System and method for real-time screening of a disability insurance applicant

Abstract

A system and method for automatically screening applicants for disability insurance in real-time, and if the results are favorable, automatically communicating acceptances and issuing policies via wireless communication. An applicant's BMI is calculated, and the applicant is rejected if the BMI is too high or low. The applicant's prescription drug history is obtained, and the applicant is rejected if the history shows use of a drug associated with a serious medical condition. The acceptance or rejection and a premium for the insurance product may be set based upon the real-time screening results and communicated to the applicant. Additionally, an occupation class assigned to the applicant may be confirmed, a motor vehicle report for the applicant may be obtained, and an insurance information report for the applicant may be obtained. If the applicant is rejected, they may be allowed to apply for the insurance product using an alternate non-real-time process.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION[0001]The present U.S. non-provisional patent application is a continuation of and claims priority benefit of U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 16 / 924,317, filed Jul. 9, 2020, which is a continuation of and claims priority benefit of U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 15 / 479,980, filed Apr. 5, 2017, which is related to and claims priority benefit of prior-filed U.S. provisional patent applications having the same title, Ser. No. 62 / 327,491, filed Apr. 26, 2016, and Ser. No. 621347,158, filed Jun. 8, 2016. The entire contents of the identified earlier-filed applications are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application as if fully set forth herein.FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE[0002]The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for facilitating screening of applicants for disability insurance, and more particularly, to a system and computer-implemented method for automatically screening applicants for disabili...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]In a second aspect, a computer system may be provided for real-time screening of an applicant for an insurance product. The system may comprise an electronic communications element configured to communicate via an electronic communications network, and an electronic processing element configured to perform at least the following. A plurality of application answers may be received from the applicant via the electronic communications element. The application answers may include a height of the applicant, a weight of the applicant, an identifier for the applicant, and / or an occupation of the applicant. A body mass index number of the applicant may be calculated based upon the height of the applicant and the weight of the applicant, and the applicant may be rejected if their body mass index is below a minimum or above a maximum threshold. A prescription drug history of the applicant may be obtained based upon the identifier for the applicant, and the applicant may be rejected if the prescription drug history shows that the applicant uses one or more specific drugs. The applicant may be accepted or rejected and a premium for the insurance product may be set based upon the real-time screening results, and the acceptance and the premium or the rejection may be communicated to the applicant via the electronic communications element. As a result, an online applicant may be provided with a disability insurance product that is bound online, and the online customer experience may be enhanced. The computer system may be implemented one or more local or remote processors, transceivers, servers, and / or sensors, and may include additional, less, or alternate functionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein.

[0008]Various implementations of any or all of the foregoing aspects may include any one or more of the following additional features. The insurance product may be disability insurance. The plurality of specific drugs may include drugs used to treat serious medical conditions. The electronic processing element may confirm an occupation class assigned to the applicant based upon the occupation of the applicant, and may base the premium for the insurance product at least in part on the confirmed assigned occupation class. The electronic processing element may further obtain a motor vehicle report for the applicant based upon the identifier for the applicant, and may reject the applicant for the insurance product if the motor vehicle report shows that the applicant engages in one or more specific unsafe driving behaviors. The electronic processing element may further obtain an insurance information report for the applicant based upon the identifier for the applicant. This report may contain information on non-medical and medical conditions reported by other members who participate in the insurance information report, which may impact processing of the present products. In one embodiment, a short-term disability product may be provided. Tools use to assess the risk on the short-term disability insurance may include consumer reports or other consumer database information that helps to mitigate anti-selection.

Problems solved by technology

However, existing processes for screening applicants for disability insurance and making coverage decisions may be cumbersome, especially for applicants with no or few risk factors for rejection but whose applications may be nevertheless subjected to full underwriting to assess their suitability.

Further, existing processes may require insurance agents to classify the occupations of applicants, and mistakes may be made in such classifications that may delay coverage decisions and / or may result in incorrect acceptance or non-acceptance.

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