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United States Patent
5655085
Ryan , ; et al.
August 5, 1997
Title
Computer system for automated comparing of universal life insurance policies based on selectable criteria
Abstract
A computerized system for initiating, processing, preparing, storing, and transmitting illustrations of universal life insurance. A computer accesses a database into which data is written and from which data is read, the data including information regarding the life to be insured, general applicant information, insurance information and predetermined text data for incorporation into insurance illustrations. The computer is operable by connecting to the database and at least one other digital computer, including input and display apparatus, to permit data to be entered in and retrieved from the database. The computer is also provided with the capability of merging entered or stored data with the predetermined text data to compile the data and text into output embodying an illustration of life insurance.
Inventors:
Ryan; Ronald D.
(Wilton,
CT
)
, Marquart; Ronald G.
(Oakland,
CA
)
Assignee:
The Ryan Evalulife Systems, Inc.
(Stamford,
CT
)
Appl. No.:
210395
Filed:
March 18, 1994
Current U.S. Class:
705/4
Current International Class:
G06Q 40/00 (20060101)
Field of Search:
364/401,406,408 395/925
U.S. Patent Documents
4831526
May 1989
Luchs et al.
4839804
June 1989
Roberts et al.
4953085
August 1990
Atkins
5083270
January 1992
Gross et al.
5237500
August 1993
Perg et al.
Primary Examiner:
McElheny, Jr.; Donald E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
Trzyna; Peter K.
Parent Case Text
This is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/912,978 having a filing date of Aug. 17, 1992.
Claims
We claim:
1. A method for using a digital computer processing electrical signals, the method comprising the steps of:
modifying electrical signals in a a digital electrical computer having a programmed processor, means for inputting data electrically connected to the computer, and means for outputting processed data electrically connected to the computer, the modifying being carried out by:
entering first data representing a first universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered first data into electrical signals for processing by the computer;
entering second data representing a second universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered second data into electrical signals for processing by the computer;
entering selection data representing at least one criteria for selecting between the universal life insurance policies at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered selection data into electrical signals for processing by the computer;
engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy in accordance with the entered selection criteria;
engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compare the processed data in accordance with the selection data to form electrical signals representing a selection between the insurance policies; and
converting the electrical signals representing the selection into output at the means for outputting processed data.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is carried out without a second digital computer.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:
entering third data characterizing a prospective purchase of insurance at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered third data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and wherein
insurance premium is the entered selection criteria;
said step of engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy includes generating electrical signals representing a premium corresponding to each of the universal life insurance policies in response to the third entered data; and
the selection between the universal life insurance policies includes identifying which of the universal life insurance policies has a lesser insurance premium.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:
entering third data characterizing a prospective purchase of insurance at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered third data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and wherein
cash value at a future time is the input selection criteria;
said step of engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy includes generating electrical signals representing a cash value at the future time for each of the universal life insurance policies in response to the third entered data; and
the selection between the universal life insurance policies includes identifying which of the universal life insurance policies has a greater cash value at the future time.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:
entering third data characterizing a prospective purchase of insurance at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered third data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and wherein
death benefit is the entered selection criteria;
said step of engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy include generating electrical signals representing a death benefit for each of the universal life insurance policies in response to the third entered data; and
the selection between the universal life insurance policies includes identifying which of the universal life insurance policies has a greater death benefit.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:
entering third data characterizing a prospective purchase of insurance at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered third data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and wherein
paid-up policy which remains in force for the longest period of time is the entered selection criteria;
said step of engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy includes generating electrical signals representing a paid-up policy which remains in force for the longest period of time for each of the universal life insurance policies in response to the third entered data; and
the selection between the universal life insurance policies includes identifying which of the universal life insurance policies has a greater paid-up policy which remains in force for the longest period of time.
7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, further comprising the steps of:
entering further data representing a further universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered further data into electrical signals for processing by the computer;
storing the data representing the universal life insurance policies in memory accessible by the processor;
entering state data characterizing more than one state, each said state corresponding respectively to one of the universal life insurance policies, at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered state data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and
engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to identify the universal life insurance policies in response to the entered state data.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of
engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy includes producing the processed data by interpolation.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of
engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy includes producing the processed data by iteration.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
entering rider data characterizing a rider for at least one of the first universal life insurance policies at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered rider data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and wherein
the step of engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy includes computing in response to the entered rider data.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of entering rider data is carried out by entering data characterizing an accidental death and disability rider.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of entering rider data is carried out by entering data characterizing a spousal death benefit rider.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of entering rider data is carried out by entering data characterizing a waiver of premium rider.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the steps of entering data representing one of the universal life insurance policies includes entering data representing an insurance policy for more than one insured.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy is carried out by calculating interest credited from indexed values for at least one of the universal life insurance policies.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data includes mortality rates corresponding to the first universal life insurance policy, the second data includes mortality rates corresponding to the second universal life insurance policy, the rates being stored in memory accessible by the processor; and wherein the step of engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy is carried out by accessing the rates in the memory.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data includes interest rates corresponding to the first universal life insurance policy, the second data includes interest rates corresponding to the second universal life insurance policy, the rates being stored in memory accessible by the processor; and wherein the step of engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy is carried out by accessing the rates in the memory.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein the programmed processor is programmed to have at least one flag settable for identifying respective carriers of the universal life insurance policies; and wherein the step of engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy includes setting the flag.
19. The method of claim 10, wherein the programmed processor is programmed to have at least one flag settable for selecting different methods of calculating rider values; and wherein the step of engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy includes setting the flag.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein:
the step of entering first data representing a first universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer is carried out for a policy of a first carrier;
the step of entering second data representing a second universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer is carried out for a policy of a second carrier; and the steps of entering are carried out to correspond to the respective carriers' policy requirements.
21. The method of any one of claims 1-6, further comprising the steps of:
entering further data representing a further universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered further data into electrical signals for processing by the computer;
storing the data representing the universal life insurance policies in memory accessible by the programmed processor; and wherein
the step of engaging the programmed processor to modify electrical signals in the computer so as to compare the processed first data with the processed second data and make a selection between the insurance policies includes generating electrical signals representing a ranking of the insurance policies to reflect the selection.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein cash value of the respective the life insurance policies is the selection data.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein credit rating of respective carriers for the life insurance policies is the selection data.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein death benefit for the life insurance policies is the selection data.
25. The method of claim 21, wherein year in-force for the life insurance policies is the selection data.
26. The method of claim 21, wherein premium amount the life insurance policies is the selection data.
27. A digital computer apparatus for processing electrical signals, the apparatus comprising:
a digital electrical computer having a programmed processor modifying electrical signals, means for inputting data electrically connected to the computer, and means for outputting processed data electrically connected to the computer;
wherein said programmed processor enables:
entering first data representing a first universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered first data into electrical signals for processing by the computer;
entering second data representing a second universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered second data into electrical signals for processing by the computer;
entering selection data representing at least one criteria for selecting between the universal life insurance policies at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered selection data into electrical signals for processing by the computer;
modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy in accordance with the entered selection criteria;
modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compare the processed data in accordance with the selection data to form electrical signals representing a selection between the insurance policies; and
converting electrical signals representing the selection into output at the means for outputting processed data.
28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the apparatus does not comprise a second digital computer.
29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor enables:
entering third data characterizing a prospective purchase of insurance at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered third data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and wherein
insurance premium is the entered selection criteria;
the programmed processor enables the modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy by generating electrical signals representing a premium corresponding to each of the universal life insurance policies in response to the third entered data; and
the selection between the universal life insurance policies includes identifying which of the universal life insurance policies has a lesser insurance premium.
30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor enables:
entering third data characterizing a prospective purchase of insurance at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered third data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and wherein
cash value at a future time is the input selection criteria;
the programmed processor enables the modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy by generating electrical signals representing a cash value at the future time for each of the universal life insurance policies in response to the third entered data; and
the selection between the universal life insurance policies includes identifying which of the universal life insurance policies has a greater cash value at the future time.
31. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor enables:
entering third data characterizing a prospective purchase of insurance at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered third data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and wherein
death benefit is the entered selection criteria;
the programmed processor enables the modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy by generating electrical signals representing a death benefit for each of the universal life insurance policies in response to the third entered data; and
the selection between the universal life insurance policies includes identifying which of the universal life insurance policies has a greater death benefit.
32. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor enables:
entering third data characterizing a prospective purchase of insurance at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered third data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and wherein
paid-up policy which remains in force for the longest period of time is the entered selection criteria;
the programmed processor enables the modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy by generating electrical signals representing a paid-up policy which remains in force for the longest period of time for each of the universal life insurance policies in response to the third entered data; and
the selection between the universal life insurance policies includes identifying which of the universal life insurance policies has a greater paid-up policy which remains in force for the longest period of time.
33. The apparatus of any one of claims 27-32, wherein the programmed processor enables:
entering further data representing a further universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered further data into electrical signals for processing by the computer;
storing the data representing the universal life insurance policies in memory accessible by the processor;
entering state data characterizing more than one state, each said state corresponding respectively to one of the universal life insurance policies, at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered state data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and
modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to identify the universal life insurance policies in response to the entered state data.
34. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor includes means for interpolating to produce the processed data.
35. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor includes means for iterating to produce the processed data.
36. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor enables:
entering rider data characterizing a rider for at least one of the first universal life insurance policies at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered rider data into electrical signals for processing by the computer; and wherein
the modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy includes computing in response to the entered rider data.
37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the enables entering data characterizing an accidental death and disability rider.
38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the programmed processor enables entering data characterizing a spousal death benefit rider.
39. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the programmed processor enables entering data characterizing a waiver of premium rider.
40. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor enables entering data representing an insurance policy for more than one insured.
41. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor enables the computing to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy by calculating interest credited from indexed values for at least one of the universal life insurance policies.
42. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the first data includes mortality rates corresponding to the first universal life insurance policy, the second data includes mortality rates corresponding to the second universal life insurance policy, the rates being stored in memory accessible by the processor; and wherein the programmed processor enables the modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy by accessing the rates in the memory.
43. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the first data includes interest rates corresponding to the first universal life insurance policy, the second data includes interest rates corresponding to the second universal life insurance policy, the rates being stored in memory accessible by the processor; and wherein the programmed processor enables modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy by accessing the rates in the memory.
44. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor includes at least one flag settable for enabling one of a plurality of portions of the programmed processor, each of the portions corresponding to respective carriers of the universal life insurance policies; and wherein the programmed processor enables modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy by setting the flag.
45. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor includes at least one flag settable for enabling one of a plurality of portions of the programmed processor, each of the portions corresponding respectively to different apparatus of calculating rider values; and wherein the programmed processor enables modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compute to produce electrical signals representing processed data for each said universal life insurance policy by setting the flag.
46. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the programmed processor enables:
the entering first data representing a first universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer by linking the policy with a first carrier;
the entering second data representing a second universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer by linking the policy with a second carrier; and the programmed processor enables the entering to distinctly correspond to policy requirements of the respective carriers.
47. The apparatus of any one of claims 27-32 or 33-39, wherein the programmed processor enables:
entering further data representing a further universal life insurance policy at the means for inputting data to the computer so as to convert the entered further data into electrical signals for processing by the computer;
storing the data representing the universal life insurance policies in memory accessible by the processor; and wherein
the programmed processor enables the modifying electrical signals in the computer so as to compare the processed first data with the processed second data and make a selection between the insurance policies by generating electrical signals representing a ranking of the insurance policies to reflect the selection.
48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the programmed processor enables receipt of credit rating of the respective carriers for the life insurance policies as the selection data.
49. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the programmed processor enables receipt of cash value of the respective the life insurance policies as the selection data.
50. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the programmed processor enables receipt of death benefit for the life insurance policies as the selection data.
51. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the programmed processor enables receipt of year in-force for the life insurance policies as the selection data.
52. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the programmed processor enables receipt of premium amount the life insurance policies as the selection data.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a computerized system for preparing and processing multiple universal life insurance quotes and for preparing and processing universal life insurance applications, based upon those quotes. More particularly, the present invention relates to a machine, manufacture, process, and improvement thereof.
More particularly, this invention relates to a computer system for preparing, processing and transmitting life insurance premium quotes as part of a mortgage calculation in support of a new financial product. In the new financial product, life insurance is used as collateral and a means for repayment of a mortgage, and facilitates the purchase of real estate without (or with a greatly reduced) down payment. The invention includes automated aspects of the use of premiums paid on life insurance as a substitute for the initial down payment on a mortgage, the use of life insurance policy death benefits to retire the mortgage upon the death of the borrower, the use of accumulated cash values to retire the outstanding principal on a mortgage in the event of the borrower's survival, and the services of storage and transmission of data for all of the foregoing.
B. Background of the Invention
Prior to the present invention, insurance quotes for term life insurance, health insurance, and dental insurance were available from a single computer, but universal life insurance quotes were not known to be available.
Using such single-computer based systems, insurance sellers of annuities, health policies, and term life insurance could request quotes from a large data base of insurance carriers' products. The computer computes the price of a particular financial product offered by a particular carrier for a given customer of a given age, sex, and health, or insured population profile. Then the computer repeats this operation for a large number of different insurance companies. Comparing the values so calculated for a larger number of different carriers' insurance products has permitted the computer to automatically identify that product which provides the best value for the consumer. This also permitted the seller to provide the insurance purchaser with the least expensive quote with a minimum of effort.
Companies which have developed and used technology of this kind include Quotesmith, in Palatine, Ill., Group Benefit Shoppers in Boulder, Colo., Dinan in San Jose, Calif., Select Quote in San Francisco, Calif., and Insurance Information Inc. in Lowell, Mass. Quotesmith, Group Benefit Shoppers and Dinan operate primarily in the group medical field, identifying the best policy for brokers and agents seeking to offer competitive quotes. Quotesmith also uses its technology to provide a similar service to brokers wishing to identify the best term life insurance, single premium deferred annuity, individual medical insurance, and group dental insurance policies. Select Quote offers to find the lowest cost quote for a term life insurance policy, selling insurance to the general public on a discount basis. Insurance Information Inc. offers to find the best term life insurance policy for a fee. See "New Firms Offer Computer Listings Of Insurance Prices: Both Have National Ambitions; Both Are Interested in Affiliations with Banks," American Banker, Oct. 3, 1985, Pg. 1; "Here's how to find cheaper and better health insurance," Medical Economics, Mar. 19, 1990, Pg. 109; and "Health quoters target agents," National Underwriter Property & Casualty Risk-Benefits Management, Aug. 28, 1989, Pg. 9.
While companies have discussed a desire to have the ability to quote homeowners' insurance, a form of universal life insurance, as early as 1985, as of September 1993, no company or individual has been known to find a way to provide multiple universal life insurance quotes to the public in the United States from a single computer, let alone use that ability to identify the best product.
Instead, insurance agents, insurance brokers, and others representing individuals wishing to purchase universal life insurance policies have been forced to go to many different insurance companies to request quotes. Once received, these universal life insurance quotes have been difficult to compare. Differences in the way these carriers calculate the universal life insurance values have made product comparisons difficult. As a result, insurance sellers have been forced to conduct lengthy and time-consuming analyses to establish which was the best product for the customer. But in view of the aforementioned technological limitations and a fragmented life insurance industry with more than 5,000 carriers, brokers and agents work with only a few carriers. They have not had the ability to search out the best product for their customers. This has become increasingly problematic as product complexity has grown in the universal life insurance industry. Indeed, in some cases unscrupulous agents have taken advantage of increasing complexity in products to further their own unethical ends. In "Investigating Agents," Best's Review, September, 1993, pp. 29-30, the authors, Stefan E. Keller and Tony D'Orazio, pointed out, "The intricacies of these [life insurance] products require that agents and brokers be more educated than ever to be able to adequately represent the products to consumers. At the same time, the growing complexity increases the probability that products will be represented in an unethical fashion." In the absence of a systematic means for computing universal life insurance values and comparing products, a consumer purchasing a universal life insurance policy has little to assure himself or herself that he or she has purchased the best policy.
Once a seller has identified the appropriate product for an individual from one of the thousands of policies available, the process of completing the life insurance carrier's application forms and obtaining underwriting approval for the product can take weeks or months. Because carriers have different insurance forms, and no system has been designed to accommodate the different policies and their associated forms, even if a consumer, agent, or broker identifies the best policy, he or she might not have the appropriate policy forms on hand to initiate an application. He or she and would have to request these forms by mail and, having received them, complete them manually. Because many different carriers have different ways of assessing their underwriting risks, if the prospective insured is of less than perfect health, the agent or broker may have to request additional illustrations. (An illustration is a projection of estimated policy values over a defined period beginning in the present.) For example, a single "No" response to an underwriting question may trigger a rated policy with higher premiums. Such a policy rating would necessitate a new round of illustrations, starting the whole cycle of illustrations over again.
Given that a system for preparing and processing multiple universal life insurance quotes and for preparing and processing universal life insurance applications would be highly desirable, it would seem obvious that such a system should exist. However, there are several reasons that the aforementioned invention seems to have been elusive heretofore.
The first reason that multiple universal life insurance quotations have not been available from a single computer in the past has to do with, among other things, the mathematics of universal life insurance. Universal life insurance generally involve iteration computations, unlike health insurance, dental insurance, or term life insurance, where a strict linear relationship exists between a given set of insurance parameters (e.g., age, health characteristics, etc.) and the benefit cost. Therefore, product illustrations or projected values for those products require simply looking up the appropriate value in a data base structure based on a given set of product parameters. The best product, given the selection criteria presented, is always the cheapest product. However complicated, complexity of the design for such a system is limited to the requirements of table manipulation. In addition, the universal life insurance policy accumulates cash value. Universal life insurance is therefore a savings vehicle, and any system which produces universal life insurance illustrations must take into account the time value of money. The time value of money is an exponential, non-linear function. The relationships between the cash value accumulated by the policy, its death benefit, and the amount of premium needed to generate them, are also non-linear. They take into account the time value of money and other factors, such as Internal Revenue Service guidelines for the definition of insurance. Therefore, unlike term life insurance, health insurance and annuity products, such a system for illustrating universal life insurance cannot depend on tables of values which can be selected from using a simple set of selection parameters. Heretofore no system has been able to iterate sufficiently efficiently to find the lowest premium from among a large number of different universal life policies using a single, affordable computer.
