Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/031,927, filed Feb. 15, 2008, and having the title “Real-Time Insurance Estimate Based on Non-Personal Identifying Information.” 
    
    
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to insurance. More specifically, the invention provides methods and systems for providing in real-time an estimated insurance premium to a user based on a minimum amount of non-personal identifying information. The invention may be used, for example, to provide estimates of premiums for auto insurance, motorcycle insurance, homeowner&#39;s insurance, condo insurance, and renter&#39;s insurance, among others. The invention is preferably accessed by a user over a computer network such as the Internet. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Consumers often indicate that obtaining an insurance product can be a time consuming and tedious process, requiring the consumer to provide detailed information that often is not readily remembered by or available to the consumer. The consumer must research information requested by an insurance agent in order to obtain a reliable indication of how much the consumer&#39;s insurance premium might be. As a result, consumers can be hesitant to research insurance rates because of the time believed to be involved with obtaining an insurance quote. 
     A previous approach involved obtaining in-depth information about the consumer in order to develop a price estimate. Because insurance, e.g., auto insurance, is tailored to the individual applying for insurance and/or the property being insured, the individual would provide his or her driver&#39;s license number, home address, VIN number for the vehicle(s) and other specific personal information. Based on this specific personal information, the agent or insurance company would use sophisticated quoting tools and charts to develop a quote. The extent of this personal information creates a barrier to marketing and lead generation because it is time-consuming for the customer to provide. Additionally, as consumers&#39; sensitivity to providing personal information has increased, consumers increasingly do not want to provide such extensive information in order to shop for insurance. 
     As an alternative to providing detailed information to obtain a quote, consumers often request a less precise estimate of what his or her insurance premium might be. However, given the large number of factors that must be taken into account in determining an insurance quote, providing even an estimate can be a difficult task. The basic tension in providing a meaningful estimated insurance quote to a member of the public, who is not an existing customer of an insurance company, is accuracy versus speed. Both elements of this equation are largely dependent upon the amount of information provided—the information which forms the basis for an estimated quote. If the person submits a great deal of information to the process then the estimate will likely be much more accurate, but the process will also be very time consuming and cumbersome to the person. At the other end of the spectrum, if the person submits very little information to the quoting process then the process is much more “user friendly” and quicker; however, the estimate may not be very accurate. 
     Inaccurate estimates result in lower chances of closing on a new policy with the consumer as well as decreased customer satisfaction. When the consumer subsequently provides more detailed information and the policy for that individual is developed, the price might not meet the expectations of the consumer because his or her expectations were premised on the estimate that turned out to be inaccurate. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below. 
     To overcome limitations in the prior art described above, and to overcome other limitations that will be apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, aspects of the present invention are directed to methods and systems that quickly develop an insurance estimate based on a minimum of readily known information obtained from an individual consumer. The individual consumer can self-declare and input the information according to predetermined value filters. Through a range of choices provided to the individual consumer, the consumer can select from a number of coverage options that most accurately reflect his or her needs. According to an aspect of the invention, the individual consumer does not need to identify herself or provide information which could be used to identify her, thereby avoiding privacy concerns on the part of the consumer. That is, only readily known information is requested so the user does not have to track down or research the information, and only non-personal identifying information is requested, thereby alleviating privacy concerns while still providing an estimate to the user quickly, e.g., under 30 seconds. 
     A first aspect of the invention describes a method for providing an insurance estimate by analyzing a rate model to determine, for each of a plurality of rate factors, an insurance risk associated with multiple different values of the rate factor. The method determines one or more assumptions based on historical rate plan data, where each assumption is true for at least a predetermined percentage of historical insured individuals in the historical rate plan data, and selects a subset of the plurality of rate factors that, combined with the one or more assumptions, yields a substantially accurate insurance estimate when a value input filter corresponding to the rate factor is applied to the historical rate plan data and is re-input into the rate model. Upon receiving user input for each of the subset of the plurality of rate factors using each corresponding value input filter, the method determines an estimated insurance premium using the rate model based on the received user input. 
     According to other aspects of the invention, the method may determine one of the value rate filters by grouping values of the corresponding rate factor that yield minimal risk differentiation. Each rate factor in the subset of the plurality of rate factors preferably corresponds to non-personal identifying data. 
     According to an aspect of the invention, an automobile insurance estimate is provided and the subset of the plurality of rate factors consists of: zip code, gender, marital status, driving history, vehicle year, vehicle make, vehicle model, ownership status of real estate, credit worthiness, and length of time with current automobile insurer. 
