Abstract:
The present invention relates generally to systems, methods and software applications for storing, retrieving, and displaying information. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing a comprehensive, interactive tool for storing, retrieving, and displaying agent identifying information and agent commission information. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of: receiving agent identifying information and agent commission information; analyzing and sorting the received agent identifying information and agent commission information; saving the agent identifying information and the agent commission information; providing an interactive display of the agent identifying information and the agent commission information; providing interactive access to a display of detailed agent identifying information; and providing interactive access to a display of detailed agent commission information.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to a system, method and software application for storing, retrieving, and displaying information. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system, method and software application which allows for the interactive storage, retrieval, and display of agent identifying information and agent commission information. The present invention allows users to more easily and conveniently access and verify agent identifying information and agent commission information. 
         [0002]    Insurance companies generally offer a wide variety of insurance and financial plans suited for various types of individuals and circumstances. To offer and manage these plans, insurance companies generally rely on great numbers of agents and insurance agents (hereafter collectively referred to as “agents”) to sell and issue insurance policies to individual policy holders on their behalf. Each insurance company authorizes its agents to write policies on its behalf by way of an appointment. 
         [0003]    Generally, an appointment is a legal authorization which allows an agent to act on behalf of an appointing insurance company and to enter into specific agreements with policy holders on its behalf. Generally, each agent is appointed for a given time, within a given state, with the authority to sell a particular set of products. Commonly, a single appointed agent can be responsible for creating millions of dollars in financial obligations for an appointing insurance company. 
         [0004]    To assist in tracking each of their agents, appointing companies generally use a variety of agent identifying information. This agent identifying information generally includes assigned writing codes or other identifying numbers such as birth dates, social security numbers and the like. Additionally, agent identifying information may include other information such as an agent&#39;s name, address, telephone number and the like. 
         [0005]    Insurance agents are generally paid commissions based upon the various terms and conditions of the policies they write and the commission schedules in their sales contracts. Among the pieces of information which may effect the payment and the amount of a commission are: the estimated commission processing date, which determines when a commission becomes payable; the face amount of policy written; the premium paid for the policy; the category or mode of the premium; the issue age of the policy; and the split percentage of the commission, if any. Each of these factors are generally combined by insurance companies to establish a gross commissionable amount which is multiplied by a specific commission rate agreed upon by the agent and the insurance company. By multiplying the gross commissionable amount by the commission rate, insurance companies and their agents generally determine a gross commission which is payable to the soliciting agent. Collectively, each piece of information used to derive an agent&#39;s commission may be included in the term agent commission information. 
         [0006]    Presently, insurance companies track agent commission information and agent identifying information by maintaining and updating a set of paper files with the support of a computerized database system. Generally, direct access to information on this system is limited to administrators directly responsible for updating and maintaining these records. When updates are required, generally the responsible administrators make all of the necessary changes manually and then generate a letter or a phone call to the affected agent confirming the change. When the agent wishes to make a change or obtain information, the agent is responsible for calling or writing the insurance company to effect the change and the company, through its administrators, then updates its files accordingly. 
         [0007]    As may be apparent, the present system for tracking agent identifying information and agent commission information has several drawbacks which makes it inadequate to manage large numbers of agents. First, the present system requires large numbers of people to oversee and manage the files and information for each agent. This makes the present system very expensive and burdensome on appointing companies. Secondly, even when the present system is properly staffed and maintained, the system still requires frequent contact between the appointing company and its agents. Thirdly, even with frequent contact, the present system is highly paper intensive and requires both the agent and their appointing companies to independently maintain and track agent identifying information and agent commission information. This results in the present system being very prone to human error and communication breakdowns. 
         [0008]    Accordingly, there is a strong need in the insurance industry for a system which reduces the time and effort required to manage agent identifying information and agent commission information. Additionally, there is a strong need for a system which allows individual agents to easily access their agent identifying information and agent commission information. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention overcomes the problems noted above and provides additional advantages, by providing a system, method and software application which enables users to interactively store, retrieve, and display agent identifying information and agent commission information. 
         [0010]    According to the present invention, agent identifying information and agent commission information are able to be accessed and displayed so that remote users can manage and track agents and their commission generating activities. Additionally, both agents and their appointing companies may access and display the status of agents and their commission generating activities in near real time. 
         [0011]    Additionally, the present invention also provides various other options to users such as: access to selected forms and various printing and reporting options. By providing the above described features in a comprehensive, user friendly manner, the present invention optimizes the efficiency of the entire agent and commission tracking processes. 
         [0012]    Additional advantages of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of instrumentalities and combinations, particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
         [0013]    To achieve the advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, in its broadest aspects, the present invention relates to providing an interactive tool for storing, retrieving, and displaying agent identifying information and agent commission information. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of: receiving agent identifying information and agent commission information; analyzing and sorting the received agent identifying information and agent commission information; saving the agent identifying information and the agent commission information; providing an interactive display of the agent identifying information and the agent commission information; providing interactive access to a display of detailed agent identifying information; and providing interactive access to a display of detailed agent commission information. 
         [0014]    In another aspect, the invention comprises a computer readable medium including a software application for enabling interactive access to agent identifying information and agent commission information. The software application comprises: one or more instructions for receiving agent identifying information and agent commission information; one or more instructions for analyzing and sorting the received agent identifying information and agent commission information; one or more instructions for saving the agent identifying information and the agent commission information; one or more instructions for providing an interactive display of the agent identifying information and the agent commission information; one or more instructions for providing interactive access to a display of detailed agent identifying information; and one or more instructions for providing interactive access to a display of detailed agent commission information. 
         [0015]    In yet another aspect, the present invention comprises a server system for providing access to agent identifying information and agent commission information, wherein the system comprises: a receiving element for receiving agent identifying information and agent commission information; a processing element for analyzing and sorting the received agent identifying information and agent commission information; a saving element for saving the agent identifying information and the agent commission information; a displaying element for providing an interactive display of the agent identifying information and the agent commission information; a first interface element for providing interactive access to a display of detailed agent identifying information; and a second interface element for providing interactive access to a display of detailed agent commission information. 
         [0016]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, together with the description, serve to further explain the principles of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    The present invention can be understood more completely by reading the following Detailed Description of exemplary embodiments, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  is a simplified schematic representation illustrating one example of a computer network configuration for use with one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating the steps in a preferred method for providing access to agent identifying information and agent commission information; 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a preferred embodiment of one example of a proposed interactive display for providing interactive access to agent identifying information and agent commission information; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  is a preferred embodiment of a proposed agent data screen for providing interactive access to agent identifying information and agent commission information; 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  is a preferred embodiment of an agent commission detail data screen for providing interactive access to agent commission information; 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0023]    Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to corresponding elements. 
         [0024]    The system, method, and software application of the present invention described below, are preferably implemented by an interactive computer software application incorporated within a computer-readable medium such as a hard disk drive, an optical medium such as a compact disk, or the like. Further, the computer-readable medium may be available to a user either locally on the user&#39;s computer or remotely over a computer network, such as a local area network (LAN) or through the Internet. The inventive computer software application is designed to receive agent identifying information and agent commission information. The software application then analyzes the agent identifying information and agent commission information and stores it in a convenient, easily accessible and useful manner. Once stored, access to the agent identifying information and agent commission information is preferably provided through an interactive display such through an Internet or an intranet web page. 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  illustrates an example network arrangement  18  employing the method and system of the present invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment. It should be understood that the present invention operates independent of any particular arrangement or mix of network components and that the network arrangement  18  depicted in  FIG. 1  is purely illustrative and simplified for the purpose of explanation. 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the example network arrangement  18  comprises an application server  20 , a database server  22 , a network terminal  7 , and a plurality of remote terminals  24 ,  28 , and  30 . The application server  20  may be any network, Internet, or enterprise server capable of hosting or supporting Internet and/or network access. According to a preferred embodiment, the application server  20  is run using software such as a Netscape Enterprise Server 3.6.2™ application and a Sun Solaris 2.6™ application. Alternatively, any network operating system and server software may be used. For instance, the present invention may use programs and operating system applications such as, for example, a Windows 95™ operating system application, a Windows 98™ operating system application, a Windows 2000™ operating system application, a Windows NT™ operating system application, a MacIntosh™ operating system application, a Unix™ operating system application, an OS/2™ operating system application, and a NetWare™ operating system application. 
         [0027]    As shown, the application server  20  includes a processor module  34  and a memory module  11 . The database server  22  includes a database program  12 . According to a preferred embodiment, the database server  22  and the database program  12  are preferably run using Oracle™ compatible programs. Within the scope of the present invention, however, the database server  22  may comprise any software that allows for the management of data structured as fields or records, and that is managed by a database management system (DBMS) such as relational databases produced by, for example, Java™, Sybase™, Microsoft™ and Informix™. 
