System and method of dispensing insurance through a computer network

Abstract

Systems and methods for facilitating the dispensing of insurance and of an insurance company selling insurance policies are provided, which may be network or Internet based, and may be managed through a general agent. Policy information from insurance companies may be received or stored. Data may be received from customers and insurance rates or quotes provided, which may be from competing companies. An instruction to purchase and payment may be received and proof of coverage, such as printing a document, may be facilitated. Data may be input directly by a customer or by an agent on behalf of the customer. The policy information, customer data, and premiums may be provided to the insurance companies. Insurance agents may advertise, and may refer customers from their own websites in exchange for commissions. The insurance offered for sale may be, automobile or specialty insurance, and may provide coverage in another country.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation application of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 051,645, filed Jan. 18, 2002 and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD OF DISPENSING INSURANCE THROUGH A COMPUTER NETWORK”, which application is a non-provisional of and claims priority to, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 262,534, filed Jan. 18, 2001 and entitled “Coveragemaker.” This application hereby incorporates by reference these prior applications in their entirety.FIELD OF INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to systems and methods for dispensing insurance services through a computer network. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] In service-oriented industries such as the insurance industry, offices traditionally were staffed with sales personnel working on a one-to-one basis with walk-in or phone-in customers. Often personnel time would be inefficient since advice and quotations given do not result in a sa...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a system and method for automatically dispensing insurance to customers in a self-service fashion, minimizing the cost of gathering information and replacing the need for paper documents. The system can provide information and policies from multiple insurance companies simultaneously, allowing customers to compare and select the best option in real-time. It can also reduce the workload for insurance agents and collect information from customers through network requests. The system can be used in various industries such as banking and financial services. Overall, the invention provides a more efficient and cost-effective way to dispense insurance to customers."

Problems solved by technology

Often personnel time would be inefficient since advice and quotations given do not result in a sale.

Thus, time and energy would be wasted for both the industry and the customer, increasing the cost of receiving such services and thereby reducing their demand.

However, it may be necessary for a potential customer to go to the websites of several insurance companies in order to get competing quotes, typically spending considerable time inputting the same data at each website.

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