A second reason that universal life quotes from multiple carriers have not been available from a single computer has to do with how universal life insurance calculations must be manipulated to solve for non-linear values. The best policy in a universal life insurance policy comparison can be determined in several ways other than by calculating the lowest premium. The best policy could also be a policy which remains in force for the longest period of time, given specific assumptions regarding interest rates and the insured person's longevity. On the other hand, the best policy could be the policy which provides the highest death benefit or cash value accumulation, given an assumed number of level premium payments over a stipulated period. Finally, the best policy could be the policy which provides the highest guaranteed rate of interest in times of low interest rates or the highest policy crediting rates during times of higher interest rates. The complexity of solving for these variables in a non-linear set of equations is an additional impediment to the development of such a system.
A third reason that universal life insurance quotes from multiple carriers have not been available from a single computer has to do with the way in which different life insurance carriers compute universal life insurance policy values. While most universal life policy illustration systems are structurally similar, many different carriers have different ways of computing the various elements of a life insurance policy. These different methods have evolved from actuarial conventions designed to reduce the complexity of computations prior to the age of computing, and, of course, through the process of product differentiation. For example, the way in which annual mortality rates are converted into monthly cost of insurance charges may be computed using a variety of different actuarial assumptions regarding the rate of deaths during the year. Some carriers assume deaths are evenly distributed across all twelve months. Other carriers assume more deaths at the end of the year. Other carriers assume the converse. Similarly, different carriers have different methods for calculating policy administrative expense charges and interest credited.
A fourth reason that universal life insurance quotes from multiple carriers have not been available from a single computer has to do with the way in which insurance is regulated. Each state has legal authority to regulate the way insurance is sold and the kind of insurance that is sold within its boundaries. Therefore, each product sold must be filed with the state insurance commissioner's office. Each state may require that universal life insurance policies have values that are calculated in different ways. For example, some states may require the use of unisex tables in computing mortality costs even though traditional actuarial principles might dictate otherwise. Other states might require different minimum guarantees in terms of the maximum insurance costs that a carrier may charge. Because in the United States an insurance quote system must be able to provide insurance quotes in more than one state in order to justify the cost of development, such state by state differences (added to the aforementioned product by product differences) increase the difficulty of developing a system for finding the best universal life insurance quote from a single computer.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a machine, manufacture, process, and improvement thereof in which an electrical signal processing system processes and modifies electrical signals representing data so as to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of prior art systems and construct and manipulate multiple universal life insurance quotes by electrical engineering means.
Another object of this invention is to provide a machine, manufacture, process, and improvement thereof in which a computerized system is capable of using iteration to efficiently arrive at the correct amount of a universal life insurance policy premium and, indeed, amounts for other universal life insurance policies as well.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a machine, manufacture, process, and improvement thereof in which a computerized system is capable of comparing multiple universal fife insurance quotes in order to identify the policy which best fits a given consumer's needs as defined, for example, by the lowest premium, highest cash value, highest policy death benefit, or longest in-force policy life.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a machine, manufacture, process, and improvement thereof in which a computerized system is capable of taking into account a large number of different actuarial methods for computing universal life insurance policy values.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a machine, manufacture, process, and improvement thereof in which a computerized system is capable of accommodating different universal life insurance values from different states.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a machine, manufacture, process, and improvement thereof in which a computerized system is adapted for preparing and processing universal life insurance quotes from many policies based on underwriting information obtained in a single set of questions common to all carriers.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a machine, manufacture, process, and improvement thereof in which a computerized system in which different carriers' universal life insurance application forms are available electronically, and may be completed electronically for the purpose of producing both paper and electronic applications to be sent to a carrier.
Various other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the ensuing detailed description, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the broad, general objects of this invention, a digital signal processing system processes and modifies electrical signals representing data to construct multiple universal life insurance quotes. Accordingly, the present invention involves processing information in a standardized manner, preferably to offer an individually selected universal life insurance product, the product being selected from a group of such products made available by different suppliers.
The system can, for example, be owned and operated by a suitably licensed national intermediary, for example, a broker or data processing company. The intermediary would work in conjunction with life insurance companies (and their agents and representatives) to design, develop, and distribute universal life insurance policies. The intermediary, operating nationally in cooperation with life insurance companies and utilizing the system provided by this invention, can facilitate the sale of the universal life insurance by agents accessing the system of this invention via remote terminals.
A user of the system can be an employee of the aforementioned intermediary providing illustrations requested by individuals outside of that firm. Alternatively, a user of the system can be an individual who has received special approval from the intermediary to use the system. (In a simplified version of the product, it is anticipated that an authorized user might even include a member of the general public, in states where the direct sale of insurance via computer is permitted.)
A central processing unit in an electrical digital computer is at the heart of the system. The central processing unit can access a database into which data is written and from which data is read. That data includes information regarding life insurance, actuarial information, insurance premium information, and predetermined text data for incorporation into the insurance illustrations. The computer system further includes information corresponding to requirements of laws and regulations governing insurance.
At least one, preferably multiple terminals are provided for communicating with the central processing unit, each terminal having input means, such as a keyboard, and a display, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a video display terminal (VDT). Each terminal is operable by a user to produce requests and to enter information and/or retrieve information for writing into and/or reading from the database via the central processing unit. The central processing unit provides a means for enabling access to the database in response to predetermined information entered at the terminal by the user and is suitably programmed to recognize particular authorized users.
In accordance with one desirable aspect of the invention, information regarding a life to be insured and other data needed to provide an illustration of a universal life insurance policy for that individual is keyed into the computer system user using a keyboard at a video display terminal. To assist the user in entering the appropriate data, a series of data comprising a "form" is displayed on the user's terminal by the central processing unit, and the user will normally proceed to enter pertinent information in the blanks provided. This information constitutes such things as the potential insured's name and address, the amount of the mortgage requested, the amount of life insurance coverage required, the individual's age, sex, and health status, and any other information necessary in providing an illustration of a universal life insurance policy. This information is correlated via the central processing unit, resulting in the signal processing generation of premium quotation. This information is then displayed at the user's terminal and can be printed out on the user's printer. Thus, a prospective applicant is quickly apprised of information pertinent to the policy such as (but not limited to) what the premium payment would be.
Once data called for by the "form" is entered into the computer system at the user's keyboard, a client information file or database record (hereinafter "client file") is established which will be variously updated as the user conducts sensitivity analyses of the impact of different insurance-related assumptions on the ultimate amount of the premium payment. Once the prospective applicant decides to apply for a life insurance policy, a final version of the illustration is saved by the user in a master database file for later retrieval and processing.
After input data has been compiled in a client file, errors or omissions in that data (e.g., the amount of requested insurance may be too high, etc.) are detected. If these errors cannot be corrected immediately (for example, by supplying information from another file or record), further processing of the illustration request is suspended and the need for additional information is reported.
In the event that the prospective applicant wishes to proceed immediately to obtain the application for the insurance, the system is capable of taking the information stored in a final illustration database file, requesting a minimum of information otherwise not required in the illustration process (such as additional health information not taken in the initial illustration process) and merging it with prepared textual information about the insurance policy to generate printed application documents in a form acceptable to, and previously approved by, the insurance company. The system also permits the user to separately fill the forms out electronically. The application forms still can require signature by the prospective applicant, however. When signed, these forms are sent, for example, by mail or courier, to the system owner/operator (or carrier) for further processing. Should the prospective applicant wish to have this process expedited, the user may send the information on the signed forms electronically to a computer at the carrier, facilitating processing in advance of the receipt of the signed paper copies.
An alternative method for entering client data into the system, rather than by entering this data directly at a user's terminal, is to have the prospective applicant manually complete insurance illustration request forms which may or may not have been generated at the user's terminal. The request form can be sent by mail or courier to the system operator and entered by the user into the computer system.
By means of the aforementioned computer system, this invention makes it possible for the first time to offer the American consumer a universal life insurance policy which is verifiably the best policy to suit his or her needs. The need for such a capability is well documented: "There can hardly be a banker left in the United States who doesn't know that the insurance distribution system is costly, inefficient, and vulnerable to attack. There are more than 5,000 insurance companies in the United States, their products are sold one-on-one, and--although most of these products are commodities--their prices vary by hundreds of dollars," American Banker, Oct. 3, 1985, Pg. 1. While many have discussed creating such a system, it was left to the present inventor to conceive of a way to make the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS, SCREENS, VARIABLES, AND SPECIMENS
The following description, given by way of example and not intended to limit the present invention solely to the described embodiments, will be best understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, computer or "user" screens, variables, and specimens incorporated herein.
Figures
FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the computerized insurance illustration system of the present invention.
FIG. 2 represents a schematic flow chart of logic behind a "main menu" (or user screen with a list of the functional choices that the computerized system provides to users) of the present invention.
