Method and system for auctioning assets and valuing same

Abstract

A method and system for conducting, managing and executing over a communication network, an auction of claims or assets to buyers having expressed interest in purchasing claims or assets is presented. The method includes placing an indication of the availability of at least one of said assets at a remote site, wherein said indication is accessible by each of said buyers over said network, notifying at least one buyer predeterminedly expressing interest in items contained within said claims or assets of the availability of said at least one claim or asset, determining a market value of said at least one claim or asset based on historical data of same or similar claims or assets, dynamically adjusting the market value, conducting an interactive bidding process, notifying one of the bidding buyers of acceptance of a corresponding bid when said bid satisfies predetermined criteria, and recording the accepted bid.

1 . A computer-implemented method for conducting over a computer communication network, an auction of at least one subrogation claim to a plurality of potential bidders, said method comprising:
 storing by a processor on a hardware server connected to said computer network an indication of the availability of the at least one subrogation claim for bid and a market value of the at least one subrogation claim, wherein said indications are accessible by each of said plurality of potential bidders over said network;   receiving at the processor via said network one or more bids for the at least one subrogation claim from at least one of said potential bidders;   notifying by the processor via said network one of said at least one potential bidders of acceptance of one of said received bids when said bid satisfies predetermined criteria; and   storing by the processor data indicative of said accepted bid in a memory device.   
   
   
       2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising dynamically adjusting said market value based on one or more factors. 
   
   
       3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining that the available volume of subrogation claims is greater than a need of the at least one of said potential bidders;   determining whether the available volume of subrogation claims can be divided into smaller volumes; and   responsive to determining that the available volume of subrogation claims cannot be divided into smaller volumes, initiating a notification to the seller.   
   
   
       4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining the market value, the determining the market value comprising:
 accessing historical data of sales of subrogation claims;   determining an asset unit value based on said historical data; and   formulating said market value based on said asset unit value and a number of said subrogation claims available.   
   
   
       5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 4  wherein said asset unit value is determined as a weighted average. 
   
   
       6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 5  wherein the weighted average is determined in accordance with one or more factors selected from the group comprising: number of subrogation claims, duration of sale, and date of sale. 
   
   
       7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising notifying at least one of said potential bidders of the availability of said at least one subrogation claim. 
   
   
       8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining whether there are sufficient claims or assets to meet a need of the at least one of said potential bidders;   responsive to determining that there are not sufficient subrogation claims to meet the need of the at least one of said potential bidders, determining whether an amount of subrogation claims is greater than the need of the at least one of said potential bidders; and   responsive to determining that the amount subrogation claims is not greater than the need of the at least one of said potential bidders, initiating a seller notification process to inform the seller of the need of the at least one of said potential bidders.   
   
   
       9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 adjusting said market value based on one or more factors, the one or more factors including a score determined employing data including: characteristics of: underlying insurance, an underlying insurance claim, a tortfeasor, and an insurance carrier of the tortfeasor.   
   
   
       10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 9 , further comprising making the adjusted market value accessible by each of said plurality of potential bidders. 
   
   
       11 . A computer system for conducting over a communication network an auction of at least one subrogation claim, said system comprising:
 a processor, a memory device, a plurality of input/output devices, and a communications medium, the processor being in communication with the memory device, and the plurality of input/output devices via the communications medium,   wherein the processor is configured to:   store an indication of the availability of the at least one subrogation claim for bid, wherein said indication is accessible by each of said plurality of potential bidders over said network;   determine a market value of the at least one subrogation claim;   store data indicative of the determined market value, wherein said indication is accessible by each of said plurality of potential bidders over said network;   receive via said network one or more bids for the at least one subrogation claim from at least one of said potential bidders;   notify via said network one of said at least one potential bidders of acceptance of a corresponding bid when said bid satisfies predetermined criteria; and   store data indicative of said accepted bid in a memory device.   
   
   
       12 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 adjust said market value based on one or more factors, the factors comprising a score based on characteristics of: underlying insurance, an underlying insurance claim, a tortfeasor, and an insurance carrier of the tortfeasor.   
   
   
       13 . The computer system of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to make the adjusted market value accessible by each of said plurality of potential bidders. 
   
   
       14 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to notify at least one of said potential bidders of the availability of said at least one subrogation claim. 
   
   
       15 . The computer system of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to group like claims from a plurality of sellers. 
   
   
       16 . A computer-readable medium having a plurality of instructions thereon which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
 store at a hardware server connected to a computer network data indicative of the availability of at least one subrogation claim for bid and data indicative of the market value of the at least one subrogation claim, wherein said indications are accessible by each of a plurality of potential bidders over said network;   receive via said network one or more bids for the at least one subrogation claim from at least one of said potential bidders;   notify via said network one of said at least one potential bidders of acceptance of one of said received bids when said bid satisfies predetermined criteria; and   store data indicative of said accepted bid in a memory device.   
   
   
       17 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to: access the market value prior to storing the indication of the market value. 
   
   
       18 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to determine the market value prior to storing the indication of the market value. 
   
   
       19 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to adjust said market value based on one or more factors, the factors comprising a score based on characteristics of: underlying insurance, an underlying insurance claim, a tortfeasor, and an insurance carrier of the tortfeasor, and to make the adjusted market value available. 
   
   
       20 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to notify at least one of said potential bidders of the availability and the market value of said at least one subrogation claim.