, at a point of transaction, a request to participate with a reduced hindrance in the vehicle rental agreement for which the individual would otherwise be hindered, wherein the request includes a presentment of the identifier;
g. approving the request to participate with a reduced hindrance in the vehicle rental agreement using the identifier; and
h. initiating the vehicle rental agreement.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A certification and risk-management system and method for a rental agreement. The present invention provides a mechanism for determining that an individual who would normally be deemed a high-risk for a rental agreement (e.g., vehicle rental) is not a high-risk, guaranteeing such individual, and thereby enabling the individual to participate in the rental agreement more readily. By screening an individual via a multitude of criteria, a guarantee provider can certify to a rental agency that a customer is an acceptable risk for the rental agreement, and in the event the rental agency incurs a cost (e.g., related to the individual'"'"'s use of a vehicle), the guarantee provider can guarantee that the rental agency will be reimbursed for the cost.
-
Citations
45 Claims
-
1. A method for administering a vehicle rental agreement, the method comprising:
-
a. receiving, at a point of enrollment, qualification data associated with an individual; b. evaluating the qualification data using one or more risk-analysis criteria; c. determining whether the individual is an acceptable risk based on the evaluation; d. certifying the individual as an acceptable risk based upon the determination, wherein certifying the individual qualifies the individual to participate with a reduced hindrance in a vehicle rental agreement for which the individual would otherwise be hindered; e. issuing to the individual an identifier, wherein the identifier indicates that the individual is certified; f. receiving, at a point of transaction, a request to participate with a reduced hindrance in the vehicle rental agreement for which the individual would otherwise be hindered, wherein the request includes a presentment of the identifier; g. approving the request to participate with a reduced hindrance in the vehicle rental agreement using the identifier; and h. initiating the vehicle rental agreement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A method for administering a rental agreement, the method comprising:
-
a. receiving, at a point of transaction, a request to participate in a rental agreement, wherein an initial qualification of the individual subjects the individual to a hindrance on the rental agreement; b. submitting a request to an evaluation processor for certification of the individual; c. receiving from the evaluation processor an indication of certification of the individual for the rental agreement; and d. initiating, based upon the received indication of certification, the rental agreement with a reduction in the hindrance.
-
-
14. A vehicle rental agreement guarantee system, the system comprising:
-
a. a vehicle rental entity, wherein the vehicle rental entity enables the rental of a vehicle per a vehicle rental agreement; b. a point of enrollment, wherein the point of enrollment enables the acquisition of data associated with an individual; and c. a guarantee provider entity, wherein the guarantee provider entity agrees to pay a monetary value to the vehicle rental entity for a cost incurred due to damage of a vehicle during a use by the individual of the vehicle rented per the vehicle rental agreement, the guarantee provider entity comprising; i. a database, wherein the database stores received data associated with the individual; ii. a certification mechanism, wherein the certification mechanism certifies the individual as an acceptable risk to participate with a reduced hindrance in the vehicle rental agreement for which the individual would otherwise be hindered, the certifying being based upon an evaluation of the received data associated with the individual; and iii. a guarantee enablement mechanism, wherein the guarantee enablement mechanism enables the delivery of a monetary value to the vehicle rental entity for a cost incurred due to damage of the vehicle during use by the individual per the vehicle rental agreement, wherein the vehicle rental agreement is initiated based upon the certification of the individual by the guarantee provider entity. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
-
19. A method for guaranteeing a vehicle rental agreement, the method comprising:
-
a. receiving, at a point of enrollment, data associated with an individual; b. transmitting the received data associated with the individual to a guarantee provider; c. generating, at the guarantee provider, a risk score, wherein the risk score is based upon the received data associated with the individual; d. if the risk score meets a certification threshold, certifying the individual as an acceptable risk to participate with a reduced hindrance in a vehicle rental agreement for which the individual would otherwise be hindered; e. issuing an identifier to the individual, wherein the identifier indicates the individual is certified as an acceptable risk to participate with a reduced hindrance in the vehicle rental agreement for which the individual would otherwise be hindered; f. receiving, by a vehicle rental entity, a request from the individual to participate with a reduced hindrance in the vehicle rental agreement for which the individual would otherwise be hindered, wherein the request includes the presentment of the identifier; g. transmitting a query based on the request to the guarantee provider; h. confirming, at the guarantee provider, that the individual is eligible to participate with a reduced hindrance in the vehicle rental agreement associated with the request, wherein confirming initiates a guarantee agreement between the vehicle rental entity and the guarantee provider, wherein the guarantee agreement stipulates that the guarantee provider is responsible for a cost incurred due to damage to a use of a vehicle by the individual per the vehicle rental agreement; and i. initiating the vehicle rental agreement.
-
-
22. A vehicle rental method, comprising:
-
a. first receiving, by a vehicle rental entity, a request to rent a vehicle, wherein an age of an individual desiring to rent said vehicle subjects said individual to a vehicle rental restriction in accordance with an age-related policy implemented by said vehicle rental entity; b. second receiving, by said vehicle rental entity, certification information; and c. approving, by said vehicle rental entity, said request from said individual to rent said vehicle, said approval being based on a change of said vehicle rental restriction upon a certification of said individual by a certification entity, said certification being produced in response to a certification request that includes said received certification information.
-
-
30. A vehicle rental method that enables an individual to rent a vehicle notwithstanding an age-related restriction applicable to the individual, comprising:
-
a. examining qualification data for the individual, said qualification data including a level of coverage in an automobile insurance policy maintained by the individual; b. certifying the individual if said examination approves a level of risk indicated by said qualification data; c. issuing certification information to the individual for subsequent presentation to a vehicle rental entity, wherein said issued certification information enables said vehicle rental entity to change an applicability of the age-related restriction; and d. periodically recertifiying said individual through a reexamination of at least part of said qualification data, said recertification enabling a certification entity to ensure that said issued certification information remains valid. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
-
-
37. A vehicle rental method in a vehicle rental entity, comprising:
-
a. first receiving a request to rent a vehicle, wherein an age of an individual desiring to rent said vehicle subjects said individual to a vehicle rental restriction in accordance with an age-related policy implemented by the vehicle rental entity; b. second receiving certification information generated by a certification entity; c. identifying a risk level based on said received certification information; d. segmenting vehicle rental options for said individual into a set of allowable options and a set of prohibited options, said segmenting being based on said identified risk level; and e. offering a vehicle rental to said individual based on said set of allowable options. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
-
-
45. A vehicle rental method in a vehicle rental entity, comprising:
-
a. receiving a request to rent a vehicle, wherein an age of an individual desiring to rent said vehicle subjects said individual to a vehicle rental restriction in accordance with an age-related policy implemented by the vehicle rental entity; b. receiving, from a certification entity, vehicle rental option information; and c. offering a vehicle rental to said individual, said offer being based on a set of allowable options that are indicated by said received vehicle rental option information.
-
Specification