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Insurance Abstract
The present disclosure describes an approach to constructing and
implementing risk rating products that provides a number of advantages.
Instead of hard-coding attributes of a risk rating scheme, which
requires the assistance of a trained programming specialist for
any modifications, adjustments, or new products, the present invention
provides a set of modular tools that assist non-specialists in on-the-fly
generation and implementation of risk rating products. The modularity
of this approach facilitates the modification and/or updating of
a system component without affecting the operation of other components.
Described herein are embodiments of system tools configured to read
a risk rating scheme data-structure and generate a user interface
whereby a user may enter information characteristic of an insurable
risk and receive a quote indicative of a price for binding an insurance
policy to the candidate risk.
Insurance Claims
1. A processor-implemented method to generate a reinsurance product
quote, comprising: reading a reinsurance product database for reinsurance
product identifying base criteria; providing a reinsurance product
selecting interface to display the reinsurance product identifying
base criteria and allow a user to select among the reinsurance product
identifying base criteria; loading a reinsurance product data-structure
from the reinsurance product database based on a users selections
from the reinsurance product selecting interface; reading quote
specific data-structure elements from the reinsurance product data-structure;
generating a reinsurance quote user interface from the quote specific
data-structure elements; providing a reinsurance quote user interface
to a user; receiving user specifications via the reinsurance quote
user interface; retrieving logic sets specified by the reinsurance
product data-structure; applying logic sets to user specifications;
and providing a reinsurance product specific quote to the user if
the user's specifications were acceptable based on the applying
logic sets to user specifications.
2. The method of claim 1, further, comprising: prior to providing
a reinsurance product specific quote: providing user specifications
and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure to a risk
assessment component; obtaining risk assessment evaluation information
from the risk assessment component; wherein the product specific
quote incorporates the risk assessment evaluation information from
the risk assessment component.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the risk assessment evaluation
information comprises a set of financial metrics determined based
on the user's specifications.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the financial metrics comprise
a profit margin.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the risk assessment component
passes the user specifications and elements of the reinsurance product
data-structure to an external event loss table generator, receives
an event loss table therefrom, and generates risk assessment evaluation
information based on elements of the event loss table.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user specifications and elements
of the reinsurance product data-structure are passed to the external
event loss table generator via an interface module.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the interface module further
comprises components configured to translate risk assessment component
coded information to external event loss table generator coded information.
8. The method of claim 2, wherein the risk assessment component
queries an event loss table database based on the user specifications
and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure, receives
an event loss table values therefrom, and generates risk assessment
evaluation information based on the event loss table values.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the user specifications and elements
of the reinsurance product data-structure are passed to the event
loss table database via an interface module.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the interface module further
comprises components configured to translate risk assessment component
coded information to event loss table database coded information.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the reinsurance product data-structure
comprises an XML document.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the user specifications comprise
information descriptive of an insurable risk.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the insurable risk is a property
and the reinsurance product specific quote is directed to a property
casualty reinsurance product.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the user specifications comprise
a property geocode.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the user specifications comprise
property construction characteristics.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying base criteria
comprise an insurance carrier identifier.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements comprise a plurality of risk characteristic input fields.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the risk product specific quote
is directed to a property casualty insurance product and the risk
characteristic input fields admit information descriptive of a property.
19. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a set of rule calls to a rulesets database.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a set of lookup table calls to a lookup tables
database.
21. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include at least one expression comprising a mathematical
calculation configured to establish parameters used in providing
the reinsurance product specific quote.
22. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a set of insurance product documents, including
a document delivery order.
23. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a product payment schedule.
24. The method of claim 1, wherein the applying logic sets to user
specifications comprises generating a block for automatically binding
an insurance policy for user specifications that match pre-set criteria.
25. The method of claim 24, further comprising: checking for a
user exception request; and providing a subset of the user specifications
for underwriter review if a user exception request exists.
26. The method of claim 1, wherein the applying logic sets to user
specifications comprises generating a notification flag for user
specifications that match pre-set criteria.
27. An apparatus to generate a reinsurance product quote, comprising:
a memory; a processor disposed in communication with said memory,
and configured to issue a plurality of instructions stored in the
memory, wherein the instructions issue signals to: read a reinsurance
product database for reinsurance product identifying base criteria;
provide a reinsurance product selecting interface to display the
reinsurance product identifying base criteria and allow a user to
select among the reinsurance product identifying base criteria;
load a reinsurance product data-structure from the reinsurance product
database based on a users selections from the reinsurance product
selecting interface; read quote specific data-structure elements
from the reinsurance product data-structure; generate a reinsurance
quote user interface from the quote specific data-structure elements;
provide a reinsurance quote user interface to a user; receive user
specifications via the reinsurance quote user interface; retrieve
logic sets specified by the reinsurance product data-structure;
apply logic sets to user specifications; and provide a reinsurance
product specific quote to the user if the user's specifications
were acceptable based on the applying logic sets to user specifications.
28. A system to generate a reinsurance product quote, comprising:
means to read a reinsurance product database for reinsurance product
identifying base criteria; means to provide a reinsurance product
selecting interface to display the reinsurance product identifying
base criteria and allow a user to select among the reinsurance product
identifying base criteria; means to load a reinsurance product data-structure
from the reinsurance product database based on a users selections
from the reinsurance product selecting interface; means to read
quote specific data-structure elements from the reinsurance product
data-structure; means to generate a reinsurance quote user interface
from the quote specific data-structure elements; means to provide
a reinsurance quote user interface to a user; means to receive user
specifications via the reinsurance quote user interface; means to
retrieve logic sets specified by the reinsurance product data-structure;
means to apply logic sets to user specifications; and means to provide
a reinsurance product specific quote to the user if the user's specifications
were acceptable based on the applying logic sets to user specifications.
29. A medium readable by a processor to generate a reinsurance
product quote, comprising: instruction signals in the processor
readable medium, wherein the instruction signals are issuable by
the processor to: read a reinsurance product database for reinsurance
product identifying base criteria; provide a reinsurance product
selecting interface to display the reinsurance product identifying
base criteria and allow a user to select among the reinsurance product
identifying base criteria; load a reinsurance product data-structure
from the reinsurance product database based on a users selections
from the reinsurance product selecting interface; read quote specific
data-structure elements from the reinsurance product data-structure;
generate a reinsurance quote user interface from the quote specific
data-structure elements; provide a reinsurance quote user interface
to a user; receive user specifications via the reinsurance quote
user interface; retrieve logic sets specified by the reinsurance
product data-structure; apply logic sets to user specifications;
and provide a reinsurance product specific quote to the user if
the user's specifications were acceptable based on the applying
logic sets to user specifications.
Insurance Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This disclosure claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent
Application No. 60/834,465 entitled, "Methods and Systems for
Authoring and Evaluating Logical Rules," filed on Jul. 31,
2006, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/840,133 entitled,
"Methods and Systems for Collecting and Processing Information
for Insurance Price Quotes & Applications," filed on Aug.
25, 2006, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/856,509
entitled, "Methods and Systems for Evaluating Profitability
Associated with the Addition of an Insurance Policy to a Portfolio,"
filed on Nov. 3, 2006, which are incorporated in their entirety
herein by reference.
[0002] This application is related to commonly assigned and co-pending
U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket no. 18643-002US1;
Inventors: Terrence McLean and Richard Ziade), entitled, "Apparatuses,
Methods, and Systems for a Reconfigurable Insurance Quoting Engine,"
and filed on Jul. 31, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety.
[0003] This application is related to commonly assigned and co-pending
U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket no. 18643-002US2;
Inventors: Terrence McLean and Richard Ziade), entitled, "Apparatuses,
Methods, and Systems for Building a Risk Evaluation Product,"
and filed on Jul. 31, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety.
[0004] This application is related to commonly assigned and co-pending
U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket no. 18643-002US3;
Inventors: Terrence McLean and Richard Ziade), entitled, "Apparatuses,
Methods, and Systems for Providing a Risk Evaluation Product Builder
User Interface," and filed on Jul. 31, 2007, which is incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety.
[0005] This application is related to commonly assigned and co-pending
U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket no. 18643-002US5;
Inventors: Terrence McLean and Richard Ziade), entitled, "Apparatuses,
Methods, and Systems for Providing a Risk Scoring Engine User Interface,"
and filed on Jul. 31, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety.
FIELD
[0006] The present invention relates generally to systems and methods
for generating insurance products and more particularly to apparatuses,
methods, and systems for providing a reconfigurable insurance quote
generator user interface.
BACKGROUND
[0007] Reinsurance is a way for an insurance company to protect
itself from losses due to a catastrophic event. Reinsurance allows
an insurer to protect policy holders against risks greater than
the insurer would itself, alone, could provide. Often times such
extended protection is achieved by sharing the risk with a lead
reinsurer and one or more following reinsures. Although the risk
is spread and borne among the multiple reinsures, the lead reinsurer
sets the premiums and other contract conditions.
SUMMARY
[0008] Determining reinsurance cost is important in order to decide
whether or not an additional policy is beneficial. In order for
insurance companies to profitably manage both individual insurance
policies and portfolios of insurance policies, it is beneficial
for companies to have a framework to find the financial impact,
as well as other related financial, risk, and mathematical metrics,
of adding policies to a portfolio. Policies are desirably determined
based on location and likelihood of damage from threats, for example,
flood, fire, bad weather, and others. The determination of the desirable
policies and the decision process as to each individual policy is
complex and often difficult to calculate quickly and comprehensively.
[0009] The approach to constructing and implementing risk rating
products disclosed herein provides a number of advantages. Instead
of hard-coding attributes of the risk rating scheme, which requires
the assistance of a trained programming specialist for any modifications,
adjustments, or new products, the present invention provides a set
of modular tools that assist non-specialists in on-the-fly generation
and implementation of risk rating products. The modularity of this
approach facilitates the modification and/or updating of a system
component without affecting the operation of other components. Described
herein are embodiments of system tools configured to read a risk
rating scheme data-structure and generate a user interface whereby
a user may enter information characteristic of an insurable risk
and receive a quote indicative of a price for binding an insurance
policy to the candidate risk.
[0010] In one embodiment, a processor-implemented method to generate
a reinsurance product quote is disclosed, comprising: reading a
reinsurance product database for reinsurance product identifying
base criteria; providing a reinsurance product selecting interface
to display the reinsurance product identifying base criteria and
allow a user to select among the reinsurance product identifying
base criteria; loading a reinsurance product data-structure from
the reinsurance product database based on a users selections from
the reinsurance product selecting interface; reading quote specific
data-structure elements from the reinsurance product data-structure;
generating a reinsurance quote user interface from the quote specific
data-structure elements; providing a reinsurance quote user interface
to a user; receiving user specifications via the reinsurance quote
user interface; retrieving logic sets specified by the reinsurance
product data-structure; applying logic sets to user specifications;
and, providing a reinsurance product specific quote to the user
if the user's specifications were acceptable based on the applying
logic sets to user specifications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The accompanying appendices and/or drawings illustrate various
non-limiting, example, inventive aspects in accordance with the
present disclosure:
[0012] FIGS. 1A-B show a system overview and data-flow in one embodiment
of system operation;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating steps of a method according
to one embodiment of system operation;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating steps of a method according
to one embodiment of system operation;
[0015] FIG. 4 denotes an implementation of data flow of cxRisk
as it communicates with vendor models in one embodiment of system
operation;
[0016] FIG. 5 shows an implementation of cxRisk GetAnalysis in
one embodiment of system operation;
[0017] FIG. 6 shows an implementation of data flow for the rate
determination process in one embodiment of system operation;
[0018] FIG. 7 shows an implementation of cxLogic process flow in
one embodiment of system operation;
[0019] FIG. 8 shows an implementation of logic flow for the consume
process of the cxLogic module in one embodiment of system operation;
[0020] FIG. 9 shows an implementation of logic flow for rule evaluation
in one embodiment of system operation;
[0021] FIG. 10 shows an implementation of further logic flow for
rule evaluation in one embodiment of system operation;
[0022] FIG. 11 shows interactions between a calling application
and cxLogic in one embodiment of system operation;
[0023] FIG. 12 shows interactions between a calling application
and cxLogic in another embodiment of system operation;
[0024] FIG. 13 shows interactions between a calling application
and cxLogic in another embodiment of system operation;
[0025] FIG. 14 shows an implementation of data flow for pxQuote
in one embodiment of system operation;
[0026] FIG. 15 shows integration of pxQuote with cxLogic in one
embodiment of system operation;
[0027] FIG. 16 shows an implementation of the overall product schema
in one embodiment of system operation;
[0028] FIG. 17 shows an implementation of a policy request schema
in one embodiment of system operation;
[0029] FIGS. 18A-F show an implementation of a workbook schema
in one embodiment of system operation;
[0030] FIG. 19A-D show an implementation of an insurance application
schema in one embodiment of system operation;
[0031] FIG. 20 shows an implementation of a post-processing calculation
schema in one embodiment of system operation;
[0032] FIGS. 21A-B shows an implementation of a header schema for
metadata in one embodiment of system operation;
[0033] FIG. 22 shows an implementation of a user interface showing
system requirements in one embodiment of system operation;
[0034] FIG. 23 shows an implementation of a user interface for
managing existing quotes and applications in one embodiment of system
operation;
[0035] FIG. 24 shows an implementation of a user interface admitting
entry of an effective date of a policy in one embodiment of system
operation;
[0036] FIG. 25 shows an implementation of a user interface for
selecting a producer code in one embodiment of system operation;
[0037] FIG. 26 shows an implementation of a user interface for
completing a quote form in one embodiment of system operation;
[0038] FIG. 27 shows an implementation of a user interface showing
an error message in one embodiment of system operation;
[0039] FIG. 28 shows an implementation of a user interface showing
a completed quote in one embodiment of system operation;
[0040] FIG. 29 shows an implementation of a user interface for
generating the application graphical user interface in one embodiment
of system operation;
[0041] FIG. 30 shows an implementation of a user interface for
application submission in one embodiment of system operation;
[0042] FIGS. 31A-AA show aspects of the pxBuilder module in one
embodiment of system operation;
[0043] FIG. 32 shows aspects of the cxRisk module in one embodiment
of system operation;
[0044] FIGS. 33A-E show one implementation of adding a new field
to a workbook that is evaluated by a new cxLogic ruleset in one
embodiment of system operation;
[0045] FIGS. 34A-B is of a block diagram illustrating embodiments
of the present invention of a Provider controller;
[0046] APPENDIX 1 provides details of one embodiment of system
operation;
[0047] APPENDIX 2 provides details of one embodiment of system
operation;
[0048] APPENDIX 3 provides details of one embodiment of system
operation; and
[0049] The leading number of each reference number within the drawings
indicates the figure in which that reference number is introduced
and/or detailed. As such, a detailed discussion of reference number
101 would be found and/or introduced in FIG. 1. Reference number
201 is introduced in FIG. 2, etc.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0050] In order to address various issues such as those discussed
above, the invention is directed to apparatuses, methods, and systems
for providing a reconfigurable insurance quote generator user interface.
For purposes of this specification, the term "insurance"
products refers to insurance products as well as reinsurance products.
Reinsurance is a way for an insurance company to protect itself
from losses due to a catastrophic event, and reinsurance costs can
be an important consideration in deciding whether or not to bind
a given candidate risk or and/or issue an insurance policy. It is
to be understood that depending on the particular needs and/or characteristics
of an insurance carrier, vendor model, candidate risk, or system
user, various embodiments of these systems and methods may be implemented
that enable a great deal of flexibility and customization. The instant
disclosure discusses an embodiment of the system within the context
of assessing and binding risks. However, it is to be understood
that the system described herein may be readily configured/customized
for a wide range of applications or implementations. For example,
aspects of the system may be configured for use in various other
rule management, portfolio analysis, and price quoting applications.
[0051] The following figures and associated discussion illustrate,
by way of example only, particular embodiments and implementations
of system operation.
System Overview
[0052] FIG. 1A shows an overview of system operation, including
various entities, components, modules and/or the like comprising
and/or coupled to the system, in one embodiment. An insurance carrier
may provide inputs 101 to a pxBuilder module 102 in order to generate
a workbook 103 that describes a risk rating system (alternatively
a "rater") that may be employed in the rating and/or otherwise
evaluation of a risk (which may interchangeably be referred to herein
as a "policy" or "insurance policy" for the
insurance policies that may cover and/or bind the risk). The workbook
(which may interchangeably be referred to herein as a "product")
is, in one embodiment an XML document that specifies aspects of
an insurance rating and/or implementation scheme, including such
features as required and/or suggested user inputs, expressions (e.g.,
mathematical calculations), calls to lookup tables, calls to various
logical and/or business rules, payment plans and/or schedules, policy
documents, and/or the like. pxBuilder 102 may provide a user interface
through which a carrier may enter information pertaining to an insurance
product and/or risk rating scheme in order to generate the workbook
103.
[0053] A completed workbook 103, embodying a risk rating scheme,
may be passed to a pxQuote module 104, which is equipped to interpret
the XML data contained in the workbook and implement the corresponding
risk rating scheme. Based in part on workbook data, pxQuote may
generate a user interface (UI) 105 that is capable of receiving
user inputs 106 (e.g., from an agent of the insurance carrier) describing
characteristics of a candidate risk, and generating a corresponding
quote for binding that risk 107. The pxQuote module 104 is also
capable of supplying policy documents, managing payment schedules,
and/or otherwise implementing or administering the risk rating scheme.
[0054] The workbook 103 supplied to pxQuote 104 may specify, among
other things, a set of rule calls 108 that call to rules in a cxLogic
module 109. The cxLogic module contains and/or provides access to
a number of rules, contained in a rulesets database 110, and is
equipped to evaluate queries 108, such as may be based on user inputs
106, based on those rules. For example, a given workbook pertaining
to an insurance product may query a user for details of the composition
of construction materials for a building and call to a rule checking
for the presence of asbestos within those materials. The input information
and the call are sent to cxLogic, which evaluates the rule and returns
an evaluation 111 (e.g., True, False, Error, Disabled, and/or the
like) to pxQuote 104. The result of the rule evaluation may then
be interpreted by pxQuote, in light of the workbook 103, to proceed
with further risk rating and/or processing. For example, if the
rule pertaining to asbestos described above is evaluated to True,
the workbook may specify that an insurance and/or reinsurance policy
should not be granted for the candidate risk regardless of other
risk characteristics, and the pxQuote module will subsequently implement
the restriction and provide the user with an indication thereof.
[0055] For nominally eligible risks, the pxQuote module 104 may
orchestrate the rating, scoring, and/or other evaluation of risk
characteristics in conjunction with the cxRisk module 113. cxRisk
may be configured to receive risk characteristics and relay them,
via an interface module cxCat 114, to one or more external vendor
models 115 capable of generating event loss tables (ELTs, or alternatively
referred to as event loss files or ELFs) that represent estimated
loss distributions and characterize the likelihoods and/or probabilities
associated with particular events and/or perils which may be relevant
to the candidate risk. For example, a candidate risk may relate
to providing flood insurance for a building in the Mississippi Valley,
and an ELT for such a risk may include loss distribution of each
simulated event and an estimated likelihood of flooding, extreme
rainfall, levee failure, and/or the like. In another implementation,
the ELT may further estimate the loss to the insurance carrier for
different events and/or perils based on the degree of coverage provided.
Vendor models may receive candidate risk characteristics from cxRisk
and output ELTs. Alternatively, cxRisk may use candidate risk characteristics
to query entries in a large database of existing ELTs and/or event
likelihood data, referred to herein as cxCheetah 115, in order to
expedite the rating process. Based on consultation with either the
vendor models or cxCheetah 115, the cxRisk module 113 may determine
a set of financial metrics 116 that characterize the candidate risk.
These metrics may be passed back to pxQuote 104 for use in generating
a quote. pxQuote 104 may further query cxLogic 109 again based on
the financial metrics to determine whether binding a given candidate
risk is desirable based on the financial metrics determined by cxRisk
113. In an alternative implementation, cxRisk may be configured
to communicate directly with cxLogic. This may be advantageous,
for example, in allowing cxLogic to employ cxRisk directly in the
evaluation of a rule related to a risk rating and/or financial metric.
[0056] The approach to constructing and implementing risk rating
products disclosed herein provides a number of advantages over existing
insurance rating systems. In the past, rating products were hard
coded with attributes of the risk rating scheme, and any modifications,
adjustments, or new products required the assistance of a trained
programming specialist. The present invention eliminates that requirement
by providing a set of modular tools that assist non-specialists
in the on-the-fly generation and implementation of risk rating products.
Furthermore, the modularity of the approach facilitates the modification
and/or updating of a system component without affecting the operation
of other components.
[0057] Further aspects of system operation, including detailed
information surrounding each of the system components, are discussed
below.
System Data Flow
[0058] FIG. 1B shows data flow between various entities comprising
and/or in communicative contact with the system 117 in one embodiment
of system operation. A system controller 119 may serve as a central
element in the system 117, facilitating much of the functionality
described herein as well as providing a conduit that carries and/or
directs communications between other system components. The system
controller 119 may be communicatively coupled with a pxQuote module
120 to exchange a variety of data such as risk characteristic data
and/or assessments, financial metrics, rulesets and/or evaluations,
lookup table values, risk binding quotes, workbooks, and/or the
like. The pxQuote module is configurable to perform a number of
tasks, including generate and manage operation of a user interface
122, generate risk raters, receive and process risk characteristic
inputs, communicate with cxLogic and cxRisk, track and process customer
payments, supply documents pertaining to a risk or policy, and/or
the like. The pxQuote module may further be coupled to a pxBuilder
module 121, which provides visual tools for users to generate workbook
XML documents (or "products") representing risk rating
schemes. The workbooks/products may be saved, edited, reused, modified,
and/or the like and are interpreted by the pxQuote module to implement
the underlying rating scheme (e.g., receive inputs, call rules,
call lookup table values, maintain payment schedules, deliver policy
documents, and/or the like).
[0059] A workbook or product is a fully descriptive, abstract representation
of an insurance product which includes all of the components necessary
to rate and bind an insurance policy. These may include but are
not limited to: [0060] Information about the Product, such as name/label/the
person that created the document and other top-level information.
[0061] Base criteria for that Product. In one embodiment, the base
criteria are the user designated attributes which are used to determine
which Product the software application should use for rating. The
base criteria are the unique identifying attributes of the Product,
such as (but not limited to) Product Name, Date and Insurance Carrier.
The software engine and Insurance Product schema can handle and
work at run-time with any number of user supplied base criteria.
[0062] Description of inputs for that Insurance Product. In one
embodiment, the inputs section is a semantic description of all
of the inputs in force for that product (using the xForms mark-up
language), including the Quote and Application forms. This includes
validation for min and max values, length, data type, enumerated
values, and other semantic descriptions of the input data. In addition,
the model is housed in the input section of the Product, which details
the exact structure of the XML document that the server requires
for communicating with it. Each interfacing client then interprets
the input descriptions into their interface language for display
to the user, as well as the model for the exact structure of the
document to use to send to the server as a request for a rate via
a Policy Request. [0063] Table data. In one embodiment, an XML representation
of all table look-up data needed to process the insurance rate is
housed in the Insurance Product. Examples of this data are base
insurance rates which are then modified according to the data sent
in the Request. [0064] Ruleset references. In one embodiment, each
Insurance Product houses the references to Rulesets, along with
the action that pxQuote's rating server should take upon a triggering
evaluation. This controls how the pxQuote platform will block policies
containing offending data, or be used to flag a policy for review,
or inform the agent with specific text. [0065] Rating filters. In
one embodiment, an Insurance Product contains rating filters that
will drive additional logic either before (Pre-rating filter) or
after (Post-rating filter) rating the insurance policy. Examples
of this include processing rulesets, calling external services such
as cxRisk to obtain additional data needed for rating the policy,
and electronic payment processing before binding the policy. [0066]
Description of the Submission form. In one embodiment, the Quote
and Application forms are described semantically in the Product
XML, which allows clients to process this into their native interface
elements for display to a user (process described above.) In an
alternative embodiment, there is an additional level of abstraction
added, via an xForms semantic description, to the Submission form.
This allows business users to describe the elements, layout, payment
plans accepted and submission process within an Insurance Product.
There are additional nodes capturing the following: a semantic description
of input elements to be displayed on the Submission form (such as
name on credit card, check name, billing address); description of
payment plans that should be offered for that product; variables
that need to be mapped for display to the agent (such as payment
amounts per plan selected); any confirming text that the agent must
acknowledge before binding the policy; background or metadata required
to process a payment, such as merchant account for that Carrier/Product
or payment gateway data (Verisign data); links to additional static
information housed on the business website, such as privacy and
refund policies and descriptions of the payment plans; note--the
payment data-structure to be sent to the server on a binding request
is already accounted for in the current input model, as it is a
part of the PolicyRequest. [0067] Abstraction of the document generation
thresholds. In one embodiment, the server exposes which documents
are available for the current version of the policy via the creation
of a node in the Insurance Policy, created from some logic housed
outside of the Insurance Product. In an alternative embodiment,
that logic is moved out of code and into the Product. This allows
business users to interact with the Product directly to alter the
logic to show or hide a document for a policy state, or introduce
an entire new document to the policies rated against a Product,
without a software enhancement. Generally, the available documents
are dictated by the state of the policy, and are often keyed off
the following: the presence and value of flags on the policy (such
as submitted for offline payment or issued flags); the state of
the policy (e.g., bound, quote, application, etc.), percentage complete,
and/or the like.
[0068] The pxQuote module 120 may further be coupled to a documents
database 123, containing documents that are tied to an insurance
product based on carrier. Each insurance carrier utilizing the system
may have a record of which documents to show at a certain percentage
of the quoting process, and in which order. In one embodiment, the
XML specifying these documents for a particular carrier (e.g., Insurance,
Inc.) may take a form similar to the following example: TABLE-US-00001
<InsuranceCarrier archived="false" id="II"
label="Insurance, Inc." version="6"> <DocumentTemplates>
<CarrierSpecific> <Include DocumentTemplate id="II_QUOTESHEET"
includeatpercentage="0" order="1"/> <Include
DocumentTemplate id="II_APPLICATION" includeatpercentage="0"
order="2"/> <Include DocumentTemplate id="II_AUTHORIZATION"
includeatpercentage="0" order="3"/> <Include
DocumentTemplate id="II_PREMIUMINVOICE" includeatpercentage="0"
order="4"/> <Include DocumentTemplate id="II_PROOF"
includeatpercentage="100" order="5"/> </CarrierSpecific>
</DocumentsTemplates> </InsuranceCarrier>
[0069] In the above data-structure, the id attribute references
the id of the associated document template, the includeatpercentage
attribute determines the point in the quoting process at which a
document should be visible and/or supplied, and the order attribute
determines in which order the documents should be displayed.
