Method for providing web-based insurance data processing services to users Number:7,333,939 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent The present invention relates to a system and method for providing a web-based graphical user interface to a legacy insurance data process system to increase the functionality and ease of use in quoting and issuing insurance quotes and policies, providing insurance information and other insurance related services. The system and method integrate use of Internet technology in business work flows, provide dynamic data entry for insurance coverage packages and pricing programs, offer easy access to value-added products and services, and enable local printing of professional insurance applications, proposals and forms to facilitate immediate delivery of professional-quality proposals to customers.<H processing, insurance, Method, for, prov, 7333939.html, Patent, pto, 7333939

Title: Method for providing web-based insurance data processing services to users

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for providing a web-based graphical user interface to a legacy insurance data process system to increase the functionality and ease of use in quoting and issuing insurance quotes and policies, providing insurance information and other insurance related services. The system and method integrate use of Internet technology in business work flows, provide dynamic data entry for insurance coverage packages and pricing programs, offer easy access to value-added products and services, and enable local printing of professional insurance applications, proposals and forms to facilitate immediate delivery of professional-quality proposals to customers.

Patent Number: 7,333,939 Issued on 02/19/2008 to Stender, et al.

Inventors: Stender; Mark J. (Avon, CT), Hendrick; Marcia (South Hampton, MA)
Assignee: Travelers Property Casualty Corp. (Hartford, CT)

Appl. No.: 09/909,866

Filed: July 23, 2001

Related U.S. Patent Documents


Application Number	Filing Date	Patent Number	Issue Date
60219622	Jul., 2000

Current U.S. Class: 705/4

Current International Class: G06Q 40/00 (20060101)

Field of Search: 705/4 600/300

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Primary Examiner: Smith; Jeffrey A.
Assistant Examiner: Glass; Russell Shay
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Donner; Irah H. Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

Parent Case Text

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/219,622 titled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING WEB-BASED DATA PROCESSING SERVICES TO INSURANCE AGENTS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES," filed Jul. 21, 2000, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/843,841 titled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING WEB-BASED USER INTERFACE TO LEGACY, PERSONAL-LINES INSURANCE APPLICATIONS," filed Apr. 30, 2001.

Claims

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for providing remote access to insurance applications via an insurance data processing application with a web-based user interface, comprising: receiving a first request from a first user to use the web-based user interface to access a plurality of insurance applications comprising at least one legacy insurance application for administering an insurance policy; when the first request has the authorization to access the legacy insurance application, employing a legacy application wrapper to display a Web-based GUI screen for the legacy insurance application, wherein the screen displays a listing of actions and additional screens that are accessible for the legacy insurance application; verifying that the first request includes a first authorization to use the web-based user interface; upon successful verification of the first authorization, granting the first request to use the web-based user interface; prompting a selection to establish a connection for the first request to use the web-based user interface if the first request represents the first time that the web-based user interface is used, and downloading files to a source of the first request; receiving a second request from the first user to access a particular one of the plurality of insurance applications via the web-based user interface; verifying that the second request includes a second authorization to the particular insurance application; if the second authorization is successfully verified, granting the second request to access the particular insurance application of the plurality of insurance applications, including providing a search screen that can perform a search of insurance accounts; receiving a search command from the search screen; performing the account search based on the search command; listing results of the account search on the search screen; and providing options to select one of the search results and to create a new account name; and if the second authorization cannot be verified, displaying a notice denying access to the particular insurance application of the plurality of insurance applications and providing an option to refer the particular insurance application to a second user that has the authorization to access the particular insurance application.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular insurance application comprises a commercial-lines insurance policy.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of insurance applications resides in at least one mainframe data processing system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein granting the first request to use the web-based user interface comprises: displaying a welcome screen customized for the first request based on identity of the first request as derived from verifying the first authorization.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the welcome screen includes at least one marketing message.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the welcome screen includes options to print out forms, to establish an insurance account or issue an insurance policy, and to exit the web-based user interface.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein granting the second request to access the particular insurance application comprises: providing options to add a new insurance policy, to modify a quote on an insurance policy of record, to refer a quote on an insurance policy of record, to issue an insurance policy of record, and to purge a quote on an insurance policy of record; and receiving a selection of one of the options.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving a selection of one of the options comprises: receiving a selection to modify the quote on the insurance policy of record; and displaying a first screen showing a first directory of available screens for the quote on the insurance policy of record.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first directory of available screens for the quote on insurance policy of record includes a direct link to each of the available screens.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving a selection of one of the options further comprises: displaying on the first screen a second directory of available screens for the quote on the insurance policy of record.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second directory includes a direct link to at least an action available in one of the available screens for the quote on the insurance policy of record.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving a selection of one of the options comprises: receiving a selection to issue the insurance policy of record; and displaying a first screen showing a first directory of available screens for the issue of the insurance policy of record.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first directory of available screens for the insurance policy issue includes a direct link to at least one of the available screens for the issue of the insurance policy of record.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving a selection of one of the options further comprises: displaying on the first screen a second directory of available screens for the issue of the insurance policy of record.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the second directory includes at least a direct link to an action available in one of the available screens for the issue of the insurance policy of record.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the wrapper comprises a rule engine executing a plurality of business rule sets, and each business rule set enables the wrapper to interface with one legacy insurance application.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the wrapper presents a unified web-based GUI for a plurality of legacy insurance applications, and wherein communication between legacy applications is handled by the wrapper through a messaging protocol.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of business rule sets are stored in an information management system, wherein the information management system provides the business rule sets to the wrapper.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising recording the list of screens within the legacy insurance application that the first user has accessed.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising displaying a link within the Web-based GUI screen for displaying a screen of one or more direct links to screens of the legacy insurance application that the first user has accessed.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising dynamic display of a next display based on previous insurance related content in a prior display.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the wrapper comprises a rule engine executing rules based on a question and answer flow, the wrapper providing a dynamic display of insurance related content based on results of the rule execution engine.

