Communication of Insurance Claim Data

• US 20150221041A1
• Filed: 04/13/2015
• Published: 08/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Inventors: Hanson, Randall M., Upadhyaya, Raj Albert, Gangaram, Srinivas Reddy, Wales, Erika Ann
• Granted Patent: US 10,360,635 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

Aspects of the invention include methods and systems for a vehicle insurance claim management application which improves communication and streamline tasks between a vehicle repair shop and an insurance company system in three general task groups: assignment (comprising work requests, estimates/photos, and reinspections), financial management, and performance measurement. Aspects of the invention also provide interoperability with different types of estimating systems that do not necessarily follow an industry standard. This interoperability is provided through an adapter module with a claim processing system to communicate with the insurance company system and the vehicle insurance claim management application. The invention is preferably accessed by a user over a computer network such as the Internet, from a remote location such as a vehicle repair shop.

Claims

1. An insurance claim system comprising:

an insurance company data server comprising at least one computer processor and a display and coupled to a network;

a vehicle repair estimating system having at least one computer processor and interconnected with the insurance company data server via the network; and

a vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system that causes the insurance claim system to;

receive assignment data from the insurance company data server, wherein the assignment data includes information about a customer, a corresponding vehicle, and a corresponding loss with the vehicle;

translate the assignment data into a format accepted by the vehicle insurance claim management application;

encrypt the assignment data;

transfer the assignment data to the vehicle repair estimating system;

receive estimate data from the vehicle repair estimating system, wherein the estimate data includes information about a repair estimate for the loss of the vehicle;

translate the estimate data into a format accepted by the vehicle insurance claim management application;

encrypt the estimate data;

review the estimate data for compliance with contract-based conditions; and

transfer the estimate data.

2. The insurance claim system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

receive second assignment data from the insurance company data server, wherein the second assignment data includes information about a second customer, a corresponding second vehicle, and a corresponding second loss with the second vehicle;

translate the second assignment data into a format accepted by the vehicle insurance claim management application;

encrypt the second assignment data;

transfer the second assignment data to the vehicle repair estimating system;

receive second estimate data from the vehicle repair estimating system, wherein the second estimate data includes information about a second repair estimate for the second loss of the second vehicle;

translate the second estimate data into a format accepted by the vehicle insurance claim management application; and

encrypt the second estimate data.

3. The insurance claim system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

store and provide payment status information for the assignment data.

4. The insurance claim system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

store and provide one or more performance metrics for the vehicle repair facility as compared to other vehicle repair facilities.

5. The insurance claim system of claim 1, wherein the insurance company data server is coupled to a web server through which users interact with the vehicle insurance claim management application and the insurance claim system.

6. The insurance claim system of claim 5, wherein the web server includes a claim processing system used to store the assignment data for further processing.

7. The insurance claim system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

provide a timeline indicating a plurality of milestone dates corresponding to a vehicle work request.

8. The insurance claim system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

provides an interactive calendar through which the vehicle repair shop schedules repair of a vehicle corresponding to a vehicle work request.

9. An insurance claim system comprising:

an insurance company data server comprising at least one computer processor and a display and coupled to a network;

a vehicle repair estimating system having at least one computer processor and interconnected with the insurance company data server via the network; and

a vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system that causes the insurance claim system to;

receive first assignment data from the insurance company data server, wherein the first assignment data includes information about a first customer, a corresponding first vehicle, and a corresponding first loss with the first vehicle;

receive second assignment data from the insurance company data server, wherein the second assignment data includes information about a second customer, a corresponding second vehicle, and a corresponding second loss with the second vehicle;

translate the first assignment data and the second assignment data into a format accepted by the vehicle insurance claim management application;

encrypt the first assignment data and the second assignment data;

transfer the first assignment data and the second assignment data to the vehicle repair estimating system;

receive first estimate data from the vehicle repair estimating system, wherein the first estimate data includes information about a first repair estimate for the first loss of the first vehicle;

receive second estimate data from the vehicle repair estimating system, wherein the second estimate data includes information about a second repair estimate for the second loss of the second vehicle;

translate the first estimate data and the second estimate data into a format accepted by the vehicle insurance claim management application;

encrypt the first estimate data and the second estimate data;

review the first estimate data and the second estimate data for compliance with contract-based conditions; and

transfer the first estimate data and the second estimate data to the insurance company data server.

10. The insurance claim system claim 9, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

provide a timeline indicating a plurality of milestone dates corresponding to a vehicle work request.

11. The insurance claim system of claim 9, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

provide an interactive calendar through which the vehicle repair shop schedules repair of a vehicle corresponding to a vehicle work request.

12. The insurance claim system of claim 9, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

store and provide a performance metric for the vehicle repair shop as compared to other vehicle repair shops.

13. The insurance claim system of claim 9, wherein the insurance company data server is coupled to a web server through which users interact with the vehicle insurance claim management application and the insurance claim system.

14. The insurance claim system of claim 13, wherein the web server includes a claim processing system used to store the first assignment data and the second assignment data for further processing.

15. An insurance claim system comprising:

an insurance company data server comprising at least one computer processor and a display and coupled to a network;

a vehicle repair estimating system having at least one computer processor and interconnected with the insurance company data server via the network;

a vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system that causes the insurance claim system to;

receive assignment data from the insurance company data server, wherein the assignment data includes information about a customer, a corresponding vehicle, and a corresponding loss with the vehicle;

translate the assignment data into a format accepted by the vehicle insurance claim management application;

encrypt the assignment data;

transfer the assignment data to the vehicle repair estimating system;

receive estimate data from the vehicle repair estimating system, wherein the estimate data includes information about a repair estimate for the loss of the vehicle;

translate the estimate data into a format accepted by the vehicle insurance claim management application;

encrypt the estimate data;

review the estimate data for compliance with contract-based conditions;

transfer the estimate data to the insurance company data server;

receive reinspection data from the insurance company data server;

review the reinspection data; and

update the estimate data based on the reinspection data; and

a web server coupled to and in communication with the insurance company data server through which users interact with the vehicle insurance claim management application and the insurance claim system

16. The insurance claim system of claim 15, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

receive second assignment data from the insurance company data server, wherein the second assignment data includes information about a second customer, a corresponding second vehicle, and a corresponding second loss with the second vehicle;

translate the second assignment data into a format accepted by the vehicle insurance claim management application;

encrypt the second assignment data;

transfer the second assignment data to the vehicle repair estimating system;

receive second estimate data from the vehicle repair estimating system, wherein the second estimate data includes information about a second repair estimate for the second loss of the second vehicle;

translate the second estimate data into a format accepted by the vehicle insurance claim management application; and

encrypt the second estimate data.

17. The insurance claim system of claim 15, wherein the web server includes a claim processing system used to store the assignment data for further processing.

18. The insurance claim system of claim 15, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

provide a timeline indicating a plurality of milestone dates corresponding to a vehicle work request.

19. The insurance claim system of claim 15, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

provide an interactive calendar through which the vehicle repair shop schedules repair of a vehicle corresponding to a vehicle work request.

20. The insurance claim system of claim 15, wherein the vehicle insurance claim management application in communication with the insurance company data server and the vehicle repair estimating system causes the insurance claim system further to:

store and provide a performance metric for the vehicle repair shop as compared to other vehicle repair shops, wherein the performance metric includes a tier level and a ranking.