Abstract:
A method in a server computer connected over a network to a group of participants, where each participant operates a client computer. The method receives a payment for each participant in the group, associates the payments received for the group with a time period, calculates a designated portion of each payment, and creates a fund for the time period by combining the designated portions of the payments. The method receives a notification for each participant in a subgroup of the group of participants, where the notification indicates that during the time period an event occurred. The method calculates a portion of the fund to disburse to each participant in the subgroup, and disburses the fund to the participants in the subgroup, where the portion of the fund to disburse to each participant in the subgroup is a share of the fund.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/824,847, filed on Jun. 28, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,290,844; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/053,337, filed on Mar. 21, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,747,496. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates, in general, to the field of life insurance. In particular, the present invention is a business method and computing system for providing a death benefit to an individual having an uninsurable trait. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     An insurance policy is a contract between an insurer and a policy owner, typically also the insured. The insurer agrees to pay a sum of money to a beneficiary designated by the policy owner upon the occurrence of an insured event. When the insurance policy is a life insurance policy, the insured event is typically the death of the policy owner from an accident or sickness, and typically excludes suicide, fraud, war, riot, and civil commotion. In return, the policy owner agrees to pay a premium to the insurer either at regular intervals or in a lump sum. 
     The insurer calculates the premium by evaluating the risk of insuring the policy owner. The evaluation typically includes an investigation of the health, lifestyle, and family history of the policy owner in conjunction with mortality tables. If the evaluation indicates that the risk of insuring the policy owner is minimal, the premium will likely be affordable. If the evaluation indicates that the risk of insuring the policy owner exceeds the risk the insurer is willing to accept, the premium will likely be unaffordable for the policy owner, and, in some cases, the insurer may deny coverage. In either case, the only alternative for the policy owner is not to have a life insurance policy. 
     Thus, there is a demand for a method for providing a death benefit to an individual having an uninsurable trait. The presently disclosed method and system satisfies this demand. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A business method and computer system for providing a death benefit to a participant having an uninsurable trait. The method collects registration information from the participant, and associates the participant with at least one other participant having the uninsurable trait to form a group of participants. In one embodiment, the method collects personal information, contact information, uninsurable trait information, and previous insurance coverage information from the participant by sending a request for the registration information to the participant, and receiving and storing the registration information. The method analyzes the registration information to determine whether the participant qualifies to receive the death benefit and the group to associate with the participant. In one embodiment, the participant has the option to request a coverage amount to receive as the death benefit or to request a funding payment. 
     The method receives a funding payment from each participant in the group to create a funding pool for a time period, and stores the amount of the funding payment received from each participant in the group. The method disburses the funding pool to deceased participants in the group who died during the time period, each deceased participant receiving a portion of the funding pool. In one embodiment, the method disburses the funding pool to each eligible deceased participant. In various embodiments, the deceased participant is eligible after remitting the funding payment for the time period in which he died, the time period in which he died and a number funding payments for prior time periods, and the time period in which he died and a number funding payments for prior consecutive time periods. In various other embodiments, the deceased participant is eligible if the cause of death is the uninsured trait associated with the group of similarly situated participants of which the deceased participant was a member, and for any cause of death except and excluded cause of death. In various embodiments, the amount of the funding pool that each deceased participant receives is proportional to the funding payment received from each deceased participant for the time period in which they died, an average of the funding payments received from each deceased participant over a number of prior time periods, an average of the funding payments received from each deceased participant for the time period in which they died and a number of prior time periods, and an average of the funding payments received from each deceased participant for the time period in which they died and a number of prior consecutive time periods. The amount of the portion of the funding pool for each deceased participant is the death benefit for the deceased participant. 
