RECEIPT INSURANCE SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20100332265A1
• Filed: 06/24/2010
• Published: 12/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Alkemie Group
• Original Assignee: The Alkemie Group
• Inventors: Smith, Victor
• Granted Patent: US 8,234,133 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

Receipt insurance systems and methods whereby a third party receipt insurer insures consumers or purchasers all of the benefits associated with having possession of a receipt for a retail purchase without the need for possession of a physical or paper receipt. A receipt insurance agreement between a receipt insurance provider and a consumer protects the consumer against a loss of consumer rights or personal property insurance rights resulting from a lost receipt by electronically storing for retrieval, if necessary, an electronic record of all of the receipt information. The electronic receipt record is accepted by agreement between the receipt insurer and the seller/retailer as a valid receipt proof of purchase with all attendant rights. A receipt insurer provides receipt insurance coverage to a consumer to either protect against the loss of a paper receipt by substituting an electronic receipt record for a paper receipt, or eliminating the paper receipt entirely in lieu of an electronic receipt record which will be accepted by a seller or retailer as valid proof of purchase. Consumers are offered receipt insurance and thereby accept an electronic record of a purchase receipt as a valid record of a sales transaction between the consumer and a participating retailer in lieu of a traditional paper receipt.

Claims

1. A method of providing receipt insurance comprising the steps of

a receipt insurer providing receipt insurance to a consumer in connection with a sales transaction for a product or service, the receipt insurance insuring that the consumer will retain all rights associated with possession of a physical printed receipt, with or without the consumer receiving or maintaining possession of a physical printed receipt for the sales transaction;

the consumer accepting the receipt insurance for the sales transaction at the point of sale or as part of a service of a payment system provider and paying for the receipt insurance per sales transaction or as part of the service of a payment system provider;

electronically recording each sales transaction for which receipt insurance is obtained as a unique transaction record in a receipt insurance system database;

receiving a request from the consumer for a claim for an electronic record of a receipt associated with a particular sales transaction, and producing a certified electronic record of a receipt from the unique transaction record in the receipt insurance system database which is associated with the particular sales transaction, the certified electronic receipt record being accepted under the agreement with the seller as a valid record of the sales transaction without the existence or presence of a printed physical receipt.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of obtaining a receipt insurance fee from the consumer for the receipt insurance before the electronic receipt is generated for the receipt insurance system.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of assessing and collecting the receipt insurance fee based upon a purchase price for a product or service covered by the receipt insurance.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of assessing and collecting the receipt insurance fee per sales transaction.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of assessing and collecting the receipt insurance fee as a one-time flat fee for a specified receipt insurance coverage period.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of charging the customer a service fee for retrieving an electronic record of an insured receipt from the receipt insurance system.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of assigning a unique customer identification number for each receipt record in the receipt insurance system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a sales transaction is an online transaction and the offer and acceptance of receipt insurance by the consumer is performed on a payment processing webpage of a retail website.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of storing each of the electronic receipts within the receipt insurance system for a period equal to a period of receipt insurance coverage for the respective receipts.

10. A method of providing receipt insurance coverage by a receipt insurer to a consumer for coverage of losses resulting from the loss of a physical receipt for purchase of goods, the method comprising the steps of:

forming an agreement between a receipt insurer and a retailer of products whereby the retailer agrees to accept as proof of purchase an electronic record of a receipt for a purchase transaction with a consumer, whereby the retailer becomes a receipt insurance participating retailer;

offering to a consumer a receipt insurance under an agreement whereby a receipt insurer agrees to cover losses which the consumer would incur as a result of loss of a physical receipt from a retailer in connection with a purchase transaction;

issuing a receipt insurance policy to a consumer by receiving the consumer'"'"'s agreement and acceptance of terms of the receipt insurance coverage;

providing a receipt insurance system configured to receive and store a plurality of electronic receipt records from a participating retailer;

establishing a data transfer connection between the receipt insurance system and a point of sale system or enterprise resource planning system of a participating retailer;

providing the option, for each consumer making a purchase at a receipt insurance participating retailer, to have an electronic receipt of the sales transaction generated and sent to the receipt insurance system for storage and later retrieval if necessary, in lieu of receiving a paper receipt of the sales transaction;

assigning a unique customer identification number to each consumer opting to have an electronic receipt of the sales transaction generated and sent to the receipt insurance system, and

