Benefits Contract Providing a Bundle of Benefits
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
According to one embodiment of the invention, a benefits contract includes an agreement to provide a plurality of benefits for at least one person. The agreement provides for an account including a plurality of units. Each unit is associated with multiple benefits. For example each unit may be associated with multiple benefits such as life insurance, health insurance, supplemental health insurance, long-term care insurance, short-term disability insurance, long-term disability insurance, prescription drug insurance, a plurality of income payments, a withdrawal benefit, an annuity, a property and casualty benefit, or other similar benefits. The agreement is such that a person associated with the benefits contract may choose to exercise a particular unit, or fraction thereof, to receive only one of the three or more benefits; and such that the benefits account (or plurality of units) may be purchased tax-free using funds from a tax-deferred retirement account.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1-22. -22. (canceled)
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23. A data processing system configured to manage a benefits account, the data processing system comprising:
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one or more memory devices; one or more processing modules; and software embodied in the one or more memory devices and configured, when executed by the one or more processing modules, to; store, in the one or more memory devices, account data representing a number of benefits units associated with a plurality of benefits according to provisions of a benefits contract, wherein each benefits unit is discretionarily exercisable towards at least one of the plurality of benefits, and wherein the plurality of benefits comprises; one or more from the first group consisting of; a plurality of income payments; and a withdrawal benefit; and one or more from the second group consisting of; a disability insurance; a long-term care insurance; a prescription drug coverage; a health care coverage; and a supplemental health care coverage; receive transaction data representing a request to exercise a specified number of benefits units towards a specified one of the plurality of benefits; generate status information identifying a coverage period provided at least in part by exercise of the specified number of benefits towards the specified one of the plurality of benefits; transmit the status information through a network; determine a default benefit to be transferred to a beneficiary designated by an account holder, wherein the default benefit is based at least in part on the account data representing the number of benefits units that are discretionarily exercisable, and wherein the default benefit comprises a life insurance benefit; and in response to a triggering event, transfer the life insurance benefit to the beneficiary designated by the account holder, the triggering event being the death of the account holder. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method for managing a benefits account, the method comprising:
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storing, in one or more memory devices, account data representing a number of benefits units associated with a plurality of benefits according to provisions of a benefits contract, wherein each benefits unit is discretionarily exercisable towards at least one of the plurality of benefits, and wherein the plurality of benefits comprises; one or more from the first group consisting of; a plurality of income payments; and a withdrawal benefit; and one or more from the second group consisting of; a disability insurance; a long-term care insurance; a prescription drug coverage; a health care coverage; and a supplemental health care coverage; receiving, at a data processing system, transaction data representing a request to exercise a specified number of benefits units towards a specified one of the plurality of benefits; using the data processing system, generating status information identifying a coverage period provided at least in part by exercise of the specified number of benefits towards the specified one of the plurality of benefits; using the data processing system, transmitting the status information through a network; using the data processing system, determining a default benefit to be transferred to a beneficiary designated by an account holder, wherein the default benefit is based at least in part on the account data representing the number of benefits units that are discretionarily exercisable, and wherein the default benefit comprises a life insurance benefit; and using the data processing system and in response to a triggering event, transferring the life insurance benefit to the beneficiary designated by the account holder, the triggering event being the death of the account holder. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. Software embodied in a tangible computer-readable medium and configured, when executed by one or more processing modules, to:
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store, in one or more memory devices, account data representing a number of benefits units associated with a plurality of benefits according to provisions of a benefits contract, wherein each benefits unit is discretionarily exercisable towards at least one of the plurality of benefits, and wherein the plurality of benefits comprises; one or more from the first group consisting of; a plurality of income payments; and a withdrawal benefit; and one or more from the second group consisting of; a disability insurance; a long-term care insurance; a prescription drug coverage; a health care coverage; and a supplemental health care coverage; receive transaction data representing a request to exercise a specified number of benefits units towards a specified one of the plurality of benefits; generate status information identifying a coverage period provided at least in part by exercise of the specified number of benefits towards the specified one of the plurality of benefits; transmit the status information through a network; determine a default benefit to be transferred to a beneficiary designated by an account holder, wherein the default benefit is based at least in part on the account data representing the number of benefits units that are discretionarily exercisable, and wherein the default benefit comprises a life insurance benefit; and in response to a triggering event, transfer the life insurance benefit to the beneficiary designated by the account holder, the triggering event being the death of the account holder. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification