United States Patent
`
`[191
`
`4,567,359
`* Jan. 28, 1986
`[45]
`Date of Patent:
`Lockwood
`
`[111
`
`Patent Number:
`
`[54] AUTOMATIC INFORMATION, GOODS AND
`SERVICES DISPENSING SYSTEM
`
`[76}
`
`Inventor:
`
`Lawrence B. Lockwood, 5935 Folsom
`Dr., La Jolla, Calif. 9203?
`
`[ * ] Notice:
`
`The portion of the term of this patent
`subsequent to Nov. 16, 1999 has been
`disclaimed.
`
`[21] Appl. No: 613,525
`
`[22]
`
`Filed:
`
`May 24, 1984
`
`Int. CI.‘
`[51]
`[52] U.S. Cl.
`[58] Field of Search
`
`GfléF 15/00; 606F 15/30
`235/381
`364/200, 900; 235/331
`
`
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`........................ 340/l53
`3,622,995 ll/l9ir'l Clarke et a].
`4,300,040 ll/l931 Gould ................................. 235/38]
`4,346,442
`8,4982 Musmanno .......................... 364/408
`4,359,631 ll/l982 Lockwood et al.
`................ 235/38]
`
`Primary Examiner—Gareth D. Shaw
`Assistant Examiner—John G. Mills
`Attorney, Agent, or Hrm—Charmasson 3; H011
`
`[51}
`
`ansmncr
`
`A system for automatically dispensing information,
`goods and services to a customer on a self-service basis
`including a central data processing center in which
`information on services offered by various institutions
`in a particular industry is stored. One or more self-ser-
`vice information and sales terminals are remotely linked
`to the central data processing center and are pro-
`grammed to gather information from prospective cus-
`tomers on goods and services desired,
`to transmit to
`customers information on the desired goods or services
`from the central data processing center, to take orders
`for goods or services from customers and transmit them
`for processing to the central data processing center, to
`accept payment, and to deliver goods or services in the
`form of documents to the customer when orders are
`
`completed. The central data processing center is also
`remotely linked to terminals of the various institutions
`serviced by the system, so that each institution can be
`kept up—dated on completed sales of services offered by
`that institution.
`
`8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures
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`Jan. 28, 1986
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`

`1
`
`4,567,359
`
`AUTOMATIC INFORMATION, GOODS AND
`SERVICES DISPENSING SYSTEM
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to a system for automat~
`ically dispensing information, services and products to
`customers in a self-service fashion. Such a system may
`be used, for example, for automatically dispensing insur-
`ance quotations and policies.
`In service-oriented industries such as the insurance
`industry, offices must be staffed with sales personnel
`working on a one-to-one basis with walk-in or phone-in
`customers. Often personnel time is inefficient since ad-
`vice and quotations given do not result in a sale. The
`custOmer is under sales pressure, and has to visit or call
`various companies in order to compare coverages and
`prices. Thus time and energy is wasted for both the
`industry and the customer, increasing the cost of such
`services.
`
`5
`
`l0
`
`IS
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`It is an object of the present invention to provide an
`automatic and efficient system for dispensing informa~
`tion and contractual services to the general public on a
`self-service basis from remote terminals.
`It is a further object of the invention to provide such
`a system which is particularly useful for dispensing
`information, goods and services such as insurance quo-
`tations and policy binders agreements.
`It is also an object of this invention to provide the
`general public information about comparable insurance
`coverages from several sources for comparison pur-
`poses and to automatically generate and issue insurance
`binder agreements aceording to customer’s choice and
`specifications.
`An additional object of this invention is to provide
`such services by means of simulated personal interview
`with a factitious agent created by audio-visual devices
`from prerecorded sound, images and synthesized data
`for the orderly collection of essential information.
`It is another object of the invention to provide a
`system which reduces the overall cost of such services
`by lowering personnel and office overheads.
