Method and system for furnishing an on-line quote for an insurance product

Abstract

A method and system for furnishing an on-line quote for an insurance product makes use of computer hardware and software to provide a user with an on-line, real-time quote. The system allows the user to enter user information and presents and/or recommends a variety of options, including coverages, liabilities, and/or deductibles to help the user determine insurance coverage. Upon entering the user data and coverage information, a quote is displayed for the user. Credit information and/or other information for the user may optionally be used in determining the quote.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer implemented method of furnishing a real-time, on-line quote for an insurance product for a customer by an insurance company, comprising:
 presenting to the customer, by an on-line quote system application providing computer executable instructions executed by a computer, an assistance feature comprising a coverage limit recommendations feature;   receiving from the customer at a computing device basic customer information, by the on-line quote system application via an on-line quote system web server, wherein said basic customer information comprises background information about the customer and information about an item to be insured, and wherein the customer is not required to be an existing customer having a current insurance policy with the insurance company;   determining, by the on-line quote system application, coverage limit recommendations for the customer based on the basic customer information received from the customer;   presenting, by the on-line quote system application, the coverage limit recommendations to the customer;   receiving, by the on-line quote system application, a coverage limit amount selection for at least one insurance coverage from the customer responsive to the coverage limit recommendations;   receiving rating information for the customer from a rating engine by the on-line quote system application responsive to the basic customer information received from the customer;   determining, by the on-line quote system application, a quote for the customer for said at least one insurance coverage, responsive to the basic customer information received from the customer, the coverage limit amount selection, underwriting information, and the rating information received from the rating engine; and   transmitting the quote to the customer by the on-line quote system application via the on-line quote system web server.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said assistance feature further comprises a coverage choices feature, and wherein the method further comprises:
 determining, by the on-line quote system application, coverage limit choices based on the basic customer information received from the customer; and   presenting, by the on-line quote system application, the coverage limit choices to the customer, wherein the coverage limit choices comprise two or more coverage limit choices for the at least one insurance coverage,   wherein said receiving the coverage limit amount selection further comprises receiving, by the on-line quote system application, a coverage limit amount selection from the two or more coverage limit choices.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving from the customer the basic customer information further comprises redirecting the customer to the on-line quote system web server by an underwriter's web server. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing by the on-line quote system application a fast-forward feature that displays only pages in the on-line quote system application for the customer that are affected by a modification received from the customer to a previous entry. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rating engine determines underwriting knockouts, completeness, and a rating by a reconciliation system. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising uploading quote-related information for the customer to a backend system and providing the customer with a telephone number for a customer service representative or agent by the on-line quote system application via the on-line quote system web server, if an indication of the customer's continued interest in the quote is received by the on-line quote system application. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein said uploading the quote-related information for the customer to the backend system further comprises storing the quote-related information for the customer in an on-line quote system database by the on-line quote system application. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 retrieving by the on-line quote system application deployable content from a deployable content database including deployable content profiles for the customer responsive to the basic customer information entered by the customer; and   supplementing the basic customer information with the deployable content by the on-line quote system application.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the deployable content from the customer is responsive to at least one of the customer's geographic location and the customer's affinity group association. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the assistance feature generates state-specific coverage recommendations for the customer responsive to state information entered by the customer. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving from the customer a request to purchase the insurance product associated with the quote by the on-line quote system application, without interaction with a company representative. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising issuing the insurance product associated with the quote by the on-line quote system application, without interaction with a company representative. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 requesting by the on-line quote application, responsive to the basic information received from the customer, additional information about the customer from a third party data source;   receiving the additional information from the third party data source; and   receiving said rating information for the customer from the rating engine responsive to the basic customer information received from the customer and the additional information received from the third party data source.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the additional information comprises at least one of credit history reports, driving incident reports, claim history reports, motor vehicle record reports, purchasing information for the customer, credit card information, and an insurance financial score. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said determining the quote further comprises determining the quote for the customer for said at least one insurance coverage responsive to the basic customer information received from the customer, the coverage limit amount selection, the underwriting information, the rating information received from the rating engine, and an insurance financial score. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the customer is not an existing customer of the insurance company. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising presenting, by the on-line quote system application, additional coverage limit choices to the customer, wherein the additional coverage limit choices comprise an option of no coverage. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the insurance product comprises a vehicle insurance product. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one insurance coverage comprises at least one of bodily injury liability coverage, property damage coverage, uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage, underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage, medical payments coverage, physical damage coverage, towing coverage, extended transportation expense coverage, and loan/lease gap coverage. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said basic customer information further comprises financial information about the customer. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said presenting the coverage limit recommendations to the customer further comprises presenting a pre-filled coverage limit amount, which can be modified or accepted by the customer. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the pre-filled coverage limit amount is no coverage. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the pre-filled coverage limit amount comprises a deductible amount for the coverage. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, by the on-line quote system application, a plurality of coverages for the customer based on the basic customer information received from the customer,   wherein said determining the coverage limit recommendations further comprises determining, by the on-line quote system application, the coverage limit recommendations for at least one of the plurality of coverages.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein:
 said presenting the coverage limit recommendations further comprises presenting, by the on-line quote system application, the coverage limit recommendations for the at least one of the plurality of coverages to the customer;   said receiving the coverage limit amount selection further comprises receiving, by the on-line quote system application, the coverage limit amount selection for at least one insurance coverage from the customer responsive to the coverage limit recommendations for the at least one of the plurality of coverages; and   said determining the quote further comprises determining, by the on-line quote system application, the quote for the customer for said insurance product, responsive to the basic customer information received from the customer, the coverage limit amount selection, the underwriting information, and the rating information received from the rating engine.   
     
