Pre-Grant Publication Number: 20090055227
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General observations
As noted in the description, certain elements or building blocks of the invention are not new. There are a number of companies that offer comprehensive online personal health records; see www.ihealthrecord.com, www.google.com/health, www.myphr.com, www.recordsforliving.com and www.personalmd.com, as examples. Both automated underwriting systems and third party underwriting services have been available to the life insurance industry for a number of years. On a case by case basis, insurers have agreed to share underwriting information with respect to an individual application. What may be new is the provision of underwriting quality health information in a data base together with evaluative information (personal life expectancy and underwriting classification) available to multiple carriers from a single source.
It may be difficult to express in the required language of the application, but I think the application is most worthy of consideration when all these elements (the combination of RAC plus RPDB plus personal life expectancy and underwriting classification as output available to multiple users) are present. It does not seem to me that you are making claims for merely storing underwriting information in a data base, or for merely providing an automated method of evaluating underwriting data, or for merely using online personal health records (such as those listed above) as one source of underwriting information.
Some practical considerations
It may be beyond the scope of what needs to be covered in detail in the patent application, but assuring that the health information is of underwriting quality (sufficiently current, complete and accurate) will be a significant practical challenge. It is one thing to rely on applicants to respond truthfully to questions in an application; another entirely to have them or their providers put test results or attending physician statements into a data base reliably and in a form that can be used in underwriting.
The Risk Assessment Company may be able to benefit from the various strengths: a reduced insurance risk can result in additional premium discounts while the risk reduction effects are in place; insurance companies could more effectively determine insurability by relying on a risk assessment data base, while reducing subscriber costs and offering immediate insurability through the internet; and a subscriber can receive immediate or near immediate insurance quotes from a large number of interested insurance companies. On the other hand that patent has several potential shortcomings might include; if a subscriber’s personal health information is obtained by an unauthorized 3rd party. Moreover, the RAC would have to address questions such as: what are the costs savings?; what about geographic location; where some people are susceptible to different health risks at different ages than the majority of people as a whole; and does the 10yr assumption plan take into consideration inflation, variable expenses, etc?
Business Prospects
The Risk Assessment Data Base (RADB), would enable insurance companies to formulate specific plans/policies for individuals which fall into various life/health categories. In addition, the life/health expectancy report would also enable individuals to acquire an analysis of their life/health projections and what is needed to extent/improve their biological clock. This invention, further, makes business sense because it stands to provide a more efficient and effective method to underwrite and offer insurance. Accomplishing this task would be likely through the invention’s process of unbundling the risk evaluation and selection function of the insurance sales process and services to have those functions established as a separate and independent process.
Recommendation
According to our study about Risk Assessment Company and its operating model, we think that RAC can be potentially applied as a patent because of several reasons: Firstly, the most realizable feasibility of RAC model is that it provides an independent risk evaluation and selection service and helps to eliminate underwriting process from insurance sales process. Individuals who desire an insurance plan, they can foresee the cost of and premiums they have to pay for their interested insurance service without participating in a long, redundant underwriting process to be completed. For insurance companies, they can reduce the underwriting process expense as well as the cost of no selection due to not taken policy.
Secondly, since RAC plays a role as an independent middle service provider, it is stands to provide reliable, truth-worthy information, and the risk profile data in particular to all parties using its services. This allows all subscribers to have more accurate analysis and evaluation processes and better decisions while using these data for their specific purposes.
Finally, the RAC model has high potential to apply in not only insurance aspects but other fields of life such as financial and credit risks. It would be helpful for individuals and enterprises to better identify any potential risks such as personal economic risk (financial investment, home purchases), casualty risk (food, accident, travel, weather) or enterprise risks (quality control, business failure).
I point out the following:
1. A "premium discount" provided if an applicant is in a preferred risk class because they are pro-active in the RAC (i.e. for example - follow guidance provided by the RAC in terms of getting regular periodic exams) is anticipated to be provided in the form of a "premium refund". It would be determined each year contingent on the insured's maintenance of a "pro-active" RAC status. If the insured did not maintain a pro-active status the "premium discount" or "refund" would not be available.
2. Confidentiality of data and privacy is important. The invention assumes that strong security measures would be put in place and tested regularly to assure confidentiality. For example, the data might be stored in coded form so that even if it were hacked into it would be meaningless to anyone but the RAC systems.
3. Certainly, normal underwriting considerations would be in play. If there were differences in risk associated with geographic location or for any other reason than these factors could be taken into account in the RAC process.
4. The RAC process reflects discount possiblities relative to life insurance (for example) for two reasons: better mortality; and reduced underwriting costs.
5. The 10 Yr product was an example of how the expense savings might be calculated and reflected in a premium discount. Certainly, pricing expense assumptions would or could reflect an inflation assumption.
Can you get any more information about sehatINDIA? We need something with a reliable date.
There are some affiliate centres of this, right around my house....I shall try to get some info about it over the weekend
On the Property-Casualty side, which is my area of concentration 30+ years, this service sounds similar to the property risk evaluations that may be ordered from licensed insurance service organizations such as Insurance Services Office (ISO). For many years, ISO has examined and provided Property and Liability Risk Assessment Surveys on commercial properties, upon which many insurers may rely in generating quotes and binders. Once they have performed a survey, it is accessible to other insurers also interested in evaluating the risk for a possible quote. More info at: http://www.iso.com/Products/Risk-Assessment-Surveys/Property-and-Liability-Risk-Assessment-Surveys.html
Thanks for your input.
An Actuary on Actuarial Outpost forwarded the following comment to me.
“For the Risk Assessment Company, there is (or used to be) a publication called 'Who Writes What.' It didn't mechanize the process, but might have been used to find a suitable source for a particular kind of coverage. Maybe the connection is too remote to be of value, I dunno.
Here's a link to an online description of the publication:
http://www.lifeandhealthinsurancenew...rectories.aspx”
Is this a help?”
The comment was in response to a parallel thread we have going on related to this patent application in their General Actuarial Discussion Forum.
Here is a link to the thread.
http://www.actuarialoutpost.com/actuarial_discussion_forum/showthread.php?t=161125
Who Writes What is like a restaurant guide for a city which lists restaurants by cuisine (e.g. American, French, Italian, ...) - that is, insurance companies by coverages offered. It does not provide a database which can be used to access the risk of individuals.