Route risk mitigation

• US 8,606,512 B1
• Filed: 05/09/2008
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• 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, Julie A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatib, Rami
• Application Number:
  US12/118,021
• Time in Patent Office: 2,041 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/201, 701/202, 701/204, 701/1, 701/36, 701/400, 701/408, 701/409, 701/410, 701/414, 701/423, 701/424, 701/521, 701/300, 701/301, 701/302, 340/995.28, 340/425.5, 340/435, 340/436, 340/903, 340/3.41
• US Class Current: 701/423
• 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. An apparatus, comprising:

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

a telematics device, which is in communication with the processor, configured to monitor consumption of risk units; and

the memory containing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform steps comprising;

calculating a route from a start location to an end location;

receiving historical accident information comprising direction of vehicle travel at accident location, accident location, and accident loss information;

calculating a route risk score for the route, wherein the route risk score is calculated using at least the accident information, wherein vehicle direction through the route is a factor in calculating a route risk score for the route, wherein a 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;

sending the calculated route and the route risk score to an output device, wherein the route risk score indicates safety risk of the route independent of a specific driver;

calculating total risk units consumed while traveling from the start point to the end point of the calculated route; and

transmitting, using the telematics device, the total consumed risk units.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, where the memory stores a risk tolerance value, where the risk tolerance value is a factor in the calculating of the route risk score.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, where 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;

where the information accessed from an ancillary data store corresponds to at least one of;

road hazard, weather, and traffic.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the type of road comprises at least one of:

highway, city street, country road, parking lot, and bridge.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, where the output device comprises a speaker for alerting a driver of a high risk road segment.

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

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the telematics device comprises a global positioning satellite unit configured to determine a location of the telematics device.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is associated with a vehicle insurance policy with a total risk score, wherein the memory stores further computer-executable instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform steps comprising:

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

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

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the policy is terminated after providing the notification of the debit to the user'"'"'s account.

10. The apparatus 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 a vehicle, wherein a risk score for a segment is based on the vehicle direction through the road segment; and

aggregating the segment values, using the processor, to calculate a route risk score for the calculated route.

11. A method comprising:

receiving a start location at an input device in communication with a processor;

receiving an end location at the input device;

receiving historical accident information comprising direction of vehicle travel at accident location, accident location, and accident loss information;

retrieving a segment value for each of a plurality of road segments corresponding to a travel route of a vehicle from the start location to the end location, wherein a risk score for a segment is based on the vehicle direction through the road segment, wherein a road segment of the route has a higher risk score for a vehicle travelling in a first direction and the same road segment has a lower risk score for a vehicle traveling in a second direction, wherein the first direction and second direction are in opposite directions;

aggregating the segment values, using the processor, to calculate a route risk score for the travel route, wherein the route risk score is calculated using at least the accident information; and

sending the travel route and the route risk score to an output device in communication with the processor, wherein the route risk score indicates risk of a vehicular incident through the route independent of a specific driver;

calculating total risk units consumed while traveling from the start point to the end point of the travel route; and

transmitting, using a telematics device in communication with the processor and configured to monitor consumption of risk units, the total consumed risk units.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising;

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

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the route risk score is based at least in part on the historical accident information accessed from an ancillary data store;

wherein the historical accident information comprises direction of vehicle travel at the accident location and the accident loss information.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the output device offers a driver of the vehicle an incentive for avoiding a high risk road segment.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the route risk score is based at least in part on at least one of:

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

road hazard, weather, and traffic.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the output device comprises a speaker for alerting a driver of a high risk road segment.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the type of road comprises at least one of:

highway, city street, country road, parking lot, and bridge.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the telematics device comprises a global positioning satellite unit configured to determine a location of the telematics device.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the vehicle is associated with a vehicle insurance policy with a total risk score, wherein the method further comprises:

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

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

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the to calculating the route risk score for the travel route comprises:

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

aggregating the segment values, using the processor, to calculate a route risk score for the travel route.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause a computing device, which comprises a telematics device configured to monitor consumption of risk units, to perform steps comprising:

receiving a travel route of a vehicle, wherein the travel route comprises a start location and an end location;

receiving historical accident information comprising direction of vehicle travel at accident location, accident location, and accident loss information, wherein the route risk score is calculated using at least the accident information;

calculating a route risk score for the travel route, wherein the route risk score is calculated using at least the accident information, wherein vehicle direction is a factor in calculating the risk score for the travel route, wherein the risk score indicates safety risk of the route independent of a specific driver;

calculating total risk units consumed while traveling from the start point to the end point of the travel route;

transmitting, using the telematics device, the total consumed risk units; and

transmitting the calculated route risk score using the processor.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein a road segment of the travel route has a higher risk score for a vehicle travelling in a first direction and the same road segment has a lower risk score for a vehicle traveling in a second direction, and wherein the transmitting is performed by a telematics device in the vehicle.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the telematics device comprises a global positioning satellite unit configured to determine a location of the telematics device.