     
         26 . A computer system for furnishing a real-time, on-line quote for an insurance product for a customer by an insurance company, comprising:
 an insurance processing computer system in communication with an electronic network and at least one database, wherein the insurance processing computer system comprises:   an on-line quote system application, implemented by the insurance processing computer system, that presents to the customer an assistance feature comprising a coverage limit recommendations feature;   wherein the on-line quote system application receives, via an on-line quote system web server from the customer at a computing device, basic customer information, comprising background information about the customer and information about an item to be insured, and wherein the customer is not required to be an existing customer having a current insurance policy with the insurance company;   wherein the on-line quote system application determines coverage limit recommendations for the customer based on the basic customer information received from the customer;   wherein the on-line quote system application presents the coverage limit recommendations to the customer;   wherein the on-line quote system application receives a coverage limit amount selection for at least one insurance coverage from the customer responsive to the coverage limit recommendations;   wherein the on-line quote system application receives rating information for the customer from a rating engine responsive to the basic customer information received from the customer;   wherein the on-line quote system application determines a quote for the customer for said at least one insurance coverage, responsive to the basic customer information received from the customer, the coverage limit amount selection, underwriting information, and the rating information received from the rating engine; and   wherein the on-line quote system application transmits the quote to the customer via the on-line quote system web server.   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein said assistance feature further comprises a coverage choices feature, and wherein the on-line quote system application executes the following computer instructions:
 determines coverage limit choices based on the basic customer information received from the customer;   presents the coverage limit choices to the customer, wherein the coverage limit choices comprise two or more coverage limit choices for the at least one insurance coverage; and   receives a coverage limit amount selection from the two or more coverage limit choices.   
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the on-line quote system application redirects the customer to the on-line quote system web server by an underwriter's web server to receive the basic customer information from the customer. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the on-line quote system application provides a fast-forward feature that displays only pages in the on-line quote system application for the customer that are affected by a modification received from the customer to a previous entry. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the on-line quote system application issues the insurance product associated with the quote without interaction with a company representative. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the on-line quote system application determines the quote for the customer for said at least one insurance coverage responsive to the basic customer information received from the customer, the coverage limit amount selection, the underwriting information, the rating information received from the rating engine, and an insurance financial score. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the customer is not an existing customer of the insurance company. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the on-line quote system application presents additional coverage limit choices to the customer, wherein the additional coverage limit choices comprise an option of no coverage. 
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 26 ,
 wherein the on-line quote system application determines a plurality of coverages for the customer based on the basic customer information received from the customer, and   wherein the on-line quote system application determines the coverage limit recommendations for at least one of the plurality of coverages.