System and method for providing an insurance premium for price protection

• US 7,945,500 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2008
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pricelock, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Pricelock, Inc.
• Inventors: Painter, Scott, Fell, Robert M., Bonsignore, Michael R., Magnuson, Gary A., Reed, Brian P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamilton; Lalita M
• Application Number:
  US12/099,224
• Publication Number:
  US 20080306777A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,134 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/36.R, 705/37
• 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 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing an insurance premium in association with an insurance strike price for a commodity are disclosed. By paying the insurance premium a consumer may obtain price protection for a commodity purchase. In particular, in one embodiment a consumer may obtain the right to be reimbursed for any amount paid over the insurance strike price for the commodity.

Claims

1. A method for providing insurance for commodity purchasing, comprising:

creating a first insurance strike price matrix corresponding to a commodity at an insurance system, wherein the first insurance strike price matrix comprises a first set of insurance strike prices and associated insurance premiums for a first set of locales, wherein each insurance strike price and associated first insurance premium is associated with a locale selected from the first set of locales;

obtaining a payment associated with a first insurance strike price and associated insurance premium associated with a locale selected from the first set of locales from a first consumer; and

indemnifying the first consumer for purchases of the commodity based upon the first insurance strike price, wherein the insurance strike price matrix is used to provide a price protection contract for a commodity to a second consumer based on data regarding desired price protection obtained from the second consumer, where the price protection contract has an associated time period, lock price and locale wherein the lock price is associated with the selected locale and is determined based upon the first insurance strike price and associated insurance premium for the selected locale and for a set of purchases occurring in the locale during the time period the consumer has a right to aggregately purchase the commodity and, wherein for each purchase within the locale the commodity may be purchased at the lock price associated with the locale if a first index price associated with the commodity and the locale at a first time of the purchase is above the lock price associated with the locale or at a retail price of the commodity otherwise.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the commodity is fuel.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a second insurance strike price matrix, wherein the second strike price matrix comprises a second set of insurance strike prices and associated insurance premiums for a second set of locales wherein the second set of locales includes one or more locales from the first set of locales.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the lock price associated with the locale selected from the first set of locales comprises assessing a risk based upon the first insurance strike price and associated insurance premium associated with the selected locale.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein creating the second insurance strike price matrix comprises analyzing historical retail pricing for the commodity within a locale selected from the first set of locales.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising analyzing how closely retail commodity prices in outlying locales have followed retail commodity prices in metropolitan locales.

7. A system for commodity purchasing, comprising:

an insurance system, the insurance system operable for;

creating a first insurance strike price matrix corresponding to a commodity, wherein the first insurance strike price matrix comprises a first set of insurance strike prices and associated insurance premiums for a first set of locales, wherein each insurance strike price and associated first insurance premium is associated with a locale selected from the first set of locales;

obtaining a payment associated with a first insurance strike price and associated insurance premium associated with a locale selected from the first set of locales from a first consumer; and

indemnifying the first consumer for purchases of the commodity within the locale selected from the first set of locales based upon the first insurance strike price selected from the first set of insurance strike prices.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the commodity is fuel.

9. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

creating a second insurance strike price matrix, wherein the second strike price matrix comprises a second set of insurance strike prices and associated insurance premiums for a second set of locales wherein the second set of locales includes one or more locales from the first set of locales.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a price protection system operable for;

obtaining data regarding desired price protection from a second consumer; and

providing a price protection contract for a commodity to the second consumer where the price protection contract has an associated time period, lock price and locale wherein the lock price is associated with the selected locale and is determined based upon the first insurance strike price and associated insurance premium for the selected locale and for a set of purchases occurring in the locale during the time period the consumer has a right to aggregately purchase the commodity and, wherein for each purchase within the locale the commodity may be purchased at the lock price associated with the locale if a first index price associated with the commodity and the locale at a first time of the purchase is above the lock price associated with the locale or at a retail price of the commodity otherwise.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein determining the lock price associated with the locale comprises assessing a risk based upon the first insurance strike price and associated insurance premium.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the assessing of the risk and the providing of the price protection contract is done by the price protection system.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising analyzing how closely retail commodity prices in outlying locales have followed retail commodity prices in metropolitan locales.

14. A non-transitory computer readable media for providing insurance for commodity purchasing, the computer readable media comprising instructions executable for:

creating a first insurance strike price matrix corresponding to a commodity, wherein the first insurance strike price matrix comprises a first set of insurance strike prices and associated insurance premiums for a first set of locales, wherein each insurance strike price and associated first insurance premium is associated with a locale selected from the first set of locales;

obtaining a payment associated with a first insurance strike price and associated insurance premium associated with a locale selected from the first set of locales from a first consumer; and

indemnifying the first consumer for purchases of the commodity within the locale selected from the first set of locales based upon the first insurance strike price selected from the first set of insurance strike prices.

15. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 14, wherein the commodity is fuel.

16. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 15, wherein the instructions are further executable for:

creating a second insurance strike price matrix wherein the second strike price matrix comprises a second set of insurance strike prices and associated insurance premiums for a second set of locales, wherein the second set of locales includes one or more locales from the first set of locales.

17. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 16, wherein the instructions are further executable for:

obtaining data regarding desired price protection from a second consumer; and

providing a price protection contract for a commodity to the second consumer where the price protection contract has an associated time period, lock price and locale wherein the lock price is associated with the selected locale and is determined based upon the first insurance strike price and associated insurance premium for the selected locale and for a set of purchases occurring in the locale during the time period the consumer has a right to aggregately purchase the commodity and, wherein for each purchase within the locale the commodity may be purchased at the lock price associated with the locale if a first index price associated with the commodity and the locale at a first time of the purchase is above the lock price associated with the locale or at a retail price of the commodity otherwise.

18. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 17, wherein determining the lock price associated with the locale selected from the first set of locales comprises assessing a risk based upon the first insurance strike price and associated insurance premium associated with the selected locale.

19. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 18, wherein the assessing of the risk and the providing of the price protection contract is done by the first consumer.

20. The computer readable media of claim 19, further comprising analyzing how closely retail commodity prices in outlying locales have followed retail commodity prices in metropolitan locales.