SYSTEN AND METHOD FOR VERIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION

Abstract: A system for verification and authorisation comprises a repository of insurance data relating to insurance contracts between any one of a number of insurers and any one of a number of insured parties, a communication network between the repository and the plurality of providers, and an enquiry facility for accessing the data in the repository and for generating response data in reply to a verification or an authentication request received along the communication network.

Description: SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VERIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a system and to a method for verification and authentication of commercial transactions and, more specifically, but not exclusively, to a system and to a method for verification and authentication of insurance transactions and the like. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION In the description which follows, the invention will be described with particular reference to its use in the verification of insurance transaction. It is to be clearly understood, however, that the invention is not limited to this particular application. Fraudulent insurance claims are commonplace and the cost of such fraudulent claims in South Africa is estimated at several hundreds of millions of Rand per annum. This level of fraud has caused insurers to become increasingly suspicious about all claims for compensation for loss, leading to an increase in the average time taken to settle claims, as well as the repudiation of legitimate claims by insured parties. On the other hand, such high levels of fraudulent claims inevitably result in increased insurance premiums, which tends to decrease the pool of individuals or businesses which can afford insurance cover, and which might otherwise opt for self-insurance, further compounding the problem of affordability of insurance. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide a system and a method for verification and authentication which will, at least partially, alleviate the abovementioned difficulties and disadvantages. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with this invention, there is provided a system for verification and authentication, comprising: a repository of data relating to contracts between any one of a plurality of providers and any one of a plurality of parties provided for; a communication network between the repository and the plurality of providers; and an enquiry facility operable to access the data in the repository and to generate therefrom response data in reply to a verification or an authentication request received along the communication network. Further features of the invention provide for each one of the plurality of providers to have access to the enquiry facility by means of at least one respective data terminal connected to the communication network, for a verification or authentication request to be submitted to the enquiry facility by a user of the system at one of the data terminals, and for the response data generated by the enquiry facility in response to the verification or authentication request to be transmitted along the communication network to the data terminal from which the request was submitted. Still further features of the invention provide for data in the repository to be partitioned according to the provider to which the corresponding contract relates, for the insurance data in each partition to be directly accessible only by an authorised representative of the provider to which the data relates, and for the system to include a download facility enabling each one of the plurality of providers to update the data in its corresponding partition in the repository. Yet further features of the invention provide for the providers to be insurers, for the parties provided for to be insured parties, and for the contracts to be insurance contracts. There is further provided for the insurance data to include, for each insurance contract, an identity of the insured party, an address of the insured party, a description of an underlying insured property, the status of the insurance contract, tøe status being active when the insurance contract is in force, and lapsed when the insurance contract has terminated, and a claims history associated with the insurance contract, for each claim associated with the insurance contract to include a description of the loss or damage to the insured property and a corresponding police reference code where the loss or damage arises out of a criminal act, for the insured property to be a motor vehicle, and for the insurance data for a motor vehicle to include the registration, engine and chassis numbers, of the motor vehicle, and the particulars of a licence of an authorised driver of the motor vehicle. There is still further provided for the authentication or verification request submitted to the enquiry facility to relate to the claims history of a particular insured party, or whether a particular insured property is insured with more than one of the plurality of insurers, or whether a claim for a particular loss or damage to the insured property has been submitted to more than one insurer. There is yet further provided for the communication network to also connect the repository of insurance data to a number of financial institutions providing finance for insured property listed in the repository of insurance data, for an authentication or verification request submitted to the enquiry facility to relate to whether a particular item of property is insured, to request the status of an insurance contract for a particular insured property, or whether a particular insured property is financed by more than one financial institution. There is also provided for the communication network to also connect the repository of insurance data to a number of databases, for the number of databases to include any one or more of a national population register, a national corporations register, a national vehicle register, a national firearms register, a police stolen vehicle recovery register, credit bureax and telecommunication network operators, and for the enquiry facility to have read-only access to the number of databases. There is also provided for the communication network to be the Internet, for data transmitted along the communication network to be encrypted, and for the system to include an