Patent Publication Number: US-9418382-B2

Title: System and method for computing trip score using geo-spatial information

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is a continuation of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/468,349 entitled System and Method for Computing and Scoring Trip Similarities Using Geo-Spatial Information, filed on May 10, 2012, the entire contents of which application are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     In general, the invention relates to a computerized system and method for determining the price of an insurance premium based on the similarities associated with multiple vehicle trips. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The insurance industry has begun exploring the use of telematics sensors and other location-aware devices in motor vehicles as a way of determining driver behavior and, from this, driver risk for the purposes of underwriting, pricing, renewing, and servicing vehicle insurance. The devices can capture very high frequency information on location, speed, vehicle handling, vehicle characteristics, and other factors, which can be used in setting vehicle insurance rates. This rich high frequency data can be used to understand the specific paths or routes a vehicle takes from one destination to another. Note that some drivers might frequently travel along the same routes (e.g., a path between home and work or school) while other drivers rarely travel the same routes. Thus, some drivers might be more familiar with the roads they drive which could impact their potential for accidents as compared to other drivers who are unfamiliar with the roads and might be an important component of evaluating driver risk. For example, a driver might be aware of a particularly tricky intersection or realize that trucks often pull out of a hidden driveway. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, there is a need in the art for an accurate and objective measure of trip similarities that may be correlated with a likelihood of accidents and losses. Such a measure may, according to some embodiments, be calculated from location information and/or other vehicle data, such as speed, orientation, and acceleration. Statistical analysis of the data may be used to classify the similarities of multiple trips and/or trip segments. By analyzing the similarities of many trips, an aggregate driving similarities rating for determining driver risk and/or an insurance rate, rate adjustment, or any other benefit for an insurance policy may be calculated. 
     Accordingly, systems and methods are disclosed herein for pricing an insurance premium based on trip similarities. The system includes a computer memory and a processor in communication with the computer memory. The computer memory stores telematics data received from a sensor within a vehicle. The telematics data includes at least one of geo-position information of the vehicle and vehicle kinematics data. The processor is configured to compute a similarities score for a plurality of trips based on the telematics data. The processor is also configured to determine a price, discount, or any other benefit for automobile insurance for the driver based on the similarities score for a driver or vehicle. 
     In some embodiments, a retroactive adjustment is applied to a price of an automobile insurance premium for a period during which the telematics data was collected. In other embodiments, a prospective adjustment is applied to a price or other benefit of an automobile insurance premium for a future period. In some embodiments, determining a price, price adjustment, or any other benefit for automobile insurance is associated with a new automobile insurance plan. 
     According to another aspect, the invention relates to computerized methods for carrying out the functionalities described above. According to another aspect, the invention relates to non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein instructions for causing a processor to carry out the functionalities described above. 
     According to another aspect, the invention relates to another system for pricing an insurance premium or otherwise adjusting an insurance policy based on a vehicle trip similarity score. The system includes a computer memory and a processor in communication with the computer memory. The computer memory stores telematics data received from a sensor within a vehicle. The telematics data includes at least one of geo-position information of the vehicle and vehicle kinematics data. The processor is configured to retrieve information related to an automobile insurance policy and receive at least a portion of the stored telematics data from the computer memory. The processor computes a similarities score based on the telematics data and stores the computed similarities score. The processor calculates a price adjustment for a premium or other benefit for the automobile insurance policy based on the retrieved information related to the policy and the similarities score, applies the price adjustment or other benefit to the insurance premium, and outputs the adjusted price for the premium for the automobile insurance policy. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an architectural model of a system for setting the price of an insurance premium based on a vehicle trip similarity score, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a computing system as used in  FIG. 1 , according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a vehicle and a device coupled to the vehicle for collecting data related to vehicle trip similarities, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a method for determining a similarities rating for a driver or vehicle and computing an insurance premium based on the similarities rating, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates multiple vehicle trips in accordance with some embodiments described herein. 
