Risk unit based policies

• US 10,475,128 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2016
• Issued: 11/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arity International Limited (Allstate Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Arity International Limited (Allstate Corporation)
• Inventors: Biemer, Edward A., Irey, Grady, Styrsky, Caryl M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Puttaiah, Asha
• Application Number:
  US15/170,000
• Publication Number:
  US 20160275623A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,259 Days
• Field of Search: 705 4
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/04 including control of propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/30 including control of auxiliary equipment, e.g. air-conditioning compressors or oil pumps
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• 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 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/08 Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0816 Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like

Abstract

Methods, computer-readable media, systems and apparatuses for determining and implementing risk unit based insurance policies are presented. A user may receive a plurality of risk units associated with an insurance policy. The risk units may be stored in a risk unit account associated with the user, the vehicle, etc. During operation of the vehicle, sensor data may be received. The sensor data may provide information associated with driving behaviors of the user, environmental conditions in which the vehicle is being operated, and the like. A consumption rate of the risk units may be determined based, at least in part, on the received sensor data. If a number of risk units in a risk unit account is below a predetermined threshold, a notification may be transmitted to the user and/or a predetermined number of risk units may be automatically added to the risk unit account.

Claims

1. A risk unit based system, comprising:

an insurance system server including one or more processors, and at least one memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the insurance system server to;

determine a number of risk units in a risk unit account associated with an insurance policy of a vehicle, each risk unit representing a cost to insure an average user for a predetermined period of time;

receive, from at least one sensor arranged on the vehicle, first driving data associated with at least one of;

a user of the vehicle, and an environment in which the vehicle is being operated, at a first time;

analyze, in real-time, the received first driving data to determine a first consumption rate of the risk units;

reduce, in real-time, a number of risk units in the risk unit account based on operation of the vehicle, wherein a rate at which the number of risk units is reduced is the determined first consumption rate;

determine whether a balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below a predetermined threshold;

responsive to determining that the balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below the predetermined threshold, automatically adding additional risk units to the balance of risk units in the risk unit account; and

responsive to determining that the balance of risk units is at or above the predetermined threshold;

receive, from the at least one sensor arranged on the vehicle, second driving data associated with at least one of;

the user of the vehicle, and the environment in which the vehicle is being operated at a second time;

analyze, in real-time, the received second driving data to determine a second consumption rate of the risk units; and

reduce, in real-time, a number of risk units in the risk unit account based on operation of the vehicle, wherein a rate at which the number of risk units is reduced is the determined second consumption rate.

2. The risk unit based system of claim 1, wherein automatically adding additional risk units to the balance of risk units in the risk unit account further includes:

prior to determining that the balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below the predetermined threshold, receiving user input from the user selecting a number of risk units to automatically add to the balance of risk units in the risk unit account when it is determined that the balance is below the predetermined threshold.

3. The risk unit based system of claim 1, wherein automatically adding additional risk units to the balance of risk units in the risk unit account further includes:

prior to determining that the balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below the predetermined threshold, receiving user input from the user indicating payment information to be used to pay for a cost of the additional risk units being added.

4. The risk unit based system of claim 3, wherein the payment information includes at least one of:

checking account information, debit card information, credit card information.

5. The risk unit based system of claim 1, wherein the first consumption rate is at the first time and the second consumption rate is at the second time.

6. The risk unit based system of claim 5, wherein the second time is subsequent to the first time.

7. The risk unit based system of claim 1, further including instructions that, when executed, cause the insurance system server to:

responsive to determining that the balance of risk units is below the predetermined threshold, provide a notification to the user that the balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below the predetermined threshold.

8. The risk unit based system of claim 7, wherein the notification is provided to the user via a mobile device of the user.

9. The risk unit based system of claim 7, wherein the notification is provided to the user via a vehicle display associated with an on-board vehicle computing device.