23. The method of claim 1, where the wrapper comprises a rule engine executing rules based on a question and answer flow, the wrapper providing a dynamic display of insurance related content in a next display based on insurance related answers to questions provided in a prior display.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the dynamic display of insurance related content in the next display includes rate information.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system and method for providing web-based data processing services to insurance agents and customer service representatives. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for providing a web-based interface to an insurance data processing system to increase the functionality and ease of use in providing information about commercial-lines insurance policies to users, issuing commercial-lines insurance quotes and policies, modifying policies, etc. As referred to herein, commercial-lines insurance policies relate to insurance policies for commercial and/or business needs, as opposed to individuals' needs. Examples of commercial-lines insurance include, but are not limited to: business owners insurance policy (e.g., Travelers' MasterPac policy); automobile insurance coverage for a business auto fleet; workers compensation (WC) insurance; and umbrella insurance coverage.

2. Description of the Related Art

Insurance companies have traditionally used large, centralized data processing systems that run on mainframe computers. Because of the large amounts of data that must be handled and because of the criticality of the system, mainframes have provided an economical way to provide the necessary performance and reliability. As insurance companies become more competitive, it is imperative that insurance agents be provided an easy-to-use, user-friendly interface with which to view policy information, issue insurance quotes and policies, and so on.

Since many insurance agents have the ability to issue policies from more than one insurance company, it is often ease-of-use that makes the sale when prices are relatively similar. Additionally, insurance companies have invested significant resources into legacy mainframe applications. It would be very costly to completely rewrite mainframe applications for another computing environment.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is a need for a web-based insurance data processing system and method that provide the necessary reliability, performance, and ease-of-use. There is also a need for a system and method that can provide a modern, user-friendly interface to a legacy insurance system, such as a mainframe system, to provide information about insurance policies such as commercial-lines insurance policies to users, issue commercial-lines insurance quotes and policies, modify policies, etc.

Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method for a web-based graphical user interface (GUI) to an insurance data processing system (insurance system) that is fast and simple to navigate.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention also provide a system and method for a user-friendly interface to an insurance system that requires minimal training, increases productivity, and saves money.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention further provide a system and method for a web-based interface to an insurance system that integrates use of Internet technology in business work flows, provides dynamic data entry for insurance coverage packages and pricing programs that are most often used, and offers easy access to value-added products and services.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention also provide a system and method for a web-based interface to an insurance system that enables local printing of insurance applications, proposals and forms to facilitate immediate delivery of professional-quality proposals to customers and on-demand printing of applications, forms and binders.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention additionally provide a system and method for a web-based interface to an insurance system that includes intuitive graphical features such as trees, buttons, hyperlinks, navigation bars, drop-down boxes, and dynamic screen painting.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention also provide a system and method for a web-based interface to an insurance system that continues process flow based on data capture, prompts only for pertinent questions, and displays specific coverage and deductible options that apply to form, jurisdiction and market.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limited in the following figures, in which:

FIG. 1A depicts a high level architecture for a web-based graphical user interface (GUI) to a host insurance data processing system (insurance system) and its insurance applications, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B depicts an application architecture showing a tier diagram for a web-based GUI to an insurance system and its insurance applications, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1C depicts a technical architecture, with reference to FIG. 1A, of the application architecture and tier diagram shown in FIG. 1B, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1D depicts an infrastructure of the technical architecture shown in FIG. 1C, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1E depicts in general a redundancy aspect of the technical architecture shown in FIGS. 1B-D, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1F depicts a particular redundancy architecture of FIG. 1E, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1G depicts a components and services framework in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A depicts a user's desktop screen with a window opened for accessing a private network to gain entry to the GUI and insurance system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B depicts a screen for verifying the user login identification and password for the private network accessed by the screen in FIG. 2A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2C depicts a screen for user selection of a web site for a desired insurance system after a successful logon to the private network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-B depict screens for activation of a new ID and password for the host insurance applications, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 depicts a splash screen upon accessing a commercial-lines insurance application from the host insurance company, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 depicts a Special Message screen, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 depicts an Account Search/Account Clearing screen, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 depicts a screen having an ellipse button, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 depicts a Common Information screen for account establishment, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 depicts an Account Summary screen, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 depicts a Quick Reference Locator screen for a MasterPac quote, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1l depicts a Quick Reference Locator screen for a MasterPac issue, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 depicts a prompt-related error messaging pop-up in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 depicts a cross-screen error messaging pop-up in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 depicts a Worksheet screen in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 depicts a Memo screen in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 depicts a Scorecard screen in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 shows an overview of a Mailbox screen flow in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 shows the Direct Bill Information screen of the MasterPac issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 shows the Policy Information screen of a workers compensation (WC) quote in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 20-22 shows the State/Class Code screen of the WC quote in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 shows the Pricing/State Plans screen of the WC quote in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 shows the ScoreCard screen for the WC quote in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 shows the Legal Entity Information screen, which displays first in the WC issue screen flow in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26 shows the State Issue Information screen of the WC Issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27 shows the General Issue Information screen for WC issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 28 shows the forms screen for WC Issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 29 shows the Final Issue Information screen for WC issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 30 shows the Quick Reference Locator (QRL) screen for WC Issue in accordance to an embodiment of the present invention in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 31 shows a Policy Information screen for the Automobile quote process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 32A-32C show a Policy Coverage screen, as it is scrolled down, of the Automobile quote process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 33A-33C show the Coverage Detail screen, as it is scrolled down, of the Automobile quote process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 34A-34C show a Vehicle Schedule or Information screen for an Automobile quote in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 35A-35B show the Vehicle Coverage Detail screen for an Automobile quote in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 36A and 36B together show the Class Code Help screen for the Automobile quote in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 37A-37D show the Pricing screen for an Automobile quote in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 38 shows a list of factors affecting the Pricing of an Automobile quote in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 39 shows a warning pop-up window for the Pricing screen of FIGS. 37A-37D in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 40 shows the Driver List screen for an Automobile quote in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 41 shows the QRL screen for Automobile issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 42 shows the Additional Interests screen in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 43 shows the Reporting Information screen for Automobile issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 44 shows the Coverage Schedule screen for Automobile issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 45 shows the Forms screen for Automobile issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 46 shows the Final Issue Information screen for Automobile issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 47A-47B depict the Umbrella Detail screen for an Umbrella quote in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 48 shows an example of an Underlying Schedule screen for an Umbrella issue process, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 49 shows an "A" Rate Submission screen for a state for an Umbrella issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 50 shows an example of a Forms screen for Umbrella issue, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 51 shows the Final Issue Information screen for Umbrella issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 52 shows the Quick Reference or Access Locator screen for an Umbrella issue in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides users with web-based access to an insurance data processing system (insurance system), such as a legacy insurance mainframe system, for insurance information about insurance policies to users, issuance of insurance quotes and policies, modification of policies, etc. For example, an insurance agent at a remote location using a web browser such as Netscape Communicator or Microsoft Internet Explorer can access the insurance system via a web server across a public communication network such as the Internet or a private communication network. One private communication network commonly used by insurance agents is the Insurance Value Added Network (IVAN). One feature of this approach is that all remote locations can have access to a central system and uniform graphical experience without the need to distribute software to each and every individual remote location.