         FIG. 6  is a plot of a trip demonstrating an illustrative method for transforming data prior to calculating a vehicle trip similarity score. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a removal of duplicate entries in a data sequence accordance with some embodiments described herein. 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram of a system provided in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 9  is a tabular portion of a trip similarity database in accordance with some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
     To provide an overall understanding of the invention, certain illustrative embodiments will now be described, including systems and methods for computing and scoring the similarities of a vehicle trip using geo-spatial information. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the systems and methods described herein may be adapted and modified as is appropriate for the application being addressed and that the systems and methods described herein may be employed in other suitable applications, and that such other additions and modifications will not depart from the scope thereof. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system  100  for setting the price of an insurance premium based on a vehicle trip similarity score according to an illustrative embodiment. The system  100  uses data collected along multiple trips traveled by a vehicle to determine the similarities of those trips. An insurance company may use route data, such as Global Positioning Satellite (“GPS”) latitude and longitude data, acceleration/deceleration data, speed data, and/or vehicle orientation data collected along a route traveled by the vehicle to determine the similarities of the routes traveled by a vehicle. With a sufficient amount of data, the insurance company can calculate an overall similarities rating describing the similarities of routes taken by the driver and/or the driver&#39;s driving habits on the routes. The insurance company can use the similarities rating for setting or adjusting the price of an insurance premium. In some implementations, trip similarity and/or the driver similarity ratings are determined by a third party data processing service. In addition, the insurance premium price may be set by an underwriter, which may be a part of the insurance company or otherwise affiliated with or in a third party arrangement with the insurance company. According to any embodiments described here, similarities ratings may be used to determine a premium price, a premium adjustment, and/or any other benefit that may be associated with an insurance policy (e.g., a decreased deductable value or increased overall coverage amount). 
     The system  100  includes one or more vehicles  102 , each having a data collection device  104 . The vehicle  102  may be an automobile, motorcycle, truck, bus, watercraft, aircraft, or any other vehicle operated by a driver. A data collection device  104  is coupled to a vehicle  102  for collecting data about the vehicle&#39;s location, movements, or other information that can be used to determine vehicle trip similarity scores. For vehicles with multiple drivers, the data may be associated with the vehicle itself or with the individual drivers. The data collection device  104  may be positioned inside the vehicle  102 , attached to the outside of the vehicle  102 , or integrated into the vehicle  102 . The data collection device  104  is in communication with an insurance company system  108  over a communication network  150 . The data collection device  104  may communicate with the insurance company system  108  though a wireless network such as a cellular network or using a wireless Internet connection. In general, the data collection device  104  can be any computing device or plurality of computing devices in cooperation having a data collection sensor (e.g., an antenna or an accelerometer), a processor, a memory, and a means for transmitting the collected data. The customer vehicle  102  or data collection device  104  may include an antenna for receiving signals from Global Navigation Satellite System (“GNSS”) satellites, numbered 1 through “n” in  FIG. 1 . In one implementation, the data collection device  104  is also configured to process the collected data. In some embodiments, the data processing protects the driver&#39;s privacy by encrypting the data, removing location information, producing summary information, or taking other measures to reduce the likelihood that location information, speed information, or other sensitive information are received by the insurance company or third parties. 
     In some embodiments, rather than sending collected data directly to the insurance company system  108 , the data collection device  104  sends collected data to a data processing service  106 , which processes the data to determine a vehicle trip similarities score and/or an overall similarities rating for a driver that is then sent to the insurance company system  108  for setting an insurance premium price. This can help protect a driver&#39;s privacy, since the insurance company does not get detailed data about a driver&#39;s location, but only receives summary information. Using a data processing service  106  is in some implementations also preferable to having the data collection device  104  process data to output a vehicle trip similarities score because it reduces the processing power needed by data collection device  104  and because using a third party data processing service  106  may also make it more difficult for drivers to tamper with the data. The data processing service can perform additional monitoring functions, such as vehicle security monitoring or providing location-based alerts (e.g., alerting a parent or employer when a vehicle travels an unusual path) and/or speed alerts. Note that an insurance company might received detailed reports from the third party data processing service  106 , summary reports (with certain details removed), and/or supplemented information (e.g., including information from one or more public databases). 
     The insurance company system  108  includes a plurality of application servers  112 , a plurality of load balancing proxy servers  114 , an insurance company database  116 , a processing unit  120 , and company terminal  122 . These computing devices are connected by a local area network  124 . 
     The application servers  112  are responsible for interacting with the data collection device  104  and/or the data processing service  106 . The data exchange between the insurance company system  108  and data collection device  104  and/or data processing service  106  can utilize push and pull technologies where the application servers  112  of the insurance company system  108  can act as both a server and client for pushing data to the data processing service  106  (e.g., which vehicles to monitor, when to stop data collection, rules for monitoring services requested by the customer) and for pulling data from the data processing service  106 . The application servers  112  or other servers of the insurance company system  108  can request to receive periodic data feeds from the data collection device  104  and/or data processing service  106 . The communication between the application servers  112  and the data processing service  106  can follow various known communication protocols, such as TCP/IP. Alternatively, the application servers  112  and data processing service  106  can communicate with each other wirelessly, e.g., via cellular communication, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, or other wireless communications technologies or combination of wired or wireless channels. The load balancing proxy servers  114  operate to distribute the load among application servers  112 . 