[0070] The pxQuote module 120 may further be coupled to a payments
database 124, containing records of payments made with respect to
a given risk and/or policy. In one embodiment, the XML specifying
a credit card payment may take a form similar to the following example:
TABLE-US-00002 <payments totalamountpaid="2500" totalbalancedue="0"
totalpremium="2500"> <payment amount="2500"
datetime="2007-07-18T12:13:50" method="creditcard"
success="true"> <creditcardinfo cardholdername="TEST
CC USER" cardnumbermask="1111" cardtype="Vista"
expirationmonth="01" expirationyear="2010">
<processorresponse> <data transactionResult="ISLVN-
AAABBBCCCDDD-20070718111322"/> </processorresponse>
</creditcardinfo> </payment> </payments>
[0071] In one embodiment, the XML specifying a check payment may
take a form similar to the following example: TABLE-US-00003 <payments
totalamountpaid="2500" totalbalancedue="0" totalpremium="2500">
<payment amount="2500" datetime="2007-06-15T15:11:37"
method= check" success="true"> <checkinfo checknumber="1111"
nameoncheck="TESTCHECK"/> </payment> </payments>
[0072] The pxQuote module 120 may further be coupled to a products
database 125, containing products, which are XML data documents
which fully describe a risk rater, including the interface description,
table lookups, processes, pricing logic, logic and/or business rules,
expressions, and/or the like. A given carrier may interact with
the user interface to generate one or more risk raters embodied
and/or stored as products in the product database 125. In an alternative
embodiment, carriers may generate risk raters via pxQuote and store
products and/or raters in their own local databases. Table lookups
specified within a given product may refer to entries in a Table
Lookups database 145, containing data and or tables of data relevant
to the rating of risks. Logic and/or business rules specified within
a given product may refer to entries in a Rulesets database 160,
containing rules (e.g., Boolean logic conditions) that may be evaluated
based on user inputs, table values, system module outputs, and/or
the like. Expressions specified within a given product may specify
rating calculations which establish parameters that may be utilized
to calculate and/or generate a quote. Aspects of pxQuote functionality
for generating products is detailed in the discussion of the pxBuilder
module below.
[0073] The system controller 119 may also be communicatively coupled
with a cxRisk module 130 to exchange a variety of data such as risk
characteristic data and/or assessments, financial metrics, risk
portfolios, candidate risks, risk assessment criteria and/or procedures,
and/or the like. The cxRisk module is configurable to perform a
number of tasks, including communicating with vendor models (in
one embodiment, this communication is performed through an intermediary
interface module, cxCat), receiving and/or processing candidate
risk characteristics and/or risk portfolio data, receiving and/or
processing ELTs, determining financial metrics associated with a
candidate risk, and/or the like. Further aspects of cxRisk are described
in detail below.
[0074] In one embodiment, pxQuote 120 may access and/or utilize
cxRisk 130 as a risk assessment engine for determining a set of
financial metrics associated with a candidate risk. Examples of
such financial metrics may include return on capital, return on
equity, break-even premium, profit margin, and/or the like. pxQuote
120 may supply risk characteristic data (e.g., location of a property,
construction characteristics, and/or the like for property casualty
insurance) received via the user interface 122 to cxRisk 130, which
may subsequently process that data, including possibly in conjunction
with one or more third-party vendor models, to determine a set of
financial metrics associated with the risk. An XML schema describing
one embodiment of a data-structure that may be passed between pxQuote
and cxRisk is provided in Appendix 1.
[0075] In an alternative embodiment, cxRisk functionality may be
directly accessed and/or manipulated via a dedicated cxRisk console
148, configurable to accept inputs describing a given candidate
risk and to display risk assessments, associated financial metrics,
and/or the like. An example of a user interface for cxRisk in one
embodiment of system operation is provided in Appendix 2.
[0076] The cxRisk module 130 may further be coupled to one or more
vendor models 165, configured to receive risk characteristic data
and provide estimates of likelihoods for various outcomes and/or
contingencies that may affect one or more risks and/or insurance
policies. For example, a vendor model may receive information related
to the location and structural makeup of a building and determine
the likelihood of structural collapse, flooding, earthquake damage,
and/or the like. Vendor model output may, in one implementation,
comprise one or more ELTs. Examples of possible vendor models operable
in conjunction with the system include models provided by Risk Management
Solutions (RMS), Applied Insurance Research (AIR), and/or the like.
An exemplary XML document describing one embodiment of a data-structure
that may be generated within cxRisk as a consequence of interaction
with a vendor model is exhibited in Appendix 3.
[0077] The cxRisk module 130 may couple to the one or more vendor
modules 165 through an intermediary interface, cxCat 135, which
may serve to extract and/or package relevant information from cxRisk
data-structures, communicate with the vendor models to send inputs
and receive ELT data, prepare vendor model outputs for interpretation
by the cxRisk module, and/or the like. In one implementation, cxCat
135 may operate in conjunction with a parameter wrapper 140, which
may serve to translate system codes pertaining to risk characteristic
data and/or the like into codes and/or other data formats recognizable
by vendor models. In an alternative embodiment, cxCat may perform
such data format conversions itself.
[0078] In another implementation, the cxRisk module may couple
to a cxCheetah database 150 in addition to or in lieu of the one
or more vendor models 165. cxCheetah may contain ELTs, events and
associated likelihoods, probable loss estimates, and/or the like.
The elements of the cxCheetah database 150 may be generated, for
example, by submitting inputs related to a plurality of events,
catastrophes, contingencies, and/or the like to the one or more
vendor models and receiving and storing the ELTs associated therewith.
In an alternative implementation, the cxCheetah database may be
updated every time a new query is submitted to the vendor models
and an ELT received in response. The cxCheetah database 150 may
be coupled to the cxRisk module 130 through the cxCat 135 interface.
In an alternative embodiment, the cxCheetah database 150 may be
contained within the system 117.
[0079] The cxRisk module 130 may further be coupled to a Lookup
Tables database 145 containing one or more tables of values relevant
to risk rating, the determination of financial metrics associated
with candidate risks, the evaluation of logical and/or business
rules, and/or the like. Any of a wide variety of different types
of data and/or tables of data that may be relevant to rating risks
may be contained in the Lookup Tables database 145.
[0080] The system controller 119 may also be communicatively coupled
with a cxLogic module 155 to exchange a variety of data such as
logical and/or business rules and/or rulesets, rule evaluations,
and/or the like. The cxLogic module 155 is configurable to receive
and process rules and/or rulesets, such as may be input via the
user interface 122 coupled to the pxQuote module 120, and to evaluate
those rules based on additional inputs and/or stored data. Further
aspects of cxLogic are discussed below.
[0081] The cxLogic module 155 may be coupled to the Lookup Tables
database 145 to query data that may be relevant to the evaluation
of a cxLogic rule. For example, a given rule may specify that risks
within a particular zip code are not insurable. If the cxLogic module
155 receives risk characteristic data including a risk location,
it may seek out a zip code table in the Lookup Tables database 145
to convert the location to a zip code in order to evaluate that
rule.
[0082] The cxLogic module 155 may further be coupled to a rulesets
database 160, containing input validation and logic and/or business
rules and/or rule evaluations that may be processed by cxLogic.
[0083] In one embodiment, pxQuote 120 and/or cxRisk 130 may employ
and/or access cxLogic 155 as a rules evaluation engine. cxLogic
may contain with one or more rules, rulesets, data inputs, risk
characteristics, and/or the like in order to have rules associated
with a risk, business decision, and/or the like be evaluated thereby.
In turn, cxLogic may supply a rule evaluation outcome (e.g., TRUE
or FALSE) to the querying module, which may use that outcome in
its own subsequent operation.
[0084] Within various embodiments and/or implementations, any or
all of the aforementioned system components, modules, and databases
may be reconfigured as components of the system controller 119 itself.
Further aspects and embodiments of system, system controller, and
system component operation are described below.
System Logic Flow
[0085] FIG. 2 shows an implementation of logic flow in one embodiment
of system operation. The system receives at 201 a set of inputs
related to the characteristics of a candidate risk, such as via
the user interface 122 established via the pxQuote module 120 in
conjunction with one or more product data-structures in the products
database 125. For example, in the context of an application of the
system to property casualty insurance, input data characterizing
a candidate risk may comprise property location, structural data,
presence of an emergency sprinkler system, and/or the like. At 205,
the system receives a selection of one or more vendor models (e.g.,
RMS or AIR models) as well as a specification of testable perils
relevant to the candidate risk and/or vendor models. In the property
casualty insurance application described above, a relevant testable
peril may be a flood, an earthquake, and/or any other catastrophic
or property damaging event that may be considered in rating the
candidate risk. The risk characteristics are passed to the vendor
models 210 by the cxRisk module 130 via cxCat 135 for evaluation
and determination of associated ELTs with respect to the specified
testable perils. In an alternative embodiment, the risk characteristic
data and/or selected testable perils may be used to query the cxCheetah
database 150 in order to extract ELT data.
[0086] The resulting ELTs for the candidate risk are returned at
215, and a determination is made at 220 as to whether the assessment
of financial metrics associated with the risk is to be made as a
marginal/allocated or standalone assessment. A marginal/allocated
risk rating or assessment is understood herein to comprise a rating
of a candidate risk in the context of an existing risk portfolio,
while a standalone risk rating comprises a rating of a candidate
risk in isolation. If a standalone risk assessment is selected and/or
specified, the cxRisk module 130 selects and/or receives a selection
of a financial structure, reinsurance structure, capital structure,
and/or the like 223 and determines values for a set of financial
metrics for the candidate risk at 225. If, on the other hand, a
marginal/allocated scoring is selected and/or specified, then a
portfolio and a financial structure, reinsurance structure, capital
structure, and/or the like are selected at 230. Financial metrics
associated with the portfolio in isolation (i.e., without the addition
of the candidate risk) are determined at 235, and financial metrics
for the portfolio with the addition of the candidate risk are determined
at 240. These two sets of financial metrics are compared at 245
to calculate a set of marginal and/or allocated financial metrics
associated with the addition of the candidate risk to the given
portfolio. The system determines if there are additional portfolios
for which marginal and/or allocated financial metrics should be
determined at 250.
[0087] At 255, the cxLogic module 155 and/or rulesets database
160 may be queried based on determined risk assessment financial
metrics to determine whether those metrics are commensurate with
the relevant rules. For example, a particular rule may return a
TRUE value only if the return on capital for a given candidate risk
exceeds a pre-specified minimum threshold. The financial metrics
associated with the candidate risk yield a rule evaluation profile
that may be passed back from cxLogic to cxRisk or pxQuote for interpretation,
and a candidate risk with an incommensurate rule evaluation profile
may be interpreted by one or both of these modules as an unacceptable
risk 260 (i.e., a risk that an insurance carrier should not bind).
[0088] Determination and/or calculation of financial metrics within
either a standalone, marginal, or allocated context may proceed
according to a variety of known methods. An example of how such
calculations may be performed is provided below.
[0089] FIG. 3 shows an implementation of further logic flow for
one embodiment of system operation. The logic flow in FIG. 3 may
receive as input the data collected, created, and/or processed in
FIG. 2. At 301, the system (e.g., by means of the cxLogic module
155) determines whether specified characteristics of the candidate
risk are compliant with rules enforced by cxLogic 155 and/or contained
in the rulesets database 160. For example, a particular rule in
the context of a property casualty insurance application of the
system may specify that no risks associated with properties in San
Francisco having more than 25 stories are to be bound. In evaluating
this rule at 301, the system would check the risk characteristic
data (e.g., the number of stories and the location for the property)
to determine whether or not the risk is compliant. If a candidate
risk is deemed noncompliant with an essential rule, then the risk
is deemed unacceptable 303. For compliant candidate risks, the system
proceeds to 305, wherein a determination is made as to whether an
admitted (i.e., pre-determined) or non-admitted (i.e., free) rate
is applicable to the candidate risk.
[0090] In the former case, the system queries a pre-determined
rate based on candidate risk characteristics 310. For example, rates
for a particular class of candidate risks may be dictated by statute,
and determination of the appropriate rate for a given risk may comprise
comparing the characteristics of that risk with a rate table such
as may be stored in the Lookup Tables database 145. Once the appropriate
pre-determined rate is discerned, the system may query a set of
cxLogic business rules to determine whether or not to bind the candidate
risk given that rate 315.
[0091] In the latter case, the system queries the risk financial
metrics determined by cxRisk 320. Based on these financial metrics,
the system may compute an appropriate rate or premium for the candidate
risk. In one implementation, the computation of an appropriate rate
for the candidate risk may also consider other risk characteristics
and/or the evaluation of cxLogic rules. The computation of an appropriate
rate for the candidate risk may be performed in a variety of different
ways within different implementations of the system. In one implementation,
risk pricing may proceed according to the following formula: P =
r * min .function. ( P .times. .times. M .times. .times. L , L )
+ r 2 * ( L - min .function. ( P .times. .times. M .times. .times.
L , L ) ) + A .times. .times. A .times. .times. L .function. ( L
) + O 1 - E .times. .times. R
[0092] Where P is a risk and/or policy premium, r is a rate-on-line
based on geographical territory, L is a policy limit requested in
excess of the deductible, PML is a probable maximal loss at a given
return period in excess of the deductible, AAL(L) is an average
annual loss below the policy limit (L) in excess of the deductible,
ER is an expense ratio, and O represents any other expenses.
[0093] The rate determined at either 310 or 325 is provided as
part of a quote for the candidate risk at 330. In one implementation,
the quote is only provided if the risk is bound. A determination
is made at 335 as to whether or not the risk can be automatically
bound based on the financial metrics, risk characteristics, cxLogic
rules, and/or the like. If so, then the system stands by to bind
the risk at 340. In one implementation, the system may provide a
message to a system user that the risk is bindable. In another implementation,
the system may automatically bind the risk and issue the appropriate
proof of insurance and/or other documents (e.g., from the documents
table 123) to a customer. If, on the other hand, the system cannot
automatically bind the risk, then a determination is made at 345
as to whether an exception request has been made and/or received.
If so, then the candidate risk may be set aside and/or provided
for underwriter review 350. Otherwise, the risk is deemed unacceptable
303.
Risk Analyzer Subsystem [cxRisk]
[0094] As used herein, references to "cxRisk" mean the
described, inventive processes for evaluating financial metrics
associated with risks and/or insurance policies. Among the financial
metrics that may be considered and/or determined by cxRisk are return
on capital, profit margin, return on equity, break-even premium,
probable maximal loss, average annual loss, reinsurance premium,
adequate premium, capital required, profitability, rate adequacy,
and/or the like.
[0095] cxRisk allows for the calculation of financial metrics for
one or more risks based risk characteristic data gathered from user
inputs and probabilistic distributions of loss-generating events
and/or outcomes. Based on these financial metrics, cxRisk can score
candidate risks in a number of different ways within various embodiments
of system operation. Among the ways that candidate risks may be
scored by cxRisk are marginal, allocated, and standalone scoring.
In marginal scoring, a candidate risk is rated by evaluating the
impact of adding that risk to a specific portfolio. The rating may,
for example, be determined in light of the change in predicted loss,
marginal values in financial metrics such as profit, and/or the
like. Allocated scoring is similar to marginal scoring, in that
the candidate risk is considered within the context of an existing
portfolio, however allocated scoring does not give the candidate
risk the entire benefit of diversification that marginal scoring
provides. Instead, allocated scoring allocates a portion of the
losses, reinsurance costs, capital, and/or the like associated with
the candidate risk. These amounts are generally distributed by the
candidate risk's contribution to the losses of the portfolio. Finally,
standalone scoring considers the financial metrics associated with
the candidate risk in isolation (i.e., not in the context of an
existing portfolio). Further details surrounding risk rating and/or
scoring are provided below.
[0096] cxRisk provides an engine through which external systems
can perform risk rating and/or calculate financial metrics for candidate
risks. In one embodiment, cxRisk may perform these functions in
real-time.
[0097] In accordance with embodiments of cxRisk, there are provided
herein methods and systems for evaluating and/or determining financial
metrics associated with candidate risks and/or insurance policies.
As discussed above, cxRisk may operate in conjunction and/or cooperation
with one or more other system components, modules, and/or databases.
These include the cxLogic and pxQuote modules, aspects of which
are discussed in greater detail below. The pxQuote module may interface
with an insurance carrier, customer, the customer's designate, such
as an agent. The cxLogic module may evaluate logical and/or business
rules associated with the candidate risk, the collection and evaluation
of data pertinent thereto, and/or the associated insurance carrier.
The cxRisk component may use the information associated with the
customer and/or carrier, the logical and/or rules, and certain database
information and catastrophe applications and/or vendor models, as
described below, whereby to calculate financial metrics associated
with risks and/or insurance policies. The cxRisk component may also
be configured to perform risk assessments, ratings, and/or calculations
based on requests made directly from pxQuote. pxQuote can pass inputs
directly to cxRisk for mathematical evaluations. These evaluations
are then used in the quoting process of pxQuote. This process is
detailed further below.
[0098] FIG. 4 denotes an implementation of system flow for cxRisk
402, in one embodiment of system operation, as it communicates with
vendor models and/or cxCheetah 403 to determine financial metrics
associated with a candidate risk, which can then be evaluated by
cxLogic 401 and interpreted by pxQuote 400. cxCat comprises a component
that can be called by cxRisk to communicate with the vendor models
to run the catastrophe models for the candidate risk. After the
models finish calculating the losses, cxRisk is able to retrieve
the ELT for the candidate risk and may, in one implementation, store
the results in its own database.
[0099] For purposes of illustration, the present invention may
be described herein with respect to the processing of a property
casualty insurance policy. It will be understood that the invention
is more broadly applicable to a wide variety of risks, risk assessments,
insurance and reinsurance policies, and/or the like.
[0100] With reference now to FIG. 4, cxRisk 402, uses user inputs
to determine loss data using the vendor models. That loss data is
taken to the cxRisk database for scoring against an insurance portfolio.
To score a policy against a portfolio means to compare the combined
portfolio (new policy+initial portfolio) with the initial portfolio.
The impact on probable maximum loss (PML), average annual loss (AAL),
and/or the like, is considered to calculate the change of reinsurance
cost, net loss, profit, and/or the like. One embodiment of the cxRisk.getAnalysis
process is further detailed in FIG. 5.
[0101] The cxRisk.getAnalysis process, one embodiment of which
is shown in FIG. 5, may be undertaken by cxRisk to get the appropriate
loss data via cxCat from cxCheetah and/or the affiliated vendor
models. cxRisk 501 sends data to cxCat, 500, which in turn passes
the data through the vendor model wrapper, 503, to the vendor model
application, 504. This is in contrast to the embodiment shown in
FIG. 1B, wherein the data from cxRisk is first passed through the
wrapper before being passed to cxCat and the vendor model(s). The
vendor models are capable of taking in user inputs and calculating
and/or storing appropriate loss data in a vendor model database,
505. The loss data is then transferred to cxRisk, which may process
the data for further use. In an alternative embodiment, cxRisk 501
may store it as loss data in the cxCheetah database, 506.
[0102] Financial metrics and/or candidate risk ratings determined
by cxRisk can be used by both cxLogic and pxQuote. Within cxLogic,
a rule can be created that requires a call to cxRisk to retrieve
the appropriate information necessary to evaluate the rule. cxRisk
will call out to cxCat to retrieve the information required for
rule evaluation from the appropriate vendor model(s), which will
then be passed back to cxLogic. cxLogic can then evaluate the rule
(e.g., as a Boolean truth condition). pxQuote can then take its
actions, either to block a policy or let it continue, based on cxLogic's
evaluation. pxQuote can also communicate directly with cxRisk for
necessary calculation and/or expression evaluations. This process
is further described below.
[0103] The rate determination process, an embodiment of which is
detailed in FIG. 6, shows pxQuote, 601, sending information directly
to cxRisk 602 for expression evaluations. pxQuote can gather user
inputs, but in order to perform certain calculations, it may depend
on cxRisk in certain embodiments. The necessary inputs are passed
from pxQuote to cxRisk, which then performs the appropriate calculations
of candidate risk financial metrics based on the user inputs. These
calculations are then passed back to pxQuote, which can use them
to determine an appropriate rate. cxRisk may thus be configured
to operate as a mathematical engine to drive the rating process
by accessing probabilistic loss data and determining resulting financial
metrics, which in turn may be used within pxQuote to generate a
quote. pxQuote 601 may further communicate with cxLogic 603 to supply
rulesets and receive rule evaluations related to characteristics
and/or financial metrics associated with a candidate risk or policy.
[0104] The detailed calculations performed by the cxRisk function
illustrated at 402, 501 and 602 in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, respectively,
are shown and described below.
[0105] While the invention has been shown and described with respect
to the determination of financial metrics associated with issuing
a property casualty insurance policy, it is not thus limited. It
will be apparent to the reader that the invention is equally applicable
to evaluating the financial metrics associated with the issuance
of insurance policies for different types of products and services
in different types of environments.
[0106] There have thus been provided new and improved methods and
systems for quickly, easily and accurately generating insurance
quotes based upon a determination of financial metrics of an insurance
product, rate adequacy, and other mathematical metrics. In response
to a request for a policy, the probability of loss associated with
that new insurance policy is determined in real-time through the
use of vendor models. The subsequently determined profit estimates
may then be used to make a decision as to whether or not to issue
the policy as well as how to price the policy.
Rule Evaluating Subsystem [cxLogic]
[0107] Logical functions and operations, for example in the form
of Boolean logic operations, are used pervasively throughout many
different business processes. In different embodiments, rules may
be established and used for the analysis and resolution of a one-time
issue, or they may be established and used for a period of time
to facilitate an on-going situation.
[0108] For example, and without limitation, in the processing of
insurance information it is often necessary to test new data against
established rules, whereby to facilitate the making of a decision.
Such rules may be established and used, for example, in the determination
as to whether or not particular insurance policies are to be issued
to applicants.
[0109] In many instances, it is necessary for rules-based analysis
to retrieve and utilize supporting data and information, for example
from third party information sources. Depending on the particular
application of a rules-based analysis, it may be necessary to periodically
change either or both of the ruleset and the considered data.
[0110] Using known rules authoring and analysis tools, their exist
today significant challenges associated with both establishing and
changing logical rules used in different business environments.
In many instances, such rules are prepared in complicated, specialized
computer programming languages. They require the support of an expert
to both establish and change. Further, the retrieval and usage of
data by the ruleset is often complicated and challenging. Such linking,
or retrieval of data into the rules-based analysis, typically requires
significant manual intervention, often by a specialized expert.
[0111] cxLogic addresses the challenges associated with known rules
offering and analysis tool sets. It further has the advantage of
providing improved, user-friendly tools with which business persons
can author, analyze, change, and import data into rules, and is
capable of evaluating rules that are easily integrated by leveraging
existing protocols and data communication standards and interfacing
with other systems in a loosely-coupled fashion and without a priori
knowledge of other systems' data requirements.
[0112] As used herein, the term "cxLogic" describes methods
and systems for facilitating, in various embodiments, the drafting
and analysis of rules, the integration of data and rules and the
broadcasting of user interfaces for evaluating incoming information
against logical rules, as described below.
[0113] cxLogic allows for having constant rules that are otherwise
too often difficult for business users to create, edit, and implement
in real-time. cxLogic allows a business user to author rules that
can be evaluated in real-time, allowing for analytical power without
a great deal of technological proficiency. Via a graphical user
interface, cxLogic allows for creation of rule fields (field names
that are used for rule evaluation), rulesets (collections of rules),
and rules, as well as integration with external systems. As a rules
evaluation engine, cxLogic rules may only require minimal knowledge
to provide rule results. Each rule evaluation may be performed in
isolation and in a stateless mode. In addition, cxLogic may evaluate
a ruleset with just a set of data, without the additional component
of a strict set of pre-defined fields. Should the fields sent to
cxLogic be inadequate for rule evaluation, the server simply returns
"Error" rather than the expected "True" or "False."
By having no limitations to rule authoring, cxLogic solves the problem
of needing technically savvy individuals to constantly edit software
to reflect changes. cxLogic also has the power to call external
applications or internet knowledge bases in order to gather information
to make evaluations.
[0114] cxLogic is a rules evaluation engine that provides great
control over the rule creation and evaluation process. It's function
is not restricted to particular rules or rule types, and may evaluate
anything which can be evaluated using logical rules. cxLogic allows
users to create, edit, and test rules within rulesets via a graphical
user interface, without having vast technical knowledge. cxLogic
allows for external service integration, which enables cxLogic to
communicate with other information providers, via standard HTTP
protocol, to access external information in order to evaluate user
created rules. In one embodiment, it has and requires no prior knowledge
of rule fields nor any knowledge of external systems or how they
work, and its determinations are based on user rules and inputs.
[0115] As an overview, a user of the cxLogic rules evaluation engine,
implemented in the described embodiment as a software product, manipulates
a user interface to the computing system supporting the software.
Rulesets may be created by choosing the create ruleset link, and
specifying a name for the ruleset. A unique ruleset identification
number is generated by cxLogic, and the ruleset is then stored in
an XML database. Within rulesets, users can author and edit rules
without affecting the integration with external systems.
[0116] cxLogic is an HTTP-based rules evaluation server that does
not require any prior knowledge of the fields submitted in order
to evaluate user rules. It is powerful enough to evaluate virtually
anything. If rules require certain fields that are not submitted,
cxLogic will evaluate a rule to "Error" instead of "Yes"
or "No." The process of evaluation is now taken outside
the realm of software development and given to the user. The user
has the power to affect behavior through real-time rule authoring
and evaluation.
[0117] Further as discussed below, cxLogic has the power to go
elsewhere to retrieve data for rule evaluation. By calling external
services, cxLogic can access information held in outside databases
in order to accurately evaluate a rule. For example, by means of
HTTP protocols, cxLogic can communicate with outside systems without
physically being in the same location as the requesting system.
Fields that are sent through cxLogic are evaluated without specifying
a particular type of data for each field. The system understands
differences in evaluations based on field context. It may, for example,
discern the difference in behavior between a date field and a numeric
field.
[0118] As described above, a user establishes a ruleset and rules.
As part of establishing the rules, the user identifies any sources
from which the data to be evaluated by the rules is collected. These
may comprise, for example, third party web sites. The process by
which a user identifies useful data within usable data fields on
a Web site, and communicates that data field into a rule, comprises
the consume process. The consume process allows users to strip form
field names from any website and use them as rule fields within
cxLogic, shown in 1210. The system is capable of retrieving the
names of fields from external services and use those field names
internally. These consumed fields can then be used to build rules
and execute subsequent evaluations. Users can also edit the fields
that have been consumed within cxLogic, in order to incorporate
them with the rule building process. The consume process allows
cxLogic to communicate information with any external service. However,
users are not limited to form fields specific to external websites.