`According to the present
`invention, an automatic
`system for dispensing information and goods such as
`printed insurance quotations and binder agreements is
`provided, the system comprising a data processing cen-
`ter and several remote satellite facilities linked to the
`center. The satellites are self-service sales and informa-
`tion terminals, each equipped with a factitious agent,
`plurality of data sources each corresponding to a goods
`or service selling company, a credit verification source
`and a printing device to furnish the customer with a
`permanent record of insurance quotations or issue of 55
`policy binders. The system carries out the following
`steps:
`(I) Queries from a customer are accepted by the ter-
`minal;
`(2) The factitious agent solicits any necessary infor-
`mation from the customer in order to answer the
`queries;
`(3) Customer information and queries are transmitted
`to the processing center;
`(4) Relevant data are retrieved from the data sources,
`processed and transmitted to the terminal;
`(5) If the customer elects to make a credit card or
`debit card purchase of goods or services in re-
`
`45
`
`65
`
`2
`Spouse to the data received, a credit check is re-
`quested from the credit information source;
`(6) On credit approval, the requested goods or ser-
`vices are dispensed in consideration for customer’s
`payment by credit card or other form of payment;
`(3') Information on the transaction is transmitted to
`the relevant company data source.
`The preferred embodiment of the invention is directed
`to a system for automatically dispensing insurance quo-
`tations and policies. The central data processing center
`is linked to data scurces of various insurance companies
`containing information on premiums and policies. The
`terminal is programmed to audiovisually elicit from the
`customer the information necessary to provide an insur-
`ance quotation from the various companies. If the cus-
`tomer elects to purchase any of the quoted policies, the
`terminal accepts the customer‘s credit card, initiates a
`credit check and, on approval, dispenses the policy.
`This system saves considerable time and money both
`for the customer and the insurance companies. The
`customer does not have to personally visit or telephone
`several insurance companies in order to obtain quota-
`tions, and the companies do not have to provide so
`many sales personnel to deal with such multiple queries
`on a one-to-one basis. Since many of these queries do
`not result in sales, company time which would other-
`wise be wasted is saved. The insurance companies are
`up-dated on policies sold periodically, for example at
`the end of every working day.
`The central data processing center is preferably
`linked to many self~service terminals which may be
`provided at convenient locations, such as banks, super-
`markets, department stores, and so on.
`The central data processing center stores information
`on the services and prices offered by each institution,
`and on customer sales completed by each sales and
`information terminal. The central data processing cen-
`ter is programmed to transmit periodically to each insti—
`tution’s data processing terminal, either directly or indi-
`rectly, for example through an automated telecommuni-
`cation network service such as TELENET ®; up—dated
`information on sales made by the system for that institu-
`tion. The center is also programmed to receive informa-
`tion on any changes in prices or services offered by each
`institution in the same way. and up-date the information
`stored accordingly.
`Each sales and information terminal is programmed
`to gather a predetermined sequence of information from
`a customer on the services in which the customer is
`interested, and to transmit the information to the central
`data processing center.
`In response to the gathered
`information, the central data processing center extracts
`the desired infomation from its storage and transmits it
`back to the terminal where it is relayed to the customer.
`Subsequently, the terminal is programmed to accept
`an order for the offered services from the customer, to
`collect payment and to dispense the services to the
`customer. The central data processing center will then
`update its stored information on completed sales.
`Suitable data links, such as phone line data links, are
`provided between the sales and information terminals
`and the central data processing center. Similar data
`links are provided between the data processing center
`and the institution data processing terminals. either
`directly or via a telecommunication sentice. In the lat-
`ter case each institution will have its own particular
`account number with the service to which information
`
`Page 00009
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`

`

`3
`on sales made by the system will be delivered. Similarly,
`the system itself will have an account number to which
`each institution can deliver information on any changes
`in prices or services offered.
`The central data processing center is suitably also
`linked to a remote credit information center for check-
`ing the credit of a customer in response to a sales order
`or charging customer’s account via debit card.
`Such a system can, for example, be used in the insur-
`ance industry. A number of automatic insurance termi-
`nals can be set up at various convenient locations such
`as banks, stores, or shopping malls. The terminals are all
`linked to the central data processing center and each
`include a data processor programmed to transmit pre-
`selected inforrnation to a customer and to gather prede-
`termined customer information.
`
`Thus a customer will be asked pertinent questions on
`the type of insurance desired and the information neces-
`sary to process a quotation for that particular type of
`insurance will be solicited. The gathered information is
`sent to the central data prooessing center, where the
`quotation is processed and transmitted back to the ter-
`minal. The customer is then given an opportunity to
`immediately select an insurance policy from one of the
`institutions. If an insurance policy binder is desired, a
`credit check is initiated. and if payment is verified the
`order is processed and a policy is printed out at the
`terminal. If the customer decides, he may take the quo-
`tation home for study and decision and return later to
`purchase a policy since a record of the customer‘s infor-
`mation is now on file.