     The insurance company database  116  stores information about vehicular insurance policies. For each insurance policy, the database  116  includes for example and without limitation, the following data fields: policy coverage, similarities rating, policy limits, deductibles, the agent responsible for the sale or renewal, the date of purchase, dates of subsequent renewals, product and price of product sold, applicable automation services (for example, electronic billing, automatic electronic funds transfers, centralized customer service plan selections, etc.), customer information, customer payment history, or derivations thereof. Note that any of the embodiments described herein might be associated with existing insurance policies, newly issued insurance policies, and/or policies that have not yet been issued (e.g., during a trial phase before a policy is issued). According to some embodiments, information collected during a trial period may influence a discount or other benefit that is eventually associated with an insurance policy. 
     The processing unit  120  is configured for determining the price of an insurance premium based on a similarities rating for a driver or vehicle. The processing unit  120  may comprise multiple separate processors, such as a similarities processor, which calculates a similarities rating from raw or processed data from the data collection device  104  or data processing service  106  over the communications network  150 ; and a business logic processor, which determines a premium price for a policyholder based on, among other things, the similarities rating. In some embodiments, insurance premium prices or information for making insurance pricing determinations may be generated by a third-party underwriter, which is separate from the insurance company system  108 . An exemplary implementation of a computing device for use in the processing unit  120  is discussed in greater detail in relation to  FIG. 2 . 
     The company terminals  122  provide various user interfaces to insurance company employees to interact with the processing system  120 . The interfaces include, without limitation, interfaces to review similarities data, vehicle trip similarities, and similarities ratings; to retrieve data related to insurance policies; to manually adjust vehicle trip similarities or similarities rating; and to manually adjust premium pricing. In some instances, different users may be given different access privileges. For example, marketing employees may only be able to retrieve information on insurance policies but not make any changes to data. Such interfaces may be integrated into one or more websites for managing the insurance company system  108  presented by the application servers  112 , or they may be integrated into thin or thick software clients or stand alone software. The company terminals  122  can be any computing devices suitable for carrying out the processes described above, including personal computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, smartphones, servers, and other computing devices. 
     The user terminal  130  provides various user interfaces to customers to interact with the insurance company system  108  over the communications network  150 . Potential customers can use user terminals  130  to retrieve policy and pricing information for insurance policies offered by the insurance company. Customers can enter information pertaining to changes in their insurance policy, e.g., changes in policy coverage, addition or subtraction of drivers, addition or subtraction of vehicles, relocation, mileage information, etc. Customers can also use the user terminal  130  for a pay-as-you-go insurance policy in which customers purchase insurance by the trip or mile. 
     In some embodiments, the data collection device  104  may not be continually connected to the insurance company system  108  via the network  150 . For example, the data collection device  104  may be configured to temporarily store data if the data collection device  104  becomes disconnected from the network, like when it travels out of range of cellular towers. When the connection is restored, the data collection device  104  can then transmit the temporarily stored data to the insurance company system  108 . The data collection device  104  may alternatively be configured to connect to the communications network  150  through a user&#39;s home Wi-Fi network. In this case, the data collection device  104  stores trip data until it returns to the vicinity of the user&#39;s home, connects to the user&#39;s wireless network, and sends the data. In some embodiments, the data collection device  104  is not connected to the network  150  at all, but rather, data collected is transmitted to the insurance company though other means. For example, a customer can receive a data collection device  104  from the insurance company, couple the device  104  to his car for a set period of time or number of miles, and then either mail the device  104  with the collected data to the insurance company system  108  or extract and send the collected data to the insurance company system  108  via mail, email, or though a website. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a computing device  200  used for carrying out at least one of trip similarities processing and business logic processing described in relation to  FIG. 1 , according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. The computing device  200  comprises at least one network interface unit  204 , an input/output controller  206 , system memory  208 , and one or more data storage devices  214 . The system memory  208  includes at least one Random Access Memory (“RAM”)  210  and at least one Read-Only Memory (“ROM”)  212 . All of these elements are in communication with a Central Processing Unit (“CPU”)  202  to facilitate the operation of the computing device  200 . The computing device  200  may be configured in many different ways. For example, the computing device  200  may be a conventional standalone computer or alternatively, the functions of computing device  200  may be distributed across multiple computer systems and architectures. The computing device  200  may be configured to perform some or all of the similarities and business logic processing, or these functions may be distributed across multiple computer systems and architectures. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the computing device  200  is linked, via network  150  or local network  124 , to other servers or systems housed by the insurance company system  108 , such as the load balancing server  114 , and/or the application servers  112 . 