         [0028]    The application server  20  may gain access to the database server  22  via a link  38  and access to a network terminal  7  via a network link  42 . Additionally, the application server  20 , using an Internet connection  40 , may communicate with the remote terminal  24  via a connection device  32  and with the remote terminals  28  and  30  via a network server  26  of a LAN network  36 . In accordance with the present invention, the connection device  32  may be any device for connecting remote computers or terminals to other computing devices or networks. For instance, the connection device  32  may be a wireless modern, a cable modem or a DSL modem or other means. The network server  26  connects and communicates with the remote terminals  28  and  30  via a link  50  and a link  50   a  and a link  50   b , respectively. 
         [0029]    Within the example network arrangement  18 , it is preferable that links to databases are made using an interface such as a Java DataBase Connectivity (JDBC) interface. Alternatively, links to databases, as well as links to other network components, may be comprised of a variety of interfaces and protocols such as, for example: an Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC) interface; a Network File System (NFS) interface; Web NFS interface; a Server Message Block (SMB) interface; a Samba interface; a Netware Core Protocol (NCP) interface; a Distributed File System (DFS) interface, or Common Internet File System (CIFS) architecture, as well as use such transport protocols as, for example, a TCP/IP protocol, an IPX/SPX protocol, an HTTP protocol, and a NetBEUI protocol. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a flow chart illustrating the steps conducted in a method for storing and accessing agent identifying information and agent commission information in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In step  54 , the agent identifying information and the agent commission information is received for analysis and storage. The agent identifying information and the agent commission information may be submitted via paper or electronic correspondence or may be submitted using other means such as telephonically. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, and with reference to  FIG. 1 , the agent identifying information and the agent commission information may initially be entered into network terminal  7  and then transmitted via network link  42  to application server  20 . In step  56 , the received agent identifying information and the agent commission information is analyzed and sorted within the application server  20 . Preferably, the analysis and storage of the agent identifying information and the agent commission information may be accomplished through the use of a database program. 
         [0031]    After being analyzed and sorted, the agent identifying information and the agent commission information, in step  58 , are then saved within a selected database. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, and with reference to  FIG. 1 , the agent identifying information and the agent commission information are then preferably transmitted via a link  38  to the database server  22  where the information is stored. In step  60 , the agent identifying information and the agent commission information are displayed. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the display of the agent identifying information and the agent commission information is preferably provided via web pages which are stored or “hosted” on the application sever  20 . 
         [0032]    In step  62 , interactive access to a display of detailed agent commission information is provided. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the interactive access to the display of the detailed agent commission information is preferably provided via an embedded HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) link within the “hosted” or stored web pages displaying the agent identifying information and the agent commission information. In step  64 , interactive access is further provided to a display of detailed agent identifying information. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the interactive access to the display of detailed agent identifying information is also preferably provided via an embedded HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) link within the “hosted” or stored web pages displaying the agent identifying information and the agent commission information. 
         [0033]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , the agent identifying information and the agent commission information are preferably accessible by the remote terminals  24 ,  28  and  30 . In a preferred embodiment, the web page functionality of the present invention is preferably provided using HTML links with Java Servlets to generate reports and presentations for users. Alternatively, any suitable programming or presentation language is within the scope of the present invention. For instance, the present invention may be written in other languages or formats such as Java, JavaScript, SGML, XML, or URML. 
         [0034]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an interactive display  69  in accordance with step  60  is shown. As shown, users accessing the agent identifying information and the agent commission information may first be greeted by a greeting screen  66 . The greeting screen  66  may incorporate a company logo, announcements, and other such information. Through the greeting screen  66 , users may access the commissions report home page  70 . As illustrated, it is preferable that users are provided access to the commission report home page  70  only after accepting the terms and condition of a legal disclaimer  68  or the like. 
         [0035]    Once at commissions report home page  70 , users may access all available agent identifying information and agent commission information by activating embedded links. Accordingly, users may activate the agent name link  78  to navigate to the agent contact information page  100 . Similarly, users wishing to access more detailed information on a particular policy or account may activate policy link  80  to navigate to the commission report detail page  98 . Likewise, users may activate the client link  82  to navigate to the client description page  96  or the product link  84  to navigate to the product description page  94 . 