FIG. 3A depicts logic behind an illustration function of the present invention, as continued in FIGS. 3B-1-3F-1.
FIG. 3B-1 is a portion of FIG. 3 that provides a flow chart of logic used in calculating and printing an individualized or "new" prospective applicant illustration tailored to the individual, and in creating a corresponding new prospective applicant data file, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3B-2 is a portion of FIG. 3 that provides a flow chart of logic used in calculating and printing an individualized or "new" prospective applicant illustration tailored to the individual, and in creating a corresponding new prospective applicant data file, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3B-3 is a portion of FIG. 3 that provides a flow chart of logic used in calculating and printing an individualized or "new" prospective applicant illustration tailored to the individual, and in creating a corresponding new prospective applicant data file, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3B-4 is a portion of FIG. 3 that provides a flow chart of logic used in calculating and printing an individualized or "new" prospective applicant illustration tailored to the individual, and in creating a corresponding new prospective applicant data file, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3B-5 is a portion of FIG. 3 that provides a flow chart of logic used in calculating and printing an individualized or "new" prospective applicant illustration tailored to the individual, and in creating a corresponding new prospective applicant data file, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3B-6 is a portion of FIG. 3 that provides a flow chart of logic used in calculating and printing an individualized or "new" prospective applicant illustration tailored to the individual, and in creating a corresponding new prospective applicant data file, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3B-7 is a portion of FIG. 3 that provides a flow chart of logic used in calculating and printing an individualized or "new" prospective applicant illustration tailored to the individual, and in creating a corresponding new prospective applicant data file, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3B-8 is a portion of FIG. 3 that provides a flow chart of logic used in calculating and printing an individualized or "new" prospective applicant illustration tailored to the individual, and in creating a corresponding new prospective applicant data file, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3B-9 is a portion of FIG. 3 that provides a flow chart of logic used in calculating and printing an individualized or "new" prospective applicant illustration tailored to the individual, and in creating a corresponding new prospective applicant data file, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3C-1 provides a flow chart of logic used in changing or updating an existing client data file for the purpose of providing the prospective applicant new illustrations based on assumptions which differ from those originally illustrated, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3D-1 represents a flow chart of logic used in electronically completing and/or printing a life insurance application form and storing the information contained on the insurance application form in a database of the host computer for later retrieval, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3E-1 represents a flow chart of logic used to access the host computer for, and/or print out information regarding, new insurance product developments.
FIG. 3F-1 represents a flow chart of logic used in interpolating to find target universal life insurance illustration values.
FIG. 4A, which is continued to FIG. 4B, is a schematic representation of relationships between various data entities (database tables) within the database system of the present invention.
FIG. 4B is a continuation from FIG. 4A of the schematic representation of relationships between various data entities (database tables) within the database system of the present invention.
FIG. 5 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 6 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 7 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 8 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 9 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 10 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 11 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 12 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 13 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 14 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 15 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 16 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 17 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 18 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 19 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 20 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 21 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 22 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 23 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 24 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 25 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 26 represents a User Screen shown on a monitor or other output device and produced by means of the computer system of the present invention, to be seen by the system users as they prepare or update illustrations.
FIG. 27A, which continues through FIG. 27E, represents a portion of an example of a printed product illustration prepared in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 27B, represents a portion of an example of a printed product illustration prepared in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 27C, represents a portion of an example of a printed product illustration prepared in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 27D, represents a portion of an example of a printed product illustration prepared in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 27E, represents a portion of an example of a printed product illustration prepared in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 28, represents an example of a printed product illustration prepared in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 29A, which continues through FIG. 29B, represents an example of a printed life insurance application form prepared in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 29B, which continues FIG. 29A, represents an example of a printed life insurance application form prepared in accordance with the present invention.
VARIABLES, IDENTITIES, AND FORMULAS
Variables, identities, and formulas which can be used throughout the illustration system are provided subsequently herein.
It should be kept in mind that such variables, identities, and formulas are not the present invention--rather, they are convenient ways of characterizing the electrical signal modification being accomplished by the digital electrical signal processing system of the present invention, as defined in the claims herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND BEST MODE
Discussion of Figures (FIGS.) and User Screens
The following includes a description of the manner in which the computerized insurance system of the present invention can be made and used. Some of the unique insurance functions that are carried out by this system are described in detail. Other transactions are described more generally. In the interest of brevity, a highly detailed description of each and every one of the data transactions that could be performed by the computerized system of the present invention is not provided. But based upon the detailed description of certain examples, and the knowledge of those familiar with the life insurance industry, how to make and use the present invention should be readily apparent from the information provided herein.
Generally, the system includes a digital computer for receiving input data and for storing insured information and life insurance information. The digital computer is programmed with means, responsive to the data, the insured information, and to the insurance information, for computing an amount of universal life insurance premium sufficient to provide needed coverage and for generating an illustration of said life insurance as a means for understanding that coverage.
More particularly, the computer system requests that a user input data specifying the kind of insurance coverage (e.g., amount and duration of coverage) to be illustrated. This information is stored in the computer's database system. Also, the computer is programmed to make calculations of universal life insurance policy riders and other data needed for the illustration. When all the values have been computed and written to the database, the computer will then combine them with text data to provide an illustration that can be printed out. This information will also be stored in a database and may be updated as needed.
Once the user, in consultation with a prospective insured, has designated the illustration as complete, data in the database can be merged with stored text data and other input data in order to produce insurance application forms. These forms can be printed out on the user's printer for signature by the prospective applicant and for subsequent processing by the system operator and the life insurance carrier.
Because the present invention is directed at modifying electrical signals in a computer system having a processor, such as a microprocessor, to understand how the signals are modified, a basic understanding of microprocessors is useful.
A microprocessor is, of course, the central component in any digital computer system--it controls the functions performed by the other system devices and provides the system's arithmetic and logic capability. The microprocessor fetches instructions from memory and decodes and executes them. It references memory and I/O devices for data and responds to control signals from external devices.
The most fundamental purpose of a microprocessor system is to process digital data that is input from the outside world and to provide as outputs digital data that is a desired function of the input data (i.e., to modify electrical signals). Every processor is equipped with a repertoire of operations which it has the capacity to execute. The operation it selects for execution is based on its interpretation of a command code, called an "instruction." This instruction is part of a sequence of instructions, call a "program," which is stored in a memory to which the processor has access. The processor executes the program, one instruction at a time, by reading the current instruction, interpreting it, executing it, and then proceeding to the next instruction. Because each instruction is available to the processor almost instantaneously, the execution time for an entire program may be very small.
A program uses a set of rules based on the instruction repertoire of a specific processor. This set of rules is known as a programming language. (An instruction in a programming language is also called a "statement.") A program written for one processor may be translated into an equivalent program for another processor, even though the two machines have entirely different instruction sets. For this reason, a programming language may be based on a hypothetical machine, which does not physically exist because it is too difficult or too expensive to build. It is defined strictly because its language is easier to use--more convenient in which to express programs. It is called a "virtual" machine because it is the one that is "visible" to the programmer. Consequently, the program that a processor executes may have been planned directly for it or may be a translation of a program written for some other (possibly virtual) machine.
The memory containing the program may be a Read Only Memory (ROM), in which case the program was built into it at the time it was fabricated. Alternatively, the memory may be a volatile Random Access Memory (RAM), in which case the program must first be made resident, using a sequence of memory writes called a program "load," before its execution may commence. In subsequent discussions, unless specified otherwise, assume the program already resides in the memory to which the processor has access.
To understand microprocessor signal processing systems, it is advantageous to view the entire system--microprocessor, ROM, RAM, and I/O ports--as a collection of addressable registers. Those registers that reside within the microprocessor are internal registers, and those that exist in the ROM, RAM, and I/O ports are external registers.
The collection of registers that constitutes a particular system and the data transfers that are possible among them make up the system architecture. The types of registers in the microprocessor and the possible data transfers among them determine the microprocessor's architecture.
A microprocessor system implements its functions by transferring and transforming data in registers of the system. Typically, transformations on data occur in internal registers, many of which are operational registers. Operational registers differ from storage registers in that they and their associated circuitry implement arithmetic or logic operations on the data contained in the register, thus transforming the data.
The microprocessor controls and synchronizes the data transfers and transformations according to instructions read into it from the application program in the system's ROM.
A microprocessor's architecture has two major functional units: the control unit and the arithmetic/logic unit, ALU. In addition to these units, the microprocessor contains a number of registers--instruction register, program counters, stack pointers, general purpose registers, and temporary registers.
The microprocessor's control unit controls and synchronizes all data transfers and transformations in the microprocessor system and is the key sequential subsystem in the microprocessor itself. All actions attributable to the microprocessor are actions implemented by the control unit.
The basic operation of a microprocessor is regulated by the control unit, is cyclical, and consists of the sequential fetching and execution of instructions. Each instruction execution cycle has two primary states: the fetch state and the execute state. The fetch state transfers an instruction from memory into the microprocessor, and the execute state executes the instruction. The microprocessor normally cycles between the fetch and execute states unless and until it executes a halt instruction, in which case it enters a halt state and stops.