insuring that each electronic receipt stored within the receipt insurance system will be available to the consumer on demand by providing a secure web portal by which consumers can access a personal account containing all of his/her electronic receipts from participating retailers, which electronic receipts will be accepted by the participating retailers as proof of a purchase transaction pursuant to the participating retailer agreement with the receipt insurer.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of charging a service fee to each consumer who accepts the receipt insurance and opts to have an electronic receipt of the sales transaction generated and sent to the receipt insurance system for later retrieval if necessary, in lieu of receiving a paper receipt of the sales transaction.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the fee is based on the total amount of the consumer'"'"'s purchase.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the fee is a fixed or flat fee.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the fee is a periodic fee.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of charging a consumer a fee for accessing an electronic record of a receipt from the receipt insurance system.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein a consumer'"'"'s unique customer identification number in the receipt insurance system is associated with a credit card account number of the consumer.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein the receipt insurance coverage is provided to a consumer by a credit card issuer as a cardholder service which is included as part of an agreement between a credit card issuer and a cardholder.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein the receipt insurance agreement with the consumer is accessible on a website configured to require the consumer to indicate agreement with the terms of the receipt insurance coverage as a pre-condition to providing receipt insurance coverage for product purchases via the website.

19. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of providing a computer interface by which consumers or retailers may access a database of electronic receipt records in the receipt insurance system and directing transfer of electronic receipt record data from the receipt insurance system to a corresponding retailer.

20. A method for providing receipt insurance by a receipt insurer to purchasers of goods for financial protection against losses which could result from a purchaser'"'"'s failure.to possess an original sales receipt received from a seller in connection with a purchase of goods, and by receipt insurance agreements with the purchasers and sellers of goods and implementation and operation of a receipt insurance system by the receipt insurer, the method comprising the steps of:

the receipt insurer offering receipt insurance coverage to a purchaser in the form of an agreement presented to the purchaser by which the purchaser is provided assurance that a seller of goods will accept an electronic record of a receipt from the receipt insurer as proof of purchase of goods specified by the electronic record of a receipt maintained by the receipt insurer, and further that if a seller does not accept an electronic record of a receipt as proof of purchase of goods specified by the electronic record of the receipt the receipt insurer will compensate the purchaser for an amount of specified losses resulting from a seller'"'"'s refusal to accept an electronic record of a receipt from the receipt insurer as proof of purchase of the goods specified by the electronic record of the receipt;

obtaining acceptance by the purchasers of the receipt insurance agreement as a pre-condition to providing receipt insurance;

the receipt insurer entering into agreements with sellers of goods by which the sellers agree to accept an electronic record of a receipt as proof of purchase of goods specified by the electronic record of a receipt;

the receipt insurer establishing and operating a receipt insurance system by which receipt data for purchases by purchasers who have accepted receipt insurance coverage is acquired from sellers who have agreed to accept electronic records of receipts as proof of purchase of goods specified by electronic records of receipts, the receipt insurer storing electronic records of receipts in the receipt insurance system;

the receipt insurer receiving claims from purchasers or sellers for electronic records of receipts and delivering electronic records of receipts to purchasers or sellers upon request by a purchaser or seller, and

the receipt insurer paying any receipt insurance claims to purchasers which are covered by the receipt insurance agreements.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising the step of charging and collecting a fee from a purchaser for providing the receipt insurance coverage.

22. The method of claim 20 further comprising the step of the receipt insurer paying a seller for acceptance of electronic records of receipts as proof of purchase of goods specified by the electronic records of receipts.

23. The method of claim 20 further comprising the step of providing receipt insurance to purchasers in connection with a credit card issuer.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising the step of charging and collecting a fee for receipt insurance coverage as part of a cardholder agreement between purchasers and a credit card issuer.

25. A receipt insurance system comprising:

agreements between a receipt insurer and a plurality of retailers under which the retailers agree to accept electronic records of receipts issued by the retailers to consumers for purchase transactions for, all purposes related to the purchase transactions;

agreements between the receipt insurer and a plurality of consumers under which the consumers are insured by the receipt insurer against losses which could result from failure to possess an original receipt issued by a retailer;

a queuing server configured to acquire electronic records of receipts from the retailers;

a receipt insurance system database for storing electronic records of receipts from the retailers and relating each of the electronic records of receipts to one of the plurality of consumers;

a receipt insurance premium payment system for receiving payments of receipt insurance premiums for receipt insurance coverage for each consumer, and

a receipt insurance claims intake and processing system by which consumers or sellers access electronic records of receipts in the receipt insurance system database.

26. The system of claim 25 further comprising access for the consumers to the receipt insurance system via the Internet for review of electronic records of receipts and submission of receipt insurance claims.

27. The system of claim 25 further comprising access for the retailers to the receipt insurance system via the Internet for review and retrieval of electronic records of receipts.

28. The system of claim 25 wherein the agreement between the receipt insurer each of the plurality of consumers is presented via the Internet and requires acceptance by a consumer prior to issuance of receipt insurance coverage.

29. The system of claim 25 wherein the retailer is an online retailer offering goods for sale via a website on the Internet.

30. The system of claim 25 further comprising an agreement and data connection between the receipt insurer and a payment systems provider whereby payments from a consumer to a retailer which are made by the payment systems provider are covered by receipt insurance provided by the receipt insurer.