         [0036]    In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, additional functionality may be built into the commissions report home page  70 . For instance, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , an estimated gross commission link  86  may be provided to navigate users to an explanatory page  92  which may provide a definition of gross commission data. Similarly, an estimated processing date link  88  may be provided to navigate users to an explanatory page  90  which may, for example, contain a current definition of the estimated processing date. Additionally, a legal link  72  may be provided to navigate users to a copy of the legal disclaimers  68 . Further, a link  74  may be provided to navigate users to pages or files containing information to frequently asked questions (FAQs)  76  or the like. 
         [0037]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4-5 , an example commission report page  70  and an example commission report detail page  98  are shown. With respect to each example page, selected exemplary links and features are provided to assist the user in locating and analyzing information. On each page, a legal link  72  may be provided to navigate users to a copy of the legal disclaimer  68 . Additionally, a contact button  106  may be provided to generate an e-mail message or the like for an administrator. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, each page may contain additional links and Graphical User Interface (GUI) icons and buttons to allow for specialized functionality within each page as desired. Further, for each selected field or link, “pop-up” boxes and “pull-down” menus may be provided to assist users in entering and identifying information correctly. 
         [0038]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , an example commissions report home page  70  is shown. As shown, exemplary links  78 ,  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86  and  88  may be provided as column headings to organize and present information. Accordingly, as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 3 , a user viewing the commissions report home page  70  may activate the agent name link  78  to navigate to an agent contact information page  100 . Similarly, users wishing to access more detailed information on the definition or description of a particular column of information, may activate the appropriate link  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86 ,  88  to navigate to the appropriate definition or description  90 ,  92 ,  94 ,  96 , or  98 . Accordingly, users may activate policy/account link  80  to navigate to the commission report detail page  98 . Likewise, users may activate the client link  82  to navigate to the client description page  96  or the product link  84  to navigate to the product description page  94 . Similarly, users may activate estimated gross commission link  86  or estimated processing date link  88  to navigate to explanatory pages  92  and  90  respectively. Additionally, as shown, a sort button  108  is provided to allow users to arrange the order of the information provided. Further, a print button  110  is provided to allow users to print selected information. 
         [0039]    According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, specific links may be added, modified or removed altogether to allow for various implementations of the present invention. For instance, according to a specific preferred embodiment, agent name link  78  and agent contact information page  100  may be removed entirely. 
         [0040]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , an example commission report detail page  98  is shown. As discussed above, users may gain access to commission report detail page  98  via the policy/account link  80 . As shown, the commission report detail page  98  provides agent commission information including policy information  74  and commission detail information  75 . As shown, the policy information  74  includes: a policy number field  74   a ; a client name field  74   b ; a product field  74   c ; a company field  74   d ; and an issue date field  74   e . As further shown, the commission detail information  75  includes: an estimated commission processing date field  75   a ; a face amount of policy field  75   b ; a premium field  75   c ; a premium mode field  75   d ; an issue age field  75   e ; a split percentage field  75   f ; a commissionable amount field  75   g ; a commissionable rate field  75   h ; an estimated gross commission field  75   i . and a reference number field  75   j.    
         [0041]    As is readily apparent from the above detailed description, the system and method of the present invention may be used in a variety of network configurations. The system and method of the invention are also highly flexible and can be easily modified and customized to fit specific situations. For instance, for each of the example web pages discussed, many different fields may be created and used to display pertinent agent information as desired. Further, individual data fields provided as illustrated in  FIG. 4-5  may be deleted and removed altogether. Additionally, present invention may be used within network arrangements such as a local area network (LAN) including an Ethernet and a Token Ring access method, a metropolitan area network (MAN), and a wide area network (WAN). Further, although the preferred embodiments are discussed with reference to the Windows NT™ environment, the present invention may also be used in a variety of other server platforms and operating environments such as, for example, Windows 95, 98 and 2000, Unix, OS/2 and NetWare. 
         [0042]    Additionally, the present invention may be used with a variety of networking links including those based upon, for example, a Network File System (NFS); a Web NFS; a Server Message Block (SMB); a Samba; a Netware Core Protocol (NCP); a Distributed File System (DFS), and a Common Internet File System (CIFS) architecture, as well as use such transport protocols as, for example, TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, HTTP and NetBEUI. 
         [0043]    The invention has been described with particular reference to preferred embodiments which are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Thus, such variations and modifications of the present invention can be effected within the spirit and scope of the following claims.