The present invention also provides a mechanism for building a Web-based graphical user interface (GUI) to legacy systems while leveraging the legacy applications by "wrapping" each legacy application in a web-based GUI and then hiding the legacy application behind that interface. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the web-based GUI comprises at least one website that is provided by one or more web server groups or farms, each including one or more web servers. Any web-based development platform, such as the Microsoft Windows Distributed Internet Architecture (WINDNA), may be used to build and deploy the web-based GUI. In other words, the GUI applications may be hosted by an Internet information server (IIS), such as the Microsoft IIS, and utilize a teleprocessing or transaction processing monitor (TP monitor), such as the Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) to provide the web-based GUI and its website(s). The deployment of the web-based GUI of the present invention also includes server site replication to ensure that the server farms contain identical applications and information. Thus, legacy applications of the insurance system are hidden behind the web-based GUI, and users can access those legacy applications via the GUI and its website(s). The term "users" used throughout the present disclosure refers to insurance agents using the web-based GUI and insurance system to serve their insurance customers. Users can also refer to insurance customers themselves who are authorized to access the GUI website and the retrievable insurance applications therein. For website security, the GUI web servers can authenticate users with traditional Microsoft Windows-based authentication mechanisms such as lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) or Active Directory. The GUI web server farms and their web servers therein can then communicate with the insurance system using message queue (MQ) over transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP).

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there are provided three server farms for the web-based GUI to the insurance system as shown in FIG. 1A. One server farm 101 may be virtually set up at a public Internet hosting site and can be accessed by users 102 through the Internet 109 and IP router 110. Another server farm 103 may be virtually set up in a demilitarized zone (DMZ), i.e., a barrier between the intranet and the Internet, and can be accessed by users 104 through private networks such as the IVAN. The third server farm 105 may be virtually set up within an insurance host internal network and can be accessed by users 106 through the intranet of the internal network. The users 102, 104, and 106 all use the web-based GUI to access the various server farms. These server farms are in turn connected to the host insurance system 108, which is also located within the host internal network, via the MQ 107. Security features such as data encryption, user authentication, and firewalls are used with the server farms in the appropriate manner to define their virtual set-ups, even though they may be physically located in one location, to prevent unauthorized use of the GUI and its web servers and entry into the host insurance system 108.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a software or hardware load balancer 100 such as the Cisco LocalDirector can be used to load balance between the web server farms 101, 103, and 105, with each web server in the server farms running, for example, Windows 2000. The LocalDirector 100 load balances between the server farms 101, 103, and 105. If one server farm goes down, the user's state is maintained and his or her session can be continued on one of the remaining server farms. Thus, the server farms back up one another. Likewise, as mentioned earlier, there may be provided more than one server per server farm; thus, if one server goes down, the user's state is maintained and his or her session can also be continued on another server in the same server farm.

Some legacy applications of the insurance system embed business logic into their legacy screen programs for data entry. Because the web-based GUI of the present invention replaces those legacy screen programs, new code for the web-based GUI may be created to ask users the appropriate questions and to make sure that appropriate answers are given under the various circumstances of insurance. Some of these circumstances include the various jurisdictions or states for which the insurance products are requested, the various insurance products available to users from the insurance host and its system, the various insurance filings, etc. For instance, in an insurance quote transaction, the web-based GUI of the present invention can collect the necessary information from a user and then route such information to the insurance rating engines within the insurance system to generate an insurance quote for the user. If the user is interested in the quote, the insurance sale process continues whereby the GUI will prompt the user for additional information, such as billing information and other information pertinent to the insurance policy of interest. The additional information is then sent back to the issue engines of the insurance system where premium breakdowns are analyzed, statistical feeds and feeds for the general ledger and advanced function printing are created, etc.