10. A risk unit based system, comprising:

an on-board vehicle computing device including at least one processor and at least one memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the on-board vehicle computing device to;

receive, from at least one sensor arranged in a vehicle, first driving data associated with at least one of;

a user of the vehicle and an environment in which the vehicle is being operated at a first time;

transmit, to an insurance system server, the received first driving data;

the insurance system server including one or more processors, and at least one memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the insurance system server to;

receive the first driving data;

determine a number of risk units in a risk unit account associated with an insurance policy of a vehicle, each risk unit representing a cost to insure an average user for a predetermined period of time;

analyze, in real-time, the received first driving data to determine a first consumption rate of the risk units;

reduce, in real-time, a number of risk units in the risk unit account based on operation of the vehicle, wherein a rate at which the number of risk units is reduced is the determined first consumption rate;

determine whether a balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below a predetermined threshold;

responsive to determining that the balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below the predetermined threshold, automatically adding additional risk units to the balance of risk units in the risk unit account; and

responsive to determining that the balance of risk units is at or above the predetermined threshold, the on-board vehicle computing device further including computer readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the on-board vehicle computing device to;

receive, from the at least one sensor arranged on the vehicle, second driving data associated with at least one of;

the user of the vehicle, and the environment in which the vehicle is being operated at a second time;

transmit, to the insurance system server, the received second driving data;

the insurance system server further including computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the insurance system server to;

receive the second driving data;

analyze, in real-time, the received second driving data to determine a second consumption rate of the risk units; and

reduce, in real-time, a number of risk units in the risk unit account based on operation of the vehicle, wherein a rate at which the number of risk units is reduced is the determined second consumption rate.

11. The risk unit based system of claim 10, wherein automatically adding additional risk units to the balance of risk units in the risk unit account further includes:

prior to determining that the balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below the predetermined threshold, receiving user input from the user selecting a number of risk units to automatically add to the balance of risk units in the risk unit account when it is determined that the balance is below the predetermined threshold.

12. The risk unit based system of claim 10, wherein automatically adding additional risk units to the balance of risk units in the risk unit account further includes:

prior to determining that the balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below the predetermined threshold, receiving user input from the user indicating payment information to be used to pay for a cost of the additional risk units being added.

13. The risk unit based system of claim 12, wherein the payment information includes at least one of:

checking account information, debit card information, credit card information.

14. The risk unit based system of claim 10, wherein the first consumption rate is at the first time and the second consumption rate is at the second time.

15. The risk unit based system of claim 14, wherein the second time is subsequent to the first time.

16. The risk unit based system of claim 10, further including instructions that, when executed, cause the insurance system server to:

responsive to determining that the balance of risk units is below the predetermined threshold, provide a notification to the user that the balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below the predetermined threshold.

17. The risk unit based system of claim 16, wherein the notification is provided to the user via a mobile device of the user.

18. The risk unit based system of claim 17, wherein the notification is provided to the user via a vehicle display associated with an on-board vehicle computing device.

19. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer executable instructions that, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the computing device to:

determine a number of risk units in a risk unit account associated with an insurance policy of a vehicle, each risk unit representing a cost to insure an average user for a predetermined period of time;

receive, from at least one sensor arranged on the vehicle, first driving data associated with at least one of;

a user of the vehicle, and an environment in which the vehicle is being operated, at a first time;

analyze, in real-time, the received first driving data to determine a first consumption rate of the risk units;

reduce, in real-time, a number of risk units in the risk unit account based on operation of the vehicle, wherein a rate at which the number of risk units is reduced is the determined first consumption rate;

determine whether a balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below a predetermined threshold;

responsive to determining that the balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below the predetermined threshold, automatically adding additional risk units to the balance of risk units in the risk unit account; and

responsive to determining that the balance of risk units is at or above the predetermined threshold;

receive, from the at least one sensor arranged on the vehicle, second driving data associated with at least one of;

the user of the vehicle, and the environment in which the vehicle is being operated at a second time;

analyze, in real-time, the received second driving data to determine a second consumption rate of the risk units; and

reduce, in real-time, a number of risk units in the risk unit account based on operation of the vehicle, wherein a rate at which the number of risk units is reduced is the determined second consumption rate.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein automatically adding additional risk units to the balance of risk units in the risk unit account further includes:

prior to determining that the balance of risk units in the risk unit account is below the predetermined threshold, receiving user input from the user selecting a number of risk units to automatically add to the balance of risk units in the risk unit account when it is determined that the balance is below the predetermined threshold.