Computerized method and system for creating pre-configured claim reports including liability in an accident estimated using a computer system

• US 7,895,063 B2
• Filed: 11/27/2002
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Computer Sciences Corporation (DXC Technology Company)
• Original Assignee: Computer Sciences Corporation (DXC Technology Company)
• Inventors: Wiesman, Kimberly, Rourke, Kathleen E., Wahlbin, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): Morgan; Robert W
• Application Number:
  US10/306,866
• Publication Number:
  US 20040103009A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,009 Days
• Field of Search: 705 2- 3, 705/4
• US Class Current: 705/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• 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: G06Q 50/18 Legal services

Abstract

Computer-implemented methods and systems for creating pre-configured claim reports including estimated liability for a vehicle accident are provided. In an embodiment, claim information on a computer system required by a pre-configured claim report for an accident may be accessed from a database. In some embodiments, the claim information may be accessed if a user-specified condition is met. In other embodiments, the claim information may be accessed periodically following a user-specified time period. A pre-configured claim report may be created from the accessed claim information. In certain embodiments, the pre-configured claim report may be sent to a user-specified location.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

associating, in a memory of a computer system, one or more numerical factor shifts with one or more values of a braking factor, wherein the value of the braking factor is based on whether or not a reacting vehicle attempted to avoid the accident by braking;

assessing, using the computer system, an opportunity for a reacting vehicle in one or more vehicle accidents under consideration to have avoided the vehicle accident, wherein assessing the opportunity of the reacting vehicle in the vehicle accident under consideration to have avoided the accident comprises determining, for the vehicle accident under consideration, a value of a braking factor, wherein the value of the braking factor is based on whether or not the reacting vehicle attempted to avoid the accident by braking;

estimating, using the computer system, a contribution to liability of at least one party to at least one of the one or more vehicle accidents under consideration based on the opportunity of the reacting vehicle to avoid the vehicle accident, wherein estimating the contribution to liability of the at least one party in the vehicle accident under consideration comprises applying, to a base liability for the party, at least one of the one or more numerical factor shifts in the memory, wherein the at least one applied numerical factor shift comprises at least one numerical factor shift that matches the value of the determined braking factor for the vehicle accident under consideration;

accessing, for each of one or more vehicle accidents for which at least one user-specified condition is met, claim information relating to liability determinations performed by one or more claims adjusters within a claims organization for the accident, the claim information comprising information relating to settlement liability, wherein the claim information is accessed on a computer system from a database, wherein at least one of the vehicle accidents for which the user-specified condition is met is one of the one or more vehicle accidents under consideration;

the computer system automatically creating a pre-configured claim report for at least one vehicle accident of the one or more vehicle accidents for which the at least one user-specified condition is met, the pre-configured claim report comprising the accessed claim information; and

the computer system automatically sending the pre-configured claim report to management personnel of the claims organization at a user-specified location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one user-specified condition comprises one or more of the following:

settlement liability within a particular range, settlement liability less than a particular value, settlement liability greater than a particular value, particular magnitude of discrepancy between assigned liability and settlement liability, assignment of an absolute liability value, assignment of a particular accident type, assignment of a particular roadway configuration, assignment of a particular liability, assignment of a particular range of liability, or assignment of a particular liability for a particular factor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the claim information comprises a liability estimated by a computerized method of estimating liability in the accident.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the claim information is performed by a business intelligence tool.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the pre-configured claim report is performed by a business intelligence tool.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the claim information required by the pre-configured claim report comprises one or more of the following:

names of parties, adjuster identification, claim number, jurisdiction, accident details, liability assigned to parties, liability range assigned to parties.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the database is associated with a computerized method for estimating liability in a vehicle accident.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user-specified location comprises an electronic mailbox.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the user-specified location comprises a printer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one user-specified condition comprises a user-specified time period.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user-specified time period comprises one of the following:

daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims settled within the user-specified time period.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the claim report comprises information related to settled claims.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims having a particular range of settlement value.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims having a particular liability assignment.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims having a particular range of liability assignment.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one user-specified condition comprises a magnitude of discrepancy between a settlement liability and an assigned liability for the accident being greater than about 20 percent.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one user-specified condition comprises assignment of a particular roadway configuration.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the accident is a vehicle accident, wherein the at least one user-specified condition comprises assignment of a particular liability for a particular factor.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the pre-configured accident report comprises using at least one template, wherein the at least one template comprises two or more data access programs, wherein at least one of the data access programs is configured to access a specific type of claim information from the database.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating, in the memory of a computer system, one or more numerical factor shifts with one or more values of a speed factor, wherein the value of the speed factor is based on a comparison between a specified speed of a reacting vehicle with a speed for avoiding, wherein the specified speed is an actual speed, a safe speed, or a speed limit for an accident, wherein the speed for avoiding is an approximate speed that allows a reacting vehicle to avoid an accident;

wherein assessing the opportunity of the reacting vehicle in the at least one vehicle accident under consideration to have avoided the accident further comprises;

estimating a speed for avoiding for the vehicle accident under consideration, wherein the speed for avoiding is an approximate speed of the reacting vehicle that would allow the reacting vehicle to avoid the vehicle accident;

the computer system comparing a specified speed of a reacting vehicle in a the vehicle accident under consideration with the estimated speed for avoiding for the vehicle accident under consideration, wherein the specified speed is an actual speed, a safe speed, or a speed limit; and

determining, for the vehicle accident under consideration, a value of a speed factor;

wherein estimating the liability for the at least one party in the at least one vehicle accident under consideration comprises the computer system applying, to a base liability for the party, at least one of the one or more numerical factor shifts in the memory that is associated with a value of the speed factor that matches the value determined for the speed factor for the vehicle accident under consideration.

22. A system configured to estimate liability, comprising:

a CPU;

a data memory coupled to the CPU; and

a system memory coupled to the CPU, wherein the system memory is configured to store one or more computer programs executable by the CPU, and wherein the computer programs are executable to implement a method comprising;

associating, in the data memory, one or more numerical factor shifts with one or more values of a braking factor, wherein the value of the braking factor is based on whether or not a reacting vehicle attempted to avoid the accident by braking;

assessing an opportunity for a reacting vehicle in one or more vehicle accidents under consideration to have avoided the vehicle accident, wherein assessing the opportunity of the reacting vehicle in the vehicle accident under consideration to have avoided the accident comprises determining, for the vehicle accident under consideration, a value of a braking factor, wherein the value of the braking factor is based on whether or not the reacting vehicle attempted to avoid the accident by braking;

estimating a contribution to liability of at least one party in at least one of the one or more vehicle accidents under consideration based on the opportunity of the reacting vehicle to avoid the vehicle accident, wherein estimating the contribution to liability of the at least one party in the vehicle accident under consideration comprises applying, to a base liability for the party, at least one of the one or more numerical factor shifts in the memory, wherein the at least one applied numerical factor shift comprises at least one numerical factor shift that matches the value of the determined braking factor for the vehicle accident under consideration;

accessing, for each of one or more vehicle accidents for which at least one user-specified condition is met, claim information relating to liability determination performed by one or more claims adjusters within a claims organization for the accident, the claim information comprising information relating to settlement liability, wherein the claim information is accessed on the system from a database, wherein at least one of the vehicle accidents for which the user-specified condition is met is one of the one or more vehicle accidents under consideration;

automatically creating a pre-configured claim report for at least one vehicle accident of the one or more vehicle accidents for which the at least one user-specified condition is met, the pre-configured claim report comprising the accessed claim information; and

automatically sending the pre-configured claim report to management personnel of the claims organization at a user-specified location.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the at least one user-specified condition comprises one or more of the following:

settlement liability within a particular range, settlement liability less than a particular value, settlement liability greater than a particular value, assignment of an absolute liability value, assignment of a particular accident type, assignment of a particular roadway configuration, assignment of a particular liability, assignment of a particular range of liability, or assignment of a particular liability for a particular factor.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein accessing the claim information is performed by a business intelligence tool.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein creating the pre-configured claim report is performed by a business intelligence tool.

