RISK ASSESSMENT AND CONTROL, INSURANCE PREMIUM DETERMINATIONS, AND OTHER APPLICATIONS USING BUSYNESS

• US 20110161119A1
• Filed: 12/24/2010
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: The Travelers Indemnity Company (The Travelers Cos., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The Travelers Cos., Inc.
• Inventors: Collins, Dean
• Application Number:
  US12/978,535
• Publication Number:
  US 20110161119A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

A “busyness” metric is determined for various different objects, such as businesses, roads, vehicles, buildings, locations, transportation systems, communication systems, devices, equipment, and/or systems, using various sensing and/or other technologies. The busyness metric may be used for a broad range of applications, such as assessing and controlling insurance risk, determining insurance premiums, prioritizing tasks, travel, navigation, advertising, and other purposes.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining an object associated with an insurance product;

determining, by a computerized processor, a busyness metric of the object; and

determining, by the computerized processor and based at least in part on the busyness metric of the object, a risk rating of the insurance product.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the insurance product is configured to provide insurance coverage for something other than the object.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computerized processor and based at least in part on the determined risk rating of the insurance product, an insurance premium of the insurance product.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving an indication of a request by a customer to purchase the insurance product; and

selling, after the determining of the insurance premium of the insurance product, the insurance product to the customer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the object is determined based on historic location data of the customer.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the object is determined based on predicted location data of the customer.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining, after the selling of the insurance product to the customer, a claim made on the insurance product.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining, after the determining of the claim made on the insurance product, a value of a busyness parameter that is associated with the claim made on the insurance product.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

updating, based on the value of the busyness parameter that is associated with the claim made on the insurance product, the busyness metric of the object.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

updating, based on the value of the busyness parameter that is associated with the claim made on the insurance product, the risk rating of the insurance product.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

updating, based on the value of the busyness parameter that is associated with the claim made on the insurance product, the insurance premium of the insurance product.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the object comprises a transportation conduit object comprising one or more of:

(i) a path or trail, (ii) a sidewalk, (iii) a road, (iv) an intersection of two or more roads, (v) a water channel, (vi) an High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane of a road, (vii) a slow vehicle lane of a road, (viii) an exit lane or ramp of a road, (ix) an entrance ramp, lane, or merge area of a road, and (x) a railroad crossing.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the object comprises a location object comprising one or more of:

(i) a business location, (ii) a parking lot, (iii) a parking garage, (iv) a retail store, (v) a doctor'"'"'s office, (vi) a bank, (vii) a mall, (viii) a hairdresser or barber shop, (ix) a restaurant, (x) a supermarket, (xi) a convenience store, (xii) a marina, (xiii) a train or bus station, (xiv) a bridge, (xv) a tunnel, (xvi) an airport, (xvii) a toll booth or plaza, (xviii) a dock, (ix) a ferry, (xx) public or municipal building, (xxi) a historic site or building, (xxii) a public landmark, (xxiii) a hospital, (xxiv) a library, (xxv) a museum, (xxvi) a national or state park, (xxvii) a public beach, (xxviii) a town square or green, (xxix) a public fairground, (xxx) a theatre, (xxxi) a sports facility, (xxxii) a racetrack, (xxxiii) an amusement park, (xxxiv) an arcade, (xxxv) a beach, (xxxvi) a resort, (xxxvii) a nightclub, (xxxviii) a golf course, and (xxxix) a casino.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the object comprises a communication conduit object comprising one or more of:

(i) a communication network, (ii) a website, (iii) an Internet Service Provider (ISP), (iv) a telephone queue, (v) an Interactive Voice Response Unit (IVRU) queue, and (vi) a cellular telephone network.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the object comprises a mechanical object comprising one or more of:

(i) a car;

(ii) a motorcycle;

(iii) a train, (iv) a bus, (v) an elevator, (vi) an escalator, (vii) a drawbridge, (viii) a water transport lock, (ix) a security lock, (x) a cellular telephone network tower or repeater, (xi) a router, (xii) a web server, (xiii) a file server, (xiv) an IVRU, (xv) a railroad crossing warning signal or gate, (xvi) a street light, and (xvii) a traffic light.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the computerized processor comprises a computer system of an insurance company.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the busyness metric is determined by:

transmitting information indicative of the object to a server storing historical information descriptive of the busyness associated with the object; and

receiving, from the server, one or more numerical values that define the busyness metric.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the busyness metric, comprises:

storing data descriptive of at least one of historical information descriptive of the busyness associated with the object and predicted information descriptive of the busyness associated with the object;

analyzing the stored data; and

calculating, based on the analysis of the stored data, the busyness metric.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory in communication with the processor, the memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor result in;

receiving an indication of a request by a customer for an insurance product;

determining an object indicative of risk associated with the insurance product;

determining a busyness metric of the risk indicative object; and

determining, based at least in part on the busyness metric, a risk rating of the insurance product.

20. An article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable memory storing instructions that when executed by a processor result in:

receiving an indication of a request by a customer for an insurance product;

determining an object indicative of risk associated with the insurance product;

determining a busyness metric of the risk indicative object; and

determining, based at least in part on the busyness metric, a risk rating of the insurance product.