`
`A prospective insurance purchaser may receive a
`series of quotations from various institutions quickly
`and easily, without having to submit to a lengthy sales
`presentation. The purchaser can compare quotations at
`leisure, or obtain a policy on the spot if desired. The
`sales terminals can be far more numerous than insurance
`offices, at many convenient locations, and may be open
`round-the-clock.
`
`The system as applied to the insurance industry is
`arranged to give personalized insurance quotations,
`make sales and take orders, collect the premiums. and
`forward all the information to the respective insurance
`company. The respective insurance company can signif-
`icantly reduce paperwork and overhead costs, and have
`access to a wider area of the community since sales
`terminals can be placed in communities not usually
`served by a company representative.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a general block diagram showing an over-
`view of a system for automatically dispensing insurance
`quotations and policies according to an embodiment of
`the invention;
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an information
`and sales terminal of the system of FIG. 1; and
`FIGS. 3 to 7 are detailed flow diagrams of the system.
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT
`
`10
`
`IS
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`FIG. 1 shows an overview of an automatic system for
`dispensing insurance quotations and policies according
`to a preferred embodiment of the invention. It will be
`understood that such a system can be used in a variety
`of other service-oriented industries, such as the travel
`industry, catalogue sales industry, various financial
`services, and the like.
`
`65
`
`4,567,359
`
`4
`The system basically comprises a central data pro-
`cessing center I linked to various remote terminals,
`including one or more information and sales terminals 2.
`a credit information terminal 3, and data processing
`terminals 4 of various insurance companies served by
`the system. The terminals are all linked to the central
`data processing center by any suitable remote links,
`such as phone line data communication links. In the
`preferred embodiment of the invention the insurance
`companies terminals 4 are indirectly linked to the cen-
`tral data processing center 1 via an computorized tele-
`communication network service
`such as TELE-
`NET ®5. Each company and the system has their own
`specific account number with the service, which can be
`accessed by either the system or the company terminal
`to submit or retrieve information at periodic intervals.
`In the preferred embodiment of the invention. numer-
`ous sales and information terminals 2 are provided at a
`series of convenient locations, such as banks, stores,
`shopping malls, and so on. The terminals are all
`re~
`motely linked to the central data processing center.
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing various components
`of one such terminal.
`
`The terminal 2 is designed to provide the same level
`of services as would a well-informed insurance agent
`and to interface with the customer by means of a facti-
`tious agent created by electronic devices; but with such
`a level of realism that the customer gets the impression
`that he is dealing with a live person.
`The terminal 2 basically comprises a video subsystem
`6 and a communications and peripheral concentrator
`subsystem 7.
`The video subsystem basically comprises a video
`display and keyboard unit 8, a video information stor-
`age unit 9 for storing a predetermined information mes-
`sage, a processor unit 10 associated with a memory 11
`for controlling operation of the video subsystem, and
`software unit 12. In one embodiment of the invention
`the video subsystem comprises a Digital Equipment
`Corp. PRO IVIS (Interactive Video Information Sys-
`tem) and Touch System, although clearly many alterna-
`tives are available. The PRO IVIS system includes a
`PDP-l l/23-PLUS 16 bit microprocessor, and the video
`storage unit 9 is a microprocessor controlled videodisc
`player such as the VDP4O laser videodisc player. This
`videodisc player can playback any standard CAV (con-
`stant angular velocity) optical videodisc. The video
`display and keyboard unit 8 suitably comprises a touch
`screen monitor such as the VR241 DEC touch color
`monitor or an equivalent device which displays a touch
`pad 13.
`The communications and concentrator subsystem '7
`includes a front-end processing unit 14 linked by a suit-
`able interface 15 to the video subsystem processing unit
`6, and linked to various peripheral units to co-ordinate
`operation of these units with the video subsystem. The
`peripheral units include a voice synthesizer 16, a photo-
`sensor device 1‘7, a telephone sensor 18 linked to a tele-
`phone (not shown) provided in the terminal, a magnetic
`strip reader 19, a printer unit 20, and a modem link 21 to
`the central data processing center 1. In one embodiment
`the processing unit 14 comprises a PDP-l 1/238 com-
`puter or equivalent.
