METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING REVISIONS AND TRACKING OF INSURANCE POLICY ELEMENTS

• US 20110071858A1
• Filed: 09/24/2009
• Published: 03/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guidewire Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Guidewire Software Incorporated
• Inventors: Keefer, Alan Harrison
• Granted Patent: US 11,080,790 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

An insurance policy management computing system (201) stores a legally-binding insurance policy as a read-only document including the complete policy history. To facilitate revisions to the policy, the computing system (201) provides an opportunity (202) to revise an insurance policy and recalls (203) the currently legally-binding insurance policy. Since the legally-binding insurance policy is a read-only document, the computing system (201) uses the legally-binding policy to generate an editable version that is a complete copy of the legally-binding policy. Once the editable version of the insurance policy has been generated, the input revisions can be incorporated into the policy and then, the revised version of the insurance policy is saved as a read-only, now-current version of the insurance policy. The new legally-binding insurance policy has a new creation and effective dates of the various policy elements. To evaluate the insurance policy, the most recently bound legally-binding insurance policy is accessed and that document contains the currently effective policy, as well as the policy history.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an end-user interface;

a memory;

a processor operably coupled to the end-user interface and the memory and being configured to;

provide an end user with an opportunity to revise a first version of an insurance policy that comprises a current version of the insurance policy, wherein the first version has a corresponding creation date stored therewith in the memory and wherein the first version comprises a plurality of policy elements each having corresponding effective dates and fixed identifiers;

in preparation to revise the first version of the insurance policy, recall from the memory the first version of the insurance policy and using the first version of the insurance policy to generate an editable version comprising a copy of the first version of the insurance policy wherein corresponding policy elements of the insurance policy in the first version and in the editable version have identical corresponding fixed identifiers;

use input as entered by the end user via the end-user interface to revise the editable version to thereby provide a revised version;

use the memory to store the revised version as a now-current version of the insurance policy along with a corresponding creation date and at least one new corresponding effective date;

retain the first version of the insurance policy in the memory notwithstanding that the first version of the insurance policy is no longer presently legally effective.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the memory has stored therein a record of prior revisions to the insurance policy.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the record of prior revisions to the insurance policy comprises a complete record of all prior revisions to the insurance policy.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the complete record of all prior revisions to the insurance policy comprises a record of the first version of the insurance policy and each revised version of the insurance policy that was legally effective for some period of time.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the versions of the insurance policy as stored in the memory and having a corresponding effective date comprise read-only files.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to use the memory to store the revised version as the now-current version of the insurance policy along with a corresponding creation date and at least one new corresponding effective date in response to binding of the revised version as a current instantiation of the insurance policy.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive information via the end-user interface regarding an effective date of change;

automatically processing the now-current version of the insurance policy to determine a plurality of policy elements that are effective on the effective date of change;

modify at least a selected one of the plurality of policy elements that are effective on the effective date of change to thereby produce a first policy element and a second policy element, wherein the first policy element represents the at least a selected one of the policy elements before modification and the second policy element represents the at least a selected one of the policy elements after modification; and

set an end effective date of the first policy element to the effective date of change and a start effective date of the second policy element to the effective date of change.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising automatically prorating costs related to modification of the policy elements to account for changes to the corresponding effective dates of the plurality of policy elements that are effective on the effective date of change.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to:

permit the end user to view the policy elements of the editable version of the insurance policy as pertain to a period of effective time;

for at least a given one of the policy elements, permitting the user to modify at least one of the policy element and the revision of the policy element as pertain to that period of effective time in the editable version of the insurance policy.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the processor is further configured to:

permit the end user to view at least one revision to the policy elements as pertains to a period of time.

11. A digital memory having stored therein computer instructions configured to cause a computer to:

provide an end user with an opportunity to revise a current instantiation of an insurance policy;

in preparation to revise the current instantiation of the insurance policy, recall from a memory a version comprising the current instantiation of the insurance policy to thereby provide a copy of the version;

use input as entered by the end user via an end-user interface to revise the copy of the version to thereby provide a revised version;

store the revised version as the current instantiation of the insurance policy;

retain the version in storage notwithstanding that the version is no longer presently legally effective.