Users may create their own form fields, as well as create groups
of form fields, known as field sets, which allow users to group
fields based on the integrating system.
[0119] FIG. 7 shows an implementation of cxLogic process flow in
one embodiment of system operation. The cxLogic process flow begins
with the consume process 700, one implementation of which is diagramed
in FIG. 8. The user enters input into a form and adds action to
the form to be consumed 800. The user then submits the form 801,
which is sent over the internet, such as via HTTP/POST, into cxLogic.
cxLogic then determines if the form is valid, 802. If it is not
valid, there is a resulting error, 803, which is then reported to
the user, 804. If the form is valid, form fields are displayed for
user confirmation, 805. If the changes are confirmed by cxLogic,
806, the set is stored, 807, and the results are returned, 808.
If the changes are not confirmed, 806, there is a resulting error,
803, which is then reported to the user, 804. FIG. 13 shows a block
diagram illustrating the consume process components, the consume
process including a calling application 1300. A calling application
can either be an external web service that would like to use cxLogic's
rule evaluations, or another software application that requires
cxLogic's rule evaluation engine to complete its own processes.
[0120] After cxLogic runs the consumption process, the remote data
sources have been processed and data fields, which may be used in
rules, are identified and available for the user to integrate into
a rule. The process continues with the overall processes, shown
in FIG. 7. Users can then manage rulesets, 701. This allows them
to add, edit, or delete rules, rule fields, and rulesets. cxLogic
determines if there is an external application request, 702, and
then passes the rulesets through the evaluation process 703, illustrated
in FIG. 7, and further detailed in FIG. 9.
[0121] The evaluation process begins when fields are submitted,
900, over the internet via secure HTTP/POST, and collected by cxLogic,
901. As described above, fields that are submitted can come from
an external web service, or be fields created within cxLogic. Fields
submitted are collected by cxLogic, and then cxLogic determines
if the requested rulesets have been found, 902. Rulesets are retrieved
by cxLogic from an XML database, shown in FIG. 11. If no matching
rulesets are present, there is a resulting error, 903, which is
then reported to the user, 904. If the ruleset is found, it is evaluated,
905. This evaluation process is shown in further detail in FIG.
10.
[0122] Briefly with respect to FIG. 11, someone wishing to utilize
the benefits of cxLogic 1110 calls up a ruleset 1111 from a calling
application 1100, for example an Internet browser session. If the
called ruleset exists, it is retrieved from a database and operated
whereby to evaluate stored rules, 1112.
[0123] The detailed evaluation process, FIG. 10, begins with cxLogic
retrieving the rules from the ruleset, 1000. cxLogic then analyzes
the rule, 1001, and determines if the function call requires an
external service in order to gather information to make an evaluation,
1002. If it does not require an external service call, cxLogic determines
if the rule evaluation has been completed, 1003. If the rule is
not completed, cxLogic redirects the rule back to 1001, which continues
to evaluate the rule.
[0124] If the rule evaluation has been completed, cxLogic evaluates
the rule, 1004, stores the result into an XML database, 1005, and
determines if there are more rules to evaluate, 1006. If there are
more rules to evaluate, cxLogic redirects to 1000, which retrieves
more rules from the ruleset. If an external service call is required
to evaluate the rule, cxLogic then determines if more parameters
are required, 1007. If additional parameters are required, it allows
the user to input those parameters, 1008, then passes the data securely
over the internet to the external call service, 1009. The external
service then passes requested data back to the rule evaluation 1001.
If no additional parameters are required, the current data is passed
to the external service, 1009, securely over the internet. The external
service then passes requested data back to the rule evaluation 1001.
FIG. 12 shows this more detailed evaluation process in block diagram
form, showing the same calling application and cxLogic components
as in FIG. 11 with the addition of the external service 1213 and
other described process steps.
[0125] With reference back to FIG. 9, once the evaluation process
is complete for that ruleset, cxLogic evaluates each rule to yes,
no, error, or disabled, FIG. 9 label B. The results are then stored,
906, and cxLogic determines if there are additional rulesets are
present, 907. If more rulesets need to be evaluated, cxLogic redirects
back to the evaluation process, 905. If there are no more rulesets
to evaluate, cxLogic determines if there is an error in the result,
908. If there is an error in the result, the error is reported,
910, the error is logged, 909, and the result is returned. If no
error is present, the results are logged, 909, and the results are
returned, 911.
[0126] The reader will appreciate that there are several compelling
features and advantages that distinguish cxLogic from other rule
evaluation systems. cxLogic is an HTTP-based rules evaluation server
that does not require any prior knowledge of the fields submitted
in order to evaluate user rules. It is powerful enough to evaluate
virtually anything. If rules require certain fields that are not
submitted, cxLogic will evaluate a rule to "Error" instead
of "Yes" or "No." The process of evaluation
is now taken outside the realm of software development and given
to the user. The user has the power to affect behavior through real-time
rule authoring and evaluation.
[0127] Once a rule is evaluated, the evaluation data (XML) is logged
into an XML database. The logging feature logs all external call
evaluations, as well as any test evaluations done within cxLogic.
Logs are ordered chronologically, and can be filtered and searched.
[0128] There have thus been provided new and improved methods and
systems for authoring and evaluating logical rules, the invention
providing simple graphical user interfaces usable by non-technical
personnel. The invention thus simplifies the process by which users
can establish rules, collect and process data, manage the rules
and manage the rulesets. The invention further provides for the
analysis of web sites, whereby to identify and characterize data
fields for use within rules. The end result, again, is a simplified
graphical user interface system through which users can utilize
remote data with in rules. This invention is applicable to many
fields of business, and particularly as to the development of rules
in support of business processes.
Quote Generating Subsystem [pxQuote]
[0129] The collection of insurance policy application information
and the development of policy price quotes based upon that information
is often performed using automated, computerized programs with significant
human interaction and oversight. The programs used to facilitate
these activities are generally specialized, "hard coded"
software programs, which may be amended and altered only with specialized
programming by computer software experts. While the computerized
programs facilitate the activities of the human operators, for example
underwriters, they are expensive and complicated to write and also
to alter.
[0130] One problem addressed by pxQuote is the need to alter software
every time there is a change in insurance policy data analysis and/or
pricing. Current systems allow for insurance policy quote request
data rating against a workbook, with the resultant generation of
policy terms and prices. Changes, however, to the underlying workbooks,
against which new policy data is processed to generate policy terms
and price quotes, require technologists to edit software in order
to see the affects of the changes. Typical business users can not
easily or inexpensively modify the complex code behind the insurance
software.
[0131] pxQuote also eliminates the need to redesign the user interface
of an insurance quoting application every time there is a need for
changes in form fields, or a redesign of the user interface for
a change in the actual application fields. Such changes are undertaken,
for example, when changes to the underlying policy and/or policy
application require the collection of different information. Limitations
of existing systems include the need for technical developers to
edit the code for the user interface in order to reflect form field
changes and the requirement of input values for all required fields
before results can be processed.
[0132] pxQuote provides methods and systems for facilitating the
collection and processing of information to generate quotes and
applications for insurance policies.
[0133] As used herein, references to "pxQuote" refer
to the methods and systems of the present invention, as described,
for facilitating the collection and processing of information to
generate insurance quotes, and more particularly to such methods
and systems which facilitate the flexible change of both the user
interfaces and the data collected for processing.
[0134] In one embodiment of the invention, pxQuote enables business
users to alter a simple XML file and quote directly against their
insurance product workbook. pxQuote defines an insurance product,
including a workbook, as an XML document, which allows real-time
changes to insurance workbooks that can be instantly used to create
a new quote. By abstracting this process to an XML document, business
users can quickly and easily make changes in insurance policy processing
that can instantly be used within pxQuote. pxQuote's system allows
for modification of the XML based product, and dynamically interprets
the workbook to generate calculations, user interfaces, documents,
payments, and businesses rules needed to facilitate the process
to create a binding insurance contract for a given set of risks.
This product is not hard coded into the system.
[0135] In another embodiment of the invention, pxQuote interacts
with an underlying XML document which contains the form field information.
pxQuote reads this XML document and dynamically creates the user
interface based on the information held in the XML document. This
ability to simply edit the XML document eliminates the need for
complicated and expensive hard coding form field information within
the user interface. pxQuote, allows the business user to edit user
interface-defining data within an XML document, and the changes
are instantly reflected on the user interface.
[0136] In this second embodiment, pxQuote thus has the ability
to base the interface on an underlying XML document. All interface
specifications, such as field names and type, are held in the XML
and are visually represented in the interface. This seamless interaction
allows a business user to hide the data that affects quotes from
an agent. In one implementation, pxQuote is a web application rather
than a webpage. This allows for dynamic user interaction to determine
results in real time. It does not require the user to input all
fields, but will determine a result based on fields that it has
been given. It also notifies users, in real time, of fields that
are required, missing, or that contain errors. Users can also save
input information within the system and access it at another time.
[0137] In accordance aspects of pxQuote, there are provided herein
methods and systems for enabling a user to simply and easily edit
an XML document in order to change 1) both the underlying requirements,
calculations, tables and business rules associated with processing
applicant data to generate insurance policy terms and quotes, and
2) in order to enable a user to altered the appearance of a use
interface for collecting insurance application/quote information.
[0138] As used herein, references to "product" and "products"
refer to XML data documents which fully describe an insurance policy
rater, including specification of user inputs, expressions (e.g.,
rating calculations which establish parameters and/or values used
to render a quote), tables (e.g., data sets from which values may
be looked up), rules and/or rulesets (e.g., business rules), payment
tracking mechanisms and/or records, policy documents, and/or the
like. A product is processed by the pxQuote module and turned into
a functioning rater application. A product contains all of the information
required to create a rating instance, both the interface and pricing
logic. This abstract representation of the rating application is
available for editing by business users of the pxQuote application.
As described herein, the product may include numerous functions
and/or sub-functions, such as a) collecting policy request information,
b) quoting requested policies, and c) generating online policy application(s).
The quoting function may be performed by an XML workbook function
within the XML product document.
[0139] As used herein, "schema" is used to mean the structural
definition of an XML document. Schema are typically expressed in
terms of constraints on the structure and content of XML documents,
above and beyond the basic syntax constraints imposed by XML itself.
An XML schema, including those schema described herein, provide
an abstracted, high-level view of the completed XML document. XML
Schemas express shared vocabularies and allow machines to carry
out rules made by people. They provide a means for defining the
structure, content and semantics of XML documents in more detail.
[0140] Overview of Operation
[0141] In accordance with aspects of pxQuote, the user of the system
may build an insurance policy product, in accordance with the guidelines
set out in the discussion of the pxBuilder module below. This build
is accomplished by editing the appropriate XML document. As described
above, the product includes numerous functions and sub-functions,
including a) XML structure (i.e., validated by schema) for generating
an appropriate graphical user interface where by a user of the invention
can collect and enter applicant insurance policy request data for
obtaining an insurance policy quote, b) XML structure for a workbook
for processing the quote request data to generate the policy quote,
and c) XML structure for an insurance policy application whereby
a party satisfied with a quote and desiring to apply for the quoted
policy can initiate the generation of the insurance policy application.
Details as to how the application/quote request data is collected,
appropriately processed, and the policy quote terms and conditions
and pricing information returned to the user, are described below.
Further described below are the details as to how a policy application
form is generated. Xforms, a World Wide Web Consortium standard,
provides a description of fields and/or inputs, which is then interpreted
by the system to generate the user interface; xforms also includes
a model, which describes how to parse data passing from client software
to the server
[0142] The dynamic user interface of pxQuote renders field inputs,
labels and other interface elements based on the underlying XML
product. This allows for a great deal of flexibility because products
and the user interface are rendered in real-time. Changes to the
XML description of the user interface can instantly be seen on the
user interface, thus eliminating the need for time intensive development
for minor changes. Similarly, changes to the product are reflected
in the insurance policy processing, the insurance policy quote and
the subsequent insurance policy application virtually instantaneously.
[0143] pxQuote instantly informs users of the current progress
of their session in accordance with the workbook. It visually shows
users what information they must provide in order to complete the
process of quoting or submitting an insurance quote request. As
the user interacts with the system and provides information, the
system responds accordingly. In one embodiment, the system constantly
informs users of their progress. In operation, by providing instant
feedback, pxQuote allows users to see how changes in field values
affect outcome (e.g., quote values).
[0144] Workbook Document Editing and pxQuote Policy Generation
[0145] The creation of each product work book is accomplished through
the use of pxBuilder module to edit the appropriate XML document,
in order to establish the appropriate data collection, calculations
and rules for generating policy quote terms, conditions and prices.
[0146] User Interface Document Editing and pxQuote User Interface
Generation
[0147] The creation of the graphical user interface through which
applicant information is collected for each product is accomplished
by editing the relevant portion of the workbook XML document. This
process creates a graphical user interface through which the applicant
data is collected and transmitted for processing, the creation of
which is described herein above, for appropriate processing. The
same is true for the creation of the graphical user interface for
creating a policy application. In operation, the policy application
is generated using the already received applicant quote data, but
can also include the collection and inclusion of additional pertinent
data such as payment methodology and related insurance coverage
information.
[0148] System Overview
[0149] pxQuote's user interface 1403 in FIG. 14, accesses the pxQuote
module (1402), via the internet, to retrieve information needed
to create visually what is stated in the selected product 1401.
That is, the information is collected from the graphical user interface
described above. If information also needs to be obtained from an
outside source, pxQuote will access the source 1404 and coordinate
the appropriate information between the server 1402 and interface,
1403.
[0150] As the user enters data within the interface, an XML packet
is being created which holds the data. When all required fields
have been entered, the packet is posted to a URL, for example: http://pxquote/test/service/quotes/.
Each quote is given a unique ID, for example, PXQTEST01-19.
[0151] pxQuote's request and response workflow can be seen in FIG.
14, in the interaction between the pxQuote module 1402 and the pxQuote
Agent Interface 1403. The definitions of the calculations are held
in the product definitions 1401 and executed in the server 1402
based on user inputs given in the interface 1403. The data is stored
within the pxQuote module, and can be accessed by its unique identification
number.
[0152] pxQuote is intelligent enough to know to go outside its
system in order retrieve information for its own use. FIG. 15 shows
pxQuote's integration with cxLogic, a rules-based processing system.
Based on the information given by the user in the interface 1500
the server processes the information 1501 and calls an external
system 1502. The external service passes the information back to
the server, which interprets the information, and the necessary
visualizations are shown on the pxQuote user interface.
[0153] Schema Descriptions
[0154] There are a number of different data-structures utilized
by the system, some of which are provided in the figures. FIG. 16
displays an insurance product schema. FIGS. 17A-B display policy
request schemata, whereby a user enters data to request a policy
quote. FIGS. 18A-F display workbook schemata, whereby the processing
of the policy quote data is performed to provide the actual policy
quote. FIGS. 19A-D display insurance application schemata, whereby
the actual insurance application is generated by a party who submitted
a quote request, received the quote and desires to submit an application
for the quoted policy. FIG. 20 displays a post-calculation schema
whereby expressions employed within the workbook are specified.
[0155] More particularly, with respect to FIG. 16 the product is
seen to include nodes for collecting external inputs 1601, the described
workbook schema 1605, the described application schema 1610, and
the described post-calculation schema 1615. Also included are header
schemata for metadata (FIGS. 21A-B) and post-processing calculation
schema for post-processing as shown in the schema of FIG. 20.
[0156] More particularly with respect to FIGS. 17A-B, the policy
request schema is seen to include various information as will be
utilized by the workbook schema of FIGS. 18A-F to provide the insurance
policy quote.
[0157] A visual representation of the insurance workbook is shown
in FIGS. 18A-F. As described above, the workbook contains input
form elements, tables, calculations, and rulesets. The input form
elements describe every form field that will be displayed on the
front end interface of pxQuote as the quote form (i.e. the schemata
of FIGS. 17A-B). This description includes field names, types, and
validation requirements. The tables data holds all rater data in
order to process the inputs of the user. The calculations section
executes the mathematical processes that are described in the rater
tables. These calculations use the inputs from the user. The rulesets
section describes business rules that are created by the business
user.
[0158] A visual representation of the insurance application XML
schema is shown in FIGS. 19A-D. The application contains input form
elements, calculations, and rulesets. The input form fields fully
describe the display of the application form on the front end of
the pxQuote interface. This description includes field names, types,
and validation requirements. The calculations section executes the
mathematical processes that use the input fields as data. The rulesets
section provides references to business rules, existing in cxLogic,
that are selected by the business user.
[0159] As noted above, FIG. 20 includes post-calculation schema
for additional calculations to ensure an appropriate policy. FIGS.
21A-B includes header schema for information about the specific
product, for example, the product name, author, and date last modified.
[0160] An example of a policy request is as follows. As shown in
FIG. 22, system requirements are displayed to a user. As an example,
in order to use the pxQuote application, four system requirements
might be required. Windows must be used as the operating system,
Mozilla Firefox version 1.5 or greater must be used as the browser,
and Acrobat Reader and Adobe Flash Player version 9 or greater must
be downloaded. An error message will appear if any of these requirements
are not met. Of course, these limitations are exemplary in nature
and not limiting of the invention. For example, the system may also
be operable within a Linux or Macintosh platform, or in conjunction
with Internet Explorer or Safari web browsers.
[0161] A username and password is entered, and a main console will
appear. See FIG. 23. From this screen the user may manage existing
Quotes and Applications or start a new Quote. It should be noted
that the base criteria discussed below reflects one implementation.
The base criteria may be dynamically modified and a workbook author
may input a desired set of base criteria in order to uniquely identify
the encoded product or products. It should further be noted that
the system is an application program interface (API) service that
may be spoken to from a rich client or a variety of other software
systems or suites (e.g., Microsoft Excel).
[0162] The selected effective date of the policy is entered, as
shown in FIG. 24. Select the Effective Date. The Effective Date
is the date that the policy will take effect. The user may change
this date at anytime while quoting. In one embodiment, the date
must not be more than 45 days in the future. The producer code is
selected, as in FIG. 25, Select the Producer Code. The user may
select a Producer Code from the dropdown menu. If only one Producer
Code exists, the one Producer Code will be displayed. A producer
comprises a person or group of persons that are permitted to quote,
write and bind policies.
[0163] The user completes the quote form as shown in FIG. 26. The
user must complete all required fields in the quote form. The fields
will provide instant feedback. Error messages will automatically
appear when fields are in error, as shown in FIG. 27. The user must
complete fields correctly according to error messages.
[0164] When all fields on the quote form are complete, the quote
will automatically be generated, for example as shown in FIG. 28.
Once all required fields are complete, a revised quote will automatically
be generated each time a user changes any field (required or optional).
[0165] The user can initiate the generation of the application
graphical user interface form, as shown in FIG. 29. Once the user
activates the Application control, the Agency Portal shall shift
to the left to display the Application interface. After the user
has completed the application section, he may activate the Submission
button to advance to the Application Submission screen, as illustrated
in FIG. 30. After the user has entered the payee information and
accepted the certification statement, he may activate the submit
button to submit the application to the recipient, for example an
insurance company and/or underwriter.
[0166] By providing inputs, processing and outputs based upon an
editable XML document, the invention provides for unprecedented
flexibility as to the quoting of and application for insurance policies.
[0167] By rendering fields based on the XML workbook, visually
shown in FIGS. 18A-F, pxQuote gives a business user the power to
define the user interface without having to alter complex code.
Also, a business user can keep the interface separate from underlying
ratings products, thus the insurance agent is not exposed to sensitive
information.
[0168] Also, features within the interface are not exposed to the
user unless certain requirements are met. This ensures that there
is a certain progression to the quoting process that the user cannot
bypass. This allows the business user to ensure that quotes that
do not meet the requirements do not continue in the quoting process.
By having a user interface that is based on a unique product, the
business user can ensure that only quotes that fit the specified
description are accepted. The business user is given full control
of quotes and policies that are accepted, and can make changes instantly
to the specifications. In one embodiment, constant feedback is provided
to the user (i.e., no pages or steps). In another embodiment, instant
quoting (no "submit" step) is provided and form entry
errors or other mistakes are immediately fed back to the user. Real-time
ability is provided to view variations on a quote without re-submitting
entire form. Variations of a quote show users alternate quotes based
on changes that they can make to their property, for example different
types of roofing materials.
[0169] There have thus been provided new and improved methods and
systems for processing insurance policy-related data based upon
the use of an editable XML document(s). More particularly, the present
invention provides for an editable XML document to a) define input
data for requesting an insurance policy quote, b) processing the
input data to generate the quote, and c) actually generate an insurance
policy application where so desired. The editable XML document format
for providing the various functions makes the process essentially
limitlessly flexible and easily altered by lay-users. The invention
has application in the field of consumer data collection and processing
and more particularly in the field of insurance.
Generating a Workbook [pxBuilder]
[0170] This section describes one embodiment of a product builder
module (pxBuilder). Products are XML data documents which fully
describe a rater, including the interface description, table lookups,
pricing logic, and business rules. A product is processed and/or
interpreted by the pxQuote module and turned into a functioning
rater application.
[0171] A product contains all of the information required to create
a rating instance, including both the interface and pricing logic.
This abstract representation of the rating application is available
for editing by business users of the pxQuote application.
[0172] The pxQuote "Product Builder's Guide" and/or the
pxBuilder module enables business users to create a valid product
XML using a visual toolset, as opposed to hand-authoring an XML.
It guides agents when they are creating products, which contain
the fields and the categories that are required to process a quote.
[0173] A user must be logged into pxBuilder in order to access
the system. Users will be validated upon login. FIG. 31A shows an
exemplary login window with fields for entering a username 3101
and password 3102.
[0174] Once a user is recognized by pxBuilder, the user shall gain
access to the various parts of pxBuilder according to his user rights.
In order to successfully access pxBuilder, a user must be authenticated
by the system. A user will be validated once he signs into the pxBuilder.
FIG. 31B shows an exemplary welcome screen. The current instance
of pxBuilder will be displayed at the very top right side of the
pxBuilder screen 3103. When a user is authenticated by the system,
his name 3104 is displayed beside the "Logout" control
3105 on the right side of the pxBuilder screen. Activating the "Logout"
control from the top right side of the pxBuilder screen will close
the current session and the user shall return to the Login screen.
[0175] If the Username and Password do not match the one stored
in the system, the authentication message in FIG. 31C is displayed.
The user must re-enter a valid Username 3106 and Password 3107 to
proceed to the pxBuilder.
[0176] Upon authentication by the system, the user shall be presented
with the pxQuote Products page, as shown in FIG. 31D. Users may
create, copy or edit Products in different environments 3108. You
will only see Products from your current environment. Local shall
be the default environment 3109. A list of local copies shall be
displayed 3110.
[0177] In order to add or clone a Product, the user must activate
the "Add/Clone a Product Button" control 3111. The screen
shown in FIG. 31E is displayed: To add/clone a Product, the user
must select the location from which the Product will be cloned.
Users will only see the Product from the environment they are in
and may only clone to the local environment. All new Products will
save to a local environment; the user must publish the Product to
his desired environment. If a user clones a Product, there must
be a difference between the original and the new Product. Clashing
Products cannot exist within the server as each Product must at
least have a new Product ID. Once the user selects an existing Product
from the dropdown 3112, several of the required fields shall auto-populate,
including the Product ID 3113, the Product Label 3114 and the Carrier
ID 3115. He must create a Local Name 3116.
[0178] In one implementation, "Local Name" 3116 is the
name for the Product as it is designated by the user. In one implementation,
"New Product ID" 3113 is the identification for the Product
as it is designated by the user. In one implementation, "New
Product Label" 3114 is he label for the Product as it is designated
by the user. The Product label shall be displayed on the pxBuilder
Products page. In one implementation, "Carrier ID" 3115
is The Carrier ID as it is designated by the user. The Carrier ID
shall be displayed on the pxBuilder Products page. Activating the
"Create Product" control 3117 shall create a new Product.
Activating the "Cancel" control 3118 shall return the
user to the pxQuote Products page.
[0179] To edit an existing Product, a user must click on the Product
name. Users may also view base criteria or delete a Product by clicking
on the appropriate link. When a user clicks on an existing Product,
the Basic Product Data is displayed, as shown in FIG. 31F. Users
may update Product data under each category for Header 3119, Workbook
3120 and Application 3121.
[0180] The Product Toolbar, an embodiment of which is shown in
FIG. 31G, is located on the middle right side of the pxBuilder page.
The links from the Toolbar are described in turn. Activating the
"Download XML" link 3122 shall display the window shown
in FIG. 31H. The user may select which option he wants to utilize
to open 3128 or save 3129 the XML. Activating the "Validate"
link 3123 shall validate the Product XML. The message shown in FIG.
31I will be displayed, with the validation message 3130 and validation
source 3131. Activating the "Vocabulary" link 3124 shall
connect the user to the Manage Vocabulary List page. Users can add
or edit terms in the Vocabulary List. Activating the "Save"
link 3125 shall connect the user to the Save Product page, an embodiment
of which is shown in FIG. 31J. Activating the "Save Product"
control 3132 shall save all changes to the Product. Activating the
"Back to Products" control 3133 shall return the user
to the pxBuilder Products page. Activating the "Publish"
link 3127 shall connect the user to the Publish Document page, an
embodiment of which is shown in FIG. 31K. Once a user selects a
location 3134 to publish the Product, he must activate the "Publish
Product" control 3135. The Product shall be published.
[0181] If the user activates the "Publish Product" control
without selecting a location, the following error message is displayed:
"No destination was specified in the request". If the
Product is unavailable and the user selects a location and activates
the "Publish Product" control, the following error message
is displayed: "Not Found: The requested URL/service/products
was not found on this server".
[0182] Activating the "Cancel" 3136 control shall return
the user to the Basic Product Data page. Activating the "What
am I about to change?" control 3137 shall provide users with
a Product comparison. The differences between the new and existing
Products shall be displayed to the user. If the user activates the
"What am I about to change?" control without selecting
a location, the error message shown in FIG. 31L is displayed, providing
an informative error message 3138. If the user selects a location
which is not available, the following error message is displayed:
"Error getting the original product source". Activating
the "Back" control shall return the user to the previous
page.
[0183] You may update the data for a specific product from the
individual sections from the Product Data page.
[0184] You may update sections of a Header by activating the appropriate
controls on the Product Data page (see FIG. 31F). Activating the
"Base Criteria" control 3139 shall connect the user to
the Base Criteria page, an embodiment of which is shown in FIG.