`The front-end processing unit 14 of the communica-
`tions subsystem 7 is programmed to detect the presence
`of a prospective customer via photo-sensor device 17.
`Where the terminal is set up in a booth, the sensor de-
`vice will be arranged to detect a customer entering the
`
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`4,567,359
`
`5
`booth. A customer detection signal is transmitted to the
`video subsystem 6, which operates to commence play-
`ing a pre-arranged video presentation from the video-
`disc player 9 over the monitor 3 and a simultaneous
`synchronized audio message over loudspeakers or a
`headphone set (not shown).
`The presentation solicits and allows the customer to
`enter information at various points via the touch pad 13
`displayed on the monitor screen. Such information is
`transmitted to peripheral subsystem 7, where it is gener-
`ally repeated by graphics on the monitor and by voice
`synthesizer l6 and transmitted via modem link 21 to the
`central data processing center 1. The voice synthesizer
`16 may suitably comprise a Digital Equipment Corp.
`DECTALK unit, for example.
`Information received back from the central data pro-
`cessing Center 1, for example insurance quotations, will
`be displayed and may be printed out by the processing
`unit III- over the printer unit 20. The videodisc player
`then continues the presentation asking the customer
`whether or not he wishes to make a purchase. If a pur-
`chase order is entered, the customer places a credit card
`in the magnetic strip reader 19. The processing unit 14
`is arranged to receive credit card information from the
`reader 19 and transmit it to the central data processing
`center 1. Upon receipt of credit approval an insurance
`policy is dispensed via the printer unit 20.
`The interfacing of the various components of the
`terminal 2 described above is done according to stan-
`dard practices well known to those skilled in the elec-
`tronic arts.
`
`The customer upon entering the booth, is then con-
`fronted with a factitious agent who appears on the
`video screen, solicits data, repeats answers, and gives
`instructions about the use of the system, and generally
`creates the impression of dealing with a live person.
`The central data processing center 1 includes a cen-
`tral processing unit 22 and memory 23. The memory 23
`stores program information and information on insur-
`ance policies and prices for various insurance compa-
`nies, which are periodically up-dated from the terminals
`4 of the various companies, and information on policy
`quotes and sales, which can be accessed periodically by
`the respective insurance company terminals. The pro»
`cessing unit 22 operates in response to program instruc-
`tions to perform insurance quotation calculations in
`response to customer information received from any of
`the terminals, to send quotation data to the respective
`terminal, and to receive credit card information from a
`terminal and access the credit information terminal for
`credit approval or disapproval of a particular credit
`card. If a customer makes a purchase order at a particu-
`lar terminal after credit is approved, the central data
`processing unit stores the policy information and sends
`instructions to the terminal to issue a policy.
`The various programs for carrying out the operations
`of the terminal processing units 10 and 14, and the cen-
`tral data processing center computer 22 are of a “menu-
`type" and can best be understood with reference to the
`flow diagrams of FIGS. 3 to 7. FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 show
`the sequence of operations carried out at the sales termi-
`nals 2 and FIGS. 6 and '7 show the operations carried
`out by the central data processing center computer 22,
`either in response to input from one of the terminals or
`at predetermined time intervals.
`The sequence of operations basically comprises the
`following steps:
`(1) Terminal awaits detection of a customer;
`
`6
`(2) Terminal detects customer;
`(3) Information gathering message played;
`(4) Customer enters necessary information and selects
`information/services desired;
`(5) lnformatiou relayed to central data processing
`center;
`{6) Central data processing center performs insurance
`quote calculations, up-dates a quote file, and relays
`the information back to the terminal;
`(7) Information given to customer an monitor screen
`and/or print-out;
`(8) Customer asked if he/she wishes to make a pur-
`chase;
`(9) If customer wishes to purchase insurance, credit
`card information is taken and relayed to the central
`data processing center;
`(10) The central data processing center accesses the
`credit information terminal for credit approval or
`disapproval;
`(ll) If credit is approved, the order is taken and a
`policy is issued to the customer at the terminal;
`(12) The central data processing center stores the
`information on the policy sold;
`(13) At the end of every day, the central data process-
`ing center transmits information on the daily quote
`and sales activity for each insurance company to
`the appropriate files of the Telenet ® computer;
`(14) The information for each company can be ac-
`cessed from its terminal
`linked to the Telenet®
`computer. At the same time, the insurance com-
`pany can transmit up-dates on prices and policies to
`the system account at the Telenet ® computer.