     In one embodiment, the uninsurable trait includes a health condition or lifestyle risk. The health condition includes illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, heart disease, or the like, a diagnosis of cancer in remission, and a terminal illness. The lifestyle risk includes conditions such as obesity, smoking, or the like, a high risk occupation such as law enforcement, military, or the like, and a high-risk activity such as rock climbing, mountaineering, base jumping, or the like. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a network diagram that illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the hardware components of a system that performs the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram that illustrates, in greater detail, an exemplary embodiment of the hardware components shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 3A ,  3 B,  3 C, and  3 D are flow charts that illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the method performed by the life insurance cooperative program  232  shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  is a network diagram that illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the hardware components of a system that performs the present invention. The architecture shown in  FIG. 1  utilizes a network  100  to connect a number of client computers  120  to a single server computer  130  that performs the method of the present invention. In another embodiment, the processing performed by the server computer  130  is distributed among a number of server computers. In yet another embodiment, the processing performed by the server computer  130  is distributed among a combination of a server computer and a number of general-purpose computers. In yet another embodiment, the processing performed by the server computer  130  is distributed among the client computers  120  and the server computer  130 . 
     The network  100  shown in  FIG. 1 , in an exemplary embodiment, is a public communication network that connects and enables data transfer between the client computers  120  and the server computer  130 . The present invention also contemplates the use of comparable network architectures. Comparable network architectures include the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a public packet-switched network carrying data and voice packets, a wireless network, and a private network. A wireless network includes a cellular network (e.g., a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network), a satellite network, and a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) (e.g., a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) network). A private network includes a LAN, a Personal Area Network (PAN) such as a Bluetooth network, a wireless LAN, a Virtual Private Network (VPN), an intranet, or an extranet. An intranet is a private communication network that provides an organization such as a corporation, with a secure means for trusted members of the organization to access the resources on the organization&#39;s network. In contrast, an extranet is a private communication network that provides an organization, such as a corporation, with a secure means for the organization to authorize non-members of the organization to access certain resources on the organization&#39;s network. The system also contemplates network architectures and protocols such as Ethernet, Token Ring, Systems Network Architecture, Internet Protocol, Transmission Control Protocol, User Datagram Protocol, Asynchronous Transfer Mode, and proprietary network protocols comparable to the Internet Protocol. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , participants  110  operate the client computers  120  to access the network  100  and connect to the server computer  130 . Each participant  110  registers with the server computer  130 . If the participant  110  satisfies qualification criteria, the server computer  130  creates a unique identifier for the participant  110 , and groups the participant  110  with other similarly situated participants  110 .  FIG. 1  illustrates two groups of similarly situated participants  110 , Group A, and Group B. As illustrated in Group A, the two participants  110  are similarly situated participants  110  because they have a trait, such as, a health condition or a lifestyle risk, in common that prevents them from obtaining a life insurance policy. As illustrated in Group B, the three participants  110  are similarly situated participants  110  because they have a trait, such as, a health condition or a lifestyle risk, in common that prevents them from obtaining a life insurance policy. The health condition includes illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, heart disease, or the like, cancer in remission, and terminal illnesses. The lifestyle risk includes conditions such as obesity, smoking, or the like, high-risk occupations, and high-risk activities. In one embodiment, the server computer  130  may associate with the qualifying participant  110  a desired death benefit, or coverage amount, for the participant  110 . In another embodiment, the server computer  130  may associate with the qualifying participant  110  a funding payment, or commitment amount, that the participant  110  is willing to pay on a periodic basis. 
       FIG. 1  also illustrates that the network  100  connects to a funding pool  140 . The funding pool  140  is a financial institution, or depository, that receives the funding payment from the participants  110  on a periodic basis. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the connection between the server computer  130  and the funding pool  140  is via the network  100 . In another embodiment, the connection between the server computer  130  and the funding pool  140  is a direct connection. In yet another embodiment, the server computer  130  includes the funding pool  140 . 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram that illustrates, in greater detail, an exemplary embodiment of the hardware components shown in  FIG. 1 . In particular,  FIG. 2  illustrates, in greater detail, the hardware and software components that comprise the server computer  130  and the client computer  120 . 
