METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING OF DATA RELATED TO UNDERWRITING OF INSURANCE

• US 20120290335A1
• Filed: 07/24/2012
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hartford Fire Insurance Company (The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hartford Fire Insurance Company (The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tran, Oai, Napolitan, Lisa, Nutkiewicz, Stanley, Statsky, Jane, Stoller, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 8,332,246 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

This invention relates generally to a computer system and method for integrating insurance policy underwriting. In one aspect it integrates the older legacy insurance policy generating systems to on line systems where users access the system through browsers. The computer system to perform the process of underwriting, rating, quoting, binding, and booking an insurance policy includes browsers, data bases, processors and a dispatcher that parses the information to select an insurance process. Suitable software programs review messages received from users to determine if certain messages are less than a prescribed limit. If a message is greater than the limit, then the message is parsed into a header information and one or more data fields whereby the header information is provided to a legacy processor and to policy generation software for further creation of policy related information and documentation.

Claims

1. A computer system for processing data related to insurance underwriting, comprising:

an insurance computer system comprising;

a data storage device storing data relating to a plurality of insurance processes; and

an insurance computer system processor in communication with the data storage device, the insurance computer system processor configured to;

provide via a network data indicative of interface elements for display, each of the interface elements corresponding to one of the insurance processes, the processes including at least a rating process and a create quote process;

receive via the network responsive to the data indicative of interface elements, data indicative of user selections of browser states corresponding to the insurance processes; and

determine, based on a user-selected browser state, data indicative of permission for performance of the one of the plurality of insurance processes corresponding to the user-selected browser state.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising an underwriting process computer system in communication with the insurance computer system, the underwriting process computer system being configured to perform the insurance processes in response to receipt of data indicative of permission for performance from the insurance computer system.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a web server system in communication with the insurance computer system and the network and configured to serve web pages comprising the interface elements.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the insurance computer system processor is further configured to permit execution of one of the insurance processes only upon completion of a prior one of the plurality of insurance processes in a sequence, the rating process being prior to the create quote process in the sequence.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the insurance processes further comprise an underwriting worksheet process and a create binder process, the insurance computer system processor being further configured to permit execution of the underwriting worksheet process only prior to the rating process, and to permit execution of the create binder process only subsequent to the create quote process.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the insurance computer system processor is further configured to, responsive to receipt of data, determine one of the following insurance processes to be performed:

inquiry processing, new account processing and modify existing account processing.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the insurance computer system processor is further configured to, responsive to determining that inquiry processing is to be performed, access, for a selected account, one or more of:

policy detail data including policy limits or terms for the selected account;

claims data relating to claims processed relating to the selected account;

reinsurance data relating to the selected account; and

billing data including invoice and payment data relating to the selected account.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the insurance computer system processor is further configured to provide output data in a message format comprising:

a user identification portion;

a state identification portion identifying a state associated with one of the insurance processes;

a state function identification portion;

a state switch indication portion; and

an allow next state indication portion.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the insurance computer system processor is further configured to communicate with at least one remote client browser in communication with the network, and to cause the at least one browser to generate a graphical user interface configured to:

display one of the interface elements associated with one of the plurality of insurance processes and simultaneously display an indication associated with each of the other of the plurality of insurance processes, and to, responsive to user selection of the indication causing data indicative of user selection of the insurance process associated with the indication to be provided to the insurance computer system.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the processes further comprise an account summary process, and the interface element associated with the account summary process comprises fields for input of insured data, agent data and product data.

11. A computer-implemented method for processing data related to insurance, comprising:

accessing by an insurance computer system processor data stored in a data storage device, the stored data comprising data relating to a plurality of insurance processes, the insurance processes comprising at least a rating process and a create quote process;

providing by the insurance computer system processor via a network data indicative of interface elements for display, each of the interface elements corresponding to one of the insurance processes;

receiving by the insurance computer system processor via the network responsive to the data indicative of interface elements, data indicative of user selections of browser states corresponding to the insurance processes; and

determining by the insurance computer system processor, based on received data indicative of a user-selected browser state, data indicative of permission for performance of the one of the plurality of insurance processes corresponding to the user-selected browser state.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving by an underwriting process computer system from the insurance computer system processor the data indicative of permission for performance of the one of the plurality of insurance processes corresponding to the user-selected browser state, and performing by the underwriting process computer system the one of the insurance processes in response to receipt of the data indicative of permission for performance.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising, prior to the determining of data indicative of permission for performance of the one of the plurality of insurance processes, determining that another of the plurality of insurance processes has been completed.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising communicating via the network with a plurality of user devices having browsers displaying the interface elements, each of the interface elements further corresponding to one of a plurality of user-selected browser states, each of the browser states configured to generate an interface element corresponding to one of the insurance processes.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising causing one of the browsers to generate a graphical user interface configured to display one of the interface elements associated with one of the insurance processes and simultaneously display an indication associated with each of the other insurance processes, and to receive data indicative of user selection of one of the insurance processes responsive to display of the indications.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising permitting execution of one of the insurance processes only upon completion of a prior one of the plurality of insurance processes, the rating process being prior to the create quote process.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the create quote process comprises:

generating a quote letter by accessing a template quote letter from a database stored on a data storage device;

invoking a word processing program including program instructions stored on a computer-readable medium to present the template quote letter on a user device; and

providing a user option to select one or more premium options calculated in the rating process.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, which instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

access data stored in a data storage device, the stored data comprising data relating to a plurality of insurance processes, the insurance processes comprising at least a rating process and a create quote process;

provide via a network data indicative of interface elements for display, each of the interface elements corresponding to one of the insurance processes;

receive via the network responsive to the data indicative of interface elements, data indicative of user selections of browser states corresponding to the insurance processes; and

determine, based on received data indicative of a user-selected browser state, data indicative of permission for performance of the one of the plurality of insurance processes corresponding to the user-selected browser state.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to permit execution of one of the insurance processes only upon completion of a prior one of the plurality of insurance processes, the rating process being prior to the create quote process.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to cause remote client browsers in communication with the network to generate a graphical user interface configured to display one of the interface elements associated with one of the insurance processes and simultaneously display an indication associated with at least one of the other insurance processes, the graphical user interface being configured to cause data indicative of user selection of the insurance process associated with the indication to be furnished to the processor responsive to user selection of the indication.