US-12620035-B2 - Distributed ledger system for managing loss histories for properties

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed with respect to using a distributed ledger, such as a blockchain, for managing loss histories for individuals and/or assets, such as real estate, homes, and vehicles, and/or for creating and maintaining loss history reports for individuals and/or insurable assets. The loss histories or loss history reports may be individual or insured specific, or may be insurable or insured asset specific.

Inventors

• Ronny S. Bryant
• Stacie A. McCullough
• Mitchell J. Hill
• Jacob J. Alt
• Jaime Skaggs
• Shawn M. Call
• Eric Bellas
• Vicki King
• Melinda Teresa Magerkurth

Assignees

• STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20240423

Claims (18)

1. 1 . A computer-implemented method for tracking loss histories for properties via a distributed ledger maintained by a plurality of servers, the method comprising: storing, at the distributed ledger, one or more transaction records representing one or more insurance claims that have been filed involving a property, performing the following when an insurance claim involving the property is filed by a person, using a computer, of the plurality of servers, that is possessed by the person: (i) generating, at the computer from the plurality of servers, a particular transaction record representing the filed insurance claim; (ii) proposing the particular transaction record to one or more other servers from the plurality of servers; and (iii) when a consensus analysis that utilizes a consensus mechanism indicates that a consensus has been formed, storing the particular transaction record at the distributed ledger by storing the particular transaction record to a copy of the distributed ledger maintained at the computer; and responding to a request for a loss report for the property by: retrieving from the distributed ledger each of the one or more transaction records representing the one or more insurance claims that have been filed involving the property, including the particular transaction record; generating a loss history for the property based upon the retrieved one or more transaction records; and generating a loss report including information from the loss history.
2. 2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein storing the particular transaction record at the distributed ledger comprises: storing the particular transaction record to a block.
3. 3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the consensus analysis includes generating a hash value for the particular transaction record, and utilizing the hash value for the particular transaction record to generate a hash value for the block.
4. 4 . The computer-method of claim 1 , wherein the consensus mechanism is: a proof of work mechanism, a proof of stake mechanism, or a proof of activity mechanism.
5. 5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the consensus mechanism is: a proof of burn mechanism, a proof of capacity mechanism, or a proof of elapsed time mechanism.
6. 6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the particular transaction record includes data representing: an identity of the insured person, an identity of the insured property, and a monetary loss for the claim.
7. 7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , wherein the particular transaction record further includes data representing: a date of the loss, a status of the claim, and a type of the loss.
8. 8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the property is real estate.
9. 9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the property is a vehicle.
10. 10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the property is a painting or antique.
11. 11 . A computer system for tracking loss histories for properties, the system comprising: a server configured to maintain a distributed ledger for tracking loss histories in conjunction with a plurality of servers, wherein the server includes a memory storing: (A) a copy of the distributed ledger, and (B) instructions that, when executed, cause the server to store one or more transaction records representing one or more insurance claims that have been filed by a person using a computer, of the plurality of servers, that is possessed by the person, including instructions that cause the computer to do the following when an insurance claim involving the property is filed: (i) generate, at the server, a particular transaction record representing the filed insurance claim; and (ii) propose the particular transaction record to one or more other servers from the plurality of servers; wherein the server is configured to: (i) store the particular transaction record at the copy of the distributed ledger when a consensus analysis that utilizes a consensus mechanism indicates that a consensus has been formed; and (ii) generate a loss report for a property in response to receiving a request for the loss report by (a) retrieving from a copy of the distributed ledger each of the one or more transaction records representing the one or more insurance claims that have been filed involving the property, including the particular transaction record; (b) generating a loss history for the property based upon the retrieved one or more transaction records; and (c) generating the loss report to display the loss history.
12. 12 . The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the server is configured to store the particular transaction record at the distributed ledger by storing the particular transaction record to a block.
13. 13 . The computer system of claim 12 , wherein the consensus analysis includes generating a hash value for the particular transaction record and utilizing the hash value for the particular transaction record to generate a hash value for the block.
