Pet insurance system and method

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a system and method implemented to facilitate real-time medical coverage for veterinary hospitals. More