     The server computer  130  shown in  FIG. 2  is a general-purpose computer that provides server functionality including file services, web page services, and the like. A bus  200  is a communication medium that connects a central processor unit (CPU)  205 , data storage device  210 , network adapter  215 , database  220 , and memory  230 . The network adapter  215  also connects to the network  100  and is the mechanism that facilitates the passage of network traffic between the server computer  130  and the network  100 . 
     The database  220  is a collection of data organized in such a way that a database management system can quickly store, modify, and extract the data from the database  220 . In one embodiment, the collection of data for the database  220  includes a participants table  222  for storing data related to each participant  110 , and a funding pool table  224  for storing data related to the funding provided by each participant  110 . The participants table  222  includes a record for each participant, the record including a participant identifier, uninsurable trait, group identifier, requested coverage amount, requested funding payment, eligibility indicator, and deceased indicator. The funding pool table  224  includes a record for each funding payment received from a participant, the record including a participant identifier, group identifier, time period identifier, funding payment, pool value, and disbursement amount due. The database management system may employ a relational, flat, hierarchical, object-oriented architecture, or the like. 
     The CPU  205  performs the disclosed methods by executing the sequences of operational instructions that comprise each computer program resident in, or operative on, the memory  230 . It is to be understood that the memory  230  may include operating system, administrative, and database programs that support the programs disclosed in this application. In one embodiment, the configuration of the memory  230  of the server computer  130  includes a life insurance cooperative program  232 , and web server program  240 . The life insurance cooperative program  232  includes a registration program  234 , funding program  236 , and disbursement program  238 . The web server program  240  includes an engine  242 , and web pages  244 . These computer programs store intermediate results in the memory  230 , database  220 , or data storage device  210 . These programs also receive input from the participants  110 , access the database  220 , and display the results to the participants  110 . In another embodiment, the memory  230  may swap these programs, or portions thereof, in and out of the memory  230  as needed, and thus may include fewer than all of these programs at any one time. 
     The engine  242  of the web server program  240  receives requests such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) requests from the client computers  120  to access the web pages  244  identified by uniform resource locator (URL) addresses and provides the web pages  244  in response. The requests include a registration request that triggers the server computer  130  to execute the registration program  234 , a funding request that triggers the server computer  130  to execute the funding program  236 , and a disbursement request that triggers the server computer  130  to execute the disbursement program  238 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the client computer  120  is a general-purpose computer. A bus  250  is a communication medium that connects a central processor unit (CPU)  255 , data storage device  260 , network adapter  265 , and memory  270 . The network adapter  265  also connects to the network  100  and is the mechanism that facilitates the passage of network traffic between the client computer  120  and the network  100 . 
     The CPU  255  performs the disclosed methods by executing the sequences of operational instructions that comprise each computer program resident in, or operative on, the memory  270 . It is to be understood that the memory  270  may include operating system, administrative, and database programs that support the programs disclosed in this application. In one embodiment, the configuration of the memory  270  of the client computer  120  includes a browser program  272 , and a participant identifier  274 . The participant identifier  274  is stored in a file referred to as a cookie. The server computer  130  may assign and send the participant identifier  274  to the client computer  120  once when the client computer  120  first communicates with the server computer  130 . From then on, the client computer  120  includes its participant identifier  274  with all messages sent to the server computer  130  so the server computer  130  can identify the source of the message. These computer programs store intermediate results in the memory  270 , or data storage device  260 . In another embodiment, the memory  270  may swap these programs, or portions thereof, in and out of the memory  270  as needed, and thus may include fewer than all of these programs at any one time. 