26. The system of claim 22, wherein the claim information required by the pre-configured claim report comprises one or more of the following:

names of parties, adjuster identification, claim number, jurisdiction, accident details, liability assigned to parties, and liability range assigned to parties.

27. The system of claim 22, wherein the user-specified location comprises an electronic mailbox.

28. The system of claim 22, wherein the user-specified location comprises a printer.

29. The system of claim 22, wherein the at least one user-specified condition comprises a user-specified time period.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the user-specified time period comprises one of the following:

daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims settled within the user-specified time period.

32. The system of claim 22, wherein the claim report comprises information related to settled claims.

33. The system of claim 22, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims having a particular range of settlement value.

34. The system of claim 22, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims having a particular liability assignment.

35. The system of claim 22, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims having a particular range of liability assignment.

36. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement a method comprising:

associating, in a memory of a computer system, one or more numerical factor shifts with one or more values of a braking factor, wherein the value of the braking factor is based on whether or not a reacting vehicle attempted to avoid the accident by braking;

assessing an opportunity for a reacting vehicle in one or more vehicle accidents under consideration to have avoided the vehicle accident, wherein assessing the opportunity of the reacting vehicle in the vehicle accident under consideration to have avoided the accident comprises determining, for the vehicle accident under consideration, a value of a braking factor, wherein the value of the braking factor is based on whether or not the reacting vehicle attempted to avoid the accident by braking;

estimating a contribution to liability of at least one party to at least one of the one or more vehicle accidents under consideration based on the opportunity of the reacting vehicle to avoid the vehicle accident, wherein estimating the contribution to liability of the at least one party in the vehicle accident under consideration comprises applying, to a base liability for the party, at least one of the one or more numerical factor shifts in the memory, wherein the at least one applied numerical factor shift comprises at least one numerical factor shift that matches the value of the determined braking factor for the vehicle accident under consideration;

accessing, for each of one or more vehicle accidents for which at least one user-specified condition is met, claim information relating to liability determination performed by one or more claims adjusters within a claims organization for the accident, the claim information comprising information relating to settlement liability, wherein the claim information is accessed on a computer system from a database, wherein at least one of the vehicle accidents for which the user-specified condition is met is one of the one or more vehicle accidents under consideration;

automatically creating a pre-configured claim report for at least one vehicle accident of the one or more vehicle accidents for which the at least one user-specified condition is met, the pre-configured claim report comprising the accessed claim information; and

automatically sending the pre-configured claim report to management personnel of the claims organization at a user-specified location.

37. The computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the at least one user-specified condition comprises one or more of the following:

settlement liability within a particular range, settlement liability less than a particular value, settlement liability greater than a particular value, particular magnitude of discrepancy between assigned liability and settlement liability, assignment of an absolute liability value, assignment of a particular accident type, assignment of a particular roadway configuration, assignment of a particular liability, assignment of a particular range of liability, or assignment of a particular liability for a particular factor.

38. The computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein accessing the claim information is performed by a business intelligence tool.

39. The computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the claim information required by the pre-configured claim report comprises one or more of the following:

names of parties, adjuster identification, claim number, jurisdiction, accident details, liability assigned to parties, and liability range assigned to parties.

40. The computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the at least one user-specified condition comprises a user-specified time period.

41. The computer readable storage medium of claim 40, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims settled within the user-specified time period.

42. The computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the claim report comprises information related to settled claims.

43. The computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims having a particular range of settlement value.

44. The computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims having a particular liability assignment.

45. The computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the claim report comprises information related to claims having a particular range of liability assignment.