     The computing device  200  may be configured in a distributed architecture, wherein databases and processors are housed in separate units or locations. The computing device  200  may also be implemented as a server located either on site near the insurance company system  108 , or it may be accessed remotely by the insurance company system  108 . Some such units perform primary processing functions and contain at a minimum a general controller or a processor  202  and a system memory  208 . In such an embodiment, each of these units is attached via the network interface unit  204  to a communications hub or port (not shown) that serves as a primary communication link with other servers, client or user computers and other related devices. The communications hub or port may have minimal processing capability itself, serving primarily as a communications router. A variety of communications protocols may be part of the system, including, but not limited to: Ethernet, SAP, SAS™, ATP, BLUETOOTH™, GSM and TCP/IP. 
     The CPU  202  comprises a processor, such as one or more conventional microprocessors and one or more supplementary co-processors such as math co-processors for offloading workload from the CPU  202 . The CPU  202  is in communication with the network interface unit  204  and the input/output controller  206 , through which the CPU  202  communicates with other devices such as other servers, user terminals, or devices. The network interface unit  204  and/or the input/output controller  206  may include multiple communication channels for simultaneous communication with, for example, other processors, servers or client terminals. Devices in communication with each other need not be continually transmitting to each other. On the contrary, such devices need only transmit to each other as necessary, may actually refrain from exchanging data most of the time, and may require several steps to be performed to establish a communication link between the devices. 
     The CPU  202  is also in communication with the data storage device  214 . The data storage device  214  may comprise an appropriate combination of magnetic, optical and/or semiconductor memory, and may include, for example, RAM, ROM, flash drive, an optical disc such as a compact disc and/or a hard disk or drive. The CPU  202  and the data storage device  214  each may be, for example, located entirely within a single computer or other computing device; or connected to each other by a communication medium, such as a USB port, serial port cable, a coaxial cable, an Ethernet type cable, a telephone line, a radio frequency transceiver or other similar wireless or wired medium or combination of the foregoing. For example, the CPU  202  may be connected to the data storage device  214  via the network interface unit  204 . 
     The CPU  202  may be configured to perform one or more particular processing functions. For example, the computing device  200  may be configured for calculating a trip similarities score for a driver or vehicle. The same computing device  200  or another similar computing device may be configured for calculating an aggregate similarities rating based on multiple similarities scores (e.g., associated with different clusters of similar routes). The same computing device  200  or another similar computing device may be configured for calculating an insurance premium for a vehicle based at least the similarities scores and/or the similarities rating. 
     The data storage device  214  may store, for example, (i) an operating system  216  for the computing device  200 ; (ii) one or more applications  218  (e.g., computer program code and/or a computer program product) adapted to direct the CPU  202  in accordance with the present invention, and particularly in accordance with the processes described in detail with regard to the CPU  202 ; and/or (iii) database(s)  220  adapted to store information that may be utilized to store information required by the program. The database(s)  220  may including all or a subset of data stored in insurance company database  116 , described above with respect to  FIG. 1 , as well as additional data, such as formulas or manual adjustments, used in establishing the insurance risk for a vehicle. 
     The operating system  216  and/or applications  218  may be stored, for example, in a compressed, an uncompiled and/or an encrypted format, and may include computer program code. The instructions of the program may be read into a main memory of the processor from a computer-readable medium other than the data storage device  214 , such as from the ROM  212  or from the RAM  210 . While execution of sequences of instructions in the program causes the CPU  202  to perform the process steps described herein, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions for implementation of the processes of the present invention. Thus, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software. 
     Suitable computer program code may be provided for scoring trip similarities based on telematics data associated with a plurality of trips taken by a vehicle or driver. The program also may include program elements such as an operating system, a database management system and “device drivers” that allow the processor to interface with computer peripheral devices (e.g., a video display, a keyboard, a computer mouse, etc.) via the input/output controller  206 . 
     The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any non-transitory medium that provides or participates in providing instructions to the processor of the computing device (or any other processor of a device described herein) for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical, magnetic, or opto-magnetic disks, or integrated circuit memory, such as flash memory. Volatile media include Dynamic Random Access Memory (“DRAM”), which typically constitutes the main memory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM or Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (“EEPROM”), a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other non-transitory medium from which a computer can read. 
     Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to the CPU  202  (or any other processor of a device described herein) for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be borne on a magnetic disk of a remote computer (not shown). The remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over an Ethernet connection, cable line, or even telephone line using a modem. A communications device local to a computing device (e.g., a server) can receive the data on the respective communications line and place the data on a system bus for the processor. The system bus carries the data to main memory, from which the processor retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by main memory may optionally be stored in memory either before or after execution by the processor. In addition, instructions may be received via a communication port as electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals, which are exemplary forms of wireless communications or data streams that carry various types of information. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a vehicle  102  having a data collection device  104 . As described with regard to  FIG. 1 , the vehicle  102  may be an automobile, motorcycle, truck, bus, watercraft, aircraft, or any other vehicle operated by a driver. The vehicle  102  includes a vehicle computer  302 , an On-Board Diagnostics (“OBD”) port  304 , and vehicle telematics sensors  306 . The data collection device  104  is connected to the vehicle  102  via an OBD port connector  322  connected to the OBD port  304  to receive telematics data and other information. The data collection device  104  includes a CPU  310 , a GNSS receiver  312 , an accelerometer  314 , memory  316 , a user interface  318 , and a wireless communications device  320 . The CPU  310  is in communication with the other elements of the data collection device  104  to facilitate the operation of the data collection device  104 . The CPU can also be configured to process data received from the GNSS receiver  312 , the accelerometer  314 , and the OBD port connector  322 . Data processing may include calculating vehicle trip similarity scores, calculating similarities ratings, calculating intermediate values for determining vehicle trip similarities, or encrypting data sent by the wireless communications device  320 . 
     The Global Navigation Satellite System (“GNSS”) receiver  312  includes an antenna and associated signal processing circuitry for receiving signals from GNSS satellites, such as the satellites numbered 1 through n in  FIG. 1 , and determining its location from the signals. GNSS satellites may be, for example, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or Beidou satellites which send time and orbital data from which the data collection device  104  can calculate its location. In some configurations, the CPU  310  calculates the location of the vehicle from data from the receiver  312 . The CPU  310  can pull location data from the GNSS receiver  312  at set time intervals, such as every 0.1 seconds, 0.2 seconds, 0.5 seconds, 1 second, 2 seconds, 5 seconds, or 10 seconds. The CPU  310  sends the location data to the memory  316  along with a time and date stamp indicating when the vehicle was at the location. In some embodiments, the GNSS receiver  312  may be part of a separate GNSS device used by the driver for obtaining driving directions. In this case, the GNSS receiver  312  transmits data to the data collection device  104  though a wired connection or a wireless connection, e.g., BLUETOOTH or Wi-Fi. 
     The accelerometer  314  is a device that measures proper acceleration. Data collected from an accelerometer  314  may include or be used for obtaining the g-force, acceleration, orientation, shock, vibration, jerk, velocity, speed, and/or position of the vehicle. Some or all of these types of data are received or calculated by the CPU  310 . The CPU  310  may collect data at intervals such as every 0.1 seconds, 0.2 seconds, 0.5 seconds, 1 second, 2 seconds, 5 seconds, or 10 seconds and store the data in the memory  316 . Each data point is time and date stamped and/or location stamped. In some embodiments, the CPU  310  determines intervals between data stored in the memory  316  based on trends in the data. The rate of data collection may vary based on vehicle behavior; for example, if a driver is travelling along a straight road at a consistent speed, the CPU  310  may save data less frequently than if the driver is making frequent turns. In some embodiments, only “exception data” evident of safety events or other unusual driving behavior is stored. For example, the CPU  310  may only save accelerations, decelerations, hard turns, speeds, lane change speeds, etc. with rates above a certain threshold. 
     The OBD port connector  322  is used to collect data from the vehicle computer  302  and/or vehicle telematics sensors  306  via OBD port  304 . The vehicle computer  302  may provide information about the vehicle&#39;s speed, the number of miles traveled, whether the vehicle is running or not, seatbelt usage, airbag deployment, and vehicle diagnostics. Vehicle diagnostics data can be used to determine whether a safety event was caused by the driver&#39;s actions or related to a vehicle malfunction, such as low tire pressure, low oil pressure, high engine temperature, loss of power, and stalling. The vehicle may contain additional telematics sensors  306  for, e.g., vehicle tracking, monitoring gasoline consumption, and vehicle safety. Data obtained by the data collection device  104  from the vehicle computer  302  and telematics sensors  306  via the OBD port  304  can supplement or be used instead of data collected by the GNSS receiver  312  and/or accelerometer  314 . In some embodiments, the data collection device  104  turns on automatically when the vehicle is turned on; the data collection device  104  may be powered by the vehicle  102 . 
     The data collection device  104  also includes a wireless communications device  320  for sending collected data to and receiving commands from the data processing service  106  and/or insurance company system  108  via the network  150 . The data collection device  104  may also be configured for communication with the driver or a passenger via user interface  318 . The user interface  318  includes output components, such as a screen or speakers, and input components, such as a touch screen, keyboard, or microphone. The user interface  318  can output similarities data, route summary data, vehicle diagnostics data, and any data collected from the GNSS receiver  312 , accelerometer  314 , and/or OBD port  304 . In some embodiments, the data collection device  104  is also a navigation device that can calculate and display a route to a destination inputted by the user. 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart of a method  400  for determining a similarities rating for a driver or vehicle and computing an insurance premium based on the similarities rating. The method  400  includes the steps of obtaining telematics data for multiple trips (step S 410 ), calculating a similarities rating based that data (step S 420 ), and computing an insurance premium, price adjustment, or any other benefit based on the similarities rating (step S 430 ). The method  400  can be performed by the data collection device  104 , the data processing service  106 , the insurance company system  108 , or any combination of these. 
     To obtain telematics data for a trip (step S 410 ), data from receivers and sensors such as GNSS receiver  312 , accelerometer  314 , vehicle computer  302 , and vehicle telematics sensors  306  may be collected by the data collection device  104  and stored in the memory  306  of the data collection device  306  and/or sent to the data processing service  106  or insurance company system  108 . The telematics data is stored at least by the device or system calculating a similarities rating (step S 420 ). A driver typically uses his vehicle for different types of trips, such as commuting to work, running errands, recreational trips, long-distance travel, etc., which occur on different routes and at different times of the day, and data about these various trips traveled by the driver may be included when pricing the insurance premium. 
     Once data for a driver or vehicle has been collected, a trip similarities score is calculated (step S 420 ). The trip similarities score may comprise, for example, a signature of driving “route regularity” and a corresponding capability to accurate classify or profile individual drivers by the similarity of the routes that they most frequently travel. For example, many drivers spend the majority of their vehicle travel time commuting to and from their workplace, day after day. Similarly, many drivers use the same route to travel to frequently visited locations—schools, stores, friends&#39; residences, etc. 
     Consider, for example,  FIG. 5  which illustrates  500  multiple trips  501 ,  502 ,  503  between destinations. In particular, a first trip  501  travels a path from an origination “A” to a destination “B” (e.g., with A being identified based on when the vehicle is turned on and B being identified based on when the vehicle is turned off). A second trip  502  travels a slightly different path from A to B. As a result, a comparison of these two trips  501 ,  502  may result in a similarity score that indicates that the trips  501 ,  502  are very similar. In contrast, a third trip  503  travels a very different path from A to a different destination “B.” In this case, a similarities score comparing the first trip  501  and the third trip  503  would indicate that they are not very similar. According to some embodiments, information about an origination or destination may be used to modify a trip similarity score and/or an associated insurance premium (e.g., when a destination is identified as being a shopping mall parking lot). 
     It might be the case that familiarity with a route results in a driver who is less likely to get into an accident since road hazards, congestion points, road topography, surface conditions, etc. are known. On the other hand, a driver who knows a route well might tend to drive less cautiously because he or she pays attention less as compared to a driver who is being unusually careful on an unfamiliar road. According to some embodiments, certain types of drivers might see a price increase based on higher similarities scores while other types of drivers see a price decrease based on higher similarities scores. In either case, according to some embodiments, drivers might be profiled and “scored” by quantifying how often they travel the same set of routes on a regular basis. These trip similarity scores might, for example, be used as a predictive factor for determining individual driver risk and the driver&#39;s resulting insurance premium. Accurately determining a robust trip similarity score may be a challenging computational task. 
     According to some embodiments described herein, a classification system may measure an inherent spatial similarity of two or more pairs of trips, expressed as latitude and longitude coordinates, using ideas similar to those used the bioinformatics field, such as in the area of sequence alignment. Sequence alignment may refer to, for example, a body of techniques developed to objectively compare similarities between sets or lists of biological markers, such as DNA, RNA, and/or protein sequences. For example, given two lists of data (which can be any sort of object, e.g., strings, numerical data, or time series), sequence alignment methods provide a score of how similar one list is to another, by computing the number of element-by-element transformations (e.g., insertions, deletions, and mutations) it would take to convert the first list to the second list. This may, for example, result in a score expressed as an integer. Note that embodiments may be associated with pairwise alignment, multiple sequence alignment, and/or structural alignment methods. 
     At the extremes, an alignment value of 0 might mean the two lists have no common elements; and larger values may represent a number of common elements in common locations within the respective lists after an alignment algorithm has finished. If two lists of length n have an alignment value of n, this may mean, for example, that the lists are identical. There are several sequence alignment algorithms, including the Needleman-Wunsch method wherein a two-dimensional array is allocated such that different columns hold a series latitude/longitude pairs for each trip and dynamic programming is used in connection with an optimal matching algorithm. More generally, the Smith-Waterman method may perform local sequence alignment to determine similar regions between two series of latitude/longitude pairs. 