To keep track of which instruction is to be executed next, the control unit maintains a special purpose or dedicated register, the program counter. The program counter is an operational register that always holds the address of either the next instruction to be executed or the address of the next word of a multiword instruction that has not been completely fetched. In either case, at the completion of the execution of any instruction, the program counter contains the address of the first word of the next instruction to be executed. The operational nature of the program counter allows its contents to be incremented by the control unit.
One of the control inputs to the microprocessor's control unit is the reset input. When the microprocessor is reset, the control unit resets the program counter to zero. This initial value establishes the memory address from which the first instruction is to be obtained.
To actually obtain the first word of the instruction, the address contained in the program counter is placed on the address bus. To do this, the control unit transfers the contents of the program counter to the address register. The program counter is then incremented to point to the next memory location. The outputs of the address register are the address pins of the microprocessor. The control unit then generates a memory read strobe that transfers the data from the addressed memory location to the microprocessor. The data is transferred into the micro processor through the data bus buffer/latch and then into the instruction register ("IR"). Registers within the microprocessor are interconnected by an internal data bus.
The first word of an instruction is the operation code for that instruction. Operation code indicates to the control unit those operations required to execute the instruction. The output of the IR is decoded and used by the control unit to develop a sequence of operations and register transfers that execute the instruction.
The operation code in the IR addresses a starting location in a control ROM or Programmable Logic Device within the microprocessor where a sequence of very elementary instructions--microinstructions--is located. Each instruction in the fixed instruction set of a microprocessor is implemented by the control unit sequencing through the set of microoperations associated with a particular instruction. For single-chip microprocessors, the microinstructions, and thus the microprocessor's instruction set, are fixed at manufacture.
Arithmetic or logic operations on one or two operands constitute the basic data transformations implemented in a microprocessor. The microprocessor contains an arithmetic and logic unit, ALU, for this purpose. One of the two ALU registers, the accumulator, holds one operand; the other, a temporary register, holds the second. The result of an arithmetic or logic operation is placed in the accumulator at the completion of the operation, replacing one of the original operands.
Various subsystems of the microprocessor system are externally interconnected by the system bus, which includes the address bus, data bus, and control bus which operates according to a set of system bus signals for conveying bits of data.
Each of the subsystems connected to the system bus can be viewed as consisting of a bus interface and primary function. For example, the primary function for a memory subsystem is implemented by memory devices. These memory devices provide the addressable registers considered when viewing the subsystem as a collection of registers.
External or peripheral devices that generate data for input to a microprocessor system are called input devices. Input devices include a large variety of electronic and electromechanical devices. These devices range in complexity from simple switches to other microprocessor systems that preprocess data before transferring it to the main microprocessor. Data generated by an input device is stored temporarily in a register until it can be read by the microprocessor. The loading of the input register with data is done by the input device. Once loaded with data, the input register can later be read by the microprocessor.
Ouput devices, of which there are a large variety, accept data from the microprocessor system. The data to be output from the system is placed in a register connected to the data bus. This register is called an output port and is clocked by an output device select pulse.
Input ports and output ports have a bus interface consisting of address decoding logic. For an input port, the primary function consists of a register and three-state buffer. For an output port, the primary function is simply a register. When viewed as a collection of addressable registers, each port consists of a single register.
Where data in analog form is to be processed or generated by the microprocessor system, suitable analog to digital and digital to analog conversion subsystems are employed to convert analog input data to the required digital form, and vice versa.
It is to be explicitly understood that other implementations of the present invention, say, those using a different kind of digital computer, analogous hardware, multiple computer systems, comparable input and output, a computer program or computer programs written in a different language, a chip or chips, or a full or partially hardwired system replacing (and in accordance with) the logic of the computer program, are entirely acceptable and equivalent to the embodiment of the invention discussed herein. Also the invention can be implemented by hardwired logic in a handheld calculator. When software is loaded into, and running, a programmable computer, the software sets what in effect are many, many "switches," and the result can be considered a new computer machine, with logic formed from the set switches. Instead of setting the switches, a circuit equivalent would be to hardwire the same or equivalent logic. Therefore, whether a configurable device is configured to the requirements of the present invention, or a device is constructed from scratch solely for meeting the requirements of the present invention, the result is effectively the same from an electrical signal processing standpoint. All these embodiments are different species of the present invention that are within the contemplated scope of the present invention.
Turning now to FIG. 1, an overview of a data processing system for producing a universal life insurance policy illustration system according to the present invention is shown. The Data Input Screen 6, discussed more fully hereinafter, can be produced on Terminal 4, for example an IBM compatible PC running Smarterm 340 (available from Persoft Corp.), with a Local Printer 2, e.g., a laser printer. Terminal 4 is linkable to Communications System 8. The Communication System 8 can be a modem and appropriate telephone lines. Communications System 8 is thus linkable to a Digital Computer 12, for example, a Digital Equipment Corporation VAX with a VMS operating system, ORACLE, and WordPerfect (e.g., 5.1) from WordPerfect Corporation. Digital Computer 12 is operably connected to Central Printer 18. The Digital Computer 12 contains a Central Processor 14 that is operable to obtain Insurance Product Information 10 (digital electric signals), and Insurance Premium Information 16. The respective information of Blocks 10 and 16 can optionally be accessible on line to other computers or stored as data in a System Database 22 of the Digital Computer 12.
Help 30 is a computerized system, preferably a context sensitive, hypertext-linked help system. Help 30 is available throughout the program.
Central Processor 14 is also operable to activate a function Print Out Insurance Application Forms on Central Printer 20, which points to the function Fill In Forms 28 to selectively transmit Life Insurance Application Data To Carrier 32.
Further, Central Processor 14 can generate an illustration via a function Generate Illustration 24, which leads to Print Illustration On Local Printer 26. The generated illustration can be saved in the Database 22.
When the system is accessed, the user must choose the transaction desired, and the selection will vary by the type of user. A management level user with a higher level of authority can update the data used in the illustration process. This data includes, but is not limited to: (1) insurance underwriting related values, including data regarding age, sex, and health characteristics, premium amounts to be applied, cash value accumulation factors, annual death benefit amounts, and typical policy interest crediting rates and insurance charges; (2) all of the illustrations saved in the Database 22, which may be used for manipulation and analysis in both the marketing and underwriting functions carried out by an insurance agent and carrier; and (3) administrative messages from other users. Otherwise, a non-management user of the system has access to only a portion of the system.
Prior to engaging the computerized aspects of the present invention, the user should consult with the prospective applicant to obtain such information as the prospective insured's age and sex, the amount of life insurance coverage desired, whether or not the individual has certain health problems which may require specialized insurance underwriting, whether or not the individual's employer is currently involved in a program that will sponsor reduced cost policy premiums, etc. After this information-gathering step has been completed, the user "logs on" at Terminal 4 by entering an assigned authorization password.
Turning now to FIG. 2, the user engages the system at Sign On To System 34. Branch 36, Authorized To Use System?, checks the password against stored passwords to determine whether the user is authorized to use the system. If the user is not authorized, Block 38 displays a message on the Terminal 4 indicating that the user should telephone the system owner/operator for further information. If the user is authorized, meaning that the password is recognized by the Digital Computer 12, the logic continues to Branch 42. However, prior to Branch 42, there is a logic entry point X1, which is described more fully below, but which generally is a connection from another part of the logic.
In any case, Branch 42 assesses the level of authority of the user from the password. In the present embodiment of the invention, there are two alternatives. First, as previously suggested, the user could be a "Client User," in which case the logic connects to Client User Menu 46 as is subsequently discussed. Second, the user could be a "Super User," having access to Super User Main Menu 44.
The Client User/Super User authorization system is included in a preferred embodiment of this invention to avoid security problems which would otherwise be created by different kinds of system users. Different degrees of authorization also provide for confidentiality of database information and, in the case of communications between the system owner/operator and users, allows each user to view only the information relating to the applicants for whom the user is providing illustrations.
From the Super User Main Menu 44, if the user does not yet wish to log off at Block 58, there are a number of choices shown in User Screen 1.
The Super User Main Menu 44 permits access to Illustration 52 used to create an illustration. The user can also select Update Database 50, which is described with particularity hereinafter, but which generally is a list of tables that can be updated.
The user can select Analyze 48 to access various reports and statistics on illustrations. Electronic Mail 56 permits electronic communication between system users (see FIG. 1). Mail messages may be printed out via the Printers 20 and 26.
Returning to FIG. 2, the Electronic Mail 56 function utilizes the VMS operating system mail feature. The system has the ability to alert the user that a message is present in his or her electronic "mail box." The system is capable of reading these messages from that file onto the user's screen, again allowing the user to move from screen-to-screen at his or her own speed. Once the user has completed a review of the data, one or all of the textual screens or "pages" may be printed at the Local Printer 26. The user may also write electronic messages to other users' mail boxes to be used in a similar manner.
At the completion of each subordinate function 48, 50, 52, 54, and 56, control is returned to the Super User Main Menu 44 via the Return To Main Menu Block 60.