     These and other aspects of the invention are described in more detail below to provide methods and systems for providing estimated insurance quotes and/or premiums. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the following description in consideration of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate like features, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a system and network architecture that may be used according to one or more illustrative aspects of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a method of providing an insurance estimate according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 12  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 13  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 14  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 15  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 16  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 17  illustrates a screen shot of a user interface according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
         FIG. 18  illustrates a method of providing an insurance estimate according to an illustrative aspect of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following description of the various embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Aspects of the invention provide an insurance estimating tool that calculates an estimated insurance quote for a consumer without requiring the consumer to disclose personally identifying information. The consumer does not have to disclose name, social security number (SSN), address, vehicle VIN number, or other information unique to that person or specific property being insured. Instead the consumer is allowed to self-declare general characteristics about him or herself or the property. The specifically requested characteristics are preferably highly-predictive of the consumer&#39;s potential insurance quote and allow for the development of a range of estimates from which the consumer can select one that best applies to him or her. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates one example of a network architecture and data processing device that may be used to implement one or more illustrative aspects of the invention. Various components  103 ,  105 ,  107 , and  109  may be interconnected via a network  101 , such as the Internet. Other networks may also or alternatively be used, including private intranets, local LANs, wireless WANs, personal PANs, and the like. The components may include an insurance rate server  103 , web server  105 , and client computers  107 ,  109 . Rate server  103  provides overall control and administration of providing insurance quotes and estimates to users according to aspects described herein. Rate server  103  may be connected to web server  105  through which users interact with and obtain insurance rates. Alternatively, rate server  103  may act as a web server itself and be directly connected to the Internet. Rate server  103  may be connected to web server  105  through the network  101  (e.g., the Internet), or via some other network (not shown). Users may interact with the rate server  103  using remote computers  107 ,  109 , e.g., using a web browser to connect to the rate server  103  via one or more externally exposed web sites hosted by web server  105 . Servers and applications may be combined on the same physical machines, and retain separate virtual or logical addresses, or may reside on separate physical machines.  FIG. 1  illustrates but one example of a network architecture that may be used, and those of skill in the art will appreciate that the specific network architecture and date processing device used may vary, and are secondary to the functionality that they provide, as further described below. 
     Each component  103 ,  105 ,  107 ,  109  may be any type of known computer, server, or data processing device. Rate server  103 , e.g., may include a processor  111  controlling overall operation of the rate server  103 . Rate server  103  may further include RAM  113 , ROM  115 , network interface  117 , input/output interfaces  119  (e.g., keyboard, mouse, display, printer, etc.), and memory  121 . Memory  121  may further store operating system software  123  for controlling overall operation of the data processing device  103 , control logic  125  for instructing rate server  103  to perform aspects of the invention as described herein, and other application software  127  providing secondary support or other functionality which may or may not be used in conjunction with aspects of the present invention. The control logic may be referred to herein as the rate server software  125 . Functionality of the rate server software may refer to operations or decisions made automatically based on rules coded into the control logic, or made manually by a user providing input into the system. 
     Memory  121  may also store data used in performance of one or more aspects of the invention, including a rate model database  129  and a historical database  131 . Rate model database  129  may define rules, restrictions, qualifications, and conditions which, when met, result in providing a customer an insurance product at a given rate, i.e., when the customer pays an insurance premium as determined by a rate model or rate models encoded within the rate model database  129 . For example, one rule might indicate that a married male driver has reduced insurance as compared to a single male driver, or that a driver under the age of 25 must pay a higher rate than a driver who is 25 years old or older. Historical database  131  stores information about what actual customers have paid for insurance in the past, as well as the information on which those insurance prices were based, e.g., age, insured products, types of insurance, length of term with insurance company, etc. In some embodiments, the rate model database may include the historical database. That is, the information can be stored in a single database, or separated into different logical, virtual, or physical databases, depending on system design. 
     Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the functionality of data processing device  103  as described herein may be spread across multiple data processing devices, for example, to distribute processing load across multiple computers, to segregate transactions based on geographic location, insurer, insured, type of insurance, etc. In addition, one or more aspects of the invention may be embodied in computer-usable data and computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types when executed by a processor in a computer or other device. The computer executable instructions may be stored on a computer readable medium such as a hard disk, optical disk, removable storage media, solid state memory, RAM, etc. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. In addition, the functionality may be embodied in whole or in part in firmware or hardware equivalents such as integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like. Particular data structures may be used to more effectively implement one or more aspects of the invention, and such data structures are contemplated within the scope of computer executable instructions and computer-usable data described herein. 
     As previously discussed, aspects of the invention provide a tool that calculates, determines, or develops an insurance estimate for a consumer without requiring the consumer to disclose personally identifying information. Unlike previous approaches used to estimate insurance premium, aspects of the present invention provide an insurance estimate based on a few pieces of information readily available to the consumer without requiring the consumer to perform exhaustive research to obtain the requested information. The user can preferably enter the information through an intuitive and user-friendly web-based application. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a method for providing an insurance estimate according to one or more aspects of the invention. Initially, in step  201 , an insurance provider analyzes the rate model in conjunction with the historical rate data to determine, for each of a plurality of rate factors, an insurance risk associated with multiple different values of the rate factor. A rate factor, as used herein, refers to any variable or information associated with a consumer that can affect the price the consumer might pay for an insurance product. Rate factors may include, e.g., age, gender, geographic location, marital status, car make, car model, car year, VIN number, accident history, credit history and/or rating, occupation, educational history, educational performance, and criminal record, among other things. This is not an exhaustive list of rate factors, but rather is illustrative of the type of information that an insurance company might request prior to providing an insurance contract to a customer. During step  201 , each possible rate factor is analyzed to determine whether it provides meaningful risk differentiation based on various input values and, if so, it is determined what input values should be grouped together to simplify the input process while providing meaningful information from which an insurance estimate could be based. 
     As an example, a consumer&#39;s age may provide a good indication of the risk associated with that consumer. I.e., an 18 year old driver typically has a much higher risk of getting into an automobile accident than a 40 year old driver. However, an 18 year old driver might have a risk very similar to that of a 19 year old driver (all other things being equal), and thus the system might not care whether a consumer is 18 or 19 years old for purposes of providing an estimate. As a result, those performing the analysis may determine that a consumer&#39;s age should be included in the estimation process, but that a specific age is not required. Instead, the user might only be required to indicate an age range he or she is in. Alternatively, a user may be required to indicate an exact age. 
     As another example, a consumer&#39;s driving history may be relevant, but there might be little differentiation in risk among all users who have had 2 or more accidents or moving violations in the past five (or some other number) of years. Thus, while driving history may also be required, the consumer might only be required to provide an indication of whether the consumer has had 0, 1, or greater than 1 accidents or moving violations in the past five years. For example, two or more accidents and violations within the last five years for a single driver all get approximately the same rate, because having 3 or 4 accidents does not have a significant impact on the quote as compared to 2 accidents because few drivers have more than 2 incidents. The three possible values of 0, 1, and 2+ are defined by and referred to as a value input filter corresponding to the driving history rate factor. Value input filters also act to ensure that valid and/or understandable input is received from a user (e.g., the response “I don&#39;t recall any” would not be particularly helpful to an automated insurance estimation tool). 
     In step  203 , it is determined which rate factors provide the best indication of resulting insurance rates, as well as levels of those rate factors that provide meaningful variations in risk. That is, the analysis in step  203  may include a two-part process: first, determine which rate factors act as the best indicators of risk, and second, determine cutoff values or ranges within that rate factor that provide more meaningful differentiation between levels of risk. There are different combinations of rate factors that might result in fairly accurate insurance estimates. However, in order to encourage users to complete the insurance estimation process, the insurer preferably selects only rate factors that do not yield personal identifying information, e.g., name, street address, telephone number, driver&#39;s license number and/or social security number are not used. The possible rate factors may be ranked and selected so that a minimum number of rate factors may be used to provide the best indication of potential risk regarding a consumer. Factors may also be selected on the basis of whether the consumer is likely to object to providing the information in an informal estimation process, and also based on whether the consumer is likely to have the information readily available (as opposed to requiring further or subsequent research of information not immediately available to the consumer). Other bases may also be used to select rate factors for use in the estimation process. 
     According to an illustrative embodiment of the invention, the following rate factors and value input filters, based on information obtained from prospective driver(s), may be used in determining an automobile insurance estimate: 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Auto Insurance Rate Factors and Value Input Filters 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Rate Factor 
                 Value Input Filter 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Zip Code 
                 Compare against known list of  
               