31M. The Base Criteria are a superset of base criteria representing
Products in the system. They enumerate the information that an agent
must use to choose a specific Product. Therefore, the completion
of the Base Selection Criteria results in only one Product. You
cannot have two products with the same Base Criteria. Activating
the "Add Base Criteria" control 3140 shall take the user
to the page of the same name, as shown in FIG. 31N. To create new
base criterion, complete the required fields and activate the "Add"
control 3141. The required fields for adding base criterion are
Name 3142, Label 3143 and Value 3144. Activating the "Cancel"
control 3145 shall return the user to the previous page. If the
user activates the "Add" control without completing the
required fields, an error message is displayed requesting that the
user enter the required fields for the new base criterion.
[0185] You may delete or update existing base criteria from the
Base Criteria page. Activating the trash control 3146 shall display
the pop-up window shown in FIG. 31O. To permanently delete the Base
Criterion, activate the "Ok" control 3147. To close the
pop-window and return to the Base Criteria page, activate the "Cancel"
control 3148.
[0186] Click the link with base criterion 3139 to update its information.
To save your updates to the base criterion, activate the "Apply
Changes" control 3149. To discard changes and return to the
previous page, activate the "Cancel" control 3150.
[0187] You may update sections of a Workbook by activating the
appropriate controls on the Product Data page (see FIG. 31F).
[0188] Input Forms are the external pieces of information needed
by the rater to quote the Product. These include fields that will
be rendered by the interface to collect user-supplied information
as well as external data that may be required to process a quote.
This includes simple validation rules, including data type. Activating
the "Input Form" control 3151 shall link the user to the
Edit Workbook Input Form page, an embodiment of which is shown in
FIG. 31Q. Users may edit any part of the Workbook Input Form. Activating
the "Apply Changes" control 3152 shall save all changes
and return the user to the Basic Product Data page. Activating the
"Cancel" control 3153 shall Cancel all changes and return
the user to the previous page.
[0189] The updates required for future Products are detailed below.
The input fields must be labeled exactly as they are listed below.
TABLE-US-00004 <xs:enumeration value="BCEGCode"/>
<xs:enumeration value="SquareFootUnderRoof"/> <xs:enumeration
value="ConstructionYear"/> <xs:enumeration value="ProtectionClass"/>
<xs:enumeration value="InHRAEligibleArea"/> <xs:enumeration
value="DistanceWater"/> <xs:enumeration value="Elevation"/>
[0190] The changes to syntax to auto-calculate coverages off of
Coverage A are described below.
[0191] Accepted values for <REFERENCE NAME> are: any string.
Accepted values for <REFERENCE TO FIELD> are: any valid <REFERENCE
NAME>. Accepted values for <OPERATOR> are: add, subtract,
multiply, divide. Accepted values for <OPERAND> are: any number.
[0192] When setting the value of one (1) field based upon the value
of one (1) other field: <xf:input ref="<REFERENCE NAME>"
linkedFields="<REFERENCE TO FIELD>" operations="<OPERATOR>,<OPERAND>"
maxvalue="5000" minvalue="1"/>.
EXAMPLE
[0193] TABLE-US-00005 <xf:input ref="CoverageA" maxvalue="500000"
minvalue="1"/> xf:input ref="CoverageB" linkedField="CoverageA"
operation="multiply,.1" maxvalue="300000" minvalue="1"/>
<xf:input ref="CoverageC" linkedField="CoverageA"
operation="multiply,.5" maxvalue="300000" minvalue="1"/>
[0194] When setting the value of one (1) field based upon the value
of multiple fields: TABLE-US-00006 <xf:input ref="<REFERENCE
NAME>" linkedFields="<REFERENCE TO FIELD>,<REFERENCE
TO FIELD>" operations="<OPERATOR>" />
EXAMPLE
[0195] TABLE-US-00007 <xf:input ref="CoverageA" maxvalue="500000"
minvalue="1"/> <xf:input ref="CoverageB"
maxvalue="300000" minvalue="1"/> <xf:input
ref="CoverageC" maxvalue="300000" minvalue="1"/>
<xf:input ref="CoverageD" maxvalue="300000"
minvalue="1"/> <xf:input ref="Total" linkedFields="CoverageA,CoverageB,CoverageC,CoverageD"
operation="add"/>
[0196] The ixLocator interface is configured by adding an id attribute
to an xf:group node. The node must contain the user input fields
pertaining to the property's address: PropertyStreetNumber, PropertyStreetName,
PropertyAddressLine2, PropertyCity, PropertyState, PropertyZip,
and PropertyZipPlusFour. A button labeled "Validate address"
is automatically appended to this group and will become enabled
when all of the required elements in the ixLocator group have been
completed. The ixLocator group may appear as its own section, or
it may appear as a subsection of another group. If it is a top-level
group, then a label node should appear as the first sub-element
of the group. If the ixLocator interface is a sub-element of another
group, no label node is required. PropertyAddressLine2 and PropertyZipPlusFour
are not required by ixLocator.
EXAMPLE
[0197] TABLE-US-00008 <xf:group id="ixLocator">
<xf:input ref="PropertyStreetNumber" required="true
type="text"> <xf:label> Street Number </xf:label>
</xf:input> <xf:input ref="PropertyStreetName"
required="true" type="text"> <xf:label>
Street Name </xf:label> </xf:input> <xf:input ref="//PropertyCity"
required="true" type="text"> <xf:label>
City </xf:label> </xf:input> <xf:select1 appearance="full"
default="FL" ref="//PropertyState" required="true">
<xf:label> State </xf:label> <xf:item> <xf:label>
FL </xf:label> <xf:value> FL </xf:value> </xf:item>
</xf:select1> <xf:input ref="PropertyZipCode"
required="true" type="zipcode"> <xf:label>
ZIP </xf:label> </xf:input> </xf:group>
[0198] Forms code rules are dependent on the number of selections
which shall be presented for the item. They are as follows: If the
number of enumerations is one or two, radio buttons shall be displayed.
If the number of enumeration is three, a list box shall be displayed.
If the number of enumerations is either four or higher, a dropdown
box shall be displayed.
[0199] The TextArea control is very similar to the TextInput control
and will accept all of the same attributes except maxvalue and minvalue.
The value of the type attribute must be one of the following: text,
string, or " ".
EXAMPLE
XForms TextArea Control
[0200] TABLE-US-00009 <xf:textarea ref="Comment" type=""
maxlength="250"> <xf:label>Comment</xf:label>
</xf:textarea>
[0201] The Range control has two exclusive states: a horizontal
slider, or a date chooser.
EXAMPLE
Slider
[0202] TABLE-US-00010 <xf:range ref="Deductible'' start=''-2.0''
end=''2.0'' step=''0.5''> <xf:label>Balance</xf:label>
</xf:range>
EXAMPLE
Date Chooser
[0203] TABLE-US-00011 <xf:range ref="EffectiveDate"
start="2001-01-01" end="2001-12-31"> <xf:label>Ship
Date</xf:label> </xf:range>
[0204] The new attribute for XForms control is "affectspremium."
When it is set to "false," it will not trigger a requote
on change to that field. If it is set to "true" or it
is not present, it will continue to requote upon any changes to
the field.
[0205] affectsEligibility determines which fields shall impact
eligibility, including but not limited to Coverages, Distance to
Fire Hydrant, etc. Fields such as First Name and Last Name do not
affect eligibility. The default is "true;" to turn off
affectseligibility, the agent must enter "affectEligibility=false."
Rating Impact is used to tell pxServer the complexity of rating.
You may use: If the complexity of rating is simple, only Rating
is used. If the complexity is complex, Rating and Scoring is used.
If the complexity is very complex, Rating, Scoring and Modeling
is used. If the complexity is not complex, it may remain blank as
there is no rating impact. The only attribute values of "R",
"RS", or "RSM" are supported. No other order
of R, S, or M is permitted.
[0206] The XForms control "xf:help" shall populate any
text from Help fields to the Help widget. To denote required fields
in the application side you must now use appRequired="true",
not required="true". The linkedfields attribute no longer
is supported. Instead there is a calculation attribute. In this
attribute you can write any mathematical function, by surrounding
input references with "[ ]".
EXAMPLE
[0207] To calculate TIV, you just have to add the attribute calculation="[CoverageA}+[CoverageB]+[CoverageC]"
[0208] The affectspremium attribute is no longer supported and
should be removed from the product. There is now an additional step
for adding inputs to both the Quote and Application. You may continue
to add form fields the same way as before, except default values
are no longer handled within the field declaration. There is now
an <xf:instance> element underneath the <xf:model>.
See the example below. When a form field is added, it must also
be added to the appropriate area of the model. This is also where
you may declare default values. Please add the XML under the area
highlighted yellow to the input form just under the xf:model declaration.
Please leave all input fields below that are unfamiliar to you intact.
Many are necessary for cxRisk. Any input fields you add to either
the quote or application side must also be added in the appropriate
area of the xf:instance.
EXAMPLE
[0209] TABLE-US-00012 <InputForm> <xf:model xmlns:xf="http://www.w3.org/2002/xforms">
<xf:instance> <PolicyRequest locationid="" percentagecomplete=""
producercode="" useragent="" username="">
<flags/> <basecriteria> <Carrier/> <Product/>
<EffectiveDateRange/> </basecriteria> <quoteform>
<inputs> <input name="InsuredName" value="Rama
Poola"/> <input name="BuildingNumber" value=""/>
<input name="BuildingLocation" value=""/>
</inputs> </quoteform> <appform> <inputs>
<input name="InsuredContactName" value=""/>
<input name="InsuredMailingAddressLine1" value=""/>
<input name="InsuredMailingAddressLine2" value=""/>
</inputs> </appform> </PolicyRequest> </xf:instance>
[0210] Expressions are the rating calculations which establish
the parameters which shall be utilized to calculate data in order
to produce a quote.
[0211] Activating the "Expressions" control 3153 shall
link the user to the Workbook Expressions page, an embodiment of
which is shown in FIG. 31R. Activating the "Add New Expression"
control 3154 shall link the user to the page of the same name, an
embodiment of which is shown in FIG. 31S. The Expression Name 3155
is a required field. Activating the "Validate and Save"
control 3156 shall check that all required fields have been completed
for the new expression. Activating the "Cancel" control
3157 shall cancel the user actions. The user shall return to the
Workbook Expressions page. If the required field has not been completed,
the following error message will be displayed: "Expression
Errors: The expression name is required". Activating the trash
control 3158 shall remove the Workbook Expression from the list.
[0212] Activating the down arrow control 3159 shall move the Workbook
Expression to one position below the current location. Activating
the up arrow control 3160 shall move the Workbook Expression to
one position above the current location. Activating the cross arrows
control 3161 shall produce the pop-up window shown in FIG. 31T.
The user shall enter the new location 3162 for the selected Expression.
The new location must be numerical. Activating the "Ok"
control 3163 shall move the Expression to the assigned place. Activating
the "Cancel" control 3164 shall cancel the window. The
user shall remain on the Workbook Expressions page.
[0213] Users can create Expressions to access any of the root level
data with Calculations, including Percentage Complete and Policy
ID.
[0214] Percentage Complete: pxq.attributes.percentageComplete.
[0215] PolicyID: IIF(pxq.attributes.percentageComplete GTE 1, DE(`HPC1`
& RepeatString(`0`, 6-Len(pxq.attributes.index)) & pxq.attributes.index),
DE(" ")).
[0216] The Tables page, an embodiment of which is displayed in
FIG. 31U, displays all available Tables. Tables hold the data used
for rating. You may add a new Table or delete, review or move existing
Tables. The number of existing Tables is presented in the header
3165. The number of rows for each Table is displayed beside the
name of the Table 3166.
[0217] Activating the "Add New Table" control 3167 takes
you to the page of the same name, an embodiment of which is shown
in FIG. 31V. To add a new Table, activate the "Browse"
control 3168. A File Upload window shall be displayed. You must
select the Table from its current location and activate the "Open"
control. Once the name and location of the Table appears in the
Add Table text box, activate the "Upload Table XML" control.
If the table was not saved in the right method, the following error
message is displayed: "That table is not valid XML".
[0218] Activating the trash control 3169 displays the pop-up window
shown in FIG. 31W. To permanently delete the Table, activate the
"Ok" control 3170. To close the pop-window and return
to the Tables page, activate the "Cancel" control 3171.
[0219] Activating the magnifying glass control 3172 shall open
the selected Table. Activating the down arrow control 3173 shall
prompt the Open Table pop-up window. You can open the Table with
your preferred XML software or save to disk. Activating the up arrow
control 3174 shall connect you to the Replace Table page, an embodiment
of which is shown in FIG. 31X. To replace your current Table, active
the "Browse" control 3175. A File Upload window shall
be displayed. You must select the Table from its current location
and activate the "Open" control. Once the name and location
of the Table appears in the Add Table text box, activate the "Upload
Table XML" control 3176. If the table was not saved in the
right method, the following error message is displayed: "That
table is not valid XML".
[0220] Rulesets are complex input validation and business rule
evaluations that are processed by cxLogic and evaluated by pxQuote.
The Product supports the inclusion and extension of the cxLogic
schema, including the desired outcome of a TRUE or FALSE evaluation,
which is then sent back to the quoting client where the outcome
is carried out. Activating the "Rulesets" control 3177
takes you to the page of the same name, embodiments of which are
shown in FIGS. 31Y and 31Z.
[0221] You must select your cxLogic Ruleset Source from the radio
control buttons 3178. You must select your Ruleset from the Add
Ruleset dropdown 3179. Once it is selected from the dropdown, the
Ruleset will appear as the final item on the Ruleset List 3180.
The number of Rulesets in the Workbook Rulesets header 3181 shall
update automatically.
[0222] Activating the trash control 3182 displays the pop-up window
shown in FIG. 31AA. To permanently delete the Ruleset, activate
the "Ok" control 3183. To close the pop-window and return
to the Ruleset page, activate the "Cancel" control 3184.
cxRisk Portfolio Quantification and Scoring
[0223] This section presents a discussion of some embodiments of
cxRisk Portfolio Quantification and Scoring. In some, but by no
means all, embodiments, the following definitions may apply:
[0224] Event Loss File ("ELF")--Event loss file is the
table containing the expected loss per event from a probabilistic
simulation. This information is generally provided by catastrophe
vendor models AIR or RMS but is not limited to these models.
[0225] Portfolio Summary Files ("PSF")--Portfolio summary
file is the information such as premium, FHCF premium, expenses,
non-cat loss and so on for a given portfolio.
[0226] Reinsurance Definition Files ("RDF")--Reinsurance
definition file with its reinsurance layer definition file ("RLDF")
describes the reinsurance structure with either given value or method
for attachment point, exhaustion point, layer limit, layer premium,
layer reinstatement premium and so on.
[0227] Reinsurance Layer Input File ("RLIF")--Reinsurance
layer input file is similar to the RLDF with calculated attachment/exhaustion
point, premium, layer ceded premium, layer reinstatement premium,
layer occurrence limit (the maximum loss can be recovered by reinsurance
if only one event occurs) and aggregate limit (the maximum recoverable
losses in a year). It's derived from RLDF and PSF (if necessary).
The math is straightforward.
[0228] Year Loss File ("YLF")--Year loss file lists losses
per simulation year. It also shows each event with its loss in every
cat year.
[0229] Reinsurance Layer Output File ("RLOF")--Reinsurance
layer output file combines YLF with RLIF and shows the layer loss
and ceded loss for every event in each simulation catastrophe year.
[0230] Reinsurance Output File ("ROF")--Reinsurance output
file summarizes the layer loss and ceded layer loss in each year
from RLOF.
[0231] Yearly Income Statement ("YIS")--Year income statement
calculates more information related to each cat year including premium,
expenses, non-cat losses, ceded cat losses and so on.
[0232] Capital Definition File ("CDF")--Capital definition
file describes the method and lists the values useful to calculate
the capital or capital required based on PSF and YIS.
[0233] Profit Analysis ("PPA")--Portfolio profit analysis
summarizes information from YIS and presents values such as capital
required, breakeven premium, adequate premium and so on. TABLE-US-00013
TABLE 1 An example of ELF EventId YearId EventRate GrossLoss 1 1
0.10% 114 2 2 0.15% 98 3 2 0.08% 76 4 3 0.36% 54 5 4 0.06% 35 6
4 0.14% 24 7 5 0.24% 11 8 6 0.03% 9
[0234] TABLE-US-00014 TABLE 2 An example of YLF YearId GrossLoss
GrossLossEvent1 GrossLossEvent2 2 174 98 76 1 114 114 4 59 35 24
3 54 54 5 11 11 6 9 9
[0235] To get the YLF from ELF, we need to do the summation on
the gross loss through all years. For instance, Table 1 lists an
ELF with only eight events. Event 2 and 3 happen in the same cat
year 2 and event 5 and 6 happen in cat year 4 while the other four
events happen in other four cat years respectively. To get the YLF
(Table 2), we need to look through all years. For year 1, there
is only one event related to it and the gross loss is 114 million.
For year 2, event 2 and 3 both contribute loss to it and the total
is 174 million. And we do the same for the rest of the years. In
the YLF, it also lists gross loss per event at each cat year. The
maximal number of events happened in one year in this example is
two and therefore only two gross loss event columns are shown. TABLE-US-00015
TABLE 3 Variables in reinsurance structure, in one embodiment Variable
Symbol Description Participation Pp the percent of the layer going
to be covered AttachmentPoint At the lower bound of the layer ExhaustionPoint
Ex the upper bound of the layer LayerDeductible LD the amount of
the loss retained to client OccurrenceLimit OL the full loss coverage
for one event occurrence AggregateLimit AL the upper limit of full
loss coverage for one cat year PremiumLayer PL the cost of purchasing
the full reinsurance layer PremiumCeded PC the actual reinsurance
layer cost considering the participatio ReinstatementPremium RP
the cost of purchasing the reinstatement reinsurance
[0236] Now we add the RLIF to get the RLOF. Before we do that,
we are first going to see some definitions of reinsurance structure
in one embodiment in Table 3. Attachment and exhaustion are the
two bounds of the layer. They can be given as fixed values in RLDF,
they can be calculated based on the losses at a certain return periods
from a given portfolio, or they can be derived from an alternative
means (i.e. the FHCF premium using some multipliers given by Florida
Hurricane Catastrophe Fund). Occurrence limit confines the maximum
recovered losses for each layer in one occurrence. Aggregate limit
caps the total recovered losses for each layer in one cat year.
Aggregate limit is equal to occurrence limit if there is no reinstatement
reinsurance purchased.
[0237] The reinstatement premium calculation may be more involved
if it's not prepaid up front. There are many contracts containing
reinstatement provision as "1 at 100%". That means the
contract has one reinstatement with the reinstatement premium calculated
as 100% of reinsurance cost for pro rata limit. It's paid after
the occurrence of one event to reinstate the coverage to full limit
for second occurrence. Formula 1.1 below describes how to calculate
the reinstatement premium of one layer. RP=ROL.times.f.times.L (1.1)
[0238] where ROL is rate on line of each layer; f is the fraction
of reinstatement premium rate versus up-front premium. In the example
above, f=100%; and L is the loss of the layer.
[0239] Since PL=ROL.times.OL.times.P.sub.p (see below), we have:
R .times. .times. P = P .times. .times. L O .times. .times. L .times.
P p .times. f .times. L = P .times. .times. L .times. f .times.
L O .times. .times. L .times. P p ( 1.2 ) TABLE-US-00016 TABLE 4
An example of reinstatement program LayerId OccurrenceLimit PremiumLayer
Participation LayerLossEvent1 1 10 2 100% 8
[0240] For example, if the reinstatement provision specifies premium
as "1 at 100%", then according to Table 4, we have R .times.
.times. P = 2 .times. 100 .times. % .times. 8 10 .times. 100 .times.
% = 1.6 . TABLE-US-00017 TABLE 5 First example of getting RLOF from
RLIF and YLF LayerId Attachment Exhaustion OccurrenceLimit AggregateLimit
Participation 1 3 8 5 10 1 YearId Layerid GrossLossEvent1 GrossLossEvent2
CededLossEvent1 CededLossEvent2 1 1 5 7 2 4 2 1 9 7 5 4 3 1 5 9
2 5
[0241] Next we are studying the calculation of cat losses. Suppose
we are given a reinsurance layer with 3 million at attachment and
8 million of exhaustion with 100% participation. The occurrence
limit is 5 million and aggregate limit is 10 million. We have three
years all with two events listed in Table 5. For year 1, the first
event happens with gross losses of 5 million. It will generate 5-3=2
million ceded losses. The second event causes 7 million losses and
have 7-3=4 million ceded losses. For year 2, the first event has
9 million in losses which are bigger than the exhaustion point.
This will cause 5 million ceded losses by considering the occurrence
limit. The second event will bring 4 million ceded losses with total
gross losses of 7 million. TABLE-US-00018 TABLE 6 Second example
of getting RLOF from RLIF and YLF of RLOF LayerId Attachment Exhaustion
OccurrenceLimit AggregateLimit Participation 1 3 8 5 5 1 YearId
Layerid GrossLossEvent1 GrossLossEvent2 CededLossEvent1 CededLossEvent2
1 1 5 7 2 3 2 1 9 7 5 0 3 1 5 9 2 3
[0242] In our second example, we change the aggregate limit from
10 million to 5 million and remain all other the same. In year 1,
event 1 happens with 5 million losses again and the ceded losses
are 2 million, the same as in the previous example. Event 2 makes
7 million losses and it supposes to bring 4 million ceded losses.
However, since the total ceded losses is capped by aggregate limit,
the ceded loss for event 2 is 5 (aggregate limit)-2 (previous ceded
loss)=3 million. From the examples above, we can summarize the formulas.
Declare, for the Present Embodiment:
[0243] L .quadrature. Event loss
[0244] CL .quadrature. Ceded loss
[0245] TCL .quadrature. Total existing ceded loss, i.e. summed
ceded loss from previous events
[0246] and refer to Table 3, we have CL=MIN(AL-TCL,MIN(OL,L-At)).times.Pp
(1.3)
[0247] Using previous example, in Table 6 year 1 has two events.
For the first event, the ceded loss is equal to MIN(5-0,MIN(5, 5-3)).times.100%=MIN(5,
2)=2. For the second event, the ceded loss is equal to MIN(5-2,MIN(5,
7-3)).times.100%=MIN(3, 4)=3. TABLE-US-00019 TABLE 7 An example
of ROF Yearid GrossLoss CededLoss NetLoss 1 12 6 6 2 16 9 7 3 14
7 7
[0248] After we get the RLOF, we can sum the ceded loss through
all layers for each cat year to get the ROF. An example of ROF can
be seen from Table 7. The net loss stands for the loss retained
after subtracting ceded loss from gross loss. TABLE-US-00020 TABLE
8 An example of PSF Premium PremiumFHCF OtherRevenue Expenses NonCatLosses
100 13 5 25 20 YearId NoncatLosses GrossCatLosses CededCatLosses
NetCatLosses UnderwritingIncome 1 20 12 6 6 19 2 20 16 9 7 18 3
20 14 7 7 18
[0249] TABLE-US-00021 TABLE 9 An example of YIS YearId Premium
OtherRevenue ReinsurancePremium ReinstatementPremium Expenses 1
100 5 25 10 25 2 100 5 25 10 25 3 100 5 25 10 25
[0250] If we add information from PSF, we are able to construct
the YIS now. Examples are shown in Table 8 and Table 9. Note underwriting
income is the net income after subtracting all the costs such as
reinsurance cost, non cat loss, net cat loss and expense from the
gross income.
[0251] CDF states the capital structure and specifies the method
used to calculate the capital. There are many differing motivations
to manage capital including: [0252] Compliance with regulatory guidelines--State
regulators and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners
provides guidance and, in some cases, directs company action based
on the ability of insurance companies to maintain capital levels
in compliance with various metrics. [0253] Compliance with rating
agency guidelines--Rating Agencies such as AMBest, Standard &
Poor's and Moody's have general guidelines and complex models that
provide guidance on how much capital is required based on a given
insurance company or companies business/risk profile. [0254] Internal
Risk Management Measures--As part of ordinary course business practice,
insurance companies create a framework to assess the adequacy of
capital levels in comparison to their business profile.
[0255] For instance, an insurance company might be asked to put
at least $2 for $1 potential net cat loss. CDF might also specify
the capital charge and required ROC.
[0256] By applying CDF on YIS file, we are able to get the portfolio
profit analysis file. As seen in Table 9, the underwriting income
is calculated for each cat year. The average of underwriting income
is the expected underwriting income before applying the capital
charge if any.
[0257] In one embodiment, we have definitions:
[0258] P .quadrature. Premium
[0259] I .quadrature. Other income revenue
[0260] E .quadrature. Expense
[0261] NCL .quadrature. Non Cat Losses
[0262] RL .quadrature. Retained Losses, i.e., net cat losses
[0263] NL .quadrature. Net Losses (NCL+RL)
[0264] R .quadrature. Reinsurance Premium (Include reinstatement
premium)
[0265] BP .quadrature. Breakeven Premium
[0266] AP .quadrature. Adequate Premium
[0267] C .quadrature. Capital Required
[0268] Pt .quadrature. Profit
[0269] ROC .quadrature. Return on Capital
[0270] The revenue is primarily or entirely from the premium. Some
other revenue, if any, may be considered. The cost includes expense,
reinsurance cost, non catastrophe loss, and net catastrophe loss.
Pt=P+I-E-NCL-RL-R (1.4) ROC=Pt/C (1.5)
[0271] Note the expense and non cat loss are generally given as
a portion of the premium or of the total insured value (TIV). It's
determined by individual client. Breakeven premium is another important
value in PPA file. It's the premium that makes the income equal
to the cost. 0=BP+I-E*-NCL*-RL-R (1.6)
[0272] E* and NCL* are the expense and non cat loss associated
with the breakeven premium. That means if they are derived from
breakeven premium, when solving the above formula, those two values
should be taken as unknown variables too. With another two formulas
describing the relationships between expense and breakeven premium
as well as non cat loss and breakeven premium, we are able to work
out the breakeven premium. E*=BP.times.Er (1.7) NCL*=BP.times.NCLr
(1.8)
[0273] where Er is expense ratio and NCLr is the non cat loss ratio.
[0274] Similarly, adequate premium is the premium to make the required
return on capital. ROC.times.C=AP+I-E-NCL-RL-R (1.9)
[0275] where ROC is the required return on capital given in CDF
and E* and NCL* are the expense and non cat loss associated with
the adequate premium this time.
[0276] Scoring is a process to evaluate the individual risk with
some specific methods. According to different methods, scoring can
be grouped as marginal scoring, standalone scoring and allocated
scoring.
