Systems and methods for home inventory and insurance

• US 7,941,330 B1
• Filed: 06/19/2009
• Issued: 05/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HL Acquisition, Inc.
• Original Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Inventors: Buentello, Andre Rene, Bennett, Gail Ann, Billman, Bradly Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): Colbert; Ella
• Assistant Examiner(s): OJIAKU, CHIKAODINAKA
• Application Number:
  US12/487,866
• Time in Patent Office: 690 Days
• Field of Search: 705/28, 705/4, 705/38, 709/206, 235/380
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

Information may be received regarding items purchased or otherwise acquired by a user, and the items may be added to an electronic home inventory maintained by an institution system and the items may be added to an insurance policy issued by the institution system. The institution system may receive information about an item from the merchant who sold the item, an appraiser, the user, from a barcode that is provided on the receipt associated with the purchase, by a barcode generated by the user (e.g., using data from the receipt and other information from the user), and/or via data from a financial card transaction directed to the purchase. The user may be provided with a listing of the items, and can select which items are to be included in the home inventory and which items are to be added to an insurance policy.

Claims

1. A home inventory insurance system, comprising:

a network connection;

a memory; and

a processor programmed to execute a plurality of instructions, the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to perform the following method steps;

receiving via the network connection, at an institution system, from a financial institution, data pertaining to an item of a user for use by an insurance engine and an inventory engine of the institution system, the institution system maintaining a home inventory for the user and issuing an insurance policy for items in the home inventory for the user, wherein the data comprises transaction data associated with a purchase of the item made by the user using a financial card issued by the financial institution;

analyzing the transaction data with respect to at least one predetermined criterion using a computing device of the institution system;

determining, after the purchase of the item by the user, using the computing device of the institution system that the at least one predetermined criterion is met;

notifying the institution system to ask, based on the at least one predetermined criterion being met, the user whether the user would like to add the item to the home inventory;

receiving the user'"'"'s acceptance in relation to adding the item to the home inventory;

adding the item to the home inventory using the data and the inventory engine;

notifying the institution system to ask, based on the at least one predetermined criterion being met, the user whether the user would like to add the item to the insurance policy;

receiving the user'"'"'s acceptance in relation to adding the item to the insurance policy; and

insuring the item with the insurance policy using the data and the insurance engine.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the data is also received from a merchant of the item.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the data is also received from a receipt of a purchase of the item.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the data is received from a barcode on the receipt.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the data is also received from a computing device of the user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the data comprises transaction data associated with a purchase of the item using a credit card of the user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to execute further instructions comprising instructions to associate the home inventory with the insurance policy in storage of the institution system.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions for operating a home inventory insurance system, said computer-readable instructions comprising instructions that:

receive, at an institution system, from a financial institution, transaction data associated with a purchase made by a user using a financial card issued by the financial institution;

analyze the transaction data with respect to at least one predetermined criterion using a computing device of the institution system, the transaction data pertaining to the purchase made by the user,

determine using the computing device of the institution system that the at least one predetermined criterion is met;

transmit, based on the at least one predetermined criterion being met, information to notify the institution system to ask the user whether the user would like to add at least one item associated with the purchase to a home inventory of the user maintained by the institution system;

receive using the computing device of the institution system an acceptance from the user in relation to adding the at least one item associated with the purchase to the home inventory;

add the at least one item to the home inventory;

transmit, based on the item being added to the home inventory, information to notify the institution system to ask the user whether the user would like to add the at least one item associated with the purchase to an insurance policy insuring the home inventory of the user and issued by the institution system;

receive using the computing device of the institution system an acceptance from the user in relation to adding the at least one item associated with the purchase to the insurance policy; and

add the at least one item to the insurance policy.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the at least one predetermined criterion comprises a threshold purchase amount.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the at least one predetermined criterion comprises a merchant category code (MCC).

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein further comprising instructions that receive documentation pertaining to the at least one item associated with the purchase.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the documentation is provided by the user.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the institution operating the home inventory and insurance system is related to the financial institution.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising instructions that receive the transaction data from a merchant associated with the purchase made by the user.

15. A home inventory insurance system, comprising:

at least one subsystem that receives, at an institution system, from a financial institution, transaction data at a computing device of the institution system, the transaction data pertaining to a plurality of purchases made by a user over a predetermined period of time using a financial card issued by the financial institution;

at least one subsystem that determines, using the computing device of the institution system, that the transaction data meets at least one predetermined criterion;

at least one subsystem that provides a list of the purchases to a user computing device of the user;

at least one subsystem that receives at the computing device of the institution system from the user computing device an indication regarding adding at least one item associated with at least one of the purchases to a home inventory of the user and an insurance policy for the home inventory;

at least one subsystem that generates the home inventory comprising the at least one item using an inventory generator of the institution system;

at least one subsystem that stores the home inventory in storage of the institution system; and

at least one subsystem that insures the at least one item with the insurance policy for the home inventory issued by the institution system.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein receiving the transaction data is performed periodically.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising at least one subsystem that analyzes the transaction data with respect to at least one predetermined criterion, wherein the list of the purchases comprises only purchases associated with the transaction data that meet the at least one predetermined criterion.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one predetermined criterion is whether the purchases are for any items that are protectable under the insurance policy.

19. The system of claim 15, further comprising at least one subsystem that receives item data from the user regarding the at least one item, wherein generating the home inventory and insuring the at least one item use the item data.

20. The system of claim 15, further comprising at least one subsystem that receives item data from a merchant associated with the at least one item, wherein generating the home inventory and insuring the at least one item use the item data.

21. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

at least one subsystem that provides the home inventory to the user via the user computing device;

at least one subsystem that receives information regarding the home inventory from the user via the user computing device; and

at least one subsystem that stores the information in storage of the institution system associated with the home inventory.