Automated methods of inspection

• US 10,373,256 B1
• Filed: 05/12/2014
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Original Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Inventors: Allen, Michael J., Burgess, Cleburne, Amstutz, John H., Limas, Shanna Ruth, Lopez, Ramon M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kalinowski, Alexander G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kloberg, Paul R
• Application Number:
  US14/275,640
• Time in Patent Office: 1,912 Days
• Field of Search: 705 4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing automated methods of inspections that facilitate loss reporting and resolution are described. In some embodiments various remote evaluation tools are provided to collect information from remote locations. This information can be used to generate automated damage estimates which in turn can be used to direct the ordering of supplies, materials, and other resources. In addition, pre-damage and post-damage evaluations of an insured property may be collected using the remote evaluation tools. These evaluations can be used by adjusters (human adjusters and computer-based adjusters) to identify damage and process claims more efficiently.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

detecting a potential event related to a property covered by an insurance policy based on a weather prediction;

activating or deactivating data feeds based on the weather prediction;

connecting to smart devices associated with the property covered by the insurance policy;

in response to detecting an event indicated by data from the smart devices;

receiving, at an inspection engine, a loss notification indicating an expected loss associated with the property generated by an event manager;

acquiring, using one or more remote evaluation tools and data from the smart devices, property data relating to the property,

wherein acquiring the property data includes collecting video data of the property by;

controlling, in real-time, flight path and camera setting of an unmanned aerial vehicle,

processing the video data in real-time, and

adjusting, in real-time, the flight path and the camera setting of the unmanned aerial vehicle to obtain the property data,

wherein the one or more remote evaluation tools are controllable by the inspection engine,

wherein acquiring, using the one or more remote evaluation tools, the property data comprises acquiring and analyzing data from an electrical grid;

generating, by a computing device, a personal profile of a person holding the insurance policy and a weather profile of a weather event affecting the property based at least in part on data from the data feeds;

comparing data associated with the weather profile with the property data so as to identify a fraudulent claim;

automatically generating, by the computing device, an estimated loss report based on the property data, the personal profile, and the weather profile; and

configuring configurable settings in a temporary living space for the person based on the personal profile and the smart devices.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

collecting, using the one or more remote evaluation tools, pre-event property data using the remote evaluation tools before the loss notification is received by the inspection engine; and

creating, using the pre-event property data, a property profile.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein generating the estimated loss report includes using the property profile to determine estimated losses.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the pre-event property data includes dimensions of the property, a size of a roof of the property, and a type of construction of the property.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising underwriting the insurance policy based on the pre-event property data.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining if an inspection of the property is needed to complete the estimated loss report; and

selecting, when an inspection of the property is needed, a scoper to inspect the property in person and to communicate with an adjustor remotely located from the property.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising selecting a method of inspection based on damage to the property identified by examining the property data acquired using the one or more remote evaluation tools.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the event manager monitors weather data and generates the loss notification based on the expected loss.

9. A system comprising:

a communication module to;

connect to smart devices associated with a property covered by an insurance policy;

in response to detecting an event indicated by data from the smart devices;

receive, via a network, a loss notification identifying one or more properties where a loss might have occurred;

a data collection module, running on one or more processors, to;

detect the potential event related to the property covered by the insurance policy based on a weather prediction,

activate or deactivate data feeds based on the weather prediction,

collect property data about the current status of the one or more properties using remote evaluation tools and data from the smart devices, wherein collecting the property data comprises;

acquiring the property data at least in part from an electrical grid, and

collecting video data of the property by;

controlling, in real-time, flight path and camera setting of an unmanned aerial vehicle,

processing the video data in real-time, and

adjusting, in real-time, the flight path and the camera setting of the unmanned aerial vehicle to obtain the property data,

an inspection engine to control the remote evaluation tools;

an estimate generator to;

for each of the one or more properties, generate a personal profile of an person holding an insurance policy and a weather profile of a weather event affecting each of the one or more properties based at least in part on data from the data feeds, and

process the property data and produce a loss report identifying any damage to each of the one or more properties based on the status of the property, the personal profile of the person holding the insurance policy, and the weather profile, wherein data associated with the weather profile is compared with the property data so as to identify a fraudulent claim; and

a resource module to configure configurable settings in a temporary living space for the person based on the personal profile and the smart devices.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the data collection module also collects data regarding the one or more properties before the loss notification.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a profile module to create property profiles for each of the one or more properties based on the data regarding the one or more properties before the loss notification is received; and

a database to store the property profiles.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the estimate generator accesses the property profiles and compares the data about the current status of the one or more properties with the property profile to assess damage to the one or more properties.

13. The system of claim 9, further comprising an assignment module to identify an adjustor based on the damage to the one or more properties identified in the loss report.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the remote evaluation tools include smart sensors within the property, cameras, and weather sensors.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause a machine to:

detect a potential event related to a property covered by an insurance policy based on a weather prediction;

activate or deactivate data fees based on the weather prediction;

collect pre-event property data relating to the property covered by the insurance policy;

connect to smart devices associated with the property;

in response to detecting an event indicated by data from the smart devices;

receive a loss notification identifying the property covered by the insurance policy;

acquire, using one or more remote evaluation tools and data from the smart devices, current property data relating to the property, wherein acquiring the current property data comprises;

acquiring and analyzing data from an electrical grid, and

collecting video data of the property by;

controlling, in real-time, flight path and camera setting of an unmanned aerial vehicle,

processing the video data in real-time, and

adjusting, in real-time, the flight path and the camera setting of the unmanned aerial vehicle to obtain the property data,

generate a personal profile of a person holding the insurance policy and a weather profile of a weather event affecting the property based at least in part on data from the data feeds;

compare data associated with the weather profile with the property data so as to identify a fraudulent claim;

automatically generate an estimated loss report identifying damage to the property that would result in payout from the insurance policy, wherein the estimated loss report is based on the pre-event property data, the current property data, the personal profile, and the weather profile; and

configure configurable settings in a temporary living space for the person based on the personal profile and the smart devices.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 containing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors further cause the machine to underwrite the insurance policy based on the pre-event property data.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 containing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors further cause the machine to:

determine if an inspection of the property is needed to complete the estimated loss report; and

select, when an inspection of the property is needed, a scoper to inspect the property in person and communicate with an adjustor remotely located from the property.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 containing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors further cause the machine to select the adjustor based on damage to the property identified by examining the current property data acquired using the one or more remote evaluation tools.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 containing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors further cause the machine to communicate with an event manager that monitors weather data and generates the loss notification based on an expected loss.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 containing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors further cause the machine to reserve a set of resources.