[0277] Marginal scoring is to rate the risk by evaluating the impact
of adding the individual risk to a specific portfolio. The portfolio
can be a current existing portfolio in the company. The impact to
be considered can be change of the predicted loss or it can be the
marginal values in finance such as change of profit. Stand alone
scoring is to rate the risk according to its own information such
as its simulated losses. Allocated scoring is similar to marginal
scoring to the extent that it considers a risk in the context of
a portfolio of risks. However, allocated scoring does not give individual
risks the entire benefit of diversification that marginal scoring
provides. Instead, allocated scoring allocates a portion of the
losses, reinsurance costs, capital, et al associated with the considered
risk. This is done whenever the losses, reinsurance costs, capital,
et al cannot be directly attributed to an individual risk. These
amounts are generally distributed by the considered risk's contribution
to the losses of the portfolio.
[0278] When asked to compare two risks, it's very reasonable to
think which risk will to better to the current portfolio if added.
That's the idea of marginal scoring. The marginal scoring requires
knowing of portfolio used and some of individual risk information
such as event losses from the cat models. In general, we are seeking
for the values of variables like .DELTA.PML, .DELTA.AAL/.DELTA.P,
and .DELTA.ROC.
[0279] When adding a new risk, several obvious changes are premium,
FHCF premium (if applicable), and event loss table. Premium and
FHCF premium are just the amounts carried by the risk. The new event
loss table is given by linearly adding the corresponding losses
for each event from the risk ELF to the portfolio ELF. TABLE-US-00022
TABLE 10 An example of combining ELF EventId YearId EventRate GrossLoss
PORTFOLIO ELF 1 1 0.10% 14 2 2 0.15% 10 3 2 0.08% 25 4 3 0.36% 7
RISK ELF 1 1 0.10% 2 3 2 0.08% 1.5 4 3 0.36% 1.8 5 3 0.05% 0.3 COMBINED
ELF 1 1 0.10% 16 2 2 0.15% 10 3 2 0.08% 26.5 4 3 0.36% 8.8 5 3 0.05%
0.3
[0280] Table 10 gives an example of combining two event loss files.
If we add the risk ELF to the portfolio ELF shown, we can easily
get the combined ELF in the bottom. The events only appear either
in portfolio ELF or in risk ELF are copied directly while for those
common events the gross losses are added in the combined ELF. TABLE-US-00023
TABLE 11 An example of getting PML from YLF YearId MaximumLoss OEP
1 114 0.01% 2 98 0.02% 3 54 0.03% 4 35 0.04% 5 11 0.05% 6 9 0.06%
[0281] PML stands for probable maximum loss at given return period.
It determines how large a loss will occur at the given probability
level. PML is got from the exceendance probability ("EP")
curve derived from ELF (see Appendix A) or from the YLF. According
to Table 1 and Table 2, we build Table 11 which shows an example
of getting the PML from YLF. Assume the number of total cat years
we simulate is 10,000. In each cat year, we find the maximum event
gross loss. For instance in year 2, two events occur and the maximum
event loss is 98 million. OEP stands for occurrence exceedance probability.
It is the probability of having event with loss exceeding the maximum
loss given in the second column. For example in row 2, the maximum
loss is 98, there are two cat years which are year 1 and year 2
at which events occur with loss bigger and equal to 98 million.
Therefore the OEP for row 2 is equal to 0.02%= 2/10000. The PML
is based on the OEP. For the given return period 2000 (meaning the
OEP is 1/2000), for example, the PML is equal to 11 million which
is the maximum loss at OEP equal to 1/2000. For some probability
level which is not in the table, we use the linear interpolation
method to get the exceedance loss. The same way can be used to construct
the AEP which stands for aggregate EP curve. Instead of using maximum
loss, AEP is based on the aggregate loss for each year.
[0282] As mentioned, by adding a risk into a portfolio we are adding
more losses which results in the EP curve changes. To get the delta
PML, theoretically, we suppose to use the new EP curve which is
generated in the cat models, find the new PML at given point, and
then compare with the old PML. However, this won't catch the enough
information to evaluate the impact of the additional risk. A slight
change of loss on one event might change the order of the events
in the event loss table and cause the huge difference on the PML
according to the theoretical method. Therefore we need a method
gives less random and more consistent results.
[0283] Instead of using one point, we consider the events in the
neighborhood of the required return period from the portfolio EP
(constructed from ELF or YLF). The exceedance range size should
be set to be reasonable: if it's too wide, we are losing the specialty
of the given return period; if it's too narrow, results might not
be comparable. After the range has been set, delta PML can be got
from the formula below. .DELTA. .times. .times. P .times. .times.
M .times. .times. L = P .times. .times. M .times. .times. L .times.
n .times. .DELTA. .times. .times. L / L n ( 2.1 )
[0284] The steps are: [0285] For each event in the PML range, calculate
the loss change ratio .DELTA.L/L. [0286] Average the ratio through
n events in the range.
[0287] Multiple the PML of the portfolio by the average ratio from
step 2. TABLE-US-00024 TABLE 12 An example of delta PML EventId
YearId EventRate Portfolio Loss Combined Loss Change Ratio 1 1 0.10%
14 16 14% 2 2 0.15% 10 10 0% 3 2 0.08% 25 26.5 6% 4 3 0.36% 7 8.8
26%
[0288] Using the example in Table 10, suppose events 1.about.4
are selected in the PML range. The loss change ratio for each event
is listed in Table 12 and therefore the average ratio is 10.5%.
This value times the portfolio PML is taken as the .DELTA.PML. Note
again the delta PML calculated in this method is not the actual
marginal PML by actually adding the risk. It's more a value which
carries information for variations of the EP or ELT around given
return period.
[0289] .DELTA.AAL/.DELTA.P is another common ratio in ranking of
the risks. It measures how much loss the risk brings to receive
one dollar premium. The bigger the ratio, the lower rank the risk
has. After the risk has been modeled, this ratio can be calculated
independently without the portfolio. .DELTA.AAL is got from the
event loss table of the risk by summing the loss weighted by event
rate. .DELTA.P is the given premium of the risk. Using the example
in Table 10, the risk AAL is equal to 2.times.0.001+1.5.times.0.0008+1.8.times.0.0036+0.3.times.0.0005=0.00983.
[0290] To calculate the delta return of capital, we have to get
the delta profit .DELTA.Pt and delta capital .DELTA.C. We saw profit
is defined as the difference between total income cash flow and
total outcome cash flow.
[0291] If we add a risk to an existing portfolio, the premium will
be increased of the amount for the additional risk. Therefore, the
expense and non cat loss might change with the premium (or with
TIV) and we set the new PSF. Reinsurance cost variation depends
on the structure and methods used. For FHCF reinsurance layer the
changes which include retention, exhaustion and layer reinsurance
premium rely on the risk FHCF premium. For other layers, the changes
might be determined by the change of ELF if the given method of
calculating the layer attachment and exhaustion point is to use
the exceedance loss at a given return period from the ELF. With
those changes on attachment point and exhaustion point for each
layer, we build the new RLIF. The new net cat loss also has to be
calculated with the new ELF which is transferred to new YLF and
combined with RLIF to get the new RLOF using the same method introduced
previously. The rest steps are straightforward. Summarizing from
the new RLOF, we get new ROF and combine it with PSF to get YIS.
Then we apply the same CDF on it to get the PPA. The delta values
are the difference between the new PPA and old PPA.
[0292] There is no portfolio needed for stand alone scoring compared
to marginal scoring. Values such as PML and AAL of the risk are
based on its own ELF and YLF. The PML here is the real exceedance
losses getting from the actual EP curve or event loss table. .DELTA.PML
for marginal scoring is a value to evaluate the impact of the risk
on the portfolio around the given return period. It is not the actual
difference on the PML at the given return period. Based on the FDF,
similar to PSF, we are able to calculate the things such as expense
and non cat loss which are dependent on the risk premium or TIV.
By applying RDF and RLDF of per risk basis, the same ideas can be
used to construct RLIF, RLOF and therefore YIS. Thus the profit
may be calculated using the formula 1.4 above. The next step is
applying the CDF to get the other financial measures.
[0293] Capital required is generally given by measuring a point
on the tail of EP curves and holding capital equals to some multiple
of that amount. For instance, there is an example OEP in Table 13.
The given CDF specifies the required capital equal to the average
of the loss of three points at EP: AVG(4.times.L.sub.50-yr, 2.5.times.L.sub.100-yr,
1.5.times.L.sub.250-yr). So the required capital for the given risk
is equal to 4 .times. 21 + 2.5 .times. 25 + 1.5 .times. 45 3 = 214
3 = 71.33 .
[0294] All other financial measures are calculated in the same
way as above (formulas 1.5-1.9). TABLE-US-00025 TABLE 13 An example
of risk OEP Loss OEP 45 0.4% 34 0.5% 25 1.0% 21 2.0% 18 4.0% 11
5.0% 7 10.0%
[0295] As mentioned, allocate scoring is similar to marginal scoring
that both calculations have to be based on the portfolio. Allocate
scoring is used while the losses, reinsurance costs or the capital
cannot be directly attribute to the individual risk. For instance,
suppose we are measuring earthquake risks using current hurricane
portfolio, we cannot combine the ELF of the hurricane portfolio
with that of the earthquake risk since the events of different perils
are different. This prohibits us using the marginal scoring. However,
we are able to use the risk's contribution to the losses of portfolio
to measure those amounts like reinsurance cost or capital of the
risk. For instance, we might use the AAL fraction of the risk to
the portfolio to allocate the reinsurance cost and capital for the
individual risk from the portfolio. Other financial measures are
able to be calculated based on those distributed amounts. For instance,
the profit is equal to the revenue (premium+other revenue) subtracting
the cost (allocated reinsurance cost, expense, non cat loss, and
allocated net cat loss).
[0296] Event loss table is one of the most common used terms in
catastrophe insurance industry. It's the main modeling result from
catastrophe models such as RMS and AIR. It lists the predicted loss
of each simulated event based on historical data. It is mainly composed
by events, event rates which is the annual probability of occurrence,
and predicted losses. More information can be found in www.rms.com
and http://www.air-worldwide.com. An example is given in Table 1.
TABLE-US-00026 TABLE 14 An example of ELT and EP EventId EventRate
Loss Exceedance Probability 1 0.002 2,600,000 0.0020 2 0.005 1,890,000
0.0070 3 0.010 1,025,000 0.0169 4 0.020 890,000 0.0366 5 0.030 720,000
0.0655 6 0.100 500,000 0.1589 7 0.100 320,000 0.2430 8 0.100 100,000
0.3187 9 0.250 0 0.4891
[0297] EP curve, an embodiment of which is shown in FIG. 32, is
another thing widely used related to the catastrophe modeling. It
shows the exceedance probability 3201 associate with the loss 3205,
i.e. the probability that the loss (either occurrence loss or aggregate
loss) of an event is greater than the certain value. If the loss
is occurrence loss, then the EP curve is called OEP and for aggregate
loss, it's called AEP. The EP curve is derived from ELT or YLF.
Table 14 shows an example of getting EP from ELT without consideration
of uncertainties on event loss. It can be easily understood. For
instance, the probability of an event causing a loss bigger than
and equal to 2.6 million is 0.002 since only event 1 is qualified
for that. For the second loss, there are two events causing loss
bigger than it. If two events are statistically independent, then
the sum of those two event rates is the exceedance probability.
Usually, the exceedance probability of loss L.sub.i is given by
E .times. .times. P .function. ( L i ) = 1 - j = 1 i .times. .times.
( 1 - p j ) ( A .times. .1 )
[0298] where p.sub.j stands for the event rate for the events with
losses less than L.sub.i (see Patricia Grossi and Howard Kunreuther,
Catastrophe modeling: a new approach to manage risk, Springer, 2005).
PML stands for probable maximum loss. It means given a return period
which is exceedance probability, the loss associate with it in the
EP curve. AAL stands for average annual loss which is the annual
expected loss. A .times. .times. A .times. .times. L = i = 1 n .times.
L i .times. p i ( A .times. .2 )
[0299] where L.sub.i and p.sub.i are the loss and annual probability
of the ith event.
[0300] FHCF is Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. It was created
by a special legislation in Florida "to protect and advance
the state's interest in maintaining insurance capacity in Florida
by providing reimbursements to insurers for a portion of their catastrophic
hurricane losses." (see http://www.sbafla.com/fhcf/). There
are several values related to FHCF: FHCF premium, FHCF retention
multiplier, FHCF exhaustion multiplier, and FHCF participation.
FHCF premium can be calculated based on the rates table regulated
by FHCF legislation. It's equal to the reinsurance cost of the FHCF
layer. FHCF retention multiplier and FHCF exhaustion multiplier
are two constants used to calculate the FHCF layer attachment point
and exhaustion point. These two constants are designated by FHCF
every year and they are different for the different FHCF participation.
[0301] Insurance companies usually buy reinsurance to reduce the
losses. A typical reinsurance structure contains several layers
and every layer has its attachment point, exhaustion point, participation,
rate on line (ROL), reinstatement premium protection (RPP) ratio
and so on. The useful information the insurance companies need to
get from the reinsurance structure include 1. occurrence limit and
aggregate limit which are used to calculate ceded cat losses. 2.
reinsurance premium and reinstatement premium which are used to
calculate profit. Occurrence limit stands for the full coverage
of the reinsurance program if one event occurs, while aggregate
limit tells the total coverage of the reinsurance if multi events
happen in a year. Reinsurance premium is based on the ROL which
stands for the cost of covering $1 losses. R=ROL.times.OL.times.P.sub.p
(B.1)
[0302] where R is reinsurance cost, OL is occurrence limit, P.sub.p
stands for the participation.
[0303] All these values rely on the attachment point and exhaustion
point of each layer which are fixed values given, flexible points
based on ELF, or calculated from FHCF multipliers.
[0304] The reinstatement provision is a common feature of most
reinsurance contracts which sets the limit paid by the contract.
The limit can be put based on the number of occurrences or the aggregated
losses. If the contract has one reinstatement provision on the number
of occurrences, the reinsurer will be responsible for the losses
(less and equal to occurrence limit) at two occurrences. If it's
based on aggregated losses, then the reinsurer needs to cover the
losses to the set aggregated loss no matter how many events occur
(each recovered loss can not exceed occurrence limit). The examples
above are based on the aggregated loss. For the limit based on the
number of occurrences, the ceded loss calculation is simpler. For
instance, the first two events, each ceded loss is calculated as
MIN(L,OL).
[0305] The reinstatements may be free or paid which brings the
complexity of the reinstatement premium calculation. If the reinstatements
are free, all of the premium is paid up front. The prepaid reinstatement
premium is calculated similar as the reinsurance cost with different
ROL. For paid reinstatements, a portion of the premium is paid following
the occurrence of an event to reinstate the coverage of the second
occurrence. The paid reinstatement premium may be pro rata to full
limit or be based on the time remaining in the contract.
EXAMPLE
Generating a Workbook Rule
[0306] FIGS. 33A-E show one implementation of adding a new field
to a workbook that is evaluated by a new cxLogic ruleset. FIG. 33A
shows seven fields for the "Declared Insured Value/Policy Limits"
section of a risk rater, including Dwelling Value 3301, Personal
Property Value 3305, Loss of Use Value 3310, Total Declared Insured
Value 3315, Policy Limit Option 3320, Wind/Hail Sublimit 3325, and
Non-Wind/Hail Limit/Sublimit 3330. FIG. 33B shows a new field (Distance
to Nearest Sinkhole, 3335) being added to the workbook product using
pxBuilder via the Input Form control 3340. The resulting new field
generated in the client (i.e., pxQuote interpretation of the workbook
product) is shown at 3345 in FIG. 33C. FIG. 33D shows an implementation
of cxLogic, wherein a new ruleset is being added to use the sinkhole
data. The rule name 3350, expression 3355, rule description 3360,
and reason description 3365 may all be input here. Once the ruleset
is created in cxLogic, it is added to the workbook product using
pxBuilder. An example of the XML that may be added to the product
to reference the ruleset in one implementation is: TABLE-US-00027
<Rulesets> <ExternalRuleset name="Distance to nearest
sinkhole" trueresult="BLOCK" uuid="047A1944-1372-3E27-9AD1D8F878C2CD40"/>
</Rulesets>
[0307] This ruleset is set to issue a `BLOCK` if the rule evaluates
to true. This is defined with the attribute trueresult="BLOCK".
In an alternative implementation, the ruleset may be set to issue
a `FLAG` if the rule evaluates to true, whereby a system administrator
and/or operator may be notified of the rule evaluation outcome.
FIG. 33E shows an example in which a particular candidate risk yields
a `BLOCK` 3370 because the sinkhole data entered evaluated to TRUE
in cxLogic. The message 3375 shown below in the Messages section
3380 is the same message that a user entered in cxLogic (FIG. 33D)
under reason description 3365.
Provider Controller
[0308] FIG. 34A of the present disclosure illustrates inventive
aspects of a Provider controller 3401 in a block diagram. In this
embodiment, the Provider controller 3401 may serve to aggregate,
process, store, search, serve, identify, instruct, generate, match,
and/or update databases, database elements, database element fields,
and/or other related data.
[0309] Typically, users, which may be people and/or other systems,
engage information technology systems (e.g., commonly computers)
to facilitate information processing. In turn, computers employ
processors to process information; such processors are often referred
to as central processing units (CPU). A common form of processor
is referred to as a microprocessor. CPUs use communicative signals
to enable various operations. Such communicative signals may be
stored and/or transmitted in batches as program and/or data components
facilitate desired operations. These stored instruction code signals
may engage the CPU circuit components to perform desired operations.
A common type of program is a computer operating system, which,
commonly, is executed by CPU on a computer; the operating system
enables and facilitates users to access and operate computer information
technology and resources. Common resources employed in information
technology systems include: input and output mechanisms through
which data may pass into and out of a computer; memory storage into
which data may be saved; and processors by which information may
be processed. Often information technology systems are used to collect
data for later retrieval, analysis, and manipulation, which is commonly
facilitated through a database program. Information technology systems
provide interfaces that allow users to access and operate various
system components.
[0310] In one embodiment, the Provider controller 3401 may be connected
to and/or communicate with entities such as, but not limited to:
one or more users from user input devices 3411; peripheral devices
3412; a cryptographic processor device 3428; and/or a communications
network 3413.
[0311] Networks are commonly thought to comprise the interconnection
and interoperation of clients, servers, and intermediary nodes in
a graph topology. It should be noted that the term "server"
as used throughout this disclosure refers generally to a computer,
other device, program, or combination thereof that processes and
responds to the requests of remote users across a communications
network. Servers serve their information to requesting "clients."
The term "client" as used herein refers generally to a
computer, other device, program, or combination thereof that is
capable of processing and making requests and obtaining and processing
any responses from servers across a communications network. A computer,
other device, program, or combination thereof that facilitates,
processes information and requests, and/or furthers the passage
of information from a source user to a destination user is commonly
referred to as a "node." Networks are generally thought
to facilitate the transfer of information from source points to
destinations. A node specifically tasked with furthering the passage
of information from a source to a destination is commonly called
a "router." There are many forms of networks such as Local
Area Networks (LANs), Pico networks, Wide Area Networks (WANs),
Wireless Networks (WLANs), etc. For example, the Internet is generally
accepted as being an interconnection of a multitude of networks
whereby remote clients and servers may access and interoperate with
one another.
[0312] The Provider controller 3401 may be based on common computer
systems that may comprise, but are not limited to, components such
as: a computer systemization 3402 connected to memory 3429.
[0313] Computer Systemization
[0314] A computer systemization 3402 may comprise a clock 3430,
central processing unit (CPU) 3403, a read only memory (ROM) 3406,
a random access memory (RAM) 3405, and/or an interface bus 3407,
and most frequently, although not necessarily, are all interconnected
and/or communicating through a system bus 3404. Optionally, the
computer systemization may be connected to an internal power source
3486. Optionally, a cryptographic processor 3426 may be connected
to the system bus. The system clock typically has a crystal oscillator
and provides a base signal. The clock is typically coupled to the
system bus and various clock multipliers that will increase or decrease
the base operating frequency for other components interconnected
in the computer systemization. The clock and various components
in a computer systemization drive signals embodying information
throughout the system. Such transmission and reception of signals
embodying information throughout a computer systemization may be
commonly referred to as communications. These communicative signals
may further be transmitted, received, and the cause of return and/or
reply signal communications beyond the instant computer systemization
to: communications networks, input devices, other computer systemizations,
peripheral devices, and/or the like. Of course, any of the above
components may be connected directly to one another, connected to
the CPU, and/or organized in numerous variations employed as exemplified
by various computer systems.
[0315] The CPU comprises at least one high-speed data processor
adequate to execute program components for executing user and/or
system-generated requests. The CPU may be a microprocessor such
as AMD's Athlon, Duron and/or Opteron; IBM and/or Motorola's PowerPC;
IBM's and Sony's Cell processor; Intel's Celeron, Itanium, Pentium,
Xeon, and/or XScale; and/or the like processor(s). The CPU interacts
with memory through signal passing through conductive conduits to
execute stored signal program code according to conventional data
processing techniques. Such signal passing facilitates communication
within the Provider controller and beyond through various interfaces.
Should processing requirements dictate a greater amount speed, parallel,
mainframe and/or super-computer architectures may similarly be employed.
Alternatively, should deployment requirements dictate greater portability,
smaller Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) may be employed.
[0316] Power Source
[0317] The power source 3486 may be of any standard form for powering
small electronic circuit board devices such as the following power
cells: alkaline, lithium hydride, lithium ion, lithium polymer,
nickel cadmium, solar cells, and/or the like. Other types of AC
or DC power sources may be used as well. In the case of solar cells,
in one embodiment, the case provides an aperture through which the
solar cell may capture photonic energy. The power cell 3486 is connected
to at least one of the interconnected subsequent components of the
Provider thereby providing an electric current to all subsequent
components. In one example, the power source 3486 is connected to
the system bus component 3404. In an alternative embodiment, an
outside power source 3486 is provided through a connection across
the I/O 3408 interface. For example, a USB and/or IEEE 1394 connection
carries both data and power across the connection and is therefore
a suitable source of power.
[0318] Interface Adapters
[0319] Interface bus(ses) 3407 may accept, connect, and/or communicate
to a number of interface adapters, conventionally although not necessarily
in the form of adapter cards, such as but not limited to: input
output interfaces (I/O) 3408, storage interfaces 3409, network interfaces
3410, and/or the like. Optionally, cryptographic processor interfaces
3427 similarly may be connected to the interface bus. The interface
bus provides for the communications of interface adapters with one
another as well as with other components of the computer systemization.
Interface adapters are adapted for a compatible interface bus. Interface
adapters conventionally connect to the interface bus via a slot
architecture. Conventional slot architectures may be employed, such
as, but not limited to: Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), Card Bus,
(Extended) Industry Standard Architecture ((E)ISA), Micro Channel
Architecture (MCA), NuBus, Peripheral Component Interconnect (Extended)
(PCI(X)), PCI Express, Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association (PCMCIA), and/or the like.
[0320] Storage interfaces 3409 may accept, communicate, and/or
connect to a number of storage devices such as, but not limited
to: storage devices 3414, removable disc devices, and/or the like.
Storage interfaces may employ connection protocols such as, but
not limited to: (Ultra) (Serial) Advanced Technology Attachment
(Packet Interface) ((Ultra) (Serial) ATA(PI)), (Enhanced) Integrated
Drive Electronics ((E)IDE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) 1394, fiber channel, Small Computer Systems Interface
(SCSI), Universal Serial Bus (USB), and/or the like.
[0321] Network interfaces 3410 may accept, communicate, and/or
connect to a communications network 3413. Through a communications
network 3413, the Provider controller is accessible through remote
clients 3433b (e.g., computers with web browsers) by users 3433a.
Network interfaces may employ connection protocols such as, but
not limited to: direct connect, Ethernet (thick, thin, twisted pair
10/100/1000 Base T, and/or the like), Token Ring, wireless connection
such as IEEE 802.11a-x, and/or the like. A communications network
may be any one and/or the combination of the following: a direct
interconnection; the Internet; a Local Area Network (LAN); a Metropolitan
Area Network (MAN); an Operating Missions as Nodes on the Internet
(OMNI); a secured custom connection; a Wide Area Network (WAN);
a wireless network (e.g., employing protocols such as, but not limited
to a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), I-mode, and/or the like);
and/or the like. A network interface may be regarded as a specialized
form of an input output interface. Further, multiple network interfaces
3410 may be used to engage with various communications network types
3413. For example, multiple network interfaces may be employed to
allow for the communication over broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast
networks.
[0322] Input Output interfaces (I/O) 3408 may accept, communicate,
and/or connect to user input devices 3411, peripheral devices 3412,
cryptographic processor devices 3428, and/or the like. I/O may employ
connection protocols such as, but not limited to: Apple Desktop
Bus (ADB); Apple Desktop Connector (ADC); audio: analog, digital,
monaural, RCA, stereo, and/or the like; IEEE 1394a-b; infrared;
joystick; keyboard; midi; optical; PC AT; PS/2; parallel; radio;
serial; USB; video interface: BNC, coaxial, composite, digital,
Digital Visual Interface (DVI), RCA, RF antennae, S-Video, VGA,
and/or the like; wireless; and/or the like. A common output device
is a television set 145, which accepts signals from a video interface.
Also, a video display, which typically comprises a Cathode Ray Tube
(CRT) or Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) based monitor with an interface
(e.g., DVI circuitry and cable) that accepts signals from a video
interface, may be used. The video interface composites information
generated by a computer systemization and generates video signals
based on the composited information in a video memory frame. Typically,
the video interface provides the composited video information through
a video connection interface that accepts a video display interface
(e.g., an RCA composite video connector accepting an RCA composite
video cable; a DVI connector accepting a DVI display cable, etc.).
[0323] User input devices 3411 may be card readers, dongles, finger
print readers, gloves, graphics tablets, joysticks, keyboards, mouse
(mice), remote controls, retina readers, trackballs, trackpads,
and/or the like.
[0324] Peripheral devices 3412 may be connected and/or communicate
to I/O and/or other facilities of the like such as network interfaces,
storage interfaces, and/or the like. Peripheral devices may be audio
devices, cameras, dongles (e.g., for copy protection, ensuring secure
transactions with a digital signature, and/or the like), external
processors (for added functionality), goggles, microphones, monitors,
network interfaces, printers, scanners, storage devices, video devices,
video sources, visors, and/or the like.
[0325] It should be noted that although user input devices and
peripheral devices may be employed, the Provider controller may
be embodied as an embedded, dedicated, and/or monitor-less (i.e.,
headless) device, wherein access would be provided over a network
interface connection.