               
                   
                 valid zip codes 
               
               
                 Gender 
                 Male, Female 
               
               
                 Marital Status 
                 Single, Married 
               
               
                 Age 
                 Yearly increments from 16-55, or 
               
               
                   
                 55+ 
               
               
                 Accidents/Violations in past 5 years 
                 0, 1, 2+ 
               
               
                 Car Year 
                 Valid Year, e.g., 1970-Present year 
               
               
                 Car Make 
                 Manufacturer known to have made 
               
               
                   
                 at least 1 car during selected Car 
               
               
                   
                 Year 
               
               
                 Car Model 
                 Model of car known to have been 
               
               
                   
                 made by manufacturer selected as 
               
               
                   
                 Car Make 
               
               
                 Residence 
                 Own, Rent, Neither 
               
               
                 General Bill Payment History 
                 Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, 
               
               
                   
                 Poor 
               
               
                 Length of continuous auto insurance 
                 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3+, 5+, 10+ years 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Next, in step  205 , based on the selected rate factors and value input filters, assumptions are determined that are likely to yield realistic estimates based on the value input filters for the selected rate factors. By using key assumptions derived from the analyzed historical data, the quoting process is quicker and more efficient than previous solutions. The historical data is analyzed to determine the information corresponding to the previous consumers that yields accurate results when the previous consumers&#39; information is used as input back into the estimation process. That is, the historical data is analyzed to determine what assumptions need to be made, after using the historical data as input into the estimation process, to yield realistic estimates when the historical data is plugged back into the rate model  129 . Assumptions can include selections made by a majority of previous consumers regarding insurance options, or may include information known or associated with a majority of previous insurance purchasers. For example, the historical data may be analyzed to determine what level of insurance previous consumers selected, e.g., $100K per person/$300K per accident, $500 deductible, medical payment options, etc. The historical data may also be analyzed to determine what information is common to most consumers seeking automobile insurance, e.g., that all drivers were licensed at age 16 and have verifiable driving records, and/or that no driver in the household has had their license suspended or revoked in the past 5 years. 
     As an example, the historical data may include actual rates paid by previous consumers, as well as those consumers&#39; ages, driving histories, car information, etc. Information for one or more of the previous consumers is used as input into the estimation model, e.g., the rate model  129 . The results are compared with the actual rates the consumer paid, which can then be used to determine which assumptions need to be made so that the actual rate and the estimated rate are within a predetermined amount of each other. The predetermined amount can be any percentage or dollar amount based on the desired accuracy of the system. 
     As another example, assumptions may be generated from information corresponding to the previous consumers not related to the selected rate factors, e.g., selected insurance levels, miles driven to work, etc. In such an embodiment, the previous consumers need not necessarily be used as input back into the rate model to determine assumptions, but rather the assumptions may be generated based on information common to many previous customers. That is, historical data trends may be used to generate assumptions for future estimates. 
     According to an illustrative embodiment, the following assumptions may be used during the estimation process: 
     Driver Assumptions: 1. All drivers were licensed at age 16 and have verifiable driving records. 2. No driver in the household has had their license suspended or revoked in the past 5 years (MD and WA: past 3 years). 3. All drivers reside at the primary residence and all vehicles are garaged and/or parked at that residence. The primary residence is assumed to be within the ZIP code entered. 4. For accidents and violations entered by the consumer, the insurer has assumed that all accidents are “at-fault” accidents, and that all violations are minor. The insurer may also assume that all accidents and violations occurred between 2 and 5 years ago, i.e., that none of them were in the past two years. 
