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The End of Free Sharing in the Insurance Industry. presented by Don Bashline CAS Spring Meeting, Orlando, FL June 18, 2007. Why?. Because we made a lot of mistakes!. Our Patent. Brief personality test Used in auto insurance underwriting Predicts crash-causing behaviors.
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The End of Free Sharing in the Insurance Industry presented by Don Bashline CAS Spring Meeting, Orlando, FL June 18, 2007
Why? Because we made a lot of mistakes!
Our Patent Brief personality test Used in auto insurance underwriting Predicts crash-causing behaviors
What Causes Crashes? Most important factor is human behavior – 90% of crashes tied to road user behavior Other underwriting variables correlate with crashes Driver’s actions cause crashes
So What Did We Do Wrong? • We knew nothing about the process • Communication with our legal team was miserable • Existing patents were in our way • Patent Number 4,975,840 DeTore, et. al.
What Can We Do? • Still confident of outcome Retained new advisor Scaled down claims Spent more money
Bashline’s Rules • Learn how the system works 2. Talk to at least two law firms. • What insurance patents have they won? Lost? • Don’t be afraid to be a nuisance • Don’t assume they know what you’re talking about • Who else is out there? • Have a post-patent plan • Don’t wait until the last minute for marketing and licensing plans
Patents and Methods of Innovation • Are non-patentable innovations discouraged? How does this affect nature of advances? • Growth of intangible-asset-only firms. How does this affect innovation? • How do innovators spend their time?
Patents and Insurer Operations • Ease of entry? What if you had to license loss development, underwriting algorithms, classification systems? • DeTore -4,975,840 – underwriting – very broad • IBM – 5,970,464 – classification systems • Transaction costs: Litigating bad patents, trying to do business and avoid infringing or licensing fees.
Patents and Incremental Innovation • Do patents discourage innovation in a system where innovation is incremental? • If not patentable, why bother? • If you improve existing model, can you integrate with existing patents? • Our classification patent • Loss development?
If Davies had patented instead of publishing… • Bornhuetter-Ferguson? • Pinto & Gogol? • Would you need to pay licensing fees to complete your Schedule P? • Where would the CAS be?
Why Does the CAS Exist? • Mission Statement: “..to advance the body of knowledge of actuarial science…” • Vision Statement: “ …to be the pre-eminent resource for education, knowledge, and applied research…”
Are CAS Mission and VisionCompatible with a Patent-BasedModel of Innovation?At best, they are difficult to reconcile…
Thanks for your Attention! • Source: Business Method Patents, Innovation, and Policy, Bronwyn Hall • For live link to paper, e-mail me at: dbashline@gmail.com