Turning now to FIG. 3 where the logic proceeds from Illustration 52 of FIG. 2, the user is presented with a Select Type Of Illustration 62 submenu, shown as a portion of User Screen 1. Each of the functions of the submenu of Branch 68 will be presented in summary form here and described subsequently in detail. One function is Generate New Application Illustration 68, which is elaborated by FIG. 3B-1. This Function 68 permits the user to provide a detailed presentation, tailored to the prospective applicant's own factual situation, of how universal life insurance might perform for the prospective applicant. This Function 68 also allows the user to save the illustration for later updates and to send the illustration to the Local Printer 26 for review by the prospective applicant.
A second function of Submenu 62 is Choose Existing Illustration 66, which goes to FIG. 3C-1. This Function 66 permits the user to update a previously saved prospective applicant illustration using different assumptions. This Function 66 also allows the user to quickly create an illustration which is different from one already saved by allowing the user to change only those few items that the prospective applicant may select, thereby avoiding the laborious process of entering all of the information required to create a new prospective applicant illustration. This Function 66 likewise allows the user to save a new illustration for later updates and to send the illustration to the Local Printer 26 to permit review by the prospective applicant.
A third function of Submenu 62 is the Print Existing Illustration Function which goes to Q1 in FIG. 3B-6. This allows the user to print the illustration on which he or she is currently working at any time, without having to move through other menus.
Returning to FIG. 3, once the illustration has been compiled, the system presents a sequence of further options. Print Life Insurance Application 70, goes to FIG. 3D-1. This Function 70 allows the user to: (1) take the information generated and saved in the aforementioned illustration process, add to it, and merge it with life insurance application form text data to construct a customized, printed life insurance application form for signature; (2) electronically save in a file the customized life insurance application form; or (3) print out a partially completed or blank life insurance application form for later manual completion by the prospective applicant.
Review Insurance Product Developments 72 goes to FIG. 3E-l. This Function 72 allows the user to be quickly apprised of new developments in the insurance products used in forming the illustrations including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates credited by carriers on cash value reserves in the life insurance policies, new underwriting rules, new products provided by different carriers, etc. This information is available inside the Generate New Applicant Illustration 72 and Choose Existing Applicant Illustration 66 functions. Information may be read from the screen or printed out.
Proceeding to FIG. 3B-1 Generate New Applicant Insurance Illustration 76, the system offers maximum flexibility so that it may accommodate virtually any life insurance policy. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the system also provides many tables for product-specific data such as mortality tables, expense charges, interest rates, and other insurance-related data. These tables can be used to store the different components of the carriers' products. Product specific "flags" or identifiers in the insurance computation formulas can be used to provide maximum flexibility in the way the system makes insurance computations. This allows the system to offer a method of customizing computations that are common to all life insurance products. This feature also makes it possible for a single computer to efficiently provide multiple life insurance product illustrations for multiple life insurance carriers. (In another embodiment of the invention, the system can use front-end network gateways to connect multiple carriers' computers to the Digital Computer 12.)
The system maintains security by affording limited access to carrier-specific databases. The system provides carriers exclusive access to their own databases, for example, via modem, by requiting a password. Only individuals authorized by the carrier can access or see the carrier's databases.
Block 76 leads to Block 78, which solicits the type of policy the user would have selected as displayed on the User Screen 2. The user may select to illustrate either a joint and survivor life insurance policy or an individual life insurance policy. If it is a joint and survivor policy, the system will require policy information for each of two insureds. This is because a joint and survivor policy pays a benefit only upon the death of both insureds. Such policies are often used in estate planning for the payment of estate taxes upon the death of, for example, a married couple or a father and a daughter. Such policies are often used to assure that an estate has sufficient liquid assets to pay estate taxes. In Block 80, Solicit: Insureds Information; Employer Information, and as shown in Screens 3 and 4, the system solicits the Prospective Insured's information including, but not limited to the Insured's home address and telephone number, age, sex, and date of birth, and place of work. In Block 82, and as depicted by Screen 5, the system goes on to solicit information regarding the prospective Insured's Health. These general questions regarding the prospective insured's health permit carriers to segment prospective policy applicants into preferred and non-preferred risks and thereby provide a more accurate projection of policy charges. Preferred risks are individuals who exhibit desirable underwriting characteristics, as exemplified by good health, for whom carriers may lay away smaller amounts in reserve against the future possibility of death. Non-preferred risks include individuals who have physical conditions which tend to place them at greater risk of early mortality. Such characteristics might include, for example, being a smoker or having been diagnosed as having had a Heart Attack, Cancer, AIDS or some other life-threatening condition. In Blocks 84 through 86, the same questions are repeated for the prospective co-Insured in the Joint and Survivor branch of the logic.
If the response to the question posed in User Screen 2 is "Individual" then the system goes instead to Block 88, Solicit Insured Information; Employer Information and Block 90, Solicit Insured Answers to Four Underwriting Questions. This information will be used likewise by the system to determine whether the applicant(s) is (are) a preferred or non-preferred risk, through comparison with specific desired responses, stored by product in System Data Base 22.
Once this information has been obtained, the system goes on to solicit what kind of illustration the user would like in Block 92, Solicit Insurance Requirements. An example of the Screen that appears in front of the user appears in Screen 6
Insurance Requirements--Insured. The system requires the user to designate two out of three key variables needed in the illustration of a life insurance policy. The user must enter onto the screen some combination of the Minimum Death Benefit, Cash Value (and year the Cash Value should be attained), and premium amount. For example, if given Death Benefit and Cash Value amounts, the system finds for any product stored in the system that amount of Premium (and the Number of Years it would be payable) needed for the system to achieve that goal. Similarly, if given the annual Premium, the Number of Years for which it would be paid and the Death Benefit desired, the system projects the Cash Value that would be associated with such a transaction.
In Block 94, Solicit Additional Coverages, the system solicits any additional coverages desired by the client. These coverages, made available in the form of riders to the base policy, will permit the user to augment his/her coverage under the terms of the policy in exchange for an additional premium payment. Screen 7, for example, shows several riders potentially made available by the system. A waiver of annual premium benefit provides that premiums will be automatically waived in the event of policyholder disability. The Accidental Death Benefit Rider allows for the payment of an additional death benefit in the event the insured dies in an accident. The Additional Death Benefit Rider allows the policyholder to obtain additional coverage during the early years of the policy. A Spousal Death Benefit allows the user to obtain coverage for his or her spouse in addition to his or her own coverage. This screen has an electronically highlighted area, a "form" or blank, appearing next to the description of each additional benefit. This "form" is filled in by the user with a dollar amount. The system interprets any blanks as zeros with the exception of Waiver of Premium, which requires a "Yes" or "No" response from the user before allowing the user to move onto the next screen. Screen 8 solicits information as to where the policy will be issued.
In Block 96, Store, all the information regarding the prospective Insured and, if one exists, the co-Insured, is stored in System Data Base 22 for later use by the system.
Moving now to FIG. 3B-2; the part of the system logic dedicated to identifying and verifying the existence a Corporate Sponsor is shown. In Block 102, Identify and Mark Corporate Sponsor, information regarding the employer of the prospective applicant is used by the system for the selection of a policy. For example, there exist policies that life insurance carriers sell in large volumes through sponsored corporate purchases. Often such policies are paid for via a monthly payroll deduction. Because such automatic payments reduce the costs of distribution to the carrier, such policies are often offered on a discount basis to any employee purchasing the policy.
Also, in the event that corporations are willing to offer corporate sponsored purchase of life insurance, life insurance carriers may be willing to relax their underwriting requirements. Relaxed underwriting requirements usually take one of two forms, simplified issue or guaranteed issue. In simplified issue underwriting, only a few simple questions (typically three or four) are asked of the prospective insured. In guaranteed issue underwriting, no questions apart from the age and sex of the prospective insured are asked.
The availability of this kind of underwriting may be beneficial to both the insurance carrier, which may profit from increased insurance sales by providing insurance policies with reduced underwriting in a high volume sale, and to the employer, which as a consequence may offer an enhanced product to its employees. In addition, this kind of underwriting creates another use for the prospective applicant's employment information. The employment information may be compared to a database of all those companies which offer corporate sponsorship of insurance purchases for their employees. If there is a match between the data provided concerning a prospective applicant's employer and information in the database, a corporate sponsor number will be used to identify a product which may be offered to the employee at reduced cost or with less stringent underwriting requirements.
A preferred embodiment of the invention involves a system of corporate sponsorship recognition involving the identification of companies providing both the aforementioned guarantee of premium payments and the creation of a defined group for the provision of specialized underwriting. Block 102 is dedicated to this task.