     Vehicle Assumptions: 1. All vehicles identified in the estimate are each driven at least 7,500 miles annually. (CA and CO, and/or other states as appropriate: 12,000 miles annually), and were purchased in the same year as the model year. 2. All vehicles identified in the estimate are driven to and from work (less than or equal to 20 miles each way). If the consumer is 55 or older and retired, it&#39;s assumed the vehicle driven is driven solely for pleasure. 3. Unless otherwise noted, coverages and deductibles selected will apply to each vehicle. 4. The estimate is based on the year, make, and model of the vehicle and does not consider the specific sub-model details. 
     Personal Assumptions: 1. If the consumer indicates that he or she owns his or her primary residence, it&#39;s assumed to be a single family home or condominium. 2. The insurance score assumed for this estimate is based on the consumer&#39;s self-assessment of General Bill Payment History. 3. Continuous insurance coverage is assumed to have been with the same insurance carrier and not with multiple insurance carriers. Carrier is assumed to be a “standard” insurance company. 4. If the consumer indicates that s/he currently carries auto insurance, it is assumed the limits of the Bodily Injury Liability coverage are equivalent to the most popular limits among customers in the consumer&#39;s state ($100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident in most states). 
     Steps  201 - 205  may be performed in any order, or may be combined or split into further levels of granularity. For example, assumptions may be determined prior to selecting the rate factors to use in the estimation process, or the assumptions and selection may be performed at the same time. 
     In step  207  a user, e.g., a prospective insurance purchaser, provides input to rate server software  125  (e.g., via web server  105 ) for each of the selected rate factors. The input is provided according to the value input filter corresponding to each selected rate factor. Then, in step  209 , the rate server  103  determines an estimated amount of an insurance premium for the consumer based on information stored in the rate model  129 . Step  209  may include determining one estimate or a range of insurance estimates based on a variety of options the user may select as part of the insurance product. For example, estimates may be provided for varying levels of protection ($100K, $250K, $500K, etc.), varying deductibles, with and without collision insurance, and/or any other options the user may be able to select. 
     In step  211  the estimate or estimates are presented to the user. When multiple estimates are presented to the user, the estimates are preferably presented in a dynamic format or media so the user can explore the assumptions and/or options associated with each estimate. According to an illustrative embodiment, the range of estimates may be presented in a grid where each successive row provides an estimate associated with an increasing level of insurance coverage (e.g., $25K/$50K, $100K/$300K, and $250K/$500K), and each column provides an estimate associated with an increasing number of add-on options associated with the insurance coverage (e.g., accident forgiveness, Deductible Rewards SM , Safe Driving Bonus SM , etc.). 
     According to an illustrative embodiment, automobile insurance estimates may be provided in a grid reflecting the following insurance levels (Collision Deductible, Comprehensive Deductible, Bodily Injury limits, Property Damage limit, Medical Payment limit, Uninsured Motorist limits) and add-on options. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Sample Grid of Insurance Levels and Add-Ons 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Coll. Deduct.: 
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
               
               
                 Compr.  
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
               
               
                 Deduct.: 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Bodily Injury: 
                 $25K/ 
                 $25K/ 
                 $25K/ 
                 $25K/ 
               
               
                   
                 $50K 
                 $50K 
                 $50K 
                 $50K 
               
               
                 Prop.  
                 $20K 
                 $20K 
                 $20K 
                 $20K 
               
               
                 Damage: 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Medical: 
                 None 
                 None 
                 None 
                 None 
               
               
                 Uninsured  
                 $25K/ 
                 $25K/ 
                 $25K/ 
                 $25K/ 
               
               
                 Motor.: 
                 $50K 
                 $50K 
                 $50K 
                 $50K 
               
               
                 Bonus  
                 Direct Deposit  
                 Accident 
                 Accident 
                 Accident 
               