`These steps will now be described in more detail with
`reference to FIGS. 3 to 7.
`Referring now to FIG. 3, each terminal will initially
`be in a ready state 24 awaiting detection of a customer.
`When a customer enters a terminal, the processing unit
`14 is activated 25 by the photo-sensor device 17, and
`sends a signal to the processing unit 10 of the video
`subsystem to begin playback of the sales presentation.
`The presentation begins at 26 by asking the customer
`to select a language (e.g. English or Spanish). If no
`language is selected (27), the question is repeated. On
`selection of a language (28 or 29), the presentation con-
`tinues in the selected language.
`The customer is first asked if he or she has received a
`previous quotation from the system (30). If the answer is
`yes, the quotation is recalled in a series of steps 31 to 33
`from the central data processing center. If the answer is
`no, the questioning continues.
`As seen in FIG. 4, the customer is asked (34) to select
`the type of insurance quotation desired (e.g. automobile
`35, homeowner 36, life 3'7 or health 38). When the type
`of insurance is selected, a series of pertinent questions
`(39) for that type of insurance is asked, such as age,
`gender, marital status, and so on. The customer enters
`responses (40) on the touch pad, and the responses are
`shown on the monitor screen and repeated by the voice
`synthesizer for customer verification. Each valid an-
`swer is stored (41) until all necessary information has
`been gathered. If at any stage, no answer is received
`(42) within a predetermined time limit (eg. about 15
`seconds), the program assumes that the customer has
`left the terminal and returns to the ready state 24 to wait
`for the next customer.
`If the customer has any problems in Operating the
`system, he or she can pick up the telephone, activating
`the telephone sensor 18 to cause the processing unit 14
`
`to
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`4s
`
`50
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`55
`
`65
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`to auto-dial the central data processing center I (see 43).
`In response to the telephone sensor input, the central
`data processing center captures any entered data and
`helps the customer complete the necessary information.
`Once all the necessary information has been gathered
`at the terminal (see 44), the processing unit 14 auto-dials
`the central data processing center 1 (see 45, FIG. 5),
`sends the gathered information to the center (46) and
`waits to receive an insurance quotation from each par-
`ticipating company. The central data processing center
`performs the desired quote, as will be described in con-
`nection with FIG. 6 below, and sends the quote back to
`the terminal.
`
`the customer is
`On receipt of the quotation (47),
`asked if lie/she wants a printed copy (48). If the cus-
`tomer answers yes, a printout is made at printer unit 20
`(49). The customer is then asked if he/she wishes to
`purchase an insurance policy (50). If the answer is no,
`the customer is thanked (51);
`the dial-up line to the
`central data processing center is disconnected (52), and
`the terminal returns to the ready state 24 to wait for the
`next customer. If the answer is yes, the customer is
`asked to select the insurance coverage and insurance
`company desired (53).
`The payment verification process is then explained to
`the customer (54). The customer is asked to insert a
`credit card into the magnetic strip reader 19 (55). If the
`reader 19 is able to read the account number properly,
`the customer is asked to select a payment amount (56).
`If the card reader 19 is unable to read the account num-
`ber, the customer may enter the number manually on
`the touch pad (57) or the central data processing center
`customer service may be called for assistance (58).
`Once the credit card information has been obtained, it
`is sent to the central data proeessing center where a
`payment verification procedure is initiated, as will be
`described in more detail below in connection with FIG.
`6. The procedure results in either rejection or accep-
`tance of payment, and corresponding data is transmitted
`from the data processing center to the terminal.
`If payment is rejected, the customer can either insert
`another credit card (59) or call customer service for
`assistance (60).
`If payment is accepted (61), the customer is asked to
`enter his or her name and address for billing purposes
`(62). The policy information collected at steps 53 and 62
`is transmitted to the central data processing center. A
`binder policy issuance sequence is initiated at the center,
`as described in connection with FIG. 6 below. The
`binder policy information is then sent from the central
`data processing center back to the terminal, where the
`policy is printed out (63). The customer is then thanked,
`the dial-up line to the processing center 1 is discon-
`nected, and the terminal returns to the ready state 24 to
`await the next customer.