FIG. 1B shows an application architecture and a tier diagram for accessing the insurance system and its insurance applications via a web-based GUI of the present invention. The web-based GUI includes the web browser 111, such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator/Communicator, that users 102, 104, and 106 (FIG. 1A) use to access the host insurance system 108. As mentioned earlier, the web-based GUI also includes web servers 112, which are located in the server farms 101, 103, and 105 (FIG. 1A) and built and deployed by, for example, WINDNA. The web servers 112 provide a presentation service tier. The host insurance system 108 provides a business services tier and a data services tier. The presentation service tier of the web browsers 112 includes a screen presentation, a business service interface, and a business service access for: gathering information from the users by using an interview engine to guide them to relevant questions and allowable answers; sending users' information to the business services for processing; receiving the results of the business services processing; and presenting those results to the users. The business services tier of the host 108 includes services, components, a legacy interface, rating engines, and issue systems for: receiving input from the presentation services tier; interacting with the data services tier to perform the business operations that were designed to be automated (e.g., report ordering, issue processing, rating, etc.); and sending the processed results to the presentation services tier. The data services tier of the host 108 includes report ordering, work management, product, work in progress (WIP), and policy databases for: storing data; retrieving data; maintaining data; and assuring the integrity of data.

FIG. 1C provides a technical architecture, with reference to FIG. 1A, of the application architecture and tier diagram shown in FIG. 1B, wherein like elements are labeled with like numbers. As shown, the presentation services tier includes the web browsers 111, the load balancer or local director 100, the web servers 112 with an associated structured query language (SQL) server 113 for maintaining the users' states in the web servers 112. Just as shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1C shows that the web servers 112 communicate with the host 108 using the MQ 107. The business services tier and the data services tier at the host 108 include: the business events and business rules for the business services tier and the various aforementioned databases 119 for the data services tier. The host 108 further includes legacy interfaces 116 and legacy database 117 for providing access to the legacy insurance applications 118.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the application code for the business rules and events for the business services tier can be developed using Computer Associates Cool:Gen, which is a modeling tool and application generator. This product provides a mechanism for developing platform independent source code for the web-based system. Once an application code is developed in Cool:Gen, it can be deployed in Unix, Windows 2000, or other operating systems. In this instance, the application code for the business rules and events is deployed in a Customer Information Control System and/or Information Management System (CICS/IMS) environment at the host 108.

FIG. 1D shows the infrastructure of the technical architecture in FIG. 1C, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, with like elements labeled with like numbers. As mentioned earlier, each web server 112 is built and deployed by WINDNA, which includes the IIS and the MTS. As is known in the art, the IIS provides the HTTP processing for the web server 112 and supports Active Server Pages (ASPs) 121 for dynamic processing of content from databases. The ASPs 121 retrieve functions through a local hub 122 at each web server 112. The local hub 112 provides a layer through which functions from the host insurance system or anywhere can be retrieved and used by the ASPs 121. The web server 112 further includes a Comproxy 123 developed through Cool:Gen, which is used to handle communication between the web server 112 and the host insurance system 108 by running the MQ client 124 for connection to the MQ 107 at the host insurance system 108. As mentioned earlier, the web server 112 provides the screen presentation of the presentation services tier. It also allows user personalization and customization of the screen presentation and implements business rules when applicable.