12. An apparatus comprising:

an end-user interface;

a memory having stored therein a plurality of versions as each corresponds to earlier instantiations of an insurance policy including a current version of the insurance policy;

a processor operably coupled to the end-user interface and the memory and being configured to;

provide an end user with an opportunity to revise a current version of an insurance policy, wherein the current version has a corresponding creation date stored therewith in the memory and wherein the current version comprises a plurality of policy elements each having corresponding effective dates;

in preparation to revise the current version of the insurance policy, recall from the memory the current version of the insurance policy and using the current version of the insurance policy to generate an editable version comprising a copy of the current version of the insurance policy;

use input as entered by the end user via the end-user interface to revise the editable version to thereby provide a revised version;

use the memory to store the revised version as a now-current version of the insurance policy along with a corresponding creation date and at least one new corresponding policy element effective date;

retain the current version of the insurance policy in the memory notwithstanding that the current version of the insurance policy is at least partially supplanted by the now-current version of the insurance policy.

13. A method comprising:

at an insurance policy management computing system;

provide an end user, via an end-user interface to the insurance policy management computing system, with an opportunity to revise a first version of an insurance policy that comprises a current version of the insurance policy, wherein the first version has a corresponding creation date stored therewith in a memory and wherein the first version comprises a plurality of policy elements each having corresponding effective dates;

in preparation to revise the first version of the insurance policy, recall from the memory the first version of the insurance policy and using the first version of the insurance policy to generate an editable version comprising a copy of the first version of the insurance policy;

use input as entered by the end user via the end-user interface to revise the editable version to thereby provide a revised version;

use the memory to store the revised version as a now-current version of the insurance policy along with a corresponding creation date and at least one new corresponding effective date;

retain the first version of the insurance policy in the memory notwithstanding that the first version of the insurance policy is no longer presently legally effective.

14. An apparatus comprising:

an end-user interface;

a digital memory;

wherein the digital memory has stored therein insurance policies, the insurance policies being comprised of a plurality of policy elements, at least some of the plurality of policy elements having a fixed identifier associated therewith, wherein the fixed identifiers are consistent across an insurance policy such that corresponding policy elements have corresponding fixed identifiers;

a processor operably coupled to the end-user interface and the digital memory and being configured to;

provide an end user with an opportunity to revise a current version of an insurance policy wherein the current version has effective dates for the plurality of policy elements stored therewith in the digital memory;

in preparation to revise the current version of the insurance policy, recall from the digital memory the current version of the insurance policy and using the current version of the insurance policy to generate an editable version comprising a copy of the current version of the insurance policy wherein the fixed identifier for each of the plurality of policy elements of the current version corresponds to the fixed identifier for each of the plurality of policy elements of the editable version;

provide an opportunity via the end-user interface to edit the editable version and input an edit along with an edit effective date of when the edit becomes effective;

compare the edit effective date and effective dates for previously entered revisions;

when the edit effective date is earlier than any effective date of the previously entered revisions, notifying the end-user through the end-user interface that the edit is an out-of-sequence revision.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the input edit has edited policy elements associated therewith, and wherein the processor is further configured to:

when the end-user elects to continue the out-of-sequence revision, use the fixed identifiers to identify substantive interpretive conflicts between the edited and the current version of the insurance policy.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein identifying substantive interpretive conflicts between the edited and the current version of the insurance policy comprises assessing a level of conflict of the out-of-sequence revision and the current version of the insurance policy.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the processor is further configured to, upon identifying at least one substantive interpretive conflict, prompt the end-user to resolve the conflict.

18. An apparatus comprising:

an end-user interface;

a digital memory;

wherein the digital memory has stored therein insurance policies, the insurance policies being comprised of a plurality of elements, at least some of the plurality of elements each having a fixed identifier associated therewith, wherein the fixed identifiers are consistent across various stored versions of an insurance policy such that corresponding policy elements have corresponding fixed identifiers;

a processor operably coupled to the end-user interface and the digital memory and being configured to;

provide an end user with an opportunity via the end-user interface to edit an insurance policy and input an edit effective date corresponding to a policy edit, the policy edit having revision policy elements associated therewith;

compare the revision policy elements with corresponding policy elements of the insurance policy based on the fixed identifiers; and

ascertain a level of similarity between the revision policy elements and the corresponding policy elements of the insurance policy.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the processor is further configured to:

recall a legally-binding version of the insurance policy from the digital memory and use the legally-binding version of the insurance policy to generate an editable version of the insurance policy, in preparation to revise the insurance policy; and

compare the editable version of the insurance policy with a now-current version of the insurance policy prior to saving the editable version of the insurance policy as a now-current, legally-binding insurance policy to determine if the editable version has been pre-empted since the insurance policy has been recalled from the digital memory.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the processor is configured to compare the revision policy elements with the corresponding policy elements of the insurance policy by ascertaining differences between the revision policy elements and a currently legally-binding version of the insurance policy to determine whether an edit conflict is present.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the processor is further configured to provide the end-user with a prompted opportunity to resolve the edit conflict when the edit conflict is present.