Route Risk Mitigation

• US 20180082383A1
• Filed: 11/30/2017
• Published: 03/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate Corporation)
• Inventors: Bogovich, Jason Brian, Jordan Peters, Julie A.
• Granted Patent: US 10,872,380 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3415 Dynamic re-routing, e.g. recalculating the route when the user deviates from calculated route or after detecting real-time traffic data or accidents
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096816 where the complete route is transmitted to the vehicle at once
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096838 where the user preferences are taken into account or the user selects one route out of a plurality
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]

Abstract

A method is disclosed for mitigating the risks associated with driving by assigning risk values to road segments and using those risk values to select less risky travel routes. Various approaches to helping users mitigate risk are presented. A computing device is configured to generate a database of risk values. That device may receive accident information, geographic information, vehicle information, and other information from one or more data sources and calculate a risk value for the associated road segment. Subsequently, the computing device may provide the associated risk value to other devices. Furthermore, a personal navigation device may receive travel route information and use that information to retrieve risk values for the road segments in the travel route. An insurance company may use this information to determine whether to adjust a quote or premium of an insurance policy. This and other aspects relating to using geographically encoded information to promote and reward risk mitigation are disclosed.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a location detection device located in a vehicle and monitoring a current location of the vehicle during travel along a travel route; and

a personal computing device located in the vehicle comprising;

a processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in a memory;

the memory containing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the personal computing device to;

calculate a route of the vehicle from a start location to an end location based on locations received from the location detection device;

identify a plurality of roads comprising the route of the vehicle;

determine, based on historical accident information, a length of each of a plurality of road segments for each road comprising the route of the vehicle;

calculating a route risk score for the route of the vehicle, wherein vehicle direction through each road segment of the route is a factor in calculating a route risk score for the route, wherein at least one road segment of the route has a higher risk score for the vehicle travelling in a first direction and a lower risk score for the vehicle traveling in a second direction, wherein the first direction and second direction are in opposite directions;

display the calculated route and the route risk score on an output device, wherein the route risk score indicates safety risk of the route; and

adjust the route risk score upon completion of the travel route based on external vehicle conditions experienced during travel along the route.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the personal computing device to adjust the route risk score based on traffic conditions experienced while the vehicle travels along the travel route.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the personal computing device to adjust the route risk score based on weather conditions experienced while the vehicle travels along the travel route.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the personal computing device to adjust the route risk score based on weather conditions and travel conditions experienced while the vehicle travels along the travel route.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the route risk score is based at least in part on at least one of:

a type of road in the route, a number of turns in the route, and information accessed from an ancillary data store, wherein the information accessed from an ancillary data store corresponds to at least one of;

road hazard, weather, and traffic.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the output device offers a driver an incentive for avoiding a high risk road segment.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the location device comprises a global positioning system computing device.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein a vehicle insurance policy is associated with a total number of risk units, wherein the memory stores further computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the personal computing device to perform steps comprising:

after receiving a notification of arrival at an end location of the route, causing a deduction of the route risk score from the total risk units of the vehicle insurance policy; and

when the total risk units remaining on the vehicle insurance policy is less than the route risk score for a completed route, providing a notification of a debit to a user'"'"'s account to cover remaining risk units.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the total risk units correspond to an initial assumption of risk to be consumed in a policy period.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the total risk units correspond to an amount of risk consumed in a preceding policy period.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein a vehicle insurance policy is associated with a total number of risk units, wherein the memory stores further computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the personal computing device to perform steps comprising:

after receiving a notification of arrival at an end location by way of the route, causing an addition to the total number of risk units of the vehicle insurance policy corresponding to an amount of risk units of a completed route; and

when a policy period expires, determining a cost of the insurance policy based on the total number of risk units.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the calculating the route from the start location to the end location comprises:

retrieving a segment value for each of a plurality of road segments corresponding to the route of the vehicle, wherein a risk score for a particular segment is based on the vehicle direction through the road segment; and

aggregating segment values of each of the plurality of road segments, using the processor, to calculate the route risk score for the calculated route.

13. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device in a vehicle, a start location at an input device in communication with a processor of the computing device;

receiving an end location at the input device;

calculating a travel route of the vehicle from a start location to an end location based on locations received from a location detection device;

identifying a plurality of roads comprising the route of the vehicle;

determining, based on historical accident information, a length of each of a plurality of road segments for each road comprising the route of the vehicle;

calculating a route risk score for the route of the vehicle while the vehicle travels along the travel route, wherein vehicle direction through each road segment of the route is a factor in calculating a route risk score for the route, wherein at least one road segment of the route has a higher risk score for a vehicle travelling in a first direction and a lower risk score for a vehicle traveling in a second direction, wherein the first direction and second direction are in opposite directions;

displaying the calculated route and the route risk score on an output device, wherein the route risk score indicates safety risk of the route; and

adjusting the route risk score upon completion of the travel route based on external vehicle conditions experienced during travel along the route.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

after receiving a notification of arrival at the end location by way of the calculated travel route from the location detection device, causing a deduction of route risk units from a total risk units of a vehicle insurance policy.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the route risk score is based at least in part on historical accident information accessed from an ancillary data store, wherein the historical accident information comprises direction of vehicle travel at an accident location and accident loss information.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising identifying, based on location information received from the location detection device, whether the vehicle travels a high risk road segment or an alternate route segment having a lower risk value, wherein the output device offers a driver of the vehicle an incentive for avoiding the high risk road segment.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising comparing of total consumed risk units to an estimated number of risk units is performed during a vehicle insurance policy period.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the comparing of the total consumed risk units to the estimated number of risk units is performed after an end of the vehicle insurance policy period.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the computing device includes a global positioning satellite unit configured to determine a location of the vehicle.

20. A system comprising:

a vehicle;

a global positioning system device located in a vehicle and monitoring a current location of the vehicle during travel along a travel route; and

a personal computing device located in the vehicle comprising;

a processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in a memory;

the memory containing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the personal computing device to;

calculate a route of the vehicle from a start location to an end location based on locations received from the global positioning system device;

identify a plurality of roads comprising the route of the vehicle;

determine, based on historical accident information, a length of each of a plurality of road segments for each road comprising the route of the vehicle;

calculating a route risk score for the route of the vehicle, wherein vehicle direction through each road segment of the route is a factor in calculating a route risk score for the route, wherein at least one road segment of the route has a higher risk score for the vehicle travelling in a first direction and a lower risk score for the vehicle traveling in a second direction, wherein the first direction and second direction are in opposite directions;

display the calculated route and the route risk score on an output device, wherein the route risk score indicates safety risk of the route;

adjust the route risk score upon completion of the travel route based on external vehicle conditions experienced during travel along the route; and

adjust the route risk score based on weather conditions and travel conditions experienced while the vehicle travels along the travel route.