Overlaying images in automated insurance policy form generation

• US 8,731,973 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2011
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vertafore Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Vertafore Incorporated
• Inventors: Anderson, David Martin, Zhang, Yi
• Primary Examiner(s): TINKLER, MURIEL S
• Application Number:
  US13/089,886
• Publication Number:
  US 20120271657A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• Field of Search: 705/4, 345/629, 345/634, 345/641
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Overlaying images in automated insurance policy form generation includes electronically converting a first form in a first format to a second format to and in response to receiving a Web page request, electronically communicating the second form to be displayed within the Web browser instead of electronically communicating the first form in the first format to be displayed within the Web browser. In the case where the first format is Adobe® portable document format (PDF) and the second format is Joint Picture Expert Group (JPEG) format, this enables the user of the browser to overlay images on the forms within the Web page interface of the browser, while it appears to the user they are overlaying images on the original PDF versions of the forms. The final integrated PDF form is then generated from the data indicating the location of the overlay image on the underlying JPEG form. This process may also apply to insurance policy forms wherein the overlay image is a state specific stamp to be placed on the underlying form.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method in an image overlay system, comprising:

receiving, by the image overlay system, a first form in a first format, wherein the first form is an electronic form that is electronically fillable, wherein the image overlay system includes at least one computer processor and at least one memory coupled to the at least one computer processor;

electronically converting, by the image overlay system, the first form to a second format to generate a second form in the second format, wherein the second form is an electronic form that is not electronically fillable;

in response to receiving a client request, electronically communicating, by the image overlay system, the second form to be displayed within a user interface of a client associated with the client request instead of electronically communicating the first form in the first format to be displayed within the user interface, wherein the second form as displayed within the user interface is substantially visually indistinguishable from the first form were the first form to be displayed within the user interface, and wherein the second format is a format such that an image file in the second format is able to have other images visually placed over an image stored in the image file in the second format within the user interface in a manner that data indicating a position of the other images relative to the image stored in the image file in the second format on which the other images are placed is able to be captured and stored using functionality of the client or a service accessed by the client;

receiving, by the image overlay system, data indicating a position of an overlay image overlaid on the second form, wherein the overlay image is stored in an electronic file with the overlay image ultimately to be overlaid on an image stored by an electronically fillable form; and

generating, by the image overlay system, a third form in the first format, wherein the third form is an electronic form that is electronically fillable, the generating including incorporating the overlay image on an image stored by the third form at a location on the image stored by the third form corresponding to the data indicating the position of the overlay image on the second form.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first format is a format such that an image file in the first format is not able to have other images visually placed over an image stored in the image file in the first format within the user interface in such said manner relative to the image stored in the image file in the first format.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first format is portable document format and the second format is Joint Picture Expert Group format.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising at least partially electronically filling the first form before electronically converting the first form.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first, second and third forms are insurance policy forms.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving insurance policy form data; and

automatically determining a list of insurance policy forms based on the insurance policy form data, wherein the first form is one of the insurance policy forms on the determined list.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first form, the second form and the third form are insurance policy forms and further comprising:

electronically attaching the third form to an insurance policy; and

electronically communicating an access mechanism to the insurance policy to a user for insurance policy verification by the user.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first form, the second form and the third form are insurance policy forms and the overlay image is an image of a state specific stamp for placement on insurance policy forms.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a plurality of files storing overlay images; and

in response to receiving the client request, electronically communicating the plurality of files storing overlay images, the overlay images to be displayed within the user interface.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the image overlay system, data indicating a size of the overlay image overlaid on the second form,

wherein the overlay image incorporated on the image stored by the third form has a dimension corresponding to the data indicating the size of the overlay image overlaid on the second form.