[0326] Cryptographic units such as, but not limited to, microcontrollers,
processors 3426, interfaces 3427, and/or devices 3428 may be attached,
and/or communicate with the Provider controller. A MC68HC16 microcontroller,
commonly manufactured by Motorola Inc., may be used for and/or within
cryptographic units. Equivalent microcontrollers and/or processors
may also be used. The MC68HC16 microcontroller utilizes a 16-bit
multiply-and-accumulate instruction in the 16 MHz configuration
and requires less than one second to perform a 512-bit RSA private
key operation. Cryptographic units support the authentication of
communications from interacting agents, as well as allowing for
anonymous transactions. Cryptographic units may also be configured
as part of CPU. Other commercially available specialized cryptographic
processors include VLSI Technology's 33 MHz 6868 or Semaphore Communications'
40 MHz Roadrunner 184.
[0327] Memory
[0328] Generally, any mechanization and/or embodiment allowing
a processor to affect the storage and/or retrieval of information
is regarded as memory 3429. However, memory is a fungible technology
and resource, thus, any number of memory embodiments may be employed
in lieu of or in concert with one another. It is to be understood
that the Provider controller and/or a computer systemization may
employ various forms of memory 3429. For example, a computer systemization
may be configured wherein the functionality of on-chip CPU memory
(e.g., registers), RAM, ROM, and any other storage devices are provided
by a paper punch tape or paper punch card mechanism; of course such
an embodiment would result in an extremely slow rate of operation.
In a typical configuration, memory 3429 will include ROM 3406, RAM
3405, and a storage device 3414. A storage device 3414 may be any
conventional computer system storage. Storage devices may include
a drum; a (fixed and/or removable) magnetic disk drive; a magneto-optical
drive; an optical drive (i.e., CD ROM/RAM/Recordable (R), ReWritable
(RW), DVD R/RW, etc.); an array of devices (e.g., Redundant Array
of Independent Disks (RAID)); and/or other devices of the like.
Thus, a computer systemization generally requires and makes use
of memory.
[0329] Component Collection
[0330] The memory 3429 may contain a collection of program and/or
database components and/or data such as, but not limited to: operating
system component(s) 3415 (operating system); information server
component(s) 3416 (information server); user interface component(s)
3417 (user interface); Web browser component(s) 3418 (Web browser);
database(s) 3419; mail server component(s) 3421; mail client component(s)
3422; cryptographic server component(s) 3420 (cryptographic server);
the Provider component(s) 3435; and/or the like (i.e., collectively
a component collection). These components may be stored and accessed
from the storage devices and/or from storage devices accessible
through an interface bus. Although non-conventional program components
such as those in the component collection, typically, are stored
in a local storage device 3414, they may also be loaded and/or stored
in memory such as: peripheral devices, RAM, remote storage facilities
through a communications network, ROM, various forms of memory,
and/or the like.
[0331] Operating System
[0332] The operating system component 3415 is an executable program
component facilitating the operation of the Provider controller.
Typically, the operating system facilitates access of I/O, network
interfaces, peripheral devices, storage devices, and/or the like.
The operating system may be a highly fault tolerant, scalable, and
secure system such as Apple Macintosh OS X (Server), AT&T Plan
9, Be OS, Linux, Unix, and/or the like operating systems. However,
more limited and/or less secure operating systems also may be employed
such as Apple Macintosh OS, Microsoft DOS, Microsoft Windows 2000/2003/3.1/95/98/CE/Millenium/NT/Vista/XP
(Server), Palm OS, and/or the like. An operating system may communicate
to and/or with other components in a component collection, including
itself, and/or the like. Most frequently, the operating system communicates
with other program components, user interfaces, and/or the like.
For example, the operating system may contain, communicate, generate,
obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data
communications, requests, and/or responses. The operating system,
once executed by the CPU, may enable the interaction with communications
networks, data, I/O, peripheral devices, program components, memory,
user input devices, and/or the like. The operating system may provide
communications protocols that allow the Provider controller to communicate
with other entities through a communications network 3413. Various
communication protocols may be used by the Provider controller as
a subcarrier transport mechanism for interaction, such as, but not
limited to: multicast, TCP/IP, UDP, unicast, and/or the like.
[0333] Information Server
[0334] An information server component 3416 is a stored program
component that is executed by a CPU. The information server may
be a conventional Internet information server such as, but not limited
to Apache Software Foundation's Apache, Microsoft's Internet Information
Server, and/or the like. The information server may allow for the
execution of program components through facilities such as Active
Server Page (ASP), ActiveX, (ANSI) (Objective-) C (++), C#, Common
Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts, Java, JavaScript, Practical Extraction
Report Language (PERL), Python, WebObjects, and/or the like. The
information server may support secure communications protocols such
as, but not limited to, File Transfer Protocol (FTP); HyperText
Transfer Protocol (HTTP); Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS),
Secure Socket Layer (SSL), and/or the like. The information server
provides results in the form of Web pages to Web browsers, and allows
for the manipulated generation of the Web pages through interaction
with other program components. After a Domain Name System (DNS)
resolution portion of an HTTP request is resolved to a particular
information server, the information server resolves requests for
information at specified locations on the Provider controller based
on the remainder of the HTTP request. For example, a request such
as http://123.124.125.126/myInformation.html might have the IP portion
of the request "123.124.125.126" resolved by a DNS server
to an information server at that IP address; that information server
might in turn further parse the http request for the "/myInformation.html"
portion of the request and resolve it to a location in memory containing
the information "myInformation.html." Additionally, other
information serving protocols may be employed across various ports,
e.g., FTP communications across port 21, and/or the like. An information
server may communicate to and/or with other components in a component
collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the like. Most
frequently, the information server communicates with the Provider
database 3419, operating systems, other program components, user
interfaces, Web browsers, and/or the like.
[0335] Access to the Provider database may be achieved through
a number of database bridge mechanisms such as through scripting
languages as enumerated below (e.g., CGI) and through inter-application
communication channels as enumerated below (e.g., CORBA, WebObjects,
etc.). Any data requests through a Web browser are parsed through
the bridge mechanism into appropriate grammars as required by the
Provider. In one embodiment, the information server would provide
a Web form accessible by a Web browser. Entries made into supplied
fields in the Web form are tagged as having been entered into the
particular fields, and parsed as such. The entered terms are then
passed along with the field tags, which act to instruct the parser
to generate queries directed to appropriate tables and/or fields.
In one embodiment, the parser may generate queries in standard SQL
by instantiating a search string with the proper join/select commands
based on the tagged text entries, wherein the resulting command
is provided over the bridge mechanism to the Provider as a query.
Upon generating query results from the query, the results are passed
over the bridge mechanism, and may be parsed for formatting and
generation of a new results Web page by the bridge mechanism. Such
a new results Web page is then provided to the information server,
which may supply it to the requesting Web browser.
[0336] Also, an information server may contain, communicate, generate,
obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data
communications, requests, and/or responses.
[0337] User Interface
[0338] The function of computer interfaces in some respects is
similar to automobile operation interfaces. Automobile operation
interface elements such as steering wheels, gearshifts, and speedometers
facilitate the access, operation, and display of automobile resources,
functionality, and status. Computer interaction interface elements
such as check boxes, cursors, menus, scrollers, and windows (collectively
and commonly referred to as widgets) similarly facilitate the access,
operation, and display of data and computer hardware and operating
system resources, functionality, and status. Operation interfaces
are commonly called user interfaces. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs)
such as the Apple Macintosh Operating System's Aqua, Microsoft's
Windows XP, or Unix's X-Windows provide a baseline and means of
accessing and displaying information graphically to users.
[0339] A user interface component 3417 is a stored program component
that is executed by a CPU. The user interface may be a conventional
graphic user interface as provided by, with, and/or atop operating
systems and/or operating environments such as Apple Macintosh OS,
e.g., Aqua, GNUSTEP, Microsoft Windows (NT/XP), Unix X Windows (KDE,
Gnome, and/or the like), mythTV, and/or the like. The user interface
may allow for the display, execution, interaction, manipulation,
and/or operation of program components and/or system facilities
through textual and/or graphical facilities. The user interface
provides a facility through which users may affect, interact, and/or
operate a computer system. A user interface may communicate to and/or
with other components in a component collection, including itself,
and/or facilities of the like. Most frequently, the user interface
communicates with operating systems, other program components, and/or
the like. The user interface may contain, communicate, generate,
obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data
communications, requests, and/or responses.
[0340] Web Browser
[0341] A Web browser component 3418 is a stored program component
that is executed by a CPU. The Web browser may be a conventional
hypertext viewing application such as Microsoft Internet Explorer
or Netscape Navigator. Secure Web browsing may be supplied with
128 bit (or greater) encryption by way of HTTPS, SSL, and/or the
like. Some Web browsers allow for the execution of program components
through facilities such as Java, JavaScript, ActiveX, and/or the
like. Web browsers and like information access tools may be integrated
into PDAs, cellular telephones, and/or other mobile devices. A Web
browser may communicate to and/or with other components in a component
collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the like. Most
frequently, the Web browser communicates with information servers,
operating systems, integrated program components (e.g., plug-ins),
and/or the like; e.g., it may contain, communicate, generate, obtain,
and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data communications,
requests, and/or responses. Of course, in place of a Web browser
and information server, a combined application may be developed
to perform similar functions of both. The combined application would
similarly affect the obtaining and the provision of information
to users, user agents, and/or the like from the Provider enabled
nodes. The combined application may be nugatory on systems employing
standard Web browsers.
[0342] Mail Server
[0343] A mail server component 3421 is a stored program component
that is executed by a CPU 3403. The mail server may be a conventional
Internet mail server such as, but not limited to, sendmail, Microsoft
Exchange, and/or the like. The mail server may allow for the execution
of program components through facilities such as ASP, ActiveX, (ANSI)
(Objective-) C (++), CGI scripts, Java, JavaScript, PERL, pipes,
Python, WebObjects, and/or the like. The mail server may support
communications protocols such as, but not limited to: Internet message
access protocol (IMAP), Microsoft Exchange, post office protocol
(POP3), simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), and/or the like. The
mail server can route, forward, and process incoming and outgoing
mail messages that have been sent, relayed and/or otherwise traversing
through and/or to the Provider.
[0344] Access to the Provider mail may be achieved through a number
of APIs offered by the individual Web server components and/or the
operating system.
[0345] Also, a mail server may contain, communicate, generate,
obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data
communications, requests, information, and/or responses.
[0346] Mail Client
[0347] A mail client component 3422 is a stored program component
that is executed by a CPU 3403. The mail client may be a conventional
mail viewing application such as Apple Mail, Microsoft Entourage,
Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird,
and/or the like. Mail clients may support a number of transfer protocols,
such as: IMAP, Microsoft Exchange, POP3, SMTP, and/or the like.
A mail client may communicate to and/or with other components in
a component collection, including itself, and/or facilities of the
like. Most frequently, the mail client communicates with mail servers,
operating systems, other mail clients, and/or the like; e.g., it
may contain, communicate, generate, obtain, and/or provide program
component, system, user, and/or data communications, requests, information,
and/or responses. Generally, the mail client provides a facility
to compose and transmit electronic mail messages.
[0348] Cryptographic Server
[0349] A cryptographic server component 3420 is a stored program
component that is executed by a CPU 3403, cryptographic processor
3426, cryptographic processor interface 3427, cryptographic processor
device 3428, and/or the like. Cryptographic processor interfaces
will allow for expedition of encryption and/or decryption requests
by the cryptographic component; however, the cryptographic component,
alternatively, may run on a conventional CPU. The cryptographic
component allows for the encryption and/or decryption of provided
data. The cryptographic component allows for both symmetric and
asymmetric (e.g., Pretty Good Protection (PGP)) encryption and/or
decryption. The cryptographic component may employ cryptographic
techniques such as, but not limited to: digital certificates (e.g.,
X.509 authentication framework), digital signatures, dual signatures,
enveloping, password access protection, public key management, and/or
the like. The cryptographic component will facilitate numerous (encryption
and/or decryption) security protocols such as, but not limited to:
checksum, Data Encryption Standard (DES), Elliptical Curve Encryption
(ECC), International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA), Message Digest
5 (MD5, which is a one way hash function), passwords, Rivest Cipher
(RC5), Rijndael, RSA (which is an Internet encryption and authentication
system that uses an algorithm developed in 1977 by Ron Rivest, Adi
Shamir, and Leonard Adleman), Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA), Secure
Socket Layer (SSL), Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS),
and/or the like. Employing such encryption security protocols, the
Provider may encrypt all incoming and/or outgoing communications
and may serve as node within a virtual private network (VPN) with
a wider communications network. The cryptographic component facilitates
the process of "security authorization" whereby access
to a resource is inhibited by a security protocol wherein the cryptographic
component effects authorized access to the secured resource. In
addition, the cryptographic component may provide unique identifiers
of content, e.g., employing an MD5 hash to obtain a unique signature
for an digital audio file. A cryptographic component may communicate
to and/or with other components in a component collection, including
itself, and/or facilities of the like. The cryptographic component
supports encryption schemes allowing for the secure transmission
of information across a communications network to enable the Provider
component to engage in secure transactions if so desired. The cryptographic
component facilitates the secure accessing of resources on the Provider
and facilitates the access of secured resources on remote systems;
i.e., it may act as a client and/or server of secured resources.
Most frequently, the cryptographic component communicates with information
servers, operating systems, other program components, and/or the
like. The cryptographic component may contain, communicate, generate,
obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data
communications, requests, and/or responses.
[0350] The Provider Database
[0351] The Provider database component 3419 may be embodied in
a database and its stored data. The database is a stored program
component, which is executed by the CPU; the stored program component
portion configuring the CPU to process the stored data. The database
may be a conventional, fault tolerant, relational, scalable, secure
database such as Oracle or Sybase. Relational databases are an extension
of a flat file. Relational databases consist of a series of related
tables. The tables are interconnected via a key field. Use of the
key field allows the combination of the tables by indexing against
the key field; i.e., the key fields act as dimensional pivot points
for combining information from various tables. Relationships generally
identify links maintained between tables by matching primary keys.
Primary keys represent fields that uniquely identify the rows of
a table in a relational database. More precisely, they uniquely
identify rows of a table on the "one" side of a one-to-many
relationship.
[0352] Alternatively, the Provider database may be implemented
using various standard data-structures, such as an array, hash,
(linked) list, struct, structured text file (e.g., XML), table,
and/or the like. Such data-structures may be stored in memory and/or
in (structured) files. In another alternative, an object-oriented
database may be used, such as Frontier, ObjectStore, Poet, Zope,
and/or the like. Object databases can include a number of object
collections that are grouped and/or linked together by common attributes;
they may be related to other object collections by some common attributes.
Object-oriented databases perform similarly to relational databases
with the exception that objects are not just pieces of data but
may have other types of functionality encapsulated within a given
object. If the Provider database is implemented as a data-structure,
the use of the Provider database may be integrated into another
component such as the Provider component 3435. Also, the database
may be implemented as a mix of data-structures, objects, and relational
structures. Databases may be consolidated and/or distributed in
countless variations through standard data processing techniques.
Portions of databases, e.g., tables, may be exported and/or imported
and thus decentralized and/or integrated.
[0353] In one embodiment, the database component 3419 includes
several tables 3419a-g. A documents table 3419a includes fields
such as, but not limited to: document ID, document name, carrier
ID, carrier name, time to provide document, order to provide document,
document class, and/or the like. A payments table 3419b includes
fields such as, but not limited to: payment ID, payment type, payment
method, credit card name, credit card number, expiration date, check
number, name on check, transaction success, payment amount, balance
due, total premium, and/or the like. A products table 3419c includes
fields such as, but not limited to: product ID, product name, carrier
ID, carrier name, inputs, expressions, table lookups, rules and/or
rulesets, payments, documents, user interface specification, and/or
the like. A rulesets table 3419d includes fields such as, but not
limited to: ruleset ID, ruleset name, rules, and/or the like. A
lookup tables table 3419e includes fields such as, but not limited
to: table ID, table name, table values, and/or the like. A cxCheetah
table 3419f includes fields such as, but not limited to: event ID,
event name, event probability, geocode, damage estimate, and/or
the like. Further tables and/or data-structures 3419g embodied within
the system database are shown in detail in FIG. 34B. These and/or
other tables may support and/or track multiple entity accounts on
the Provider controller.
[0354] In one embodiment, the Provider database may interact with
other database systems. For example, employing a distributed database
system, queries and data access by Provider modules may treat the
combination of the Provider database and another database as a single
database entity.
[0355] In one embodiment, user programs may contain various user
interface primitives, which may serve to update the Provider. Also,
various accounts may require custom database tables depending upon
the environments and the types of clients the Provider may need
to serve. It should be noted that any unique fields may be designated
as a key field throughout. In an alternative embodiment, these tables
have been decentralized into their own databases and their respective
database controllers (i.e., individual database controllers for
each of the above tables). Employing standard data processing techniques,
one may further distribute the databases over several computer systemizations
and/or storage devices. Similarly, configurations of the decentralized
database controllers may be varied by consolidating and/or distributing
the various database components 3419a-g. The Provider may be configured
to keep track of various settings, inputs, and parameters via database
controllers.
[0356] The Provider database may communicate to and/or with other
components in a component collection, including itself, and/or facilities
of the like. Most frequently, the Provider database communicates
with the Provider component, other program components, and/or the
like. The database may contain, retain, and provide information
regarding other nodes and data.
[0357] The Provider Component
[0358] The Provider component 3435 is a stored program component
that is executed by a CPU. The Provider affects accessing, obtaining
and the provision of information, services, transactions, and/or
the like across various communications networks. As such, the Provider
component enables one to access, calculate, engage, exchange, generate,
identify, instruct, match, process, search, serve, store, and/or
facilitate transactions to enable the assessment and/or rating of
risks, the evaluation of logical and/or business rules, and the
generation of workbooks, interfaces, and/or quotes for binding risks.
In one embodiment, the Provider component incorporates any and/or
all combinations of the aspects of the Provider that were discussed
in the previous figures and appendices.
[0359] The Provider component enabling access of information between
nodes may be developed by employing standard development tools such
as, but not limited to: (ANSI) (Objective-) C (++), Apache components,
binary executables, database adapters, Java, JavaScript, mapping
tools, procedural and object oriented development tools, PERL, Python,
shell scripts, SQL commands, web application server extensions,
WebObjects, and/or the like. In one embodiment, the Provider server
employs a cryptographic server to encrypt and decrypt communications.
The Provider component may communicate to and/or with other components
in a component collection, including itself, and/or facilities of
the like. Most frequently, the Provider component communicates with
the Provider database, operating systems, other program components,
and/or the like. The Provider may contain, communicate, generate,
obtain, and/or provide program component, system, user, and/or data
communications, requests, and/or responses.
[0360] Distributed Provider
[0361] The structure and/or operation of any of the Provider node
controller components may be combined, consolidated, and/or distributed
in any number of ways to facilitate development and/or deployment.
Similarly, the component collection may be combined in any number
of ways to facilitate deployment and/or development. To accomplish
this, one may integrate the components into a common code base or
in a facility that can dynamically load the components on demand
in an integrated fashion.
[0362] The component collection may be consolidated and/or distributed
in countless variations through standard data processing and/or
development techniques. Multiple instances of any one of the program
components in the program component collection may be instantiated
on a single node, and/or across numerous nodes to improve performance
through load-balancing and/or data-processing techniques. Furthermore,
single instances may also be distributed across multiple controllers
and/or storage devices; e.g., databases. All program component instances
and controllers working in concert may do so through standard data
processing communication techniques.
[0363] The configuration of the Provider controller will depend
on the context of system deployment. Factors such as, but not limited
to, the budget, capacity, location, and/or use of the underlying
hardware resources may affect deployment requirements and configuration.
Regardless of if the configuration results in more consolidated
and/or integrated program components, results in a more distributed
series of program components, and/or results in some combination
between a consolidated and distributed configuration, data may be
communicated, obtained, and/or provided. Instances of components
consolidated into a common code base from the program component
collection may communicate, obtain, and/or provide data. This may
be accomplished through intra-application data processing communication
techniques such as, but not limited to: data referencing (e.g.,
pointers), internal messaging, object instance variable communication,
shared memory space, variable passing, and/or the like.
[0364] If component collection components are discrete, separate,
and/or external to one another, then communicating, obtaining, and/or
providing data with and/or to other component components may be
accomplished through inter-application data processing communication
techniques such as, but not limited to: Application Program Interfaces
(API) information passage; (distributed) Component Object Model
((D)COM), (Distributed) Object Linking and Embedding ((D)OLE), and/or
the like, Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), process
pipes, shared files, and/or the like. Messages sent between discrete
component components for inter-application communication or within
memory spaces of a singular component for intra-application communication
may be facilitated through the creation and parsing of a grammar.
A grammar may be developed by using standard development tools such
as lex, yacc, XML, and/or the like, which allow for grammar generation
and parsing functionality, which in turn may form the basis of communication
messages within and between components. Again, the configuration
will depend upon the context of system deployment.
[0365] Among the embodiments envisioned as being within the scope
of the present invention are the following:
[0366] 1. A processor-implemented system to generate a reinsurance
product quote, comprising:
[0367] a reinsurance logic set database, further, including: [0368]
reinsurance logic set data-structures including logic to evaluate
reinsurance related conditions;
[0369] a reinsurance product data-structure database, further,
including: [0370] reinsurance product data-structures that reference
related reinsurance logic set data-structures and that include interpretable
logic usable by a reinsurance quoting component to generate reinsurance
product specific quotes;
[0371] a reinsurance quoting component devoid of specific reinsurance
product evaluative components such that the quoting component by
itself is incapable of providing quotes on reinsurance products,
further, including: [0372] a reinsurance product data-structure
loading mechanism to load reinsurance product data-structures, [0373]
a reinsurance product data-structure interpreter to interpret loaded
reinsurance product data-structures and generate reinsurance product
specific quotes.
[0374] 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structures comprise XML documents.
[0375] 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising: [0376] a reinsurance
risk assessment component capable of interpreting the reinsurance
product data-structure and capable of providing a risk assessment
back to the reinsurance quoting component.
[0377] 4. The system of claim 1, further comprising: [0378] a user
interface;
[0379] 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure loading mechanism is responsive to reinsurance product
selections received from the user interface.
[0380] 6. The system of claim 4, wherein the generated reinsurance
product specific quotes are displayed via the user interface.
[0381] 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the reinsurance product-structures
further comprise: [0382] a set of base criteria, comprising a reinsurance
product identifier; and [0383] a plurality of risk characteristic
input fields.
[0384] 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the reinsurance product
identifier includes an insurance carrier identifier.
[0385] 9. The system of claim 7, wherein the reinsurance product-structures
further comprise: [0386] at least one expression comprising a mathematical
operation to be performed on at least one risk characteristic received
via a subset of the plurality of risk characteristic input fields;
[0387] a set of rule calls, specifying elements of a ruleset database;
and [0388] a set of lookup table calls, specifying elements of a
lookup tables database.
[0389] 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the reinsurance product-structures
further comprise: [0390] a set of insurance product documents, including
a document delivery order.
[0391] 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the reinsurance product-structures
further comprise: [0392] a product payment schedule.
[0393] 12. A processor-implemented method for generating an insurance
quote, comprising: [0394] receiving a risk rater selection; [0395]
retrieving a risk rater data-structure corresponding to the risk
rater selection from a risk rater database; [0396] providing a plurality
of risk characteristic input fields based on instructions embodied
in the risk rater data-structure; [0397] receiving a plurality of
risk characteristics representing at least one insurable risk as
inputs to the risk characteristic input fields; [0398] passing a
first subset of the plurality of risk characteristics to a risk
scoring module, the risk scoring module configured to generate at
least one financial metric based on input risk characteristics;
[0399] receiving at least one financial metric based on the first
subset of the plurality of risk characteristics from the risk scoring
module; and [0400] generating a quote indicative of a price for
insuring at least one insurable risk based on the at least one financial
metric.
[0401] 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: [0402] querying
a set of rule calls based on instructions embodied in the risk rater
data-structure; [0403] passing a second subset of the plurality
of risk characteristics to a rule evaluation module; [0404] receiving
a set of rule evaluations corresponding to the set of rule calls
based on the second subset of the plurality of risk characteristics;
and [0405] wherein the generating a quote indicative of a price
is further based on the set of rule evaluations.
[0406] 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second subset of
the plurality of risk characteristics is the same as the first subset
of the plurality of risk characteristics.
[0407] 15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: [0408] querying
a set of lookup table calls based on instructions embodied in the
risk rater data-structure; [0409] retrieving table data values from
lookup tables based on the set of lookup table calls; and [0410]
wherein the generating a quote indicative of a price is further
based on the table data values.
[0411] 16. The method of claim 12, further comprising: [0412] querying
a set of lookup table calls based on instructions embodied in the
risk rater data-structure; [0413] retrieving table data values from
lookup tables based on the set of lookup table calls; and [0414]
wherein the generating a quote indicative of a price is further
based on the table data values.
[0415] 17. The method of claim 12, wherein the risk rater data-structure
comprises an XML document.
[0416] 18. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one insurable
risk comprises a property and the quote indicative of a price for
insuring at least one insurable risk is directed to a property casualty
reinsurance product.
[0417] 19. The method of claim 12, wherein the risk rater selection
comprises specification of a risk rater base criteria.
[0418] 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the risk rater base
criteria comprises a risk rater identifier.
[0419] 21. The method of claim 19, wherein the risk rater base
criteria comprises an insurance carrier identifier.
[0420] 22. An apparatus for generating an insurance quote, comprising:
[0421] a memory;
[0422] a processor disposed in communication with said memory,
and configured to issue a plurality of instructions stored in the
memory, wherein the instructions issue signals to: [0423] receive
a risk rater selection; [0424] retrieve a risk rater data-structure
corresponding to the risk rater selection from a risk rater database;
[0425] provide a plurality of risk characteristic input fields based
on instructions embodied in the risk rater data-structure; [0426]
receive a plurality of risk characteristics representing at least
one insurable risk as inputs to the risk characteristic input fields;
[0427] pass a first subset of the plurality of risk characteristics
to a risk scoring module, the risk scoring module configured to
generate at least one financial metric based on input risk characteristics;
[0428] receive at least one financial metric based on the first
subset of the plurality of risk characteristics from the risk scoring
module; and [0429] generate a quote indicative of a price for insuring
at least one insurable risk based on the at least one financial
metric.
[0430] 23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising: [0431]
query a set of rule calls based on instructions embodied in the
risk rater data-structure; [0432] pass a second subset of the plurality
of risk characteristics to a rule evaluation module; [0433] receive
a set of rule evaluations corresponding to the set of rule calls
based on the second subset of the plurality of risk characteristics;
and [0434] wherein the generating a quote indicative of a price
is further based on the set of rule evaluations.
[0435] 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the second subset
of the plurality of risk characteristics is the same as the first
subset of the plurality of risk characteristics.
[0436] 25. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising: [0437]
query a set of lookup table calls based on instructions embodied
in the risk rater data-structure; [0438] retrieve table data values
from lookup tables based on the set of lookup table calls; and [0439]
wherein the generating a quote indicative of a price is further
based on the table data values.
[0440] 26. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising: [0441]
query a set of lookup table calls based on instructions embodied
in the risk rater data-structure; [0442] retrieve table data values
from lookup tables based on the set of lookup table calls; and [0443]
wherein the generating a quote indicative of a price is further
based on the table data values.
[0444] 27. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the risk rater data-structure
comprises an XML document.
[0445] 28. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the at least one
insurable risk comprises a property and the quote indicative of
a price for insuring at least one insurable risk is directed to
a property casualty reinsurance product.
[0446] 29. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the risk rater selection
comprises specification of a risk rater base criteria.
[0447] 30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the risk rater base
criteria comprises a risk rater identifier.
[0448] 31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the risk rater base
criteria comprises an insurance carrier identifier.
[0449] 32. A system for generating an insurance quote, comprising:
[0450] means to receive a risk rater selection; [0451] means to
retrieve a risk rater data-structure corresponding to the risk rater
selection from a risk rater database; [0452] means to provide a
plurality of risk characteristic input fields based on instructions
embodied in the risk rater data-structure; [0453] means to receive
a plurality of risk characteristics representing at least one insurable
risk as inputs to the risk characteristic input fields; [0454] means
to pass a first subset of the plurality of risk characteristics
to a risk scoring module, the risk scoring module configured to
generate at least one financial metric based on input risk characteristics;
[0455] means to receive at least one financial metric based on the
first subset of the plurality of risk characteristics from the risk
scoring module; and [0456] means to generate a quote indicative
of a price for insuring at least one insurable risk based on the
at least one financial metric.
[0457] 33. The system of claim 32, further comprising: [0458] means
to query a set of rule calls based on instructions embodied in the
risk rater data-structure; [0459] means to pass a second subset
of the plurality of risk characteristics to a rule evaluation module;
[0460] means to receive a set of rule evaluations corresponding
to the set of rule calls based on the second subset of the plurality
of risk characteristics; and [0461] wherein the generating a quote
indicative of a price is further based on the set of rule evaluations.
[0462] 34. The system of claim 33, wherein the second subset of
the plurality of risk characteristics is the same as the first subset
of the plurality of risk characteristics.
[0463] 35. The system of claim 33, further comprising: [0464] means
to query a set of lookup table calls based on instructions embodied
in the risk rater data-structure; [0465] means to retrieve table
data values from lookup tables based on the set of lookup table
calls; and [0466] wherein the generating a quote indicative of a
price is further based on the table data values.
[0467] 36. The system of claim 32, further comprising: [0468] means
to query a set of lookup table calls based on instructions embodied
in the risk rater data-structure; [0469] means to retrieve table
data values from lookup tables based on the set of lookup table
calls; and [0470] wherein the generating a quote indicative of a
price is further based on the table data values.
[0471] 37. The system of claim 32, wherein the risk rater data-structure
comprises an XML document.
[0472] 38. The system of claim 32, wherein the at least one insurable
risk comprises a property and the quote indicative of a price for
insuring at least one insurable risk is directed to a property casualty
reinsurance product.
[0473] 39. The system of claim 32, wherein the risk rater selection
comprises specification of a risk rater base criteria.
[0474] 40. The system of claim 39, wherein the risk rater base
criteria comprises a risk rater identifier.
[0475] 41. The system of claim 39, wherein the risk rater base
criteria comprises an insurance carrier identifier.
[0476] 42. A medium readable by a processor to generate an insurance
quote, comprising:
[0477] instruction signals in the processor readable medium, wherein
the instruction signals are issuable by the processor to: [0478]
receive a risk rater selection; [0479] retrieve a risk rater data-structure
corresponding to the risk rater selection from a risk rater database;
[0480] provide a plurality of risk characteristic input fields based
on instructions embodied in the risk rater data-structure; [0481]
receive a plurality of risk characteristics representing at least
one insurable risk as inputs to the risk characteristic input fields;
[0482] pass a first subset of the plurality of risk characteristics
to a risk scoring module, the risk scoring module configured to
generate at least one financial metric based on input risk characteristics;
[0483] receive at least one financial metric based on the first
subset of the plurality of risk characteristics from the risk scoring
module; and [0484] generate a quote indicative of a price for insuring
at least one insurable risk based on the at least one financial
metric.
[0485] 43. The medium of claim 42, further comprising: [0486] query
a set of rule calls based on instructions embodied in the risk rater
data-structure; [0487] pass a second subset of the plurality of
risk characteristics to a rule evaluation module; [0488] receive
a set of rule evaluations corresponding to the set of rule calls
based on the second subset of the plurality of risk characteristics;
and [0489] wherein the generating a quote indicative of a price
is further based on the set of rule evaluations.
[0490] 44. The medium of claim 43, wherein the second subset of
the plurality of risk characteristics is the same as the first subset
of the plurality of risk characteristics.
[0491] 45. The medium of claim 43, further comprising: [0492] query
a set of lookup table calls based on instructions embodied in the
risk rater data-structure; [0493] retrieve table data values from
lookup tables based on the set of lookup table calls; and [0494]
wherein the generating a quote indicative of a price is further
based on the table data values.
[0495] 46. The medium of claim 42, further comprising: [0496] query
a set of lookup table calls based on instructions embodied in the
risk rater data-structure; [0497] retrieve table data values from
lookup tables based on the set of lookup table calls; and [0498]
wherein the generating a quote indicative of a price is further
based on the table data values.
[0499] 47. The medium of claim 42, wherein the risk rater data-structure
comprises an XML document.
[0500] 48. The medium of claim 42, wherein the at least one insurable
risk comprises a property and the quote indicative of a price for
insuring at least one insurable risk is directed to a property casualty
reinsurance product.
[0501] 49. The medium of claim 42, wherein the risk rater selection
comprises specification of a risk rater base criteria.
[0502] 50. The medium of claim 49, wherein the risk rater base
criteria comprises a risk rater identifier.
[0503] 51. The medium of claim 49, wherein the risk rater base
criteria comprises an insurance carrier identifier.
[0504] 1. A risk rater data-structure, embodied in an electronic
storage medium, comprising: [0505] a set of risk rater base criteria,
comprising at least a unique risk rater identifier; [0506] a plurality
of risk characteristic input fields; [0507] at least one expression
comprising a mathematical operation to be performed on at least
one risk characteristic received via a subset of the plurality of
risk characteristic input fields; [0508] a set of rule calls, specifying
elements of a ruleset database; and [0509] a set of lookup table
calls, specifying elements of a lookup tables database.
[0510] 2. The data-structure of claim 1, wherein the mathematical
operation is further performed on data retrieved via the set of
lookup table calls.
[0511] 3. The data-structure of claim 1, wherein the mathematical
operation yields a financial metric associated with a candidate
risk.
[0512] 4. The data-structure of claim 3 wherein the financial metric
comprises a quote reflecting the price for insuring the candidate
risk.
[0513] 5. The data-structure of claim 1, wherein the set of rule
calls include at least one call to a rule referencing at least one
risk characteristic.
[0514] 6. The data-structure of claim 1, wherein the set of rule
calls include at least one call to a rule referencing data retrieved
via the set of lookup table calls.
[0515] 7. The data-structure of claim 1, wherein the data-structure
comprises an XML document.
[0516] 8. The data-structure of claim 1, wherein the set of risk
rater base criteria further comprises an insurance carrier identifier.
[0517] 9. The data-structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality
of risk characteristic fields admit characteristics of a property.
[0518] 10. The data-structure of claim 9, wherein the characteristics
of a property include a geocode.
[0519] 11. The data-structure of claim 9, wherein the characteristics
of a property include construction characteristics.
[0520] 12. The data-structure of claim 1, wherein the subset of
the plurality of the risk characteristic input fields comprises
the entire plurality of the risk characteristic input fields.
[0521] 1. A processor-implemented method to generate a reinsurance
product data-structure, comprising: [0522] providing a product generating
user interface with widgets indicative of reinsurance product characteristics
for display; [0523] receiving user actuations of widgets indicative
of reinsurance product characteristics via the product generating
user interface; [0524] receiving user specifications of relationships
and logic on and between the reinsurance product characteristics;
[0525] receiving a user specification for an identifying base characteristic;
[0526] generating a reinsurance product data-structure from the
user actuations of the widgets indicative of reinsurance product
characteristics and the specifications of relationships and logic
on and between the reinsurance product characteristics; and [0527]
storing the reinsurance product data-structure in a reinsurance
product database.
[0528] 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user actuations of
widgets define a plurality of risk characteristic input fields.
[0529] 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure is directed to property casualty insurance and the
risk characteristic input fields include information descriptive
of a property.
[0530] 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the information descriptive
of a property includes a geocode.
[0531] 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the information descriptive
of a property includes construction characteristics.
[0532] 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user actuations of
widgets define a set of rule calls to a rulesets database.
[0533] 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user actuations of
widgets define a set of lookup table calls to a lookup tables database.
[0534] 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user actuations of
widgets define at least one expression comprising a mathematical
calculation configured to establish parameters used in generating
a quote indicative of the price for insuring an insurable risk.
[0535] 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the user actuations of
widgets define set of insurance product documents, including a document
delivery order.
[0536] 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user actuations of
widgets define a product payment schedule.
[0537] 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying base
criteria include at least a reinsurance product name.
[0538] 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying base
criteria include at least an insurance carrier identification.
[0539] 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0540] 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the logic on and between
reinsurance product characteristics comprises a block on binding
an insurance policy for reinsurance product characteristics that
meet a set of criteria.
[0541] 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the logic on and between
reinsurance product characteristics comprises a notification flag
for reinsurance product characteristics that meet a set of criteria.
[0542] 16. A processor-implemented method to generate a user interface
for a risk rater builder, comprising:
[0543] providing interface elements configured to receive specification
of a plurality of risk rater characteristics, including: [0544]
at least one risk rater base criterion; [0545] a plurality of risk
characteristic input fields; [0546] at least one expression comprising
a mathematical calculation performed on at an input to at least
one of the plurality of risk characteristic input fields; and [0547]
at least one call to a rule from a rules database.
[0548] 17. The method of 16, further comprising: [0549] at least
one reference to a lookup table comprising a collection of data
values.
[0550] 18. The method of 17, wherein the mathematical calculation
is further performed on data collected by the reference to a lookup
table.
[0551] 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one risk
rater base criterion comprises a risk rater identifier.
[0552] 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one risk
rater base criterion comprises an insurance carrier identifier.
[0553] 21. The method of claim 16, wherein the risk rater is directed
to property casualty insurance and the plurality of risk characteristic
input fields include fields directed to characteristics of a property.
[0554] 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the characteristics
of a property include a geocode.
[0555] 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the characteristics
of a property include construction characteristics.
[0556] 24. The method of claim 16, wherein the interface elements
are provided within an XML document.
[0557] 25. The method of claim 16, further comprising: [0558] a
set of insurance product documents, including a document delivery
order.
[0559] 26. The method of claim 16, further comprising: [0560] a
product payment schedule.
[0561] 27. An apparatus to generate a reinsurance product data-structure,
comprising:
[0562] a memory;
[0563] a processor disposed in communication with said memory,
and configured to issue a plurality of instructions stored in the
memory, wherein the instructions issue signals to: [0564] provide
a product generating user interface with widgets indicative of reinsurance
product characteristics for display; [0565] receive user actuations
of widgets indicative of reinsurance product characteristics via
the product generating user interface; [0566] receive user specifications
of relationships and logic on and between the reinsurance product
characteristics; [0567] receive a user specification for an identifying
base characteristic; [0568] generate a reinsurance product data-structure
from the user actuations of the widgets indicative of reinsurance
product characteristics and the specifications of relationships
and logic on and between the reinsurance product characteristics;
and [0569] store the reinsurance product data-structure in a reinsurance
product database.
[0570] 28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a plurality of risk characteristic input fields.
[0571] 29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure is directed to property casualty insurance and the
risk characteristic input fields include information descriptive
of a property.
[0572] 30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the information descriptive
of a property includes a geocode.
[0573] 31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the information descriptive
of a property includes construction characteristics.
[0574] 32. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a set of rule calls to a rulesets database.
[0575] 33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a set of lookup table calls to a lookup tables
database.
[0576] 34. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define at least one expression comprising a mathematical
calculation configured to establish parameters used in generating
a quote indicative of the price for insuring an insurable risk.
[0577] 35. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define set of insurance product documents, including
a document delivery order.
[0578] 36. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a product payment schedule.
[0579] 37. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the identifying base
criteria include at least a reinsurance product name.
[0580] 38. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the identifying base
criteria include at least an insurance carrier identification.
[0581] 39. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0582] 40. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the logic on and
between reinsurance product characteristics comprises a block on
binding an insurance policy for reinsurance product characteristics
that meet a set of criteria.
[0583] 41. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the logic on and
between reinsurance product characteristics comprises a notification
flag for reinsurance product characteristics that meet a set of
criteria.
[0584] 42. An apparatus to generate a user interface for a risk
rater builder, comprising: [0585] a memory; [0586] a processor disposed
in communication with said memory, and configured to issue a plurality
of instructions stored in the memory, wherein the instructions issue
signals to: [0587] provide interface elements configured to receive
specification of a plurality of risk rater characteristics, including:
[0588] at least one risk rater base criterion; [0589] a plurality
of risk characteristic input fields; [0590] at least one expression
comprising a mathematical calculation performed on at an input to
at least one of the plurality of risk characteristic input fields;
and [0591] at least one call to a rule from a rules database.
[0592] 43. The apparatus of 42, further comprising: [0593] at least
one reference to a lookup table comprising a collection of data
values.
[0594] 44. The apparatus of 43, wherein the mathematical calculation
is further performed on data collected by the reference to a lookup
table.
[0595] 45. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the at least one
risk rater base criterion comprises a risk rater identifier.
[0596] 46. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the at least one
risk rater base criterion comprises an insurance carrier identifier.
[0597] 47. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the risk rater is
directed to property casualty insurance and the plurality of risk
characteristic input fields include fields directed to characteristics
of a property.
[0598] 48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the characteristics
of a property include a geocode.
[0599] 49. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the characteristics
of a property include construction characteristics.
[0600] 50. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the interface elements
are provided within an XML document.
[0601] 51. The apparatus of claim 42, further comprising: [0602]
a set of insurance product documents, including a document delivery
order.
[0603] 52. The apparatus of claim 42, further comprising: [0604]
a product payment schedule.
[0605] 53. A system to generate a reinsurance product data-structure,
comprising: [0606] means to provide a product generating user interface
with widgets indicative of reinsurance product characteristics for
display; [0607] means to receive user actuations of widgets indicative
of reinsurance product characteristics via the product generating
user interface; [0608] means to receive user specifications of relationships
and logic on and between the reinsurance product characteristics;
[0609] means to receive a user specification for an identifying
base characteristic; [0610] means to generate a reinsurance product
data-structure from the user actuations of the widgets indicative
of reinsurance product characteristics and the specifications of
relationships and logic on and between the reinsurance product characteristics;
and [0611] means to store the reinsurance product data-structure
in a reinsurance product database.
[0612] 54. The system of claim 53, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a plurality of risk characteristic input fields.
[0613] 55. The system of claim 54, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure is directed to property casualty insurance and the
risk characteristic input fields include information descriptive
of a property.
[0614] 56. The system of claim 55, wherein the information descriptive
of a property includes a geocode.
[0615] 57. The system of claim 55, wherein the information descriptive
of a property includes construction characteristics.
[0616] 58. The system of claim 53, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a set of rule calls to a rulesets database.
[0617] 59. The system of claim 53, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a set of lookup table calls to a lookup tables
database.
[0618] 60. The system of claim 53, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define at least one expression comprising a mathematical
calculation configured to establish parameters used in generating
a quote indicative of the price for insuring an insurable risk.
[0619] 61. The system of claim 53, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define set of insurance product documents, including
a document delivery order.
[0620] 62. The system of claim 53, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a product payment schedule.
[0621] 63. The system of claim 53, wherein the identifying base
criteria include at least a reinsurance product name.
[0622] 64. The system of claim 53, wherein the identifying base
criteria include at least an insurance carrier identification.
[0623] 65. The system of claim 53, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0624] 66. The system of claim 53, wherein the logic on and between
reinsurance product characteristics comprises a block on binding
an insurance policy for reinsurance product characteristics that
meet a set of criteria.
[0625] 67. The system of claim 53, wherein the logic on and between
reinsurance product characteristics comprises a notification flag
for reinsurance product characteristics that meet a set of criteria.
[0626] 68. A system to generate a user interface for a risk rater
builder, comprising:
[0627] means to provide interface elements configured to receive
specification of a plurality of risk rater characteristics, including:
[0628] at least one risk rater base criterion; [0629] a plurality
of risk characteristic input fields; [0630] at least one expression
comprising a mathematical calculation performed on at an input to
at least one of the plurality of risk characteristic input fields;
and [0631] at least one call to a rule from a rules database.
[0632] 69. The system of 68, further comprising: [0633] at least
one reference to a lookup table comprising a collection of data
values.
[0634] 70. The system of 69, wherein the mathematical calculation
is further performed on data collected by the reference to a lookup
table.
[0635] 71. The system of claim 68, wherein the at least one risk
rater base criterion comprises a risk rater identifier.
[0636] 72. The system of claim 68, wherein the at least one risk
rater base criterion comprises an insurance carrier identifier.
[0637] 73. The system of claim 68, wherein the risk rater is directed
to property casualty insurance and the plurality of risk characteristic
input fields include fields directed to characteristics of a property.
[0638] 74. The system of claim 73, wherein the characteristics
of a property include a geocode.
[0639] 75. The system of claim 73, wherein the characteristics
of a property include construction characteristics.
[0640] 76. The system of claim 68, wherein the interface elements
are provided within an XML document.
[0641] 77. The system of claim 68, further comprising: [0642] a
set of insurance product documents, including a document delivery
order.
[0643] 78. The system of claim 68, further comprising: [0644] a
product payment schedule.
[0645] 79. A medium readable by a processor to generate a reinsurance
product data-structure, comprising:
[0646] instruction signals in the processor readable medium, wherein
the instructions are issuable by the processor to: [0647] provide
a product generating user interface with widgets indicative of reinsurance
product characteristics for display; [0648] receive user actuations
of widgets indicative of reinsurance product characteristics via
the product generating user interface; [0649] receive user specifications
of relationships and logic on and between the reinsurance product
characteristics; [0650] receive a user specification for an identifying
base characteristic; [0651] generate a reinsurance product data-structure
from the user actuations of the widgets indicative of reinsurance
product characteristics and the specifications of relationships
and logic on and between the reinsurance product characteristics;
and [0652] store the reinsurance product data-structure in a reinsurance
product database.
[0653] 80. The medium of claim 79, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a plurality of risk characteristic input fields.
[0654] 81. The medium of claim 80, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure is directed to property casualty insurance and the
risk characteristic input fields include information descriptive
of a property.
[0655] 82. The medium of claim 81, wherein the information descriptive
of a property includes a geocode.
[0656] 83. The medium of claim 81, wherein the information descriptive
of a property includes construction characteristics.
[0657] 84. The medium of claim 79, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a set of rule calls to a rulesets database.
[0658] 85. The medium of claim 79, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a set of lookup table calls to a lookup tables
database.
[0659] 86. The medium of claim 79, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define at least one expression comprising a mathematical
calculation configured to establish parameters used in generating
a quote indicative of the price for insuring an insurable risk.
[0660] 87. The medium of claim 79, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define set of insurance product documents, including
a document delivery order.
[0661] 88. The medium of claim 79, wherein the user actuations
of widgets define a product payment schedule.
[0662] 89. The medium of claim 79, wherein the identifying base
criteria include at least a reinsurance product name.
[0663] 90. The medium of claim 79, wherein the identifying base
criteria include at least an insurance carrier identification.
[0664] 91. The medium of claim 79, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0665] 92. The medium of claim 79, wherein the logic on and between
reinsurance product characteristics comprises a block on binding
an insurance policy for reinsurance product characteristics that
meet a set of criteria.
[0666] 93. The medium of claim 79, wherein the logic on and between
reinsurance product characteristics comprises a notification flag
for reinsurance product characteristics that meet a set of criteria.
[0667] 94. A medium readable by a processor to generate a user
interface for a risk rater builder, comprising:
[0668] instruction signals in the processor readable medium, wherein
the instruction signals are issuable by the processor to provide
interface elements configured to receive specification of a plurality
of risk rater characteristics, including: [0669] at least one risk
rater base criterion; [0670] a plurality of risk characteristic
input fields; [0671] at least one expression comprising a mathematical
calculation performed on at an input to at least one of the plurality
of risk characteristic input fields; and [0672] at least one call
to a rule from a rules database.
[0673] 95. The medium of 94, further comprising: [0674] at least
one reference to a lookup table comprising a collection of data
values.
[0675] 96. The medium of 95, wherein the mathematical calculation
is further performed on data collected by the reference to a lookup
table.
[0676] 97. The medium of claim 94, wherein the at least one risk
rater base criterion comprises a risk rater identifier.
[0677] 98. The medium of claim 94, wherein the at least one risk
rater base criterion comprises an insurance carrier identifier.
[0678] 99. The medium of claim 94, wherein the risk rater is directed
to property casualty insurance and the plurality of risk characteristic
input fields include fields directed to characteristics of a property.
[0679] 100. The medium of claim 99, wherein the characteristics
of a property include a geocode.
[0680] 101. The medium of claim 99, wherein the characteristics
of a property include construction characteristics.
[0681] 102. The medium of claim 94, wherein the interface elements
are provided within an XML document.
[0682] 103. The medium of claim 94, further comprising: [0683]
a set of insurance product documents, including a document delivery
order.
[0684] 104. The medium of claim 94, further comprising: [0685]
a product payment schedule.
[0686] 1. A processor-implemented method to generate a reinsurance
product quote, comprising: [0687] reading a reinsurance product
database for reinsurance product identifying base criteria; [0688]
providing a reinsurance product selecting interface to display the
reinsurance product identifying base criteria and allow a user to
select among the reinsurance product identifying base criteria;
[0689] loading a reinsurance product data-structure from the reinsurance
product database based on a users selections from the reinsurance
product selecting interface; [0690] reading quote specific data-structure
elements from the reinsurance product data-structure; [0691] generating
a reinsurance quote user interface from the quote specific data-structure
elements; [0692] providing a reinsurance quote user interface to
a user; [0693] receiving user specifications via the reinsurance
quote user interface; [0694] retrieving logic sets specified by
the reinsurance product data-structure; [0695] applying logic sets
to user specifications; and [0696] providing a reinsurance product
specific quote to the user if the user's specifications were acceptable
based on the applying logic sets to user specifications.
[0697] 2. The method of claim 1, further, comprising:
[0698] prior to providing a reinsurance product specific quote:
[0699] providing user specifications and elements of the reinsurance
product data-structure to a risk assessment component; [0700] obtaining
risk assessment evaluation information from the risk assessment
component;
[0701] wherein the product specific quote incorporates the risk
assessment evaluation information from the risk assessment component.
[0702] 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the risk assessment evaluation
information comprises a set of financial metrics determined based
on the user's specifications.
[0703] 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the financial metrics
comprise a profit margin.
[0704] 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the risk assessment component
passes the user specifications and elements of the reinsurance product
data-structure to an external event loss table generator, receives
an event loss table therefrom, and generates risk assessment evaluation
information based on elements of the event loss table.
[0705] 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure are passed
to the external event loss table generator via an interface module.
[0706] 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the interface module further
comprises components configured to translate risk assessment component
coded information to external event loss table generator coded information.
[0707] 8. The method of claim 2, wherein the risk assessment component
queries an event loss table database based on the user specifications
and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure, receives
an event loss table values therefrom, and generates risk assessment
evaluation information based on the event loss table values.
[0708] 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure are passed
to the event loss table database via an interface module.
[0709] 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk assessment
component coded information to event loss table database coded information.
[0710] 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0711] 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the user specifications
comprise information descriptive of an insurable risk.
[0712] 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the insurable risk is
a property and the reinsurance product specific quote is directed
to a property casualty reinsurance product.
[0713] 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the user specifications
comprise a property geocode.
[0714] 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the user specifications
comprise property construction characteristics.
[0715] 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying base
criteria comprise an insurance carrier identifier.
[0716] 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements comprise a plurality of risk characteristic input fields.
[0717] 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the risk product specific
quote is directed to a property casualty insurance product and the
risk characteristic input fields admit information descriptive of
a property.
[0718] 19. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a set of rule calls to a rulesets database.
[0719] 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a set of lookup table calls to a lookup tables
database.
[0720] 21. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include at least one expression comprising a mathematical
calculation configured to establish parameters used in providing
the reinsurance product specific quote.
[0721] 22. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a set of insurance product documents, including
a document delivery order.
[0722] 23. The method of claim 1, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a product payment schedule.
[0723] 24. The method of claim 1, wherein the applying logic sets
to user specifications comprises generating a block for automatically
binding an insurance policy for user specifications that match pre-set
criteria.
[0724] 25. The method of claim 24, further comprising: [0725] checking
for a user exception request; and [0726] providing a subset of the
user specifications for underwriter review if a user exception request
exists.
[0727] 26. The method of claim 1, wherein the applying logic sets
to user specifications comprises generating a notification flag
for user specifications that match pre-set criteria.
[0728] 27. An apparatus to generate a reinsurance product quote,
comprising:
[0729] a memory;
[0730] a processor disposed in communication with said memory,
and configured to issue a plurality of instructions stored in the
memory, wherein the instructions issue signals to: [0731] read a
reinsurance product database for reinsurance product identifying
base criteria; [0732] provide a reinsurance product selecting interface
to display the reinsurance product identifying base criteria and
allow a user to select among the reinsurance product identifying
base criteria; [0733] load a reinsurance product data-structure
from the reinsurance product database based on a users selections
from the reinsurance product selecting interface; [0734] read quote
specific data-structure elements from the reinsurance product data-structure;
[0735] generate a reinsurance quote user interface from the quote
specific data-structure elements; [0736] provide a reinsurance quote
user interface to a user; [0737] receive user specifications via
the reinsurance quote user interface; [0738] retrieve logic sets
specified by the reinsurance product data-structure; [0739] apply
logic sets to user specifications; and [0740] provide a reinsurance
product specific quote to the user if the user's specifications
were acceptable based on the applying logic sets to user specifications.