     To compute trip similarity scores according to some embodiments, a process may collect all of the trips for an individual driver, expressed as sequences of latitude and longitude coordinates, and each individual trip may be ordered by time. According to some embodiments, basic data cleansing and/or transformation techniques may be applied to the raw telematics data. For example,  FIG. 6  illustrates a graph  600  wherein particular latitudes and longitudes may be generalized by determining a “box” within which each location falls to simplify calculations. Such an approach may, for example, be performed by applying a rounding operation on latitude and/or longitude values. 
     Similarly,  FIG. 7  illustrates data  700  including an original sequence  710  of latitude/longitude pairs and associated time values. According to some embodiments, runs of duplicate latitude/longitude coordinates  712  may be identified (these might occur when, for example, a vehicle is stopped at a traffic light or is stuck in a traffic jam). The duplicate latitude/longitude coordinates  712  and removed to create an improved sequence  720  that can better be used to calculate a trip similarity score. 
     A Smith-Waterman score may be computed for each trip as compared to each other trip in a sample for a driver or vehicle to generate multiple trip similarity scores. The process may then be repeated for other trips, drivers, and/or vehicles. According to some embodiments, a family of summary scores may be generated for each driver, e.g., the mean, median, standard deviation, and/or distribution of each drivers&#39; set of scores. Drivers with a higher average Smith-Waterman score may tend to drive similar routes more often as compared to drivers with lower scores. The trip similarity scores may, according to some embodiments, be used to cluster trips together and/or determine how many distinct routes an individual uses. 
     The trip similarity score may represent a unique, driver-specific factor associated with the actual travel routes taken by that driver across all of their trips in his or her data sample. By itself, such a factor may allow an insurer to rank drivers by their trip similarity score, indentifying those who drive the same routes with the greatest frequency. According to some embodiments, this factor is used as part of a rate-making plans to help determine an individual driver&#39;s appropriate insurance premium. According to some embodiments, a similarity score may simply based on location data points (regardless of the time based order of those points) and/or a clustering based on sets of coordinates. 
     An insurance premium, adjustment, or any other benefit for the vehicle may therefore determined based on the trip similarities score or rating (step  430 ). A vehicle having a higher aggregate similarities rating typically takes the same route over and over as compared to a vehicle with a lower similarities rating and, therefore, may be more (or less) likely to be in an accident. So, a vehicle that typically travels similar routes may be offered a different insurance premium than the same vehicle with the same owner that typically travels less similar routes. Other factors, such as vehicle type, age, value, and storage location and driver age, driving history, residence, and primary driving locations can be used in setting the insurance premium pricing. 
     Additional telematics data, such as maximum speed, average speed, driving locations, time of day of travel, vehicle safety, etc. can also be used for setting the insurance premium price. The additional data can be combined with the similarities score to form an overall safety score. In some embodiments, the additional data, particularly vehicle kinematics data (i.e., speed, velocity, acceleration, jerk, etc.) is used to gauge how a driver behaves on different routes. Drivers may respond differently when traveling familiar routes; for example, some drivers make fast accelerations, decelerations, change lanes, and turns more readily than when on unfamiliar routes. As a result, a driver might experiences more safety events and may be more likely to have an accident. More severe safety events, e.g., faster or harder accelerations or decelerations, also increase the likelihood that the vehicle will have an accident. So, the frequency of safety events, as well as the type of safety events and severity of the events, can be used in classifying a driver&#39;s driving habits and determining the insurance premium. According to some embodiments, a trip similarity score may be associated with multiple drivers, multiple vehicles, time of day information, day of week information, and/or trip clusters (e.g., a particular driver almost always travels these six paths on weekends). Note that a similarity score might be calculated on an annual basis, on a substantially real-time basis or with any other frequency. 
     The similarities rating can be used for retroactive, real-time or prospective insurance premium pricing. For retroactive pricing, a customer can pay a preset price for automobile insurance coverage for a period of time, wherein the preset price assumes a certain similarities rating. During the time period or a portion of the time period, the customer&#39;s trips are monitored to determine a similarities rating. At the end of the time period, the customer is given a refund or a credit if the customer&#39;s actual similarities rating was different than the assumed similarities rating of the preset price. In some embodiments, the customer is instead charged a surcharge. For prospective pricing, the similarities of trips taken by a customer during one time period may be used for determining a price for an automobile insurance premium for a different, later time period. For example, a current or prospective customer could install a data collection device in his car for a period of time and send the data collection device to the insurance company or a third party, which calculates the similarities rating to be used for adjusting future premium prices. The customer or the insurance company may request that a new similarities rating be recalculated using new data when the driver&#39;s vehicle trip similarity scores are more likely change, e.g., if the customer moves, changes jobs, has a child, or retires, or at certain time periods, e.g., every year, every two years, every three years, every five years, every ten years, etc. In some embodiments, both prospective pricing and retroactive pricing are used. For example, a customer being continually monitored can be charged a premium for a time period based on one or more past similarities ratings, and if the customer&#39;s actual similarities rating for the time period was greater than or less than the expected rating, a refund, credit, or surcharge may be applied as appropriate. 