As mentioned earlier, user authentication and security for the web-based GUI of the present invention are provided to the web servers 112 using traditional Microsoft Windows-based authentication mechanisms such as lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) or Active Directory. According to one embodiment of the present invention, authentication and security features are set up in at least one server farm 145, with an LDAP server 147, separate from the web servers 112. Again, where the authentication and security features are set up depend on whether the features are designed for users accessing the web-based GUI of the present invention via the Internet, Intranet, or a private data network.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the host 108 comprises a multiple virtual storage (MVS) mainframe with the CICS/IMS environment 115. There is provided a remote hub 126 in the CICS/IMS 115 for accessing the business events and business rules (BR) functions 128 for the business services tier and the databases 119 for the data services tier. Like the local hub 122 in the web servers 112, the remote hub 126 provides a layer through which functions from the host insurance system or anywhere can be accessed by the web servers 112 and/or the host insurance system 108. Together, the business events and business rules 128 and the databases 119 trigger access to the legacy applications via an External Action Block (EAB) 116, which is the legacy wrapper or legacy interface. Thus, the CICS/IMS 115 implements the business rules, manage inventory of the business rules, extend the business rules to the web server 112, manage inventory of services, and provide wrapping of legacy applications.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the business events and rules are set up in a component and services architecture, wherein each component comprises one or more services. Each component represents an insurance subject or product made available to the users by the host insurance system; whereas, each service corresponds to an action that a user can perform for a particular component. For example, FIG. 1G shows a components and services framework with components classified in eight different groups: references, product type, quotes, customers, activity type, correspondence type, activities, and correspondence. Descriptions of the components are found in Table 1, with the current number of public operations representing examples of the number of services for each of the components.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Acceptance Package: This component holds information on the WIP needed for interface with the Electronic Publication application for a quote. Current number of public operations: 5 Actions: This component holds data on the WIP relating to Underwriter Actions and Notations on a Quote. Current number of public operations: 11 Additional Interests (Policy Participant): This component holds data on the WIP relating to various third parties associated with a quote. Current number of public operations: 10 Agent: This component has services that wrap legacy programs for interfacing with the Agency Database. Current number of public operations: 3 Common: This component has services that are common routines for such things as parsing names and addresses. Current number of public operations: 8 Convert Score: This component has services having to do with the manipulation of credit scores, including the conversion between numeric and alpha scores. Some of the services wrap legacy programs. Current number of public operations: 7 Coverage: This component holds data on the WIP about the coverages on a policy quote. Current number of public operations: 23 Credit Surcharge Type: This component holds the product rules governing credits and surcharges that can be applied to policies. Used mainly by the Boat product. Current number of public operations: 21 Customer: This component has services that wrap legacy programs for interfacing with the Personal Lines customer files. Current number of public operations: 9 Endorsement: This component holds data on the WIP about the endorsements on a policy quote. Current number of public operations: 11 Event: This component holds information about an event/activity entered into the Contact Management application Current number of public operations: 6 Event Type: This component holds information about the types of events/activities that can be entered in the Contract Management application. Current number of public operations: 2 Installment Schedule: This component has services that wrap a legacy program for calculating installment payments. Current number of public operations: 1 Location: This component holds data on states, and also has services for directly accessing the TAP City Database and PPC Table. Current number of public operations: 5 Lookup: This component holds data for a myriad of different reference lookups. Current number of public operations: 7 Loss: This component holds data on the WIP about losses, accidents, convictions, etc., associated with a quote. Current number of public operations: 22 Outside Report: This component hold information in the Warehouse about requests for outside reports and the reports themselves that are received. Current number of public operations: 31 Outside Report Type: This component holds information that defines the formats of outside report requests and outside report results. Current number of public operations: 9 Personnel/Staff Member: This component holds data about personnel and organizations in the business service offices that are used for the contact management and work management applications. Current number of public operations: 2 Policy: This component holds Policy/Quote level data on the WIP. Current number of public operations: 80 Policy Subject: This component holds data on the WIP about the persons and things that are insured by a policy quote. Current number of public operations: 27 Premium: This component holds information on the WIP about the premium charges for a quote, including credits and surcharges. Current number of public operations: 11 Premium Type: This component holds the product rules governing premium charges for policies. Used only by the Boat product. Current number of public operations: 20 Pricing Options: This component holds the product rules governing premium levels, pricing tracks and writing companies. Current number of public operations: 4 Pricing Option TRV: This component has Travelers written services relating to Pricing Options. Current number of public operations: 1 Problem Log: This component holds a log of error messages related to a quote on the WIP. Current number of public operations: 5 Product Rules: This component contains product rules about Policy Types, Coverage Grant Options (Coverage and Endorsement Types), Coverage Dependencies, Limit Types, Deductible Types and Subject Types. Current number of public operations: 33 Rate Type: This component holds product rules governing premium rates. Used only by the Boat product. Current number of public operations: 20 Rating Results: This component holds data on the WIP that is returned from the policy rating systems when a quote is rated. Current number of public operations: 3 Reinsurance Type: This component holds the product rules governing premium charges for reinsurance on policies. Used only by the Boat product. Current number of public operations: 18 Script: This component holds script questions and answers for use in building dynamic facet screens. Current number of public operations: 24 Symbol: This component has services that wrap legacy programs for accessing the Automobile symbol database. Current number of public operations: 3 Template: This component holds information about Templates, which are Quotes on the WIP that are not real customer quotes, but rather are contain default data used to create a new quote. Current number of public operations: 4 Transaction Log: This component hold information on the WIP relating to transactions sent to the policy rating and issue applications for quotes on the WIP. Current number of public operations: 11 Transaction Type: This component holds data that defines the allowable transaction and subtransaction type combinations by line of business, policy status and call type. Current number of public operations: 3