               
                 Features 
                 Payments 
                 Forgiveness 
                 Forgiveness 
                 Forgiveness 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Deductible 
                 Safe  
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Rewards  SM    
                 Driving 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Bonus  SM    
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Deductible 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Rewards  SM    
               
               
                 Coll. Deduct.: 
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
               
               
                 Compr.  
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
               
               
                 Deduct.: 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Bodily Injury: 
                 $100K/ 
                 $100K/ 
                 $100K/ 
                 $100K/ 
               
               
                   
                 $300K 
                 $300K 
                 $300K 
                 $300K 
               
               
                 Prop.  
                 $100,000 
                 $100,000 
                 $100,000 
                 $100,000 
               
               
                 Damage: 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Medical: 
                 $1,000 
                 $1,000 
                 $1,000 
                 $1,000 
               
               
                 Uninsured  
                 $100K/ 
                 $100K/ 
                 $100K/ 
                 $100K/ 
               
               
                 Motor.: 
                 $300K 
                 $300K 
                 $300K 
                 $300K 
               
               
                 Bonus  
                 Direct Deposit 
                 Accident 
                 Accident 
                 Accident 
               
               
                 Features 
                 Payments 
                 Forgiveness 
                 Forgiveness 
                 Forgiveness 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Deductible 
                 Safe  
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Rewards  SM    
                 Driving 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Bonus  SM    
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Deductible 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Rewards  SM    
               
               
                 Coll. Deduct.: 
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
               
               
                 Compr.  
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
                 $500 
               
               
                 Deduct.: 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Bodily Injury: 
                 $250K/ 
                 $250K/ 
                 $250K/ 
                 $250K/ 
               
               
                   
                 $500K 
                 $500K 
                 $500K 
                 $500K 
               
               
                 Prop.  
                 $200,000 
                 $200,000 
                 $200,000 
                 $200,000 
               
               
                 Damage: 
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                 Medical: 
                 $2,000 
                 $2,000 
                 $2,000 
                 $2,000 
               
               
                 Uninsured  
                 $250K/ 
                 $250K/ 
                 $250K/ 
                 $250K/ 
               
               
                 Motor.: 
                 $500K 
                 $500K 
                 $500K 
                 $500K 
               
               
                 Bonus  
                 Direct Deposit 
                 Accident 
                 Accident 
                 Accident 
               