14. 14 . The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the consensus mechanism is: a proof of work mechanism, a proof of stake mechanism, or a proof of activity mechanism.
15. 15 . The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the consensus mechanism is: a proof of burn mechanism, a proof of capacity mechanism, or a proof of elapsed time mechanism.
16. 16 . The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the particular transaction record includes data representing: an identity of the insured person, an identity of the insured property, and a monetary loss for the claim.
17. 17 . The computer system of claim 16 , wherein the particular transaction record further includes data representing: a date of the loss, a status of the claim, and a type of the loss.
18. 18 . The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the property is real estate.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/870,271, titled “Distributed Ledger System for Managing Loss Histories for Properties,” filed Jan. 12, 2018, which claims the benefit of (i) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/500,049, titled “Distributed Ledger Systems,” filed on May 2, 2017; (ii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/500,326, titled “Distributed Ledger System,” filed on May 2, 2017; (iii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/508,133, titled “Distributed Ledger System for Managing Smart Home Data, Vehicle Data, Insurance Claim Payouts, and/or Insurance Carrier Discovery,” filed on May 18, 2017; (iv) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,545,262, titled “Distributed Ledger System for Managing Loss Histories,” filed on Aug. 22, 2017; (v) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,548,668, titled “Distributed Ledger System for Managing Vehicle Sensor Data Utilized to Develop Collision Profiles,” filed on Aug. 22, 2017; (vi) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,548,679, titled “Distributed Ledger System for Use with Vehicle Sensor Data and Usage Based Systems,” filed on Aug. 22, 2017; (vii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,548,682, titled “Distributed Ledger System for Managing Medical Records,” filed on Aug. 22, 2017; (viii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,548,692, titled “Distributed Ledger System for Insurance Record Management Systems,” filed on Aug. 22, 2017; (ix) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,548,741, titled “Distributed Ledger System for Smart Home Data,” filed on Aug. 22, 2017; (x) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,548,700, titled “Distributed Ledger System for Managing Smart Vehicle Data,” filed on Aug. 22, 2017; (xi) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,548,731, titled “Distributed Ledger System for Claim Payouts,” filed on Aug. 22, 2017; and (xii) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62,548,748, titled “Distributed Ledger System for Carrier Discovery,” filed on Aug. 22, 2017; the entire disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD Systems and methods are disclosed with respect to using a distributed ledger for managing loss histories and/or creating loss history reports for individuals and assets, such as real estate and vehicles. BACKGROUND Generally speaking, insurance companies may utilize centralized databases or servers for a number of purposes. For example, potential buyers of real estate and their lenders often like to know a property's history before buying. Theoretically, because an insurance claim has likely been filed to repair any significant damage to the property, the property's history with respect to damage may be approximated by reviewing insurance claims involving the property. However, because property owners may not be willing to volunteer their insurance records, acquiring this history may be difficult. Even when a property owner agrees to allow his or her insurance company to turn over records, however, the records might not be complete. For example, the property owner might have switched insurance companies at some point in the past. Further, even if the potential buyer acquires all pertinent records from the current owner, he or she cannot form a complete picture of the property's history without obtaining insurance claims filed by previous owners as well. In short, records of insurance claims may be held at a number of distinct and isolated centralized databases by a number of different parties, some of whom may have no incentive to cooperate with the potential buyers and lenders. The records held at these centralized databases may not be readily accessible by insured individuals and/or by third parties (such as potential buyers) who otherwise might be authorized to access the records. BRIEF SUMMARY Systems and methods are disclosed with respect to using a distributed ledger, such as a blockchain, for managing loss histories for individuals and/or assets, such as real estate, homes, and vehicles, and/or for creating and maintaining loss history reports for individuals and/or insurable assets. The loss histories or loss history reports may be individual specific, or may be insurable asset specific. In one aspect, a computer-implemented method for tracking loss histories and/or creating and maintaining loss history reports for individuals and/or insurable assets may include (1) configuring or implementing a plurality of servers, wherein each of the plurality of servers maintaining a copy of a distributed ledger; (2) creating, at the distributed ledger, a loss history for a property (sometimes referred to as an “asset” or “insured asset”) and/or an insured individual; and (3) when a request for a loss report for the property (and/or insured individual) is received, generating the loss history report by retrieving the loss history for the property from a