     The processes described herein may be performed by any suitable device or apparatus.  FIG. 8  is one example of an insurance platform  800  according to some embodiments. The insurance platform  800  may be, for example, associated with the system  90   FIG. 1 . The insurance platform  800  comprises a processor  810 , such as one or more commercially available CPUs in the form of one-chip microprocessors, coupled to a communication device  820  configured to communicate via a communication network (not shown in  FIG. 8 ). The communication device  820  may be used to communicate, for example, with one or more remote vehicles. The insurance platform  800  further includes an input device  840  (e.g., a mouse and/or keyboard to enter insurance discount information) and an output device  850  (e.g., a computer monitor to display aggregated insurance reports and/or results to an administrator). 
     The processor  810  also communicates with a storage device  830 . The storage device  830  may comprise any appropriate information storage device, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g., a hard disk drive), optical storage devices, and/or semiconductor memory devices. The storage device  830  stores a program  812  and/or scoring system  814  for controlling the processor  810 . The processor  810  performs instructions of the programs  812 ,  814 , and thereby operates in accordance with any of the embodiments described herein. For example, the processor  810  may receive telematics data from a vehicle. The processor  810  may also analyze the telematics data and/or transmit an underwriting decision for a potential entity to be insured based at least in part on a computed similarity score. Note that as used herein, the phrase “underwriting decision” may refer to any underwriting related decision (e.g., a decision as to pricing, whether or not to issue, etc.). 
     Referring again to  FIG. 8 , the programs  812 ,  814  may be stored in a compressed, uncompiled and/or encrypted format. The programs  812 ,  814  may furthermore include other program elements, such as an operating system, a database management system, and/or device drivers used by the processor  810  to interface with peripheral devices. 
     As used herein, information may be “received” by or “transmitted” to, for example: (i) the insurance platform  800  from another device; or (ii) a software application or module within the insurance platform  800  from another software application, module, or any other source. 
     In some embodiments (such as shown in  FIG. 8 ), the storage device  830  stores an underwriting database  900  and/or a telematics and similarity database  860 . An example of a database that may be used in connection with the insurance platform  800  will now be described in detail with respect to  FIG. 9 . Note that the database described herein is only one example, and additional and/or different information may be stored therein. Moreover, various databases might be split or combined in accordance with any of the embodiments described herein. 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , a table is shown that represents the underwriting database  900  that may be stored at the insurance platform  800  according to some embodiments. The table may include, for example, entries identifying users, drivers, or vehicles. The table may also define fields  902 ,  904 ,  906 ,  908 ,  910  for each of the entries. The fields  902 ,  904 ,  906 ,  908 ,  910  may, according to some embodiments, specify: a user identifier  902 , a policy identifier  904 , a trip similarity score  906 , an applicable discount  908 , and a current status  910 . The information in the underwriting database  900  may be created and updated, for example, whenever data is received from remote vehicles. 
     The user identifier  902  may be, for example, a unique alphanumeric code identifying a customer or potential customer (e.g., a person or business). The policy identifier  904  might represent an insurance product that may be offered to the user associated with the user identifier  902 . The trip similarity score  906  may be based on who frequently the user drives along similar routes or paths. According to some embodiments, the trip similarity score  906  might represent a grade or classification provided to the user (e.g., a “highly similar” classification). The applicable discount  908  might represent a percentage or dollar amount of discount that will be offered to the user based on his or her trip similarity score  906 . The current status  910  may indicate whether or not the user has accepted the offer of insurance. 
     The following illustrates various additional embodiments of the invention. These do not constitute a definition of all possible embodiments, and those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is applicable to many other embodiments. Further, although the following embodiments are briefly described for clarity, those skilled in the art will understand how to make any changes, if necessary, to the above-described apparatus and methods to accommodate these and other embodiments and applications. 
     Although specific hardware and data configurations have been described herein, not that any number of other configurations may be provided in accordance with embodiments of the present invention (e.g., some of the information associated with the databases described herein may be combined or stored in external systems). 
     The present invention has been described in terms of several embodiments solely for the purpose of illustration. Persons skilled in the art will recognize from this description that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but may be practiced with modifications and alterations limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.