archive facility for storing insurance data relating to lapsed insurance contracts. The invention extends to a method for verification and authentication, comprising the steps of: providing a repository of data relating to insurance contracts between any one of a plurality of providers and anyone of a plurality of parties provided for; providing a communication network between the repository and the plurality of providers; submitting a verification or an authentication request to an enquiry facility operable to access the data in the repository; and generating therefrom response data in reply to the verification or authentication request. There is further provided for accessing the enquiry facility by means of at least one data terminal connected to the communication network, for submitting the verification or authentication request at the at least one data terminal, and for transmitting the response data generated by the enquiry facility along the communication network to the data terminal from which the request was submitted. There is still further provided for partitioning the data according to the providers to which the corresponding contract relates, for legislating access to the data in each partition by means of a corresponding access code, and for updating the data in the partitions at selectable intervals. There is yet further provided for the providers to be insurers, for the parties provided for to be insured parties, and for the contracts to be insurance contracts. There is also provided for connecting the repository of insurance data by means of the communication network to a number of financial institutions providing finance for insured property listed in the repository, and for connecting the repository of insurance data by means of the communication network to a number of databases, and for the number of databases to include any one or more of a natural population register, a national corporations register, a national vehicle register, a national firearms register, a police stolen vehicle recovery register, credit bureaux and telecommunication network operators. There is also provided for encrypting data transmitted along the communication network, and for archiving in a storage means data in the repository relating to lapsed insurance contracts in a storage means. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG.1 is a schematic representation of a system for verification and authentication of insurance transactions according to the invention; and FIG.2 is a schematic representation of the system of Figure 1 shown in greater detail. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to Figures 1 and 2, in which like features of the invention are indicated by like numerals, a system for verification and authentication of insurance transactions is indicated generally by reference numeral (1). The system (1) includes a repository (2) of data in the form of a database containing insurance data relating to insurance contracts between any one of a plurality of insurers (3) and any one of a plurality of insured parties (now shown). The database (2) is connected to each one of the plurality of insurers (3) through a communication network (4) in the form of a Wide Area Network (WAN). An enquiry facility (5) is interposed between the database (2) and the communication network (4). The enquiry facility (5) receives verification or authentication requests along the communication network (4) and is operable to access the insurance data in the database (2) and to generate response data in reply to the verification or authentication requests received by it. The enquiry facility is preferably a database server such as the well-known SQL database server. Each one of the plurality of insurers (3) has access to the enquiry facility (5) by means of one or more respective data terminals (6) connected to the communication network (4). In use, an authentication or a verification request is submitted to the database server (5) by a user of the system (1) at one of the data terminals (6). Response data generated by the enquiry facility (5) in response to verification or authentication request received along the communication network (4) is returned along the communication network to the data terminal (6) from which the verification or authentication request was submitted. Referring now to Figure 2, insurance data in the database (2) is partitioned into partitions (7) according to the insurer (3) to which the insurance contracts relate. The insurance data is partitioned in this manner to provide that any particular insurer (3) does not have access to confidential insurance data relating to insurance contracts to which it is not a party. An access control facility (8) legislates access to the partitions (7) of the database (2) and ensures that insurance data in each partition is directly accessible only by an authorised representative of the insurer (3) to which the insurance data in the partition relates. It is envisaged that each insurer (3) is able to exercise complete control over the insurance data in its corresponding partition (7) in the database (2) and that the system (1) includes a download facility enabling each one of the insurers (3) to update the insurance data in its corresponding partition in the database at desired times. T is enables insurers (3) to update the insurance data in the partitions (7) on a daily basis to reflect any amendments to existing insurance contracts, new contracts which have come into existence during a business day, or insurance contracts which have lapsed. Although there is no restriction on the type of insurance data which an insurer (3) may store in its partition in the database (2), it is envisaged that the insurance data will include, in respect of each insurance contract, an identity of the insured party under the insurance contract, address of the insured party, a description of an underlying insured property, and the status of the insurance contract, the status being active when the insurance contract is in force, and lapsed when the insurance contract has terminated. It is also envisaged that an insurer (3) will also store in the partition a claims history associated with each insurance contract, and for each claim associated with then insurance contract to include a description of the loss or damage to the insured property, and corresponding police reference code in instances where the loss or damage has arisen out of a criminal act. In