               
                 Features 
                 Payments 
                 Forgiveness 
                 Forgiveness 
                 Forgiveness 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Deductible 
                 Safe  
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Rewards  SM    
                 Driving 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Bonus  SM    
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Deductible 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Rewards  SM    
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Using the above method, users can self declare non-personally identifying information to obtain an estimated amount for an insurance premium, thereby allowing the consumer to remain anonymous. The consumer can then select from a range of insurance packages at varying price points that reflect a broad range of insurance services offered, and the consumer can select the choice that most closely reflects his or her current needs. 
     Beginning with  FIG. 3 , a sample user interface available to consumers over the Internet will now be described. The user interface comprises many different screens as shown below, and may be exposed to the user via web server  105 , with resultant estimates computed by rate server  103 . Other system architectures may of course be used. 
     In  FIG. 3 , web server  105  displays a first screen  301  providing a general introduction to the consumer, and requesting initial basic information  303 ,  305 ,  307 . The user inputs his or her zip code  303 , the type of insurance  305  for which the user desires to obtain an estimate, and whether the user wants to start a new quote or continue a saved quote in option box  307 . Upon entering the information, the web server may display optional screen  401  ( FIG. 4 ) to provide additional information to the user while loading subsequent information, e.g., java, flash, or other applet code or software to the user&#39;s client computer  107  or  109  at the direction of web server  105 . 
     When the user is ready to begin, the user selects start button  403  and proceeds to user interface  501  illustrated in  FIG. 5 . In  FIG. 5 , user interface  501  is presently displaying information regarding Drivers tab  503 , through which the user can enter driver information. Other available tabs, discussed further below, include a Vehicles tab  505 , Background tab  507 , and Pick a Plan tab  509 . The user selects Add button  511  to add a driver to the estimate, and Next button  513  to move to the next tab. The user at any time can select or hover over the Assumptions control  515  to learn what assumptions are being made during the estimation process, e.g., Driver Assumptions  1703 , Vehicle Assumptions  1705 , and Personal (aka, Background) Assumptions  1707 , through an assumptions user interface  1701 , illustrated in  FIG. 17 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 6 , upon selecting Add button  511 , web server  105  displays selection list  603  for the user to select gender and marital status of the driver to be added to the insurance quote. As used herein, when web server  106  is indicated as performing some function, that function may be performed by web server  105  directly, or may be performed by software downloaded from web server  105  to the user&#39;s computer  107  and executing on the user&#39;s computer  107 , e.g., a java module, Flash or Shockwave program, etc. Upon selecting one of the gender/marital status options, the user is prompted to enter the driver&#39;s age and driving history as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates user interface  501  for the Driver tab  503 , which now indicates that one (1) driver has been added. User interface  501  also displays an Age input control  703  and Driving History input control  705 . Each input control may be any type of user input device, e.g., slider bars, drop down lists, radio buttons, check boxes, text boxes, etc. Here, input controls  703 ,  705  are sliders, where each position on the slider corresponding to a valid input as defined by the value input filter corresponding to the rate factor for which input is sought. In the case of Age input control  703 , the user can slide the slider ball  704  until the desired age is displayed above the ball  704  (here, the selected age of 35 is displayed above the slider ball  704 ). Next, the user selects the driving history  705  that best corresponds to the driver. The allowable options, again defined by a value input filter, are 0, 1, and 2+, selectable via slider ball  706 . On each screen, supplementary information corresponding to the active input control may displayed in information area  707 . When the user is satisfied with the input, as confirmed in sidebar  709 , the user selects Next button  513 . 
     In  FIG. 8  user interface  501  now displays the Vehicles tab  505 . The Vehicles tab  505  is the screen through which the user enters information regarding each of the vehicles that is to be insured. The user can select Add button  803  to add a vehicle to the estimate, or Next button  805  when done entering vehicle information to move on to the next tab. Upon selecting Add button  803 , user interface  501  displays vehicle information input controls  903 ,  905 ,  907 , as illustrated in  FIG. 9 . In  FIG. 9 , user interface  501  displays Vehicle Year input control  903 , Vehicle Make input control  905 , and Vehicle Model input control  907 . Each input control can be any variety of input control, including drop down lists, radio boxes, text input boxes, constrained lists, etc., as are known in the art. In this illustrative embodiment, input controls  903 ,  905 ,  907  are drop down lists from which a user can select valid input values as defined by the value input filters corresponding to each of the Vehicle Year input control  903 , Vehicle Make input control  905 , and Vehicle Model input control  907 . The user can confirm the information input via sidebar  911 , which displays the input information for each vehicle entered as part of the quote process. User interface  501  also updates Vehicles tab  505  to indicate the number of vehicles that have been added (here, one). Upon completion of entering all desired vehicles, for example as illustrated in  FIG. 10  where two vehicles have been entered by the user, the user selects Next button  805  to proceed. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates user interface  501  displaying the Background tab  507 . The Background tab  507  is the screen through which the user enters background information regarding each of the drivers input via the Driver tab  503  ( FIG. 7 ). Background tab  507  includes Residence input control  1103 , Bill Payment History input control  1105 , and Insurance History input control  1107 . Each input control can be any variety of input control, including drop down lists, sliders, radio boxes, text input boxes, constrained lists, etc., as are known in the art. In this illustrative embodiment, input controls  1103 ,  1105 ,  1107  are sliders which a user can manipulate into a position corresponding to the desired input value. The slider positions are constrained to valid input values as defined by the value input filters corresponding to each of the Residence input control  1103 , Bill Payment History input control  1105 , and Insurance History input control  1107 . Additional information regarding the active input control may be displayed in information area  707 . After entering the requested information, the user selects Next button  1109 , which sends the last of the required information to web server  105  and rate server  103  for processing. 
     After rate server  103  has processed the information and compared the information to rate model  129  using any desired rate model, rate server sends rate information to web server  105  for presentation to the user via output grid  1201  displayed in the Pick a Plan tab  509  of user interface  501 , e.g., as illustrated in  FIG. 12 . The output grid  1201 , in this illustrative embodiment, displays estimated 6 month premiums corresponding to the levels of insurance and add-ons shown in Table 2, above. When the user hovers over one of the grid entries with his or her mouse, additional information is displayed via popup interface  1301 , illustrated in  FIG. 13  with respect to the Enhanced Value Package and in  FIG. 14  with respect to the Enhanced Plus Platinum Package. Also as illustrated in  1303 , when the user hovers over a row, a drop down arrow  1303  may be displayed corresponding to the packages in that row. Upon selection of drop down arrow  1303 , detailed descriptive information  1502  common to all packages within that row may be displayed, for example as illustrated in  FIG. 15 . 
       FIG. 16  illustrates informational screen  1601  which may be displayed when the user selects one of the provided estimates, here the Gold Package with Enhanced Plus (i.e., the Gold Package column and Enhanced Plus row of the grid). The estimation process is now complete, and the user can proceed to obtain a firm quote, e.g., from a local agent, via input button  1603 , print the estimate via input control  1605 , or cancel and return to the grid via input control  1607 . 
     At any point during the above process the user can roll/hover over informational icons, appearing in this illustrative embodiment as question marks in parentheses “(?)” displayed on the various user interface screens, to obtain additional information regarding the item next to which the informational icon (?) appears. Also at any time during the process the user can reset all the information entered so far via Reset input control  517  ( FIG. 5 ), or cancel out of the entire process via Cancel input control  519  ( FIG. 5 ). 
       FIG. 18  illustrates the method depicted in  FIGS. 3-17 . Initially, in step  1801 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3  the rate server obtains the desired geographic location of coverage, e.g., via a user interface provided to the user via web server  105  and client computer  107  or  109 . Next, in step  1803 , the user inputs the gender and marital status for the first driver. The gender uses the value input filter [male, female], and marital status uses the value input filter [single, married]. According to some embodiments, gender and marital status may be provided simultaneously. In step  1805  the user provides the age and driving history for the first driver. Age is provided according to a value input filter of [16, 17, . . . , 54, 55+], and driving history uses the value input filter [0, 1, 2+]. Steps  1803  and  1805  are illustrated in  FIGS. 5-7 . If there are additional drivers to be insured, the method returns back to step  1803  to obtain driver information for each additional driver from the user. 
     In step  1807  the user provides the year, make, and model for each vehicle to be insured. The vehicle year is preferably provided first according to a value input filter similar to [1970, 1971, . . . , &lt;present year&gt;]. The make is then selected from a value input filter that includes all manufacturers that manufactured an insurable car during the selected year. The model is selected from a value input filter that includes all insurable models manufactured by the selected manufacturer. Step  1807  is illustrated further in  FIGS. 8-10 . 
     In step  1809  the system obtains residence information from the user, indicating whether the user owns or rents (or neither) his or her home. The value input filter [own, rent, neither] may be used. In step  1811  the user provides a self declaration of bill payment history based on a value input filter similar to [Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor], and in step  1813  provides a self declaration of prior insurance history. The prior insurance history may be entered according to the value input filter [0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3+, 5+, 10+], where the selected value is in years. Steps  1809 - 1813  are illustrated further in  FIG. 11 . Allowing users to self-declare information helps to alleviate privacy concerns, because the user is not required to authorize the insurer to obtain personal information from alternative sources. 
     After the user completes the data entry portions of the process, the rate server in step  1815  generates one or more insurance estimates based on the received information, and displays the generated estimate(s) to the user via a user interface, e.g., an interactive dynamic user interface as illustrated in  FIGS. 12-17 . If the user desires to obtain another estimate, the method may return to step  1801 , otherwise the estimation process ends. The steps illustrated in  FIG. 18  may be reordered, combined, or split, without affecting the usability of the data. In addition, the data may be obtained via a user interface, or may be manually entered by an employee of the insurer (e.g., a customer service representative) based on verbal information given to the employee by the user over the phone, via written information received on an estimate inquiry form, or via other communication media. 
     Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Technology Category: 3