[0741] 28. The apparatus of claim 27, further, comprising:
[0742] prior to providing a reinsurance product specific quote:
[0743] provide user specifications and elements of the reinsurance
product data-structure to a risk assessment component; [0744] obtain
risk assessment evaluation information from the risk assessment
component;
[0745] wherein the product specific quote incorporates the risk
assessment evaluation information from the risk assessment component.
[0746] 29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the risk assessment
evaluation information comprises a set of financial metrics determined
based on the user's specifications.
[0747] 30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the financial metrics
comprise a profit margin.
[0748] 31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the risk assessment
component passes the user specifications and elements of the reinsurance
product data-structure to an external event loss table generator,
receives an event loss table therefrom, and generates risk assessment
evaluation information based on elements of the event loss table.
[0749] 32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure are passed
to the external event loss table generator via an interface module.
[0750] 33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk assessment
component coded information to external event loss table generator
coded information.
[0751] 34. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the risk assessment
component queries an event loss table database based on the user
specifications and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure,
receives an event loss table values therefrom, and generates risk
assessment evaluation information based on the event loss table
values.
[0752] 35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure are passed
to the event loss table database via an interface module.
[0753] 36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk assessment
component coded information to event loss table database coded information.
[0754] 37. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0755] 38. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the user specifications
comprise information descriptive of an insurable risk.
[0756] 39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the insurable risk
is a property and the reinsurance product specific quote is directed
to a property casualty reinsurance product.
[0757] 40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the user specifications
comprise a property geocode.
[0758] 41. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the user specifications
comprise property construction characteristics.
[0759] 42. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the identifying base
criteria comprise an insurance carrier identifier.
[0760] 43. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the quote specific
data-structure elements comprise a plurality of risk characteristic
input fields.
[0761] 44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the risk product
specific quote is directed to a property casualty insurance product
and the risk characteristic input fields admit information descriptive
of a property.
[0762] 45. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the quote specific
data-structure elements include a set of rule calls to a rulesets
database.
[0763] 46. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the quote specific
data-structure elements include a set of lookup table calls to a
lookup tables database.
[0764] 47. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the quote specific
data-structure elements include at least one expression comprising
a mathematical calculation configured to establish parameters used
in providing the reinsurance product specific quote.
[0765] 48. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the quote specific
data-structure elements include a set of insurance product documents,
including a document delivery order.
[0766] 49. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the quote specific
data-structure elements include a product payment schedule.
[0767] 50. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the applying logic
sets to user specifications comprises generating a block for automatically
binding an insurance policy for user specifications that match pre-set
criteria.
[0768] 51. The apparatus of claim 50, further comprising: [0769]
check for a user exception request; and [0770] provide a subset
of the user specifications for underwriter review if a user exception
request exists.
[0771] 52. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the applying logic
sets to user specifications comprises generating a notification
flag for user specifications that match pre-set criteria.
[0772] 53. A system to generate a reinsurance product quote, comprising:
[0773] means to read a reinsurance product database for reinsurance
product identifying base criteria; [0774] means to provide a reinsurance
product selecting interface to display the reinsurance product identifying
base criteria and allow a user to select among the reinsurance product
identifying base criteria; [0775] means to load a reinsurance product
data-structure from the reinsurance product database based on a
users selections from the reinsurance product selecting interface;
[0776] means to read quote specific data-structure elements from
the reinsurance product data-structure; [0777] means to generate
a reinsurance quote user interface from the quote specific data-structure
elements; [0778] means to provide a reinsurance quote user interface
to a user; [0779] means to receive user specifications via the reinsurance
quote user interface; [0780] means to retrieve logic sets specified
by the reinsurance product data-structure; [0781] means to apply
logic sets to user specifications; and [0782] means to provide a
reinsurance product specific quote to the user if the user's specifications
were acceptable based on the applying logic sets to user specifications.
[0783] 54. The system of claim 53, further, comprising:
[0784] prior to providing a reinsurance product specific quote:
[0785] means to provide user specifications and elements of the
reinsurance product data-structure to a risk assessment component;
[0786] means to obtain risk assessment evaluation information from
the risk assessment component;
[0787] wherein the product specific quote incorporates the risk
assessment evaluation information from the risk assessment component.
[0788] 55. The system of claim 54, wherein the risk assessment
evaluation information comprises a set of financial metrics determined
based on the user's specifications.
[0789] 56. The system of claim 55, wherein the financial metrics
comprise a profit margin.
[0790] 57. The system of claim 54, wherein the risk assessment
component passes the user specifications and elements of the reinsurance
product data-structure to an external event loss table generator,
receives an event loss table therefrom, and generates risk assessment
evaluation information based on elements of the event loss table.
[0791] 58. The system of claim 57, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure are passed
to the external event loss table generator via an interface module.
[0792] 59. The system of claim 58, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk assessment
component coded information to external event loss table generator
coded information.
[0793] 60. The system of claim 54, wherein the risk assessment
component queries an event loss table database based on the user
specifications and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure,
receives an event loss table values therefrom, and generates risk
assessment evaluation information based on the event loss table
values.
[0794] 61. The system of claim 60, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure are passed
to the event loss table database via an interface module.
[0795] 62. The system of claim 61, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk assessment
component coded information to event loss table database coded information.
[0796] 63. The system of claim 53, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0797] 64. The system of claim 53, wherein the user specifications
comprise information descriptive of an insurable risk.
[0798] 65. The system of claim 64, wherein the insurable risk is
a property and the reinsurance product specific quote is directed
to a property casualty reinsurance product.
[0799] 66. The system of claim 65, wherein the user specifications
comprise a property geocode.
[0800] 67. The system of claim 65, wherein the user specifications
comprise property construction characteristics.
[0801] 68. The system of claim 53, wherein the identifying base
criteria comprise an insurance carrier identifier.
[0802] 69. The system of claim 53, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements comprise a plurality of risk characteristic input fields.
[0803] 70. The system of claim 69, wherein the risk product specific
quote is directed to a property casualty insurance product and the
risk characteristic input fields admit information descriptive of
a property.
[0804] 71. The system of claim 53, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a set of rule calls to a rulesets database.
[0805] 72. The system of claim 53, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a set of lookup table calls to a lookup tables
database.
[0806] 73. The system of claim 53, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include at least one expression comprising a mathematical
calculation configured to establish parameters used in providing
the reinsurance product specific quote.
[0807] 74. The system of claim 53, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a set of insurance product documents, including
a document delivery order.
[0808] 75. The system of claim 53, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a product payment schedule.
[0809] 76. The system of claim 53, wherein the applying logic sets
to user specifications comprises generating a block for automatically
binding an insurance policy for user specifications that match pre-set
criteria.
[0810] 77. The system of claim 76, further comprising: [0811] means
to check for a user exception request; and [0812] means to provide
a subset of the user specifications for underwriter review if a
user exception request exists.
[0813] 78. The system of claim 53, wherein the applying logic sets
to user specifications comprises generating a notification flag
for user specifications that match pre-set criteria.
[0814] 79. A medium readable by a processor to generate a reinsurance
product quote, comprising:
[0815] instruction signals in the processor readable medium, wherein
the instruction signals are issuable by the processor to: [0816]
read a reinsurance product database for reinsurance product identifying
base criteria; [0817] provide a reinsurance product selecting interface
to display the reinsurance product identifying base criteria and
allow a user to select among the reinsurance product identifying
base criteria; [0818] load a reinsurance product data-structure
from the reinsurance product database based on a users selections
from the reinsurance product selecting interface; [0819] read quote
specific data-structure elements from the reinsurance product data-structure;
[0820] generate a reinsurance quote user interface from the quote
specific data-structure elements; [0821] provide a reinsurance quote
user interface to a user; [0822] receive user specifications via
the reinsurance quote user interface; [0823] retrieve logic sets
specified by the reinsurance product data-structure; [0824] apply
logic sets to user specifications; and [0825] provide a reinsurance
product specific quote to the user if the user's specifications
were acceptable based on the applying logic sets to user specifications.
[0826] 80. The medium of claim 79, further, comprising:
[0827] prior to providing a reinsurance product specific quote:
[0828] provide user specifications and elements of the reinsurance
product data-structure to a risk assessment component; [0829] obtain
risk assessment evaluation information from the risk assessment
component;
[0830] wherein the product specific quote incorporates the risk
assessment evaluation information from the risk assessment component.
[0831] 81. The medium of claim 80, wherein the risk assessment
evaluation information comprises a set of financial metrics determined
based on the user's specifications.
[0832] 82. The medium of claim 81, wherein the financial metrics
comprise a profit margin.
[0833] 83. The medium of claim 80, wherein the risk assessment
component passes the user specifications and elements of the reinsurance
product data-structure to an external event loss table generator,
receives an event loss table therefrom, and generates risk assessment
evaluation information based on elements of the event loss table.
[0834] 84. The medium of claim 83, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure are passed
to the external event loss table generator via an interface module.
[0835] 85. The medium of claim 84, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk assessment
component coded information to external event loss table generator
coded information.
[0836] 86. The medium of claim 80, wherein the risk assessment
component queries an event loss table database based on the user
specifications and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure,
receives an event loss table values therefrom, and generates risk
assessment evaluation information based on the event loss table
values.
[0837] 87. The medium of claim 86, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the reinsurance product data-structure are passed
to the event loss table database via an interface module.
[0838] 88. The medium of claim 87, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk assessment
component coded information to event loss table database coded information.
[0839] 89. The medium of claim 79, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0840] 90. The medium of claim 79, wherein the user specifications
comprise information descriptive of an insurable risk.
[0841] 91. The medium of claim 90, wherein the insurable risk is
a property and the reinsurance product specific quote is directed
to a property casualty reinsurance product.
[0842] 92. The medium of claim 91, wherein the user specifications
comprise a property geocode.
[0843] 93. The medium of claim 91, wherein the user specifications
comprise property construction characteristics.
[0844] 94. The medium of claim 79, wherein the identifying base
criteria comprise an insurance carrier identifier.
[0845] 95. The medium of claim 79, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements comprise a plurality of risk characteristic input fields.
[0846] 96. The medium of claim 95, wherein the risk product specific
quote is directed to a property casualty insurance product and the
risk characteristic input fields admit information descriptive of
a property.
[0847] 97. The medium of claim 79, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a set of rule calls to a rulesets database.
[0848] 98. The medium of claim 79, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include a set of lookup table calls to a lookup tables
database.
[0849] 99. The medium of claim 79, wherein the quote specific data-structure
elements include at least one expression comprising a mathematical
calculation configured to establish parameters used in providing
the reinsurance product specific quote.
[0850] 100. The medium of claim 79, wherein the quote specific
data-structure elements include a set of insurance product documents,
including a document delivery order.
[0851] 101. The medium of claim 79, wherein the quote specific
data-structure elements include a product payment schedule.
[0852] 102. The medium of claim 79, wherein the applying logic
sets to user specifications comprises generating a block for automatically
binding an insurance policy for user specifications that match pre-set
criteria.
[0853] 103. The a medium of claim 102, further comprising: [0854]
check for a user exception request; and [0855] provide a subset
of the user specifications for underwriter review if a user exception
request exists.
[0856] 104. The medium of claim 79, wherein the applying logic
sets to user specifications comprises generating a notification
flag for user specifications that match pre-set criteria.
[0857] 1. A processor-implemented method to provide a reinsurance
product risk assessment, comprising: [0858] reading a reinsurance
product database for reinsurance product identifying base criteria;
[0859] providing a reinsurance product selecting interface to display
the reinsurance product identifying base criteria and allow a user
to select among the reinsurance product identifying base criteria;
[0860] loading a reinsurance product data-structure from the reinsurance
product database based on a user's selections from the reinsurance
product selecting interface; [0861] reading risk specific data-structure
elements from the reinsurance product data-structure; [0862] generating
a reinsurance risk user interface from the risk specific data-structure
elements; [0863] providing a reinsurance risk user interface to
a user; [0864] receiving user specifications via the reinsurance
risk user interface; [0865] retrieving logic sets specified by the
reinsurance product data-structure; [0866] applying logic sets to
user specifications; [0867] providing a reinsurance product specific
risk assessment to the user if the user's specifications were acceptable.
[0868] 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0869] 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the risk specific data-structure
elements comprise input fields admitting information descriptive
of an insurable risk.
[0870] 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the insurable risk is
a property and the reinsurance product specific quote is directed
to a property casualty reinsurance product.
[0871] 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the user specifications
comprise a property geocode.
[0872] 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the user specifications
comprise property construction characteristics.
[0873] 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the risk specific data-structure
elements include a set of lookup table calls to a lookup tables
database.
[0874] 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the reinsurance product
specific risk assessment comprises at least one financial metric.
[0875] 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the financial metric comprises
a profit margin.
[0876] 10. The method of claim 1, wherein providing a reinsurance
product specific risk assessment comprises:
[0877] passing the user specifications and elements of the risk
specific data-structure to an external event loss table generator;
[0878] receiving an event loss table from the external event loss
table generator corresponding to the user specifications and elements
of the risk specific data-structure; and
[0879] generating a reinsurance product specific risk assessment
based on elements of the event loss table.
[0880] 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the risk specific data-structure are passed to the
external event loss table generator via an interface module.
[0881] 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk specific
data-structure coded information to external event loss table generator
coded information.
[0882] 13. The method of claim 1, providing a reinsurance product
specific risk assessment comprises:
[0883] querying an event loss table database based on the user
specifications and elements of the risk specific data-structure;
[0884] receiving event loss table values from the event loss table
database; and
[0885] generating risk assessment evaluation information based
on the event loss table values.
[0886] 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the risk specific data-structure are passed to the
event loss table database via an interface module.
[0887] 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk specific
data-structure coded information to event loss table database coded
information.
[0888] 16. An apparatus to provide a reinsurance product risk assessment,
comprising:
[0889] a memory;
[0890] a processor disposed in communication with said memory,
and configured to issue a plurality of instructions stored in the
memory, wherein the instructions issue signals to: [0891] read a
reinsurance product database for reinsurance product identifying
base criteria; [0892] provide a reinsurance product selecting interface
to display the reinsurance product identifying base criteria and
allow a user to select among the reinsurance product identifying
base criteria; [0893] load a reinsurance product data-structure
from the reinsurance product database based on a user's selections
from the reinsurance product selecting interface; [0894] read risk
specific data-structure elements from the reinsurance product data-structure;
[0895] generate a reinsurance risk user interface from the risk
specific data-structure elements; [0896] provide a reinsurance risk
user interface to a user; [0897] receive user specifications via
the reinsurance risk user interface; [0898] retrieve logic sets
specified by the reinsurance product data-structure; [0899] apply
logic sets to user specifications; [0900] provide a reinsurance
product specific risk assessment to the user if the user's specifications
were acceptable.
[0901] 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0902] 18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the risk specific
data-structure elements comprise input fields admitting information
descriptive of an insurable risk.
[0903] 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the insurable risk
is a property and the reinsurance product specific quote is directed
to a property casualty reinsurance product.
[0904] 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the user specifications
comprise a property geocode.
[0905] 21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the user specifications
comprise property construction characteristics.
[0906] 22. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the risk specific
data-structure elements include a set of lookup table calls to a
lookup tables database.
[0907] 23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the reinsurance product
specific risk assessment comprises at least one financial metric.
[0908] 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the financial metric
comprises a profit margin.
[0909] 25. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein providing a reinsurance
product specific risk assessment comprises:
[0910] pass the user specifications and elements of the risk specific
data-structure to an external event loss table generator;
[0911] receive an event loss table from the external event loss
table generator corresponding to the user specifications and elements
of the risk specific data-structure; and
[0912] generate a reinsurance product specific risk assessment
based on elements of the event loss table.
[0913] 26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the risk specific data-structure are passed to the
external event loss table generator via an interface module.
[0914] 27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk specific
data-structure coded information to external event loss table generator
coded information.
[0915] 28. The apparatus of claim 16, providing a reinsurance product
specific risk assessment comprises:
[0916] query an event loss table database based on the user specifications
and elements of the risk specific data-structure;
[0917] receive event loss table values from the event loss table
database; and
[0918] generate risk assessment evaluation information based on
the event loss table values.
[0919] 29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the risk specific data-structure are passed to the
event loss table database via an interface module.
[0920] 30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk specific
data-structure coded information to event loss table database coded
information.
[0921] 31. A system to provide a reinsurance product risk assessment,
comprising: [0922] means to read a reinsurance product database
for reinsurance product identifying base criteria; [0923] means
to provide a reinsurance product selecting interface to display
the reinsurance product identifying base criteria and allow a user
to select among the reinsurance product identifying base criteria;
[0924] means to load a reinsurance product data-structure from the
reinsurance product database based on a user's selections from the
reinsurance product selecting interface; [0925] means to read risk
specific data-structure elements from the reinsurance product data-structure;
[0926] means to generate a reinsurance risk user interface from
the risk specific data-structure elements; [0927] means to provide
a reinsurance risk user interface to a user; [0928] means to receive
user specifications via the reinsurance risk user interface; [0929]
means to retrieve logic sets specified by the reinsurance product
data-structure; [0930] means to apply logic sets to user specifications;
[0931] means to provide a reinsurance product specific risk assessment
to the user if the user's specifications were acceptable.
[0932] 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0933] 33. The system of claim 31, wherein the risk specific data-structure
elements comprise input fields admitting information descriptive
of an insurable risk.
[0934] 34. The system of claim 33, wherein the insurable risk is
a property and the reinsurance product specific quote is directed
to a property casualty reinsurance product.
[0935] 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the user specifications
comprise a property geocode.
[0936] 36. The system of claim 34, wherein the user specifications
comprise property construction characteristics.
[0937] 37. The system of claim 31, wherein the risk specific data-structure
elements include a set of lookup table calls to a lookup tables
database.
[0938] 38. The system of claim 31, wherein the reinsurance product
specific risk assessment comprises at least one financial metric.
[0939] 39. The system of claim 38, wherein the financial metric
comprises a profit margin.
[0940] 40. The system of claim 31, wherein providing a reinsurance
product specific risk assessment comprises:
[0941] means to pass the user specifications and elements of the
risk specific data-structure to an external event loss table generator;
[0942] means to receive an event loss table from the external event
loss table generator corresponding to the user specifications and
elements of the risk specific data-structure; and
[0943] means to generate a reinsurance product specific risk assessment
based on elements of the event loss table.
[0944] 41. The system of claim 40, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the risk specific data-structure are passed to the
external event loss table generator via an interface module.
[0945] 42. The system of claim 41, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk specific
data-structure coded information to external event loss table generator
coded information.
[0946] 43. The system of claim 31, providing a reinsurance product
specific risk assessment comprises:
[0947] means to query an event loss table database based on the
user specifications and elements of the risk specific data-structure;
[0948] means to receive event loss table values from the event
loss table database; and
[0949] means to generate risk assessment evaluation information
based on the event loss table values.
[0950] 44. The system of claim 43, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the risk specific data-structure are passed to the
event loss table database via an interface module.
[0951] 45. The system of claim 44, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk specific
data-structure coded information to event loss table database coded
information.
[0952] 46. A medium readable by a processor to provide a reinsurance
product risk assessment, comprising:
[0953] instruction signals in the processor readable medium, wherein
the instruction signals are issuable by the processor to: [0954]
read a reinsurance product database for reinsurance product identifying
base criteria; [0955] provide a reinsurance product selecting interface
to display the reinsurance product identifying base criteria and
allow a user to select among the reinsurance product identifying
base criteria; [0956] load a reinsurance product data-structure
from the reinsurance product database based on a user's selections
from the reinsurance product selecting interface; [0957] read risk
specific data-structure elements from the reinsurance product data-structure;
generate a reinsurance risk user interface from the risk specific
data-structure elements; [0958] provide a reinsurance risk user
interface to a user; [0959] receive user specifications via the
reinsurance risk user interface; [0960] retrieve logic sets specified
by the reinsurance product data-structure; [0961] apply logic sets
to user specifications; [0962] provide a reinsurance product specific
risk assessment to the user if the user's specifications were acceptable.
[0963] 47. The medium of claim 46, wherein the reinsurance product
data-structure comprises an XML document.
[0964] 48. The medium of claim 46, wherein the risk specific data-structure
elements comprise input fields admitting information descriptive
of an insurable risk.
[0965] 49. The medium of claim 48, wherein the insurable risk is
a property and the reinsurance product specific quote is directed
to a property casualty reinsurance product.
[0966] 50. The medium of claim 49, wherein the user specifications
comprise a property geocode.
[0967] 51. The medium of claim 49, wherein the user specifications
comprise property construction characteristics.
[0968] 52. The medium of claim 46, wherein the risk specific data-structure
elements include a set of lookup table calls to a lookup tables
database.
[0969] 53. The medium of claim 46, wherein the reinsurance product
specific risk assessment comprises at least one financial metric.
[0970] 54. The medium of claim 53, wherein the financial metric
comprises a profit margin.
[0971] 55. The medium of claim 46, wherein providing a reinsurance
product specific risk assessment comprises:
[0972] pass the user specifications and elements of the risk specific
data-structure to an external event loss table generator;
[0973] receive an event loss table from the external event loss
table generator corresponding to the user specifications and elements
of the risk specific data-structure; and
[0974] generate a reinsurance product specific risk assessment
based on elements of the event loss table.
[0975] 56. The medium of claim 55, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the risk specific data-structure are passed to the
external event loss table generator via an interface module.
[0976] 57. The medium of claim 56, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk specific
data-structure coded information to external event loss table generator
coded information.
[0977] 58. The medium of claim 46, providing a reinsurance product
specific risk assessment comprises:
[0978] query an event loss table database based on the user specifications
and elements of the risk specific data-structure;
[0979] receive event loss table values from the event loss table
database; and
[0980] generate risk assessment evaluation information based on
the event loss table values.
[0981] 59. The medium of claim 58, wherein the user specifications
and elements of the risk specific data-structure are passed to the
event loss table database via an interface module.
[0982] 60. The medium of claim 59, wherein the interface module
further comprises components configured to translate risk specific
data-structure coded information to event loss table database coded
information.
[0983] 1. A system for authoring an insurance product comprising:
[0984] a display configured to present product information and authoring
instructions to an author;
[0985] an author input device configured to receive product configuration
instructions and data from an author;
[0986] an authoring module comprising: [0987] a product creator
module coupled to the author input device to receive product configuration
instructions from the author and to provide product configuration
tables based upon said product configuration instructions; [0988]
a product building module coupled to the product creator module
and configured to receive the tables and to assemble an authored
insurance product based upon the tables; [0989] a forms module coupled
to the product building module to receive insurance product information
and to display author configurable forms for use with the authored
insurance product.
[0990] 1. A processor-implemented method for evaluating the profitability
and rates associated with a new insurance policy, comprising: [0991]
identifying a property and its characteristics; [0992] determining
a geographic location of the property; [0993] determining, based
upon the geographic location of the property, the profitability
associated with issuing the insurance policy for the property; and
[0994] determining, based upon the profitability, whether to bind
coverage on the policy.
[0995] 2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the profitability
comprises:
[0996] determining in real-time the profitability associated with
a particular property using probabilistic loss data.
[0997] 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the profitability is the
marginal profitability of the new insurance policy to a portfolio
of insurance policies.
[0998] 1. A processor-implemented method for enabling a user to
author and run logical rules, comprising: [0999] providing a first
graphical user interface for receiving user input to establish a
plurality of logical rules in a ruleset, each rule including a rule
expression, a logical function and a data field; [1000] evaluating
each logical rule in the ruleset; and [1001] displaying, in a second
graphical user interface, the results of the evaluating.
[1002] 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: [1003] processing
a Web site to identify data fields available on the Web site; and
[1004] providing in a graphical user interface the contents of the
data fields for use in establishing a rule.
[1005] 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: [1006] providing
a third graphical user interface with which a user may test the
operation of a rule.
[1007] 1. A processor-implemented method for processing insurance
policy data, comprising: [1008] generating an editable XML document,
the XML document including editable sections for: a) identifying
and inputting insurance policy quote data, and b) processing the
quote data to generate a policy quote; and [1009] making the editable
XML document available for alteration.
[1010] 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the editable XML document
further comprises a section for outputting the quote.
[1011] 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the editable XML document
further comprises a section for generating an insurance policy application
for the insurance policy of the quote.
[1012] The entirety of this disclosure (including the Cover Page,
Title, Headings, Field, Background, Summary, Brief Description of
the Drawings, Detailed Description, Claims, Abstract, Figures, and
otherwise) shows by way of illustration various embodiments in which
the claimed inventions may be practiced. The advantages and features
of the disclosure are of a representative sample of embodiments
only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. They are presented
only to assist in understanding and teach the claimed principles.
It should be understood that they are not representative of all
claimed inventions. As such, certain aspects of the disclosure have
not been discussed herein. That alternate embodiments may not have
been presented for a specific portion of the invention or that further
undescribed alternate embodiments may be available for a portion
is not to be considered a disclaimer of those alternate embodiments.
It will be appreciated that many of those undescribed embodiments
incorporate the same principles of the invention and others are
equivalent. Thus, it is to be understood that other embodiments
may be utilized and functional, logical, organizational, structural
and/or topological modifications may be made without departing from
the scope and/or spirit of the disclosure. As such, all examples
and/or embodiments are deemed to be non-limiting throughout this
disclosure. Also, no inference should be drawn regarding those embodiments
discussed herein relative to those not discussed herein other than
it is as such for purposes of reducing space and repetition. For
instance, it is to be understood that the logical and/or topological
structure of any combination of any program components (a component
collection), other components and/or any present feature sets as
described in the figures and/or throughout are not limited to a
fixed operating order and/or arrangement, but rather, any disclosed
order is exemplary and all equivalents, regardless of order, are
contemplated by the disclosure. Furthermore, it is to be understood
that such features are not limited to serial execution, but rather,
any number of threads, processes, services, servers, and/or the
like that may execute asynchronously, concurrently, in parallel,
simultaneously, synchronously, and/or the like are contemplated
by the disclosure. As such, some of these features may be mutually
contradictory, in that they cannot be simultaneously present in
a single embodiment. Similarly, some features are applicable to
one aspect of the invention, and inapplicable to others. In addition,
the disclosure includes other inventions not presently claimed.
Applicant reserves all rights in those presently unclaimed inventions
including the right to claim such inventions, file additional applications,
continuations, continuations in part, divisions, and/or the like
thereof. As such, it should be understood that advantages, embodiments,
examples, functional features, logical, organizational, structural,
topological, and/or other aspects of the disclosure are not to be
considered limitations on the disclosure as defined by the claims
or limitations on equivalents to the claims. |