Financial activity based on tropical weather events

• US 7,584,133 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2005
• Issued: 09/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Weather RISK Solutions LLC
• Original Assignee: Weather RISK Solutions LLC
• Inventors: Horowitz, Kenneth A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Borlinghaus; Jason M
• Application Number:
  US11/312,783
• Publication Number:
  US 20060155628A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,351 Days
• Field of Search: 705/36
• US Class Current: 705/36.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

A financial activity network includes a central managing system connected to a plurality of participant terminals. Rules governing operation of the financial activity are stored for future reference. A participant provides investment information such as a map location for the predicted strike by the natural event and, optionally, one or more secondary parameters relating to the natural event, such as the time interval between the time of investment and the time of all event strike and/or the severity of the event strike according to an established scale. In one example, an external objective independent information source is consulted, with the external objective independent information source providing monitoring, interpretation and derived determination of parameters pertaining to the natural event. Methods and articles of manufacture are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A computerized method of price setting throughout a substantially continuous ongoing natural process starting with a reported precursor tropical storm at sea and culminating in a future first hurricane landstrike, for the purchase of positions predicting the eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike, comprising:

providing a database containing a) historical precursor data collected from at least one historical precursor tropical storm at sea leading to an historical first hurricane landstrike, and b) a first purchase price to purchase a position predicting an eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike, that is based at least in part upon a calculated probability predicting an outcome of the historical precursor data as the future first hurricane landstrike;

electronically making the first purchase price available to prospective purchasers at a communication port, prior to an announcement of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea;

electronically receiving notification of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea from an external and verifiable notification source;

responsive to receiving notification of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea, and throughout an ongoing duration of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea, making available to prospective purchasers via the communication port, a series of secondary purchase prices to purchase positions predicting the eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike, with an initial secondary purchase price in the series based at least in part on the first purchase price, and with subsequent secondary purchase prices in the series based on an ongoing market activity to purchase positions in the series, along with at least temporarily storing the initial secondary purchase price and the subsequent secondary purchase prices;

monitoring, and making available to prospective purchasers via the communication port, throughout the duration of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea, the series of secondary purchase prices previously made available to prospective purchasers, along with ongoing electronically calculated probabilities of occurrence of the future natural event based on data collected from the reported precursor tropical storm at sea, to serve as a basis for future prices in the series of secondary purchase prices.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising electronically offering to prospective purchasers, prior to an announcement of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea, an initial series of purchase prices, at least one of which is the first purchase price, to purchase positions predicting the eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the initial secondary purchase price is based at least in part on the price offered at the conclusion of the initial series of purchase prices.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

electronically assigning a value to positions purchased;

determining the outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike; and

assigning a portion of the value to positions predicting the determined outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike.

5. The method according to claim 4 further comprising assigning values to the purchasers based upon a matching of the positions purchased and the determined outcome.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the historical precursor data comprises information concerning at least one of said landfall and said land track of said historical precursor tropical storm at sea.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the historical precursor data comprises data concerning tropical cyclones occurring in the United States and its territories and possessions.

8. The method according to claim 1 further comprising applying at least one variability factor to said first purchase.

9. The method according to claim 8 wherein said at least one variability factor comprises a time interval between a participant'"'"'s purchase of a position and an occurrence of the first hurricane landstrike.

10. A computerized system of price setting throughout a substantially continuous ongoing natural process that starts with a reported precursor tropical storm at sea and culminates in a future first hurricane landstrike, for the purchase of positions predicting the eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike, comprising:

a database containing historical precursor data collected from at least one historical precursor tropical storm at sea leading to an historical future first hurricane landstrike;

pricing data for electronically calculating and at least temporarily storing a first purchase price to purchase a position predicting the eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike, the first purchase price being based at least in part upon a calculated probability predicting an outcome of the historical precursor data as the future first hurricane landstrike;

a communication port for performing at least one of;

a) electronically making a purchase price available to prospective purchasers, b) receiving a commitment from a prospective purchaser to purchase a position predicting an eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike and c) electronically receiving notification of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea from a notification source that is external and verifiable, and thereafter making the notification of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea available to prospective purchasers via the communication port;

a current pricing data storage electronically making available to prospective purchasers via the communication port, throughout an ongoing duration of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea, a series of secondary purchase prices to purchase positions predicting the eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike, with an initial secondary purchase price in the series based at least in part on the first purchase price, and with subsequent secondary purchase prices in the series based on an ongoing market activity to purchase positions in the series.

11. The system according to claim 10 further comprising valuing data for electronically assigning a value to the positions purchased, determining the outcome of the natural event and assigning a portion of the value to the positions predicting the determined outcome of the fixture first hurricane landstrike.

12. An article of manufacture including a machine readable medium for causing a computer to perform a computerized method of automatic price setting throughout a substantially continuous ongoing natural process starting with a reported precursor topical storm at sea and culminating in a future first hurricane landstrike, for the purchase of positions predicting the eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike, comprising:

providing a database containing a) historical precursor data collected from at least one historical precursor tropical storm at sea leading to an historical first hurricane landstrike, and b) a first purchase price to purchase a position predicting an eventual outcome of the fixture first hurricane landstrike, that is based at least in part upon a calculated probability predicting an outcome of the historical precursor data as the future first hurricane landstrike;

electronically making the first purchase price available to prospective purchasers at a communication port, prior to an announcement of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea;

electronically receiving a commitment from a prospective purchaser to purchase at the first purchase price, a position predicting an eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike;

electronically receiving notification of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea from an external and verifiable notification source;

responsive to receiving notification of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea, and throughout an ongoing duration of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea, making available to prospective purchasers via the communication port, a series of secondary purchase prices to purchase positions predicting the eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike, with an initial secondary purchase price in the series based at least in part on the first purchase price, and with subsequent secondary purchase prices in the series based on an ongoing market activity to purchase positions in the series, along with at least temporarily storing the initial secondary purchase price and the subsequent secondary purchase prices;

electronically receiving a commitment from a prospective purchaser to purchase a position predicting the eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike, at the initial secondary purchase price;

electronically receiving further commitments from prospective purchasers to purchase positions predicting the eventual outcome of the future first hurricane landstrike at the subsequent secondary purchase prices, and

monitoring, and making available to prospective purchasers via the communication port, throughout the duration of the reported precursor tropical storm at sea, the series of secondary purchase prices previously made available to prospective purchasers, along with ongoing electronically calculated probabilities of occurrence of the future natural event based on data collected from the reported precursor tropical storm at sea, to serve as a basis for future prices in the series of secondary purchase prices.