FIG. 1E shows in general the redundancy aspect of the technical architecture depicted in FIGS. 1B-D, with like elements labeled with like numbers. As explained earlier with reference to FIG. 1A, there are web servers 112 located at different locations or server farms with a load balancer such as a LocalDirector 100 to load balance between the server farms. The web server sites 112 are identical to one another through server site replication, and the states of the web server sites 112 are maintained by the SQL server 113 through open database connectivity/OLE database (ODBC/OLEDB). Thus, the web server sites are redundantly provided to serve as backups to one another as mentioned earlier. The web server sites 112 communicate with the host insurance system 108 using MQ to access legacy insurance applications such as rating engines, issue systems, billing, and claim. As shown in FIG. 1D, there is a CICS/IMS environment 115, complete with remote hubs for providing services and components and a legacy interface to the legacy insurance applications, corresponding to each of the web servers site 112. Because the web server sites 112 are replicated, their corresponding CICS/IMS environments are also replicated.

FIG. 1F shows a particular redundancy architecture of FIG. 1E in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, wherein like elements are labeled with like numbers. A user wishing to access the web-based GUI to the host insurance system must first access the web browser on his or her machine 90. The user's machine 90 then communicates to the load balancer or LocalDirector 100, which load balances user requests across multiple web servers sites 112. Which ever site 112 is selected to receive a user request from the LocalDirector 100 then accesses a proxycfg.ini file to determine the transmission type (i.e., MQ) and location (i.e., MQ name). Next, the selected web server site 112 accesses a channel table to determine an MQ Manager 107, based on the determined transmission type and location, to communicate with the host insurance system. Both the channel table and the proxycfg.ini reside in each web servers site 112. The first entry in the channel table is designated the primary, and the second entry in the channel table is designated a secondary for fail over. The selected web server 112 then communicates to the host insurance system via MQ, which triggers a host transaction or service from the CICS/IMS 115. If the service requires information from another application, MQ is utilized as the communication interface. In this embodiment there are multiple legacy systems 171-174 which MQ can access via additional MQ managers.

Explanation is now made with regard to users accessing the insurance system and legacy insurance applications with the web-based GUI of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows an access of the insurance system with the GUI via a private communication network such as IVAN, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the user must first access his or her private network account by opening up the logon screen 200 for such network, wherein the logon screen 200 is made possible by the IVAN product software installed on the user's machine. The "screen", as it is referred to throughout the present disclosure, displays any one of the web pages residing at the website of the web-based GUI. At the logon screen 200, the user must enter his or her login identification (ID) in the login profile box 250 and a password in the password box 270, wherein the login ID and the password are those required for access to the private data network. Once the user is successfully connected to the private network, the user may also be required to validate the login ID and password again in the input fields 350 and 370 of screen 300, as shown in FIG. 2B. Once the user's ID and password for IVAN are validated, a screen 400 is displayed, shown in FIG. 2C. Here, the user can choose to access the host insurance systems, such as the Traveler's host systems, by clicking on button 402 and the host insurance applications, such as Traveler's intranet applications, by clicking on button 404. Thus, the private communication network software on the user's machine enables the user to access both the host insurance systems and the host insurance applications with one common connection and ID. The end result is that the user can easily "toggle" between the two choices seamlessly.

To access the host insurance applications, the user must have another ID and password for such applications. As is known in the art, the user obtains such ID and password upon developing a business relationship, such as a principal/agent relationship, with the host insurance company. When the user is set up with a new ID, it is necessary to activate the ID by accessing the host insurance systems 404 of FIG. 2C. The ID must be activated in the environment the user will be accessing the host insurance applications (i.e., Production and/or Training). FIG. 3A shows the ID activation screen 430 upon accessing the host insurance systems. Here, the user is prompted to enter the new ID at 432 (e.g., "048546584") and password at 434 and to press <Enter> upon completion. As shown in the figure, each character of the password is denoted by an asterisk to prevent unwanted viewing of the user's typed-in password.

FIG. 3B shows an Applications menu 440 that is next displayed on the user's machine. Here, the user can select a Training or Production environment and press <Enter>. For instance, to activate the new ID and password for the commercial lines insurance applications, the user can select 1 for PC Commercial Lines in the Applications menu 440. A Commercial Lines menu will then appear (not shown), and the user can select a particular commercial-lines insurance application from that menu and press <Enter> through the Special Message screens (as described later) until the user arrives at the main menu for the selected insurance application (as described later). That is all the user needs to activate the user's ID for use with the selected insurance application. The user can now log off the host insurance systems and subsequently log straight into the logon screen of the selected insu