Automatic Hail Damage Detection And Repair

• US 20170352104A1
• Filed: 08/26/2016
• Published: 12/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2011
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Inventors: Hanson, Randall M., Hildebrandt, Nicole M., Bond, Anthony L., Marlow, Clint J., Gupta, Ami J., Yager, Floyd M., Thomas, Joy A., Huls, Eric D.
• Application Number:
  US15/249,152
• Publication Number:
  US 20170352104A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

Systems and methods for automatically determining damage information and publishing said damage information are provided. A notice of loss associated with a damaged item may be received. An apparatus may analyze the damaged item to determine damage information for any damage elements present on the damaged item. The damage information may be transmitted to a damage estimate server to determine a line-item cost estimate for the damaged item based on expected costs of repair for the damaged elements. The line-item cost estimate may then be presented to a repair service provider as an offer to repair the damaged item. Further, a database comprising the damage information and/or line-item cost estimate may be published to a marketplace for use by service providers.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, at an enhanced claims processing server, a notice of loss associated with a damaged item;

receiving, at the enhanced claims processing server, damage information comprising;

a size of an instance of hail damage,

a severity rating of the instance of hail damage, and

an image of the instance of hail damage;

determining, by the enhanced claims processing server, a cost estimate for the damage information by comparing the damage information against a database comprising expected cost information;

generating, by the enhanced claims processing server, a damage summary comprising the damage information and the damage estimate; and

transmitting, by the enhanced claims processing server, the damage summary to a repair center.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the damage summary comprises a line-item cost estimate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the damage summary further comprises notes identifying damage prior to the instance of hail damage.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the cost estimate for the damage information comprises:

determining a profile for the instance of hail damage;

determining a database entry corresponding to the profile;

determining a cost entry associated with the database entry; and

determining the cost estimate based on the cost entry.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the cost estimate comprises a list of items to be repaired, a cost corresponding to the list of items to be repaired, and a plurality of photos corresponding to the list of items to be repaired.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

transmitting the damage summary to the repair center comprises transmitting, by the enhanced claims processing server, a request to repair the damaged item according to the damage summary; and

further comprising receiving, by the enhanced claims processing server, a response to the request.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the repair center, an indication that the repair center agrees to conduct repairs according to the damage summary; and

transmitting, by the enhanced claims processing server, instructions to conduct repairs to the repair center.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the enhanced claims processing server, based on the severity of the instance of hail damage, a severity value for the damaged item;

determining, by the enhanced claims processing server, a repair level based on whether the severity value exceeds a threshold value, wherein the threshold value corresponds to a difficulty of repair; and

adjusting, by the enhanced claims processing server, the damage summary based on the repair level.

9. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

a damage information data store that stores damage information describing a size of an instance of hail damage associated with a damaged item, a severity rating of the instance of hail damage, and an image of the instance of hail damage;

a repair cost data store that stores a repair cost matrix corresponding to a various types and characteristics for the instance of hail damage;

memory storing instructions that are executed by at least one of the processors and cause the system to;

determine a damage type based on the damage information;

determine one or more damage estimates for the instance of hail damage, and

determine, using the one or more damage estimates, a repair cost amount for a repair service provider system;

generate damage summary comprising a non-negotiable payment amount that is selected based on the repair cost amount and further comprising a description of the instance of hail damage;

receive, from the repair service provider system associated with a repair service provider and based on the damage summary, a refusal to repair the instance of hail damage; and

modify the repair cost amount based on the refusal.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the damage summary comprises a line-item cost estimate.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the description of the instance of hail damage comprises notes specifying damage prior to the instance of hail damage.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein determining the one or more damage estimates for each of the plurality of damage elements comprises:

determining a profile for the each of the plurality of damage elements;

determining a database entry corresponding to the profile; and

determining the one or more damage estimates for each of the plurality of damage elements based the database entry.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more damage estimates comprise a list of items to be repaired, a cost corresponding to the list of items to be repaired and a plurality of photos corresponding to the list of items to be repaired.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein generating the work order further comprises transmitting a request to repair the damaged item according to the work order.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions are executed by at least one of the processors and further cause the system to:

transmit an updated damage summary comprising the modified repair cost amount to the repair service provider; and

receive, from the repair service provider system, an indication that the repair service provider agrees to conduct repairs according to the updated damage summary.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions are executed by at least one of the processors and further cause the system to:

determine, based on the severity for the each of the plurality of damage elements, a severity value for the damaged item;

determine, a repair level based on whether the severity value exceeds a threshold value, wherein the threshold value corresponds to a difficulty of repair; and

adjust, the repair cost amount based on the repair level.

17. A computer-implemented method of processing insurance claims comprising:

receiving, at an enhanced claims processing server, a notice of loss associated with an automobile;

receiving, at the enhanced claims processing server, hail damage information associated with the automobile, the hail damage information comprising;

a size for each of a plurality of hail elements,

a severity for the each of the plurality of hail elements, and

a visual representation for the each of the plurality of hail elements;

transmitting, by the enhanced claims processing server, the hail damage information to a damage estimate processing server;

determining, by the damage estimate processing server, one or more cost estimates for the each of the plurality of hail elements based on comparing the size, the severity, and the visual representation for each of the plurality of hail elements against a database of hail damage estimates;

generating, by the enhanced claims processing server, a damage summary associated with the automobile based on the one or more cost estimates; and

transmitting, by the enhanced claims processing server, the damage summary to a repair center.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving, from the repair center, an indication that the repair center agrees to conduct repairs according to the damage summary; and

transmitting, by the enhanced claims processing server, instructions to conduct repairs to the repair center.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

determining, by the enhanced claims processing server, based on the severity for each of the plurality of hail elements, a severity value for the damaged item;

determining, by the enhanced claims processing server, a repair level based on whether the severity value exceeds a threshold value, wherein the threshold value corresponds to a difficulty of repair; and

adjusting, by the enhanced claims processing server, the line-item cost estimate based on the repair level.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more cost estimates are further based on a region of the repair center.