Methods and apparatus for selecting an insurance carrier for an online insurance policy purchase
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus structured to select a business insurance carrier from a plurality of insurance carriers, the apparatus comprising:
- an Internet receiver;
an Internet transmitter;
a memory device storing information for the plurality of insurance carriers and a plurality of kill questions, wherein each kill question is associated with at least one of the insurance carriers;
a web page generator operatively coupled to the Internet receiver, the Internet transmitter, and the memory device, the web page generator being structured to transmit a first web page to a client device via the Internet transmitter, the first web page including standard industrial code (SIC) prompt and a zip code prompt, the web page generator being further structured to transmit a second web page to the client device via Internet transmitter, the second web page including at least one of the kill questions;
an insurance carrier determination module operatively coupled to the Internet receiver and the memory device, the insurance carrier determination module being structured to select a subset of the plurality of insurance carriers from the memory device based on a standard industrial code and a zip code input in the first web page at the client device and received via the Internet receiver the insurance carrier determination module being further structured to select at least one candidate insurance carrier from the subset of insurance carriers based on responses to the at least one kill question input in the second web page at the client device and received via the Internet receiver; and
a kill question selector operatively coupled to the memory device, the kill question selector being structured to retrieve at least one kill question from the memory device, wherein the at least one retrieved kill question is associated with the insurance carriers in the subset of insurance carriers and used by the web page generator in generating the second web page.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for selecting an insurance carrier for an online insurance policy purchase are disclosed. A user at a client device, such as a personal computer connected to the Internet, receives a plurality of business insurance quotes with minimal data input requirements. A plurality of insurance carriers are narrowed down to a few relevant insurance carriers based on geographic location, type of business, desired insurance products, responses to a small number of “kill” questions, and a customized insurance application which is dynamically generated in response to previous answers.
53 Citations
23 Claims
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1. An apparatus structured to select a business insurance carrier from a plurality of insurance carriers, the apparatus comprising:
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an Internet receiver; an Internet transmitter; a memory device storing information for the plurality of insurance carriers and a plurality of kill questions, wherein each kill question is associated with at least one of the insurance carriers; a web page generator operatively coupled to the Internet receiver, the Internet transmitter, and the memory device, the web page generator being structured to transmit a first web page to a client device via the Internet transmitter, the first web page including standard industrial code (SIC) prompt and a zip code prompt, the web page generator being further structured to transmit a second web page to the client device via Internet transmitter, the second web page including at least one of the kill questions; an insurance carrier determination module operatively coupled to the Internet receiver and the memory device, the insurance carrier determination module being structured to select a subset of the plurality of insurance carriers from the memory device based on a standard industrial code and a zip code input in the first web page at the client device and received via the Internet receiver the insurance carrier determination module being further structured to select at least one candidate insurance carrier from the subset of insurance carriers based on responses to the at least one kill question input in the second web page at the client device and received via the Internet receiver; and a kill question selector operatively coupled to the memory device, the kill question selector being structured to retrieve at least one kill question from the memory device, wherein the at least one retrieved kill question is associated with the insurance carriers in the subset of insurance carriers and used by the web page generator in generating the second web page. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of selling business insurance, the method comprising:
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transmitting a standard industrial code (SIC) prompt and a zip code prompt to a client device via a network; receiving standard industrial code information and zip code information from the client device via the network; selecting a subset of a plurality of available insurance carriers based on the standard industrial code information and the zip code information; retrieving kill questions associated with the insurance carriers in the subset of insurance carriers from a memory device; transmitting the retrieved kill questions to the client device via the network; receiving responses to the kill questions from the client device via the network; and selecting at least one candidate insurance carrier from the subset of insurance carriers based on the responses to the kill questions. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus structured to sell an insurance policy, the apparatus comprising:
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an Internet receiver; an Internet transmitter; a processing unit operatively coupled to the Internet receiver and the Internet transmitter; and a memory device operatively coupled to the processing unit, the memory device storing a software program structured to cause the processing unit to; transmit a standard industrial code (SIC) prompt and a zip code prompt via the Internet transmitter; select a subset of a plurality of available insurance carriers in response to receiving standard industrial code information and zip code information via the Internet receiver; retrieve kill questions associated with the insurance carriers in the subset of available insurance carriers from the memory device; transmit the retrieved kill questions via the Internet transmitter; and select at least one candidate insurance carrier from the subset of available insurance carriers based on responses to the kill questions received via the Internet receiver. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of selling business insurance, the method comprising:
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transmitting a standard industrial code (SIC) prompt and a zip code prompt for preliminary insurance carrier selection information to a client device via a network; receiving preliminary carrier selection information from the client device via the network; selecting a subset of a plurality of available insurance carriers based on the preliminary carrier selection information; retrieving kill questions associated with the insurance carriers in the subset of insurance carriers from a memory device; transmitting the retrieved kill questions to the client device via the network; receiving responses to the kill questions from the client device via the network; and selecting at least one candidate insurance carrier from the subset of insurance carriers based on the responses to the kill questions. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a software program structured to cause an Internet server to:
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transmit standard industrial code (SIC) prompt and a zip code prompt; select a subset of a plurality of available insurance carriers in response to receiving standard industrial code information and zip code information; retrieve kill questions associated with the insurance carriers in the subset of insurance carriers; transmit the retrieved kill questions; and select at least one candidate insurance carrier from the subset of insurance carriers based on responses to the kill questions. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification