Method and system for computerized insurance underwriting

• US 8,090,599 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2004
• Issued: 01/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hartford Fire Insurance Company (The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hartford Fire Insurance Company (The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tran, Oai, Napolitan, Lisa, Nutkiewicz, Stanley, Statsky, Jane, Stoller, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Tinkler, Muriel
• Application Number:
  US11/025,548
• Publication Number:
  US 20050144047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,562 Days
• Field of Search: 705/4
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

This invention relates generally to a computer system and method for integrating insurance policy underwriting. In one aspect it integrates the older legacy insurance policy generating systems to on line systems where users access the system through browsers. The computer system to perform the process of underwriting, rating, quoting, binding, and booking an insurance policy includes browsers, data bases, processors and a dispatcher that parses the information to select an insurance process. Suitable software programs review messages received from users to determine if certain messages are less than a prescribed limit. If a message is greater than the limit, then the message is parsed into a header information and one or more data fields whereby the header information is provided to a legacy processor and to policy generation software for further creation of policy related information and documentation.

Claims

1. A computer system for underwriting, rating, quoting, binding, and booking an insurance policy comprising:

an intermediary computer system comprising a processor coupled to a memory device, the processor configured to receive information from one or more user devices executing browsers operative to communicate associated information to and from the system;

the processor further configured to permit each one of a plurality of sequential insurance processes to be performed only upon completion of a prior one of the plurality of processes, wherein the processes comprise, in sequence, at least an underwriting worksheet process, a rating process, a create quote process, a create binder process and a book and bill process;

wherein the processor is configured to;

permit the rating process to be performed only upon completion of the underwriting worksheet process;

permit the create quote process to be performed only upon completion of the rating process;

permit the create binder process to be performed only upon completion of the create quote process; and

permit the book and bill process to performed only upon completion of the create binder process;

wherein the processor is further configured to maintain the browser in one of a plurality of user-selected browser states, each of the browser states corresponding to one of the insurance processes, to maintain a plurality of process states corresponding to the browser states, to receive data from the browser, and to permit an insurance process corresponding to the user-selected browser state to be performed responsive to the receipt of data, the user-selected browser state being permitted only subject to permission for the corresponding insurance process to be performed;

wherein the processor is further configured to generate interface elements associated with at least two of the browser states; and

a second computer system in communication with the intermediary computer system, the second computer system configured to maintain a database comprising user account data, and the processor configured to search the database responsive to user requests received from the browser.

2. The computer system in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to communicate data to an output data queue to retain the output received from the second computer system.

3. The computer system in claim 1, wherein one or more browsers communicate information to the processor, which parses the information to determine the specific insurance process associated with the information.

4. The computer system in claim 3, wherein one or more data queues communicate one or more results of a specific process to the browser.

5. The computer system in claim 3, wherein inputs are received from a main menu, which determines whether the input data requires processing selected from a group including:

an inquiry processing, a new account processing or a modify existing account processing.

6. The computer system in claim 1, wherein one or more browsers communicates with an e-file.

7. The computer system in claim 6, wherein a server analyzes a message from one or more browsers and determines whether the message length is greater than a predetermined length.

8. The computer system in claim 1, further comprising:

a server to review a message received from the browser and a means to determine whether the message length is greater than a predetermined limit; and

if the message is less than the limit then input data is provided to a first input queue and used as input to a means for producing the insurance product.

9. The computer system in claim 8, wherein if the message is greater than the predetermined limit, then the message is parsed into a header information and one or more data fields information and the header information is provided to first input queue and the data fields information is provided to a second input queue and the dispatcher means and the data fields information is provided to a processor of the second computer system and associated software system.

10. The computer system in claim 9, wherein the information in the data field is parsed into multiple records of a predetermined size.

11. The computer system in claim 8, wherein the message size is equal to or greater than 16 kilobytes.

12. The computer system in claim 8, whereupon the subsequent processing completion results are provided to a user assigned data queue and subsequently to the server.

13. The computer system in claim 1, further comprising:

a table lookup data queue for underwriting, rating, quoting, binding, booking and billing and issuing insurance policies comprising;

a drop-down menu in a browser associated with a field selected from a group including;

the identification of a desired process or operation, data bytes for user identification, data bytes for a state identification, data bytes for state function identification, data bytes for a state switch indication, data bytes for providing an indication to allow a next state, data bytes for indicating the status of a request.

25. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processes further comprise an account summary process, wherein the processor is further configured to permit the underwriting worksheet process to be performed only upon completion of the account summary process.

26. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processes further comprise an issue policy process, wherein the processor is further configured to permit the issue policy process to be performed only upon completion of the book and bill process.

27. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the underwriting worksheet process adds information dependent on a product selection.

28. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the rating process includes calculating premium options.

29. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the book and bill process includes the steps of selecting a payment plan and a billing method.

36. The computer system of claim 28, wherein the create quote process includes creating a quote letter having an option to select one of the premium options.

37. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to generate a graphical user interface associated with each of the insurance processes.

38. The computer system of claim 37, wherein the graphical user interfaces comprise a block for permitting a user to initiate a submit operation to enable entry to one of the other of the plurality of insurance processes.

39. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to communicate employing a message comprising a user identification portion, a state identification portion identifying a state associated with one of the insurance processes, a state function identification portion, a state switch indication portion and an allow next state indication portion.

14. A computer-implemented method to underwrite, rate, quote, bind, book and bill and issue insurance policies comprising the steps of communicating by a processor via a network with maintaining a browser on a client computer system to communicate information to a dispatcher, and permitting by the processor each one of a plurality of sequential insurance processes to be performed only upon completion of a prior one of the plurality of processes, wherein the processes comprise, in sequence, at least an underwriting worksheet process, a rating process, a create quote process, a create binder process and a book and bill process parsing information in the dispatcher to communicate with one or more insurance generating processes and printing one or more insurance products resulting from said processes,

wherein the processor is configured to:

permit the rating process to be performed only upon completion of the underwriting worksheet process;

permit the create quote process to be performed only upon completion of the rating process;

permit the create binder process to be performed only upon completion of the create quote process; and

permit the book and bill process to performed only upon completion of the create binder process;

the method further comprising maintaining by the processor the browser in one of a plurality of user-selected browser states, each of the browser states corresponding to one of the insurance processes, maintaining by the processor a plurality of process states corresponding to the browser states, generating by the processor interface elements associated with at least two of the browser states;

receiving by the processor data from the browser, permitting by the processor an insurance process corresponding to the user-selected browser state to be performed responsive to the receipt of data, the user-selected browser state being permitted only subject to permission for the corresponding insurance process to be performed; and

searching, responsive to user requests received from the browser, by the processor a database comprising user account data maintained by a second computer system in communication with the processor.

15. The computer-implemented method in claim 14 comprising the additional step wherein the processor communicates with the second computer system and produces output to a data queue.

16. The computer-implemented method in claim 14 comprising the additional step of parsing by the processor information received from the browser to determine the specific insurance process associated with the information.

17. The computer-implemented method in claim 16 comprising the additional step of transmitting from one or more data queues the results of a specific process associated with the information to the appropriate browser.

18. The computer-implemented method in claim 16 comprising the additional step of inputting information by the processor and receiving said input by a main menu which determines whether the input data requires processing from a group including:

an inquiry processing, a new account processing or a modify existing account processing.

19. The computer-implemented method in claim 14 comprising the additional step of maintaining one or more browsers to communicate with an e-file system.

20. The computer-implemented method in claim 19 comprising the additional step of reviewing the message received from one or more browsers to determine whether the message length is greater than a predetermined length.

21. The computer-implemented method in claim 14 comprising the additional step of:

reviewing a message received from the browser and determining whether the message length is greater than a predetermined limit, and if the message is less than the limit then inputting data to the dispatcher for subsequent selection of an insurance process and printing an insurance product based upon the insurance process.

22. The computer-implemented method in claim 21 comprising the additional step wherein if the message is greater than the predetermined limit, then the message is parsed into a header information and one or more data fields information and the header information is provided to first input queue and the data information is provided to a second input queue and the dispatcher means and the data information is provided to a processor of the second computer system and associated software system.

23. The computer-implemented method in claim 22 comprising the additional step wherein the information in the data field is parsed into multiple records of a predetermined size.

24. The computer-implemented method in claim 21 comprising the additional step of maintaining the message size to 16 kilobytes.

30. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the processes further comprise an account summary process, wherein the processor is further configured to permit the underwriting worksheet process to be performed only upon completion of the account summary process.

31. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the processes further comprise an issue policy process, wherein the processor is further configured to permit the issue policy process to be performed only upon completion of the book and bill process.

32. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the underwriting worksheet process adds information dependent on a product selection.

33. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the rating process includes calculating premium options.

34. The computer-implemented method of claim 33, wherein the create quote process includes creating a quote letter having an option to select one of the premium options.

35. The computer-implemented method of claim 33, wherein the book and bill process includes the steps of selecting a payment plan and a billing method.

40. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising generating a graphical user interface associated with each of the insurance processes.

41. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising communicating a message comprising a user identification portion, a state identification portion identifying a state associated with one of the insurance processes, a state function identification portion, a state switch indication portion and an allow next state indication portion.