In Block 104, the system checks System DataBase 22 to see whether or not the Prospect Applicant Works with a company which provides corporate sponsored polices. If the Answer is "Yes," then the system moves to Block 110, Select Corporate Sponsored Policy, and the system selects the appropriate corporate sponsored policy for that particular employer and writes the information to System DataBase 22. If the user and/or client is unsure, the system provides a list of Corporate Sponsors for him or her to consult in Block 106, Check List of Corporate Sponsors. In Block 108, Sponsor Selected?, the system checks to see if a Sponsor has been selected from the list of sponsored policies. If the answer is "Yes," the system moves to Block 110, Select Corporate Sponsored Policy. If the answer is "No," the system moves to Block 112, User Selects Policy or Best, as shown by Screen 9. If the response is "Best," the system logic moves to 114, Select Best Product--whereupon the system solves for the policy that provides the best solution to the mathematical problem identified in Block 92, Solicit Insurance Requirements, given the underwriting information provided in Blocks 80, 82, 84, and 86 for joint and survivor policies and Blocks 88 and 90
for individual life insurance policies. "Best" is defined as the Minimum Premium mount if the dollar cost of the annual premium is the solved for amount. Otherwise, if the missing variables are cash value or death benefit, then the "Best" will be defined in terms of highest Death Benefit or Cash Value. Screen 10 provides a sample of a screen which is provided to the user to summarize all the information in the system prior to computing to find the "Best" policy. Because finding the best policy from many different policies can be a time-consuming process, this screen helps to avoid finding the "Best" policy using the wrong information. Screen 11 provides a representative example of a screen that appears before the user while the system is searching out the "Best" policy while Screen 12 shows the listing of the "Best" policies identified on the screen by the system based on a single premium payment.
If, on the other hand, the user wishes to select the policy from a number of different policies available in the system, then the system moves to Block 112, User Selects Policy. Screen 11 shows an example of a screen listing of available policies on the system. Policies are listed alphabetically, but the system provides an electronic policy search capability, allowing the user to search out all policies that match a given criterion such as carrier name, policy name, current life insurance policy interest credited rate, or guaranteed rate of interest in the life insurance policy.
Moving now to FIG. 3B-3, a schematic representation of the policy search function of the system is shown. Block 122, Corporate Sponsored/User Selection or Best Product, is the branch of the system logic that identifies whether the system is to illustrate one Corporate Sponsored/User Selected Product or whatever number of policies fit the "Best" criteria. Blocks 124, Solicit Best Product Criteria, and 126, Store Criteria, identify and store a count of products to be illustrated. Block 128, J Gets Total Number of Products Available, initializes a counter to keep track of the number of products meeting the desired criteria to be illustrated.
In FIG. 3B-4 a schematic representation of the insurance illustration function of the system is presented. First, in Block 140, the system retrieves all components needed for a projection of life insurance values: product-specific data from data tables, stored by product and carrier; information regarding the insured(s) and information regarding the prospective insured(s)' life insurance needs and other personal information as solicited and stored in FIG. 3B-1.
Moving now to Block 142, the system determines whether riders are present. If the answer is "No," then in Block 144, Compute 1st Premium, Trial Guideline for Policy, the system computes its first guess as to the premium amount, or uses the premium amount previously provided by the user. The system also computes a trial guideline amount, an initial estimate as to actuarial regulatory guideline values. Using trial amounts speeds the illustration process, by reducing the number of iterations needed. These trial amounts, used at the onset of the illustration process, assure that policy values computed during the illustration process will in most cases ultimately comply with regulatory definitions of insurance during the first round of computations.
In Block 146, Compute Specified Amount, the system uses the guideline values previously computed to calculate a Specified Amount. The Specified Amount is the amount that the insurance company will pay the beneficiary upon the death of the insured. In most states the Specified Amount must by law appear on page three of a life insurance policy. The Specified Amount is a common life insurance variable and is equal to the basic, stated policy death benefit (the face amount of the policy). The policy death benefit will remain equal to the Specified Amount until such time as changes in cash value cause it to change. Withdrawals of cash value or cash value growth may cause a decrease or increase in the death benefit. Returning now to another branch of the logic, if the answer to the question "Riders Present?" is "Yes," the system moves to 148 Compute 1st Premium Trial Guideline for Base Policy. With Riders present, the system calculates the Trial Guidelines and Premium amounts first for the base policy as previously described for a policy with no riders, then computes a Trial Guideline amount including the rider(s) in Block 150, then computes a Specified Amount including combined Rider and Base Policy values in Block 152, Compute Specified Amount w/Riders.
Then, in Block 154, Iterate on Target Value: Death Benefit, Cash Value or Premium, the system enters into an iterative illustration loop used to solve for the target value, refining its initial guesses as to Premium Guideline Amounts and Specified Amount, moving to FIG. 3F-1. In order to solve for these policy values the system computes additional guesses, and tests those guesses iteratively until it finds the appropriate target value. This kind of iteration is required because of the non-linear nature of universal life insurance policy values, as many of the policy values being solved for will have no closed form solution. Once the system has solved initial illustration and has a Premium and Specified Amount combination that corresponds to the target value, it saves it in Block 156, Save Specified Amount, Premium.
Next, in Block 158, Compute Guideline Single Premium for Base Policy, the system makes another illustration, this time calculating a Single Premium amount for the Base Policy assuming Guaranteed Carrier policy values, and corresponding to the Specified Amount previously computed in Block 156.
Moving now to FIG. 3B-5, in Block 164, Set Guideline Single Premium for Base Policy Equal to Premium variable, the system makes this equivalency, then in Block 166, Store, saves the information. Next in Block 170, Compute Guideline Level Premium for Policy, the system uses the aforementioned Specified Amount as the target value, and then finds the level annual premium amount, payable over the entire time of the illustration's duration and assuming guaranteed policy values, that would yield that Specified Amount. In Block 172, Store, the system saves this premium amount as well.
At Block 174, Riders Present, the system once again determines whether riders are present. If not, the system moves on to FIG. 3B-6. If so, the system moves on to Block 176, Compute Guideline Single Premium for Policy Including Riders. The calculation here is the same as that made in Block 158 except that this computation includes in the Specified Amount whatever additional coverage is provided for under the rider. In Block 178, Set Guideline Single Premium for Total Policy Equal to Premium Variable, the equivalency is made and the value is stored in Block 180. Similar steps are taken to compute values for the Guideline Level Premium including riders in Blocks 182 and 184. This value is stored in 186.
Moving on to FIG. 3B-6, Block 192, Recompute Specified Amount using Guideline Values, the system recomputes the Specified Amount, originally computed in Block 154, and saved in Block 156, this time using the Guideline Premium amounts computed in Blocks 158, 168, and 176, and 182 if riders are present. The Specified Amount so calculated in Block 192 is then compared in Block 194 to the previously calculated Specified Amount. In Block 196, Are Two Amounts Equal?, the system tests for equivalency. If the answer is "Yes," then the Specified Amount lies within actuarially defined regulatory guidelines for life insurance, and the system moves on to FIG. 3B-7. If the two values are not equal, the system in Block 198, First Pass, determines whether or not this is the first attempt at an illustration. If the answer is "No," the system determines whether the Premium Values are equal in Block 200. If the answer is "No," once again the system returns to either Z2 or Z3 depending on whether or not Riders are found to be present in Block 201. Both Z2 and Z3 are entry points for the illustration system in FIG. 3B-4.
If the two Specified Amounts are not equal in Block 196 and if this is not the first pass for the system in Block 198, the system returns to Z2 in the event that riders are present, and Z3 in the event that they are not, in Block 201.
Once the system has solved for the correct premium/cash value combination and has tested this value against regulatory requirements, the system carries out four other operations in FIG. 3B-7. First, it prepares a further illustration in Block
208. This illustration assumes that the policyholder pays the previously determined premium amount and maintains the desired death benefit. However, the illustration further assumes that the carrier pays only the minimum guaranteed interest crediting rate on policy cash value, and charges the maximum mortality charges possible under the terms of the insurance contract. Samples of these Guaranteed Values appear in FIG. 27D.
Next, the system in Block 210 computes two policy cost indices designed to provide the prospective applicant with a bench mark for measuring product performance. The first index is the Surrender Cost Index which is 1000 times the present value of premiums paid discounted at five percent minus the present value of the end-of-period cash value divided by the present value of the death benefits. The second index, known as the Net Payment Cost Index, is equal to 1000 times the ratio of the present value of the premiums discounted at five percent to the present value of the death benefits over the period discounted at five percent. The system calculates these two indices through Years 10 and 20 of the policy illustrated, assuming current interest and mortality charges apply, and assuming guaranteed interest and mortality charges apply. Sample calculations of these cost indices appears in FIG. 27E.
After the aforementioned analyses have been completed, the system saves the results in Block 212 for later printing. This completes the illustration for a particular financial product. Next, the system checks to see if it needs to make a similar computation for other products. If in Branch 156 it finds that not all desired products have been illustrated by comparing a target number of products to be illustrated with a counter, the system increments the counter in Block 214 and returns to FIG. 3B-4 to initiate another illustration.
Otherwise, the system tests whether more than one product has been illustrated (J>1), and if so, proceeds to Block 222 to find the best product based on the criteria entered in Block 92. In either case, the logic goes to Block 224 to store the insurance product specific data for an illustration.
Next in Block 226, Comparative Analysis, the system asks the user if he or she would like to see a comparison of the best policies. If the answer is "Yes," the system moves to FIG. 3B-9 and otherwise, the system goes to FIG. 3B-8.
Turning to FIG. 3B-8 at Block 166, the values relevant to the computation of an illustration are generated, then displayed at the user's terminal in Block 168, and stored in the Database 26. The user can select a number of options: Print Illustration? 172, which will print the information on the Local Printer 30 via Block 174; Print and Mail Illustration? 176, which will print the illustration on the Central Printer 20 for mailing to a requested address via Block 178; and Make Application Using This Illustration? 180, which merges illustration data with stored text to make an application form, in Block 182. Block 170 also will save the illustration results for further analysis or review. The logic returns to the submenu provided by Block 60 in FIG. 3. This return is helpful for changing the illustration assumptions in order to see a different version of the illustration.
Turning to FIG. 3B-9, a schematic representation of the comparative analysis function is shown. In Block 250, prepare J.ltoreq.5 Best Illustrations, the system creates the illustration from the values stored in Block 224. Then, in Block 251, those values are printed side by side for comparison by the user. The system returns to the subroutine that called it.
Returning to FIG. 3, the Update Existing Illustration 66 function goes to FIG. 3C-1, which commences with Select Input Menu 252. This selection is depicted in User Screen 12, which is also known as the Update Existing Illustration Supermenu.
The logic then goes to the following boxes: Block 254 to update the prospective applicant data, including personal, employment, and health data; and Block 256 to update the insurance dam, including the premium structure, as well as the policy selection. These Blocks 254-256 permit the user to revise selected data in Database 26. Once the menu item has been selected and the update screen has been visited, Block 268 is used to facilitate going to the appropriate screen. The screens are filled in with the old data, and in Block 270 the user is allowed to change, add to, or delete from any of the existing data. Block 270 then returns to Block 252. When the user has gone through this loop as many times as necessary to update whatever screens need updating, from Block 252, the choice of Proceed, Block 258 can be made. The illustration process then proceeds to FIG. 3B-4, which then completes the illustration.
Additionally, the user may select Help, Block 260, which has been previously mentioned as being available from any screen in the system from the Update Existing Illustration Supermenu. A representative context-sensitive hypertext Help screen is shown in User Screen 13.
Lastly, Block 262 may be selected to quickly terminate the current illustration session and return to the Main Menu, 42, via Entry Point X1. The user is given an opportunity at this time to save what data has been entered thus far.
With further reference to FIG. 3, the Print Life Insurance Application 70 selection goes to FIG. 3D-1. Block 274 selects one form from a variety of insurance forms that could be printed, depending on the carrier. The logic proceeds to Block
276, which retrieves the existing prospective applicant data from Database 22, which was solicited in the process of creating the illustration, and prefills the insurance application form. If necessary, Block 278 allows the user to fill in any additional data. Then Block 280 prints the application at Local Printer 26. The logic proceeds to Block 282 which requests whether or not to send the application to the carrier electronically. If that answer, in fact, is "No," the logic goes to Return. If the answer is "Yes," Block 284 checks for completeness and permits sending the application to the Carrier via Block 286. Block 288 saves the insurance policy data and then returns to Block 70 in FIG. 3.
Review Insurance Product Developments 72 in FIG. 3, permits the user to read through prepared textual data by allowing the user to move from screen-to-screen. Once the user has completed a review of the data from Database 22, one or all of the textual screens or "pages" can be printed at the Local Printer 26.
More particularly, for Review Insurance Product Developments 72 in FIG. 3, the logic goes to FIG. 3E-1. In Block 292, new insurance product developments are retrieved and displayed for the user. Block 294 allows the new insurance product developments to be printed on the Local Printer 26, if desired, and then the logic returns to Block 72 on FIG. 3.
FIG. 3F-1 provides a schematic representation of the system's life insurance values computation and testing activities. In Block 300, Compute Insurance Values Using Specified Insurance Parameters, the system takes those values for Specified Amount, Premium, and targets from the subroutine that called it, and produces an illustration. Then, in Block 302, Target(s) Are Met, the system tests the value against the requested target, for example, death benefit or cash value. If the answer is "Yes" in Block 308, Store Premium Amount, LIFPAY, the system stores the Premium Amount associated with this illustration and returns to the subroutine that called it.
If, on the other hand, the answer to the above question is "No," the system goes on to determine in Block 304, First Trial, whether this is the first attempt at the computation. If the answer is "Yes," then the system generates a guess value in Block 306, Generate New Trial, and returns to Block 300 to make an additional computation. If, on the other hand, the answer to the question in Block 304 is "No," then the system moves to Block 310, Does this Trial Bracket?, where the system tests to see whether two values have been identified that lie above and below (i.e., bracket) the target value. If the answer is again "No," then the system moves to Block 306, Generate New Trial, thereby returning to Block 300 to generate an additional value.
If the answer to the question asked in Block 310 is "Yes," and the system has found two values above and below the Target value, the system next checks to see if the system has attempted an interpolation using three values, in Block 312, First Interpolation?. If the answer is "Yes," then the system uses Bisection to Interpolate the values in Block 314, Bisection Interpolation. Otherwise, in Block 316 the system uses Weighted Interpolation to arrive at an additional value.
In this manner, by iteratively interpolating between guess values and throwing out old guesses, the system converges rapidly on the desired value, and, having found it, returns the desired value to the subroutine that called it.
Discussion of Database Structures
FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B provide a depiction of a relational Database 22 for the present invention. The description of the relational Database 22 includes numbered entity (database table) definitions and detailed descriptions of the columns (fields) present and their characteristics. NOT NULL specifies that a column is required to be filled, and TYPE designates the type of data that this column contains. The following table definitions parallel the above entity definitions and detail the columns (fields) present and their characteristics.
ADDITIONAL.sub.-- RESPONSES 400 has records of additional responses made by the prospective applicant to questions that appear on an insurance application form that were not solicited during the illustration process.
______________________________________ Name Null? Type ______________________________________ APPLICATION.sub.-- ID NOT NULL NUMBER REQUEST.sub.-- ID NOT NULL NUMBER R.sub.-- ORDER NOT NULL NUMBER RESPONSE CHAR (255) WP.sub.-- FLDNUM NUMBER ______________________________________
ALLOWED.sub.-- RESPONSES 477 is a database entity holding information of permitted responses in the health questionnaire. Answers are used in identifying preferred risk applicants.
______________________________________ Name Null? Type ______________________________________ REQUEST.sub.-- ID NOT NULL NUMBER (8) R.sub.-- ORDER NOT NULL NUMBER (8) VALUE CHAR (20) REC.sub.-- ORDER NOT NULL NUMBER (3) NEXT.sub.-- REQUEST NUMBER (8) ______________________________________
APPLICATION 402 is a super entity which holds the various insurance applications 402A (each specific type of application is a view or instance of this table). These application records are built on information contained in the illustration, as well as supplemental information supplied by the prospective applicant (e.g., provided in ADDITIONAL.sub.-- RESPONSES 400). There is one APPLICATION 402 record for every application created for a prospective applicant.
______________________________________ Name Null? Type ______________________________________ APPLICATION.sub.-- ID NOT NULL NUMBER APPLICATION.sub.-- TYPE CHAR (10) THEPI.sub.-- APPLICATION NUMBER ILLUSTRATION.sub.-- ID NUMBER PAPER.sub.-- FORM.sub.-- ID NUMBER STATUS CHAR (9) ______________________________________
COI SET 470 is a data entity used to store information regarding special mortality data that an employer may have negotiated with a carrier as part of a corporate-sponsored program.
______________________________________ Name Null? Type ______________________________________ COI.sub.-- SET.sub.-- ID NOT NULL NUMBER (8) SPONSOR.sub.-- ID NUMBER (8) MORT.sub.-- SET.sub.-- NAME NOT NULL CHAR (30) MORT.sub.-- SET.sub.-- TYPE NOT NULL CHAR (1) MORT.sub.-- CONVERSION.sub.-- METHOD CHAR(1) ______________________________________
CORPORATE SPONSOR GUARANTEE 464 is a data entity used to store information regarding the Corporate sponsor including information regarding eligibility requirements and contact information.
______________________________________ Name Null? Type ______________________________________ CS.sub.-- ID NOT NULL NUMBER (8) INSTITUTION.sub.-- ID NOT NULL NUMBER (8) INSURANCE.sub.-- PACKAGE.sub.-- ID NOT NULL NUMBER (8) CONTACT.sub.-- ID NOT NULL NUMBER CODE NOT NULL CHAR (8) ELIG.sub.-- REQ CHAR (255) ______________________________________
CORPORATE SPONSOR OFFICER 428 is used to store information needed to identify those individuals permitted to use the system to offer corporate sponsored quotes.
______________________________________ Name Null? Type ______________________________________ INSTITUTION.sub.-- OFFICER.sub.-- ID NOT NULL NUMBER INSTITUTION.sub.-- OFFICER.sub.-- TYPE CHAR (30) LAST.sub.-- NAME CHAR (50) FIRST.sub.-- NAME CHAR (30) INSTITUTION.sub.-- ID NUMBER PHONE NUMBER (10) PHONE.sub.-- EXTENSTION NUMBER STATUS CHAR (10) ACCOUNT.sub.-- NAME CHAR (30) PRIVS CHAR (10) PRINTER.sub.-- DRIVER CHAR (20) GENERIC CHAR (1) ____________