Method and System for Processing and Optimizing Travel Insurance Transactions

• US 20120066008A1
• Filed: 09/13/2011
• Published: 03/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American International Group Incorporated
• Original Assignee: American International Group Incorporated
• Inventors: Scudder, Ellison, Selle, John, Azuma, Robert, Schafer, Jeff
• Granted Patent: US 8,577,767 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/14 Travel agencies

Abstract

A method and system for processing communications between travel service providers and travel insurers where travel service providers use different messaging formats. A travel service provider transmits itinerary data to a travel insurer in one messaging format. The travel insurer may then convert the itinerary data into a format compatible with the travel insurer'"'"'s system and determine an optimal policy choice based on the itinerary data. The travel insurer may then transmit this choice to the travel service provider in the travel service provider'"'"'s preferred messaging format, and the travel service provider offers the product to the consumer through the travel service provider'"'"'s interface.

Claims

1. A method for processing communications between a travel insurer and a travel service provider, comprising the steps of:

receiving, at a data processor, itinerary data in a first messaging format corresponding to a consumer travel itinerary;

mapping, at the data processor, the itinerary data in the first messaging format to data fields corresponding to a second messaging format;

converting, at the data processor, the itinerary data in the first messaging format to itinerary data in a second messaging format based on the mapping; and

transmitting, from the data processor, the itinerary data in the second messaging format to a rating and issuance engine.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the itinerary data in the first messaging format is received from the travel service provider over a network.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first messaging format is a preferred messaging format used by the travel service provider and the second messaging format is a messaging format compatible with the rating and issuance engine.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the preferred messaging format used by the travel service provider is one of XML, HTML, and delimited text.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data processor is an XML processing unit.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mapping is performed using mapping code designed specifically for the first messaging format.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining, at the rating and issuance engine, at least one optimal policy based on the itinerary data in the second messaging format; and

sending information pertaining to the at least one optimal policy to the travel service provider for presentation to a customer.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the information pertaining to the at least one optimal policy is converted into a messaging format compatible with the travel service provider before it is sent to the travel service provider.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, at the data processor, a customer response including payment information from the travel service provider corresponding to the at least one optimal policy sent to the travel service provider; and

converting, at the data processor, the customer response including payment information into a format compatible with the rating and issuance engine.

10. A travel insurer system, for processing communications with a travel service provider, having at least one tangible non-transient computer-readable medium with computer-executable instructions stored thereon, the computer-executable instructions comprising:

instructions for receiving itinerary data in a first messaging format corresponding to a consumer travel itinerary;

instructions for mapping the itinerary data in the first messaging format to data fields corresponding to a second messaging format;

instructions for converting the itinerary data in the first messaging format to itinerary data in a second messaging format based on the mapping; and

instructions for transmitting the itinerary data in the second messaging format to a rating and issuance engine.

11. The travel insurer system according to claim 10, wherein the itinerary data in the first messaging format is received from the travel service provider over a network.

12. The travel insurer system according to claim 10, wherein the first messaging format is a preferred messaging format used by the travel service provider and the second messaging format is a messaging format compatible with the rating and issuance engine.

13. The travel insurer system according to claim 12, wherein the preferred messaging format used by the travel service provider is one of XML, HTML, and delimited text.

14. The travel insurer system according to claim 10, wherein the mapping is performed using mapping code designed specifically for the first messaging format.

15. The travel insurer system according to claim 10, further comprising:

instructions for determining at least one optimal policy based on the itinerary data in the second messaging format; and

instructions for sending information pertaining to the at least one optimal policy to the travel service provider for presentation to a customer.

16. The travel insurer system according to claim 15, wherein the information pertaining to the at least one optimal policy is converted into a messaging format compatible with the travel service provider before it is sent to the travel service provider.

17. The travel insurer system according to claim 16, further comprising:

instructions for receiving a customer response including payment information from the travel service provider corresponding to the at least one optimal policy sent to the travel service provider; and

instructions for converting the customer response including payment information into a format compatible with the rating and issuance engine.

18. A travel insurer system, comprising:

at least one data processor for receiving itinerary data in a travel service provider format and converting the itinerary data into a format compatible with the travel insurance system;

at least one application server for executing a rating and issuance engine for determining at least one optimal policy based on the converted itinerary data; and

at least one database server for storing information used by the rating and issuance engine to determine the at least one optimal policy.

19. The travel insurer system according to claim 18, further comprising:

at least one load balancer for distributing itinerary data to the at least one data processor.

20. The travel insurer system according to claim 18, wherein the travel insurer system is connected over a network to a travel service provider system, and the at least one optimal policy is presented to consumers through an interface provided by the travel service provider system.