instances where the insurance contract relates to a motor vehicle, the insurance data for the motor vehicle includes the registration, engine and chassis numbers of the motor vehicle, and the licence particulars of authorised drivers of the motor vehicle. The Wide ea Network (4) also connects the database (2) to a number of financial institutions (8) which provide finance for insured property listed in the database (2) of insurance data. Further, the WAN (4) is also connected to a number of additional databases (9), generally compiled and operated by federal or state agencies. These additional databases (8) include any one or more of a national population register, a national corporations register, a national vehicle register, a national firearms register, a police stolen vehicle recovery register, various credit bureaux, and telecommunication network operators. T e enquiry facility (5) may also access data in the additional databases (9) in a read only manner in order to generate response data in reply to a verification or an authentication request received along the communication network (4). In use, a user of the system submits an authorisation or a verification request to the system at one of the data terminals (3). The type authentication or verification request submitted is dependent on the objective of the user but will, typically, relate to the claims history of a particular insured party, or whether a particular insured property is insured with more than one of the plurality of insurers (3), or whether a claim for a particular loss or damage to the insured property has been submitted to more than one of the plurality of insurers. Authentication or verifications requests submitted to the enquiry facility (5) by one of the financial institutions (8) will be of a different nature, for example, to determine whether a particular item of property such as a specific motor vehicle is insured, to request the status of an insured contract for a particular item of insured property, or to determine whether a particular item of insured property is financed by more than one financial institution (8). The additional databases (9) are accessed by the enquiry facility (5) as necessary to generate appropriate response data in reply to an authorisation or a verification request submitted to the system (1). It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this integrated nature of the embodiment of the system (1) as described above will facilitate the detection and the reduction of fraudulent insurance transactions. In particular, the system (1) will enable, insurance institutions (3) to detect and prevent multiple insurance of items of insured property and will enable insurers to verify the prior claims history of insured parties who wish to enter into an insurance contract. Further, the system (1) will conveniently allow financial institutions to verify on an ongoing basis that items of insured property for which they have provided finance are adequately insured at all times during the period for which the property is financed. Numerous modifications are possible to this embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, the communication network (4) may be the Internet as opposed to a Wide Area Network. Further, data transmitted along the communication network may be encrypted in order to provide increased levels of security and confidentiality of information, and the system (1) may, optionally, include an archive facility for storing insurance data relating to lapsed insurance contracts. The invention therefore provides a comprehensive and integrated system which may be conveniently applied by insurers, financial institutions and governmental agencies to reduce the incidence of insurance fraud.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A system for verification and authentication, comprising: a repository of data relating to contracts between any one of a plurality of providers and any one of a plurality of parties provided for; a communication network between the repository and the plurality of providers; and an enquiry facility operable to access the data in the repository and to generate therefrom response data in reply to a verification or an authentication request received along the communication network. 2. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 1 in which each one of the plurality of providers has access to the enquiry facility by means of at least one respective data terminal connected to the communication network. 3. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 2 in which a verification or authentication request is submitted to the enquiry facility by a user of the system at one of the data terminals. 4. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 3 in which the response data generated by the enquiry facility in response to the verification or authentication request is transmitted along the communication network to the data terminal from which the request was submitted. 5. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which insurance data in the repository is partitioned according to the provider to which the corresponding contract relates. 6. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 5 in which the insurance data in each partition is directly accessible only by an authorised representative of the provider to which the data relates. 7. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in either one of claims 5 or 6 which includes a download facility enabling each one of the plurality of providers to update the data in its corresponding partition in the repository. 8. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 in which the providers are insurers, the parties provided for are insured parties, and the contracts are insurance contracts. 9. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 8 in which the insurance data includes for each insurance contract, an identity of the insured party, an address of the insured party, a description of an underlying insured property, the status of the insurance contract the status being active when the insurance contract is in force, and lapsed when the insurance contract has terminated, and a claims history associated with the insurance contract. 10. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 9 in which each claim associated with the insurance contract includes a description of the loss or damage to the insured property and a corresponding police reference code where the loss or damage arises out of a criminal act. 11. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in either one of claims 9 or 10 in which the insured property is a motor vehicle. 12. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 11 in which the insurance data for a motor vehicle includes the registration, engine and chassis numbers, of the motor vehicle, and the particulars of a licence of an authorised driver of the motor vehicle. 13. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12 in which the authentication or verification request submitted to the enquiry facility relates to the claims history of a particular insured party. 14. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12 in which the authorisation or verification request relates to whether a particular insured property is insured with more than one of the plurality of insurers. 15. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12 in which the authorisation or verification request relates or whether a claim for a particular loss or damage to the insured property has been submitted to more than one insurer. 16. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12 in which the communication network connects the repository of insurance data to a number of financial institutions providing finance for insured property listed in the repository of insurance data. 17. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 16 in which an authorisation or verification request submitted to the enquiry facility relates to whether a particular item of property is insured. 18 A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 16 in which an authorisation or verification request relates to a request the status of an insurance contract for a particular insured property. 19. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 17 in which an authorisation or verification request relates to whether a particular insured property is financed by more than one financial institution. 20. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 19 in which the communication network connects the repository of insurance data to a number of databases. 21 A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 20 in which the number of databases includes any one or more of a national population register, a national corporations register, a national vehicle register, a national firearms register, a police stolen vehicle recovery register, credit bureax and telecommunication network operators. 22. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in either of claims 20 to 21 in which the enquiry facility has read-only access to the number of databases. 23. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the communication network is the Internet. 24. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which data transmitted along the communication network is encrypted. 25. A system for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 9 which includes an archive facility for storing insurance data relating to lapsed insurance contracts. 26. A method for verification and authentication, comprising the steps of: providing a repository of data relating to contracts between any one of a plurality of providers and anyone of a plurality of parties provided for; providing a communication network between the repository and the plurality of providers; submitting a verification or an authentication request to an enquiry facility operable to access the data in the repository; and generating therefrom response data in reply to the verification or authentication request. 27. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 26 which includes the step of accessing the enquiry facility by means of at least one data terminal connected to the communication network. 28. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 27 which includes the further step of submitting the verification or authentication request at the at least one data terminal. 29. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 28 which includes the additional step of transmitting the response data generated by the enquiry facility along the communication network to the data terminal from which the request was submitted. 30. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 28 in which the data is partitioned according to the providers to which the corresponding contract relates. 31. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 30 which includes the step of legislating access to the data in each partition by means of a corresponding access code. 32. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in either one of claims 30 or 31 in which the insurance data in the partitions is updated at selectable intervals. 33. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 32 in which the providers are insurers, the parties provided for are insured parties, and the contracts are insurance contracts. 34. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 33 which includes the step of connecting the repository of insurance data by means of the communication network to a number of financial institutions providing finance for insured property listed in the repository. 35. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of claims 33 or 34 which includes the step of connecting the repository of insurance data by means of the communication network to a number of databases. 36. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in claim 35 in which the number of databases include any one or more of a natural population register, a national corporations register, a national vehicle register, a national firearms register, a police stolen vehicle recovery register, credit bureaux and telecommunication network operators. 37. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 36 which includes the step of encrypting data transmitted along the communication network. 38. A method for verification and authorisation as claimed in any one of claims 26 to 37 which includes the step of archiving in a storage means data in the repository relating to lapsed insurance contracts in a storage means. 39. A system for verification and authorisation, substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 40. A method for verification and authorisation, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: GILBERT JENNY MAY, GILBERT, JENNY, MAY
Applicants: GILBERT JENNY MAY, GILBERT, JENNY, MAY
Application year: 1999
Main classification: G06F17
IPC codes: G06Q30