`
`The sequence of operations carried out by the central
`data processing center 1 in performing quotation calcu-
`lations, carrying out credit checks, and issuing binder
`policies, will now be described with reference to the
`flow diagram parts, shown in FIG. 6.
`When the central data processing center receives a
`quotation request (64) from one of the sales and infor-
`mation terminals 2. it first determines the type of quote
`requested. The center then locates the appropriate rat-
`ing information (65) for that type of insurance from the
`memory, and makes an insurance calculation (66) for
`each of a series of different insurance companies based
`on the information received from the customer. A quo-
`
`5
`
`ll]
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`tation history file stored in the memory is rip-dated (61),
`and the quotation is sent to the terminal {63).
`(69)
`On receipt of a payment verification request
`from a terminal, the processing center transmits the
`account number to the credit information terminal 3
`(70). The results of the verification process are received
`by the processing center and relayed to the terminal. If
`payment is rejected, the customer is notified at the ter-
`minal (71). If payment is accepted, a policy information
`record (72) is created at the central data processing
`center and the customer is notified at the terminal.
`When the central data processing center receives a
`request (73) to issue a policy from the terminal,
`the
`policy information file is up-dated with the name and
`address of the customer (‘74). If an automobile insurance
`policy has been requested, a Motor Vehicle Request
`(75) is generated automatically. The binder policy data
`(‘16) is sent to the terminal for issuing the policy to the
`customer.
`
`The central data processing center 1 performs a num-
`ber of programmed off-line operations at periodic inter-
`vals, as illustrated by the flow diagram in FIG. 7. The
`quotation and policy information files stored in the
`memory are up-dated daily. Additionally, a motor vehi-
`cle request file is stored and updated daily.
`Every evening, a daily processing job stream E is run.
`This includes loading motor vehicle requests from a
`service bureau (77), and creating various daily reports.
`The daily reports include a policy activity report (78)
`listing all policies for that particular day's processing, a
`payment verification report (79) listing all payments
`verified by company number sequence, and quotation
`report (80) listing all quotations for a particular com-
`pany by terminal and by insurance type.
`A policy data file (31) is created for all policies issued
`for each company in that particular day’s processing.
`This file is sent to the appropriate insurance company
`computer terminal 4 via Telenet ® to be input to their
`automated billing system. The central data processing
`center dials a central computer such as the Telenet®
`computer 5 to which all the insurance company termi~
`nals are linked, logs on to the appropriate account for
`each company, and transmits the appropriate daily re-
`ports and policy data file to each company’s Specific
`Telenet® account. The insurance company can then
`retrieve the information in its account prior to the next
`day‘s business by dialing the Telenet ® computer from
`its own computer terminal 4.
`A monthly processing program F is run at the end of
`every month, including a payment verification report
`listing all payments verified for a given company during
`that month and a policy activity report listing all poli-
`cies issued for a given company for a particular month.
`These reports are transmitted to the relevant account
`numbers of the Telenet ® computer for subsequent
`retrieval by the respective companies, and for the daily
`reports.
`Data requests G can also be made by the individual
`insurance companies via their terminals 4 and the Tele-
`net® computer. When an insurance company wants a
`certain program to be run, a memo is sent from that
`company’s terminal to the specific Telenet ® account
`number for the central data processing center, stating
`which report is to be processed. The reports G which
`can be requested in this way are the quotation analysis
`report, and rate reports for each type of insurance of a
`particular company. The rate reports allow each com-
`pany to tip-date its rates in the system as necessary. The
`
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`quotation analysis report gives listings by company,
`insurance type and sales terminal: by company, sales
`terminal. date-and time; and by company. sales terminal.
`age and sex. Thus insurance companies can analyze the
`areas where more quotes are being requested.
`The requested reports will be sent from the central
`processing center to the particular company‘s Tele-
`net ® account for later retrieval by the company.
`Programs H are provided for keeping insurance rates
`stored by the central data processing center up to date
`The rates are up-dated by checking the rate files for
`each type of insurance offered by each company.
`The syste