       FIGS. 3A ,  3 B,  3 C, and  3 D are flow charts that illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the method performed by the life insurance cooperative program  232  shown in  FIG. 2 . The participant  110  initiates the execution of the life insurance cooperative program  232  by accessing the web pages  244  stored on the server computer  130 . The method shown in  FIG. 3A  begins by collecting registration information and qualifies the participant  110  (step  310 ). The method then receives a funding payment from the participant  110  for a time period (step  330 ). In one embodiment, the time period is a calendar month and the method receives the funding payment from the participant  110  before the calendar month. After each time period, the method determines whether the participant  110  died during the time period (step  340 ). If the participant  110  did not die during the time period (step  340 , No branch), the method iterates to receive the funding payment from the participant  110  for the next time period (step  330 ). If the participant  110  died during the time period (step  340 , Yes branch), the method determines whether the participant  110  is eligible to receive a disbursement (step  350 ). If the participant  110  is not eligible to receive a disbursement (step  350 , No branch), the method ends. If the participant  110  is eligible to receive a disbursement (step  350 , Yes branch), the method disburses the funds, or a portion thereof, to the deceased, eligible participant  110  (step  360 ). In one embodiment, the participant  110  is immediately eligible to receive a disbursement, that is, he is eligible because he made the funding payment for the time period in which he died. In another embodiment, a deceased participant  110  is eligible to receive a disbursement because he made the funding payment for the time period in which he died and a number of funding payments for prior time periods. In yet another embodiment, a deceased participant  110  is eligible to receive a disbursement because he made the funding payment for the time period in which he died and a number of funding payments for prior consecutive time periods. For example, if the funding payments are paid monthly, in one exemplary embodiment, the participant  110  is eligible after making six consecutive funding payments (i.e., the current month and the previous five months). In another embodiment, the deceased participant  110  is eligible to receive a disbursement if a cause of death for the deceased participant  110  is the uninsurable trait associated with the group of similarly situated participants  110  of which the deceased participant  110  was a member. In yet another embodiment, the deceased participant  110  will be eligible for any cause of death except an excluded cause of death such as suicide, fraud, war, riot, civil commotion, or the like. 
       FIG. 3B  is a flow chart that illustrates, in greater detail, the collection of registration information and qualification of the participant  110  (step  310 ) shown in  FIG. 3A . The flow chart shown in  FIG. 3B  also illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the method performed by the registration program  234  shown in  FIG. 2 . The method shown in  FIG. 3B  begins by collecting registration information from the participant  110 . The collection of the registration information includes collection of personal information (step  312 ), collection of contact information (step  314 ), collection of uninsurable trait information (step  316 ), and collection of previous coverage information (step  318 ). The personal information includes information such as the participants  110  first name, last name, date of birth, gender, whether he accepts the terms and conditions, and the like. The contact information includes information such as the participants  110  username, password, address, phone number, e-mail address, and the like. The uninsurable trait information includes information such as the participants  110  health conditions, lifestyle risks, and the like. The previous coverage information includes information such as the participants  110  requested amount of coverage, requested amount of funding payment, whether he was previously denied coverage for a life insurance policy and the reason for the denial, and the like. One exemplary means for collecting the registration information is the web pages  244  stored on the server computer  130 . The client computer  120  sends a web page request to the server computer  130 . In response, the client computer receives the web pages  244  that it displays to the participant  110 . The participant  110  enters the registration information on the web pages  244 , and uses a control means such as a button to send the registration information to the server computer  130  where it is stored in the data storage device  210 , database  220 , memory  230 , or any combination thereof. The method then determines whether the participant qualifies to receive the death benefit (step  320 ). In one embodiment, the method determines whether the participant  110  qualifies by analyzing the registration information. The analysis includes determining whether the participant  110  has an uninsurable trait, whether an insurer previously denied the participant  110  coverage for a life insurance policy, and whether the number of similarly situated participants  110  provides a sufficient death benefit for the participant  110 . If the participant  110  does not qualify (step  320 , No branch), the method ends. If the participant  110  qualifies (step  320 , Yes branch), the method associates the participant with a group of similarly situated participants  110  (step  322 ). In one embodiment, the participant  110  is associated with only one group of similarly situated participants  110  even though the participant  110  may have a number of uninsurable traits. In another embodiment, the participant  110  is associated with a number of groups of similarly situated participants  110 . In yet another embodiment, every participant  110  regardless of their uninsurable trait is associated with one group, that is, every participant  110  is similarly situated because they have an uninsurable trait. The method then determines whether the participant  110  is providing a requested coverage amount or a requested funding payment (step  324 ). If the participant  110  provides a requested coverage amount (step  324 , Requested Coverage Amount branch), the method determines the expected funding payment for the participant  110  to pay to obtain the requested coverage amount (step  326 ). If the participant  110  provides a requested funding payment (step  324 , Requested Funding Payment branch), the method determines the expected coverage amount that the participant  110  may obtain by paying the requested funding payment (step  328 ). 
       FIG. 3C  is a flow chart that illustrates, in greater detail, the receipt of funding from the participant  110  (step  330 ) shown in  FIG. 3A . The flow chart shown in  FIG. 3C  also illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the method performed by the funding program  236  shown in  FIG. 2 . The participant  110  initiates the execution of the funding program  236  by sending a funding request via the network  100  to the server computer  130 . The method shown in  FIG. 3C  begins by receiving a periodic payment from a participant  110  (step  332 ) via an electronic funds transfer, credit card transaction, check, or the like. The method then associates the payment with the participant  110  in the funding pool table  224  of the database  220  (step  334 ). The method then transfers the payment from the participant  110  to the funding pool  140  (step  336 ). 
       FIG. 3D  is a flow chart that illustrates, in greater detail, the disbursing of funds to the participant  110  (step  360 ) shown in  FIG. 3A . The flow chart shown in  FIG. 3D  also illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the method performed by the disbursement program  238  shown in  FIG. 2 . The participant  110  initiates the execution of the disbursement program  238  by sending a disbursement request via the network  100  to the server computer  130 . The method shown in  FIG. 3D  begins by determining the number of participants who died during the previous period (step  362 ). The method then determines the cause of death for each deceased participant (step  364 ). In one embodiment, each deceased participant is eligible only if the documented cause of death is the health condition or lifestyle risk that defined the group of similarly situated participants  110  of which the deceased participant  110  was a member. In another embodiment, each deceased participant is eligible unless the documented cause of death is an excluded cause of death, such as, suicide, fraud, war, riot, civil commotion, or the like. The method then computes the funding pool available for disbursement (step  366 ). In one embodiment, the funding pool available for disbursement is the sum of the funding payments made by participants in the group during the previous period, less any operating costs to implement the life insurance cooperative. The method then computes the portion of the funding pool to disburse to each deceased and eligible participant  110  (step  368 ). In one embodiment, the computation of the disbursement for each deceased and eligible participant  110  is proportional to the funding payment received from each deceased participant  110  for the time period in which they died. In another embodiment, the computation of the disbursement for each deceased and eligible participant  110  is proportional to an average of the funding payments received from each deceased and eligible participant  110  over a number of prior time periods. In yet another embodiment, the computation of the disbursement for each deceased and eligible participant  110  is proportional to an average of the funding payments received from each deceased and eligible participant  110  for the time period in which they died and a number of prior time periods. In yet another embodiment, the computation of the disbursement for each deceased and eligible participant  110  is proportional to an average of the funding payments received from each deceased and eligible participant  110  for the time period in which they died and a number of prior consecutive time periods. For example, if funding payments are received monthly, the disbursement for a deceased and eligible participant  110  is the pro-rated share of the funding pool available based on the average funding payment for the deceased and eligible participant  110  for the current month and the previous five months. The method then transfers the computed disbursement to each deceased and eligible participant  110  (step  370 ). 
     Although the disclosed exemplary embodiments describe a fully functioning business method and computing system for providing a death benefit to an individual having an uninsurable trait, the reader should understand that other equivalent exemplary embodiments exist. Since numerous modifications and variations will occur to those reviewing this disclosure, the business method and computing system for providing a death benefit to an individual having an uninsurable trait is not limited to the exact construction and operation illustrated and disclosed. Accordingly, this disclosure intends all suitable modifications and equivalents to fall within the scope of the claims.