10. A system, comprising:

a computer processor; and

a non-transitory memory communicatively coupled to the computer processor having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that when executed by the computer processor cause the computer processor to;

receive a first form in a first format, wherein the first form is an electronic form that is electronically fillable;

electronically convert the first form to a second format to generate a second form in the second format, wherein the second form is an electronic form that is not electronically fillable;

in response to receiving a client request, electronically communicate the second form to be displayed within a user interface of a client associated with the client request instead of electronically communicating the first form in the first format to be displayed within the user interface;

receive data indicating a position of an overlay image overlaid on the second form, wherein the overlay image is stored in an electronic file with the overlay image ultimately to be overlaid on an image stored by an electronically fillable form; and

generate a third form in the first format, wherein the third form is an electronic form that is electronically fillable, by incorporating the overlay image on an image stored by the third form at a location on the image stored by the third form corresponding to the data indicating the position of the overlay image on the second form.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the second form as displayed within the user interface is substantially visually indistinguishable from the first form were the first form to be displayed within the user interface.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the second format is a format such that an image file in the second format is able to have other images visually placed over an image stored in the image file in the second format within the user interface in such a manner that data indicating a position of the other images relative to the image stored in the image file in the second format on which the other images are placed is able to be captured and stored using functionality of the client or a service being accessed by the client.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the first, second and third forms are insurance policy forms.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the computer processor, further cause the computer processor to:

receive insurance policy form data; and

automatically determine a list of insurance policy forms based on the insurance policy form data, wherein the first form is one of the insurance policy forms on the determined list.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the computer processor, further cause the computer processor to:

electronically attach the third form to an insurance policy; and

electronically communicate an access mechanism to the insurance policy to a user for insurance policy verification by the user.

16. The system of claim 10 wherein the first format is portable document format.

17. The system of claim 10 wherein the second format is Joint Picture Expert Group format.

18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, having computer computer-executable instructions stored thereon that when executed by a computer processor cause the computer processor to perform:

receiving a selection of a first form from a plurality of forms in a first format, wherein the plurality of forms are electronic forms and are electronically fillable in the first format;

displaying within a user interface of a client a second form in a second format, wherein the second form is the first form converted to an electronic form that is not electronically fillable in the second format;

displaying at least one overlay image on the user interface, wherein the overlay image is stored in an electronic file with the overlay image ultimately to be overlaid on an image stored by an electronically fillable form, the at least one overlay image available to be visually placed over the second form within the user interface on which the second form is displayed;

receiving an indication of a location corresponding to a location on the second form on which the overlay image was visually placed within the user interface; and

electronically communicating the indication of the location to enable generation a third form in the first format incorporating the overlay image on an image stored by the third form at a location on the image stored by the third form corresponding to the indication of the location.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18 wherein the second form as displayed in the user interface is substantially visually indistinguishable from the first form, were the first form to be displayed within the client.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18 wherein the first format is portable document format and the second format is Joint Picture Expert Group format.

21. A computer-implemented method in an image overlay system, comprising:

receiving, by the image overlay system, a first electronic form of a first file type that is electronically fillable, the first electronic form including data and fields and a having a first format, the fields of the first electronic form being electronically fillable, wherein the image overlay system includes at least one computer processor and at least one memory coupled to the at least one computer processor;

generating, by the image overlay system, a second electronic form of a second file type that is not electronically fillable, the second electronic form replicating the data, the fields and the format of the first electronic form, the fields of the second electronic form being not electronically fillable, the second file type being a file type such that when the second electronic form is displayed by an element of a user interface, an image represented by an image file is selectively visually representable by the element of the user interface overlying at least a portion of the second electronic form at a number of end user selectable positions;

in response to receiving a client request, electronically communicating, by the image overlay system, the second electronic form to be displayed by at least one element of a client user interface of a client associated with the client request instead of communicating the first electronic form;

receiving, by the image overlay system, client data indicative of a user selected image and a user identified position for the selected image with respect to at least one element of the second electronic form; and

generating, by the image overlay system, a third electronic form of the first file type that is electronically fillable, the third electronic form replicating the data, the fields and the format of the first electronic form and including the user selected image at the user identified position, the fields of the first electronic form being electronically fillable.