SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR GRID-BASED INSURANCE RATING

• US 20140365246A1
• Filed: 06/07/2013
• Published: 12/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2013
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Original Assignee: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (State Farm)
• Inventors: Hayward, Gregory, Christensen, Scott, Wade, Bryan Scott
• Granted Patent: US 10,262,373 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

A system and method for underwriting and rating insurance products using a programmed computer system to receive usage information of a vehicle within a geographic area or location, determine a target grid cell or a sequence of target grid cells bounded by latitude and longitude lines that encompass at least a portion of the geographic area where the vehicle was used, attain a set of data associated with the target grid cell(s), and calculate a location rating factor based on the usage information, target cell(s), and the set of data.

Claims

1. A method for underwriting and rating an insurance product for a vehicle using a programmed computer system having a processor and a non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium communicatively coupled to the processor and storing instructions executable by the processor to perform the method comprising:

storing, at a database, data associated with a plurality of grid cells corresponding to a geographic area;

receiving, at the processor, a query for a vehicle insurance rate for the vehicle;

receiving, at the processor, usage information of the vehicle including a route travelled by the vehicle within a geographic area;

determining, via the processor, each of the plurality of grid cells that encompasses at least a portion of the route travelled by the vehicle;

querying, via the processor, the database to attain a set of data associated with each of the determined plurality of grid cells that encompasses at least a portion of the route travelled by the vehicle;

receiving, at the processor, the queried set of data associated with each of the plurality of grid cells that encompasses at least a portion of the route travelled by the vehicle;

calculating, via the processor, a location rating factor based on the usage information and the received set of data associated with each of the plurality of grid cells that encompasses at least a portion of the route travelled by the vehicle; and

communicating, via the processor, the calculated location rating factor to a user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring, via a position monitoring device, usage of the vehicle while travelling the route within the geographic area.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the usage information of the vehicle further includes one or more of the following:

location, miles driven, moving time, non-moving time, total time within one of the plurality of grid cells, time when vehicle ignition is on, time when vehicle ignition is off, average vehicle velocity, maximum vehicle velocity, and change in vehicle velocity.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the route travelled by the vehicle includes a plurality of coordinate pairs, each coordinate pair including a longitude value and a latitude value.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of data includes one or more of the following:

census data, crime data, weather data, historical data, and other data, such as quantity of vehicle insurance claims, severity of vehicle insurance claims, frequency of vehicle insurance claims, driving statistics, road statistics, time, date, or population density.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the grid cells of the plurality of grid cells comprising a four-sided area defined by latitude and longitude values of a coordinated grid system defining a geographic size of that particular coordinated grid cell.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising adjusting the geographic size of one or more grid cells by truncating the number of digits in the latitude and longitude values that define that grid cell.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically comparing the usage information of the vehicle to usage criteria of a vehicle insurance policy;

automatically detecting a discrepancy between the usage information of the vehicle and the usage criteria of the vehicle insurance policy;

automatically notifying a user of the detected discrepancy between the usage information of the vehicle and the usage criteria of the vehicle insurance policy.

9. A method for underwriting and rating an insurance product for a vehicle using a programmed computer system having a processor and a non-transitory, tangible computer readable medium communicatively coupled to the processor and storing instructions executable by the processor to perform the method comprising:

storing, at a database, data associated with a plurality of grid cells corresponding to a geographic area;

receiving, via the processor, a query for a vehicle insurance rate for the vehicle from a user;

receiving, at the processor, usage information of the vehicle including a route travelled by the vehicle within the geographic area;

determining, via the processor, a sequence of coordinate pairs that are included in the route travelled by the vehicle, each coordinate pair including a latitude value and a longitude value;

querying, via the processor, a database to attain a set of data associated with a sequence of grid cells that encompasses each coordinate pair in the sequence of coordinate pairs;

receiving, at the processor, the queried set of data associated with each of the plurality of grid cells within the sequence of grid cells that encompasses each coordinate pair in the sequence of coordinate pairs;

calculating, via the processor, a location rating factor based on the usage information and the received set of data associated with each of the grid cells within the sequence of grid cells that encompasses each coordinate pair in the sequence of coordinate pairs; and

communicating, via the processor, the calculated location rating factor to a user.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

monitoring, via a position monitoring device, usage of the vehicle while travelling the route within the geographic area.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

querying, via the processor, a database to attain a supplemental set of data associated with grid cells bordering the sequence of grid cells that encompasses each coordinate pair in the sequence of coordinate pairs;

receiving, at the processor, the queried supplemental set of data associated with grid cells bordering the sequence of grid cells that encompasses each coordinate pair in the sequence of coordinate pairs; and

calculating, via the processor, a supplemental location rating factor based on the usage information, the received set of data associated with each of the grid cells within the sequence of grid cells that encompasses each coordinate pair in the sequence of coordinate pairs, and the received set of supplemental data associated with grid cells adjacent to the sequence of grid cells that encompasses each coordinate pair in the sequence of coordinate pairs; and

communicating, via the processor, the calculated supplemental location rating factor to the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the usage information of the vehicle further includes one or more of the following:

location, miles driven, moving time, non-moving time, total time within one of the plurality of grid cells, time when vehicle ignition is on, time when vehicle ignition is off, average vehicle velocity, maximum vehicle velocity, and change in vehicle velocity.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the set of data includes one or more of the following:

quantity of vehicle insurance claims, severity of vehicle insurance claims, frequency of vehicle insurance claims, driving statistics, road statistics, crime rate, theft rate, weather condition, time, date, or population density.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the set of supplemental data includes one or more of the following:

quantity of vehicle insurance claims, severity of vehicle insurance claims, frequency of vehicle insurance claims, driving statistics, road statistics, crime rate, theft rate, weather condition, time, date, or population density.

15. The method of claim 12 each coordinate pair includes a non-truncated longitude value and a non-truncated latitude value.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein each particular grid cell comprising a four-sided area defined by latitude and longitude values of a coordinated grid system defining a geographic size of that particular coordinated grid cell.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising adjusting the geographic size of one or more grid cells by truncating the number of digits in the latitude and longitude values that define that grid cell.

18. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

automatically comparing the usage information of the vehicle to usage criteria of a vehicle insurance policy;

automatically detecting a discrepancy between the usage information of the vehicle and the usage criteria of the vehicle insurance policy;

automatically notifying a user of the detected discrepancy between the usage information of the vehicle and the usage criteria of the vehicle insurance policy.

19. A computer system for underwriting and rating an insurance product for a vehicle, the computer system comprising:

a processor communicatively coupled to a user interface;

a coordinate grid system associated with a geographic area, the coordinate grid system including a plurality of grid cells, each grid cell comprising a four-sided area defined by latitude and longitude values;

a database communicatively coupled to the processor, the database storing data associated with the plurality of grid cells;

a position monitoring device communicatively coupled to the processor for monitoring usage of the vehicle;

a non-transitory, tangible computer readable memory communicatively coupled to the processor; and

a set of computer readable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer readable memory and when executed by the processor, are configured to;

receive, at the processor, a query for a vehicle insurance rate for the vehicle;

receive, at the processor, usage information of the vehicle including a route travelled by the vehicle attained from the position monitoring device;

determine, via the processor, each of the plurality of grid cells that encompasses at least a portion of the route travelled by the vehicle;

query, via the processor, the database to attain a set of data associated with each of the determined grid cells that encompasses at least a portion of the route travelled by the vehicle;

receive, at the processor, the queried set of data associated with each of the plurality of grid cells that encompasses at least a portion of the route travelled by the vehicle;

calculate, via the processor, a location rating factor based on the usage information and the received set of data associated with each of the plurality of grid cells that encompasses at least a portion of the route travelled by the vehicle; and

communicate, via the processor, the calculated location rating factor to a user.

20. The computer system of claim 19, wherein the usage information of the vehicle further includes one or more of the following:

miles driven, moving time, non-moving time, total time within one of the plurality of grid cells, time when vehicle ignition is on, time when vehicle ignition is off, average vehicle velocity, maximum vehicle velocity, and change in vehicle velocity.

21. The computer system of claim 20, wherein the route includes a plurality of coordinate pairs, each coordinate pair including a non-truncated longitude value and a non-truncated latitude value.

22. The computer system of claim 21 wherein the four-sided area of each grid cell being defined by truncated latitude and longitude values, and wherein a number of digits in the truncated latitude and longitude values define a geographic size of that grid cell.

23. The computer system of claim 19, wherein the data associated with the plurality of grid cells includes one or more of the following:

quantity of vehicle insurance claims, severity of vehicle insurance claims, frequency of vehicle insurance claims, driving statistics, road statistics, crime rate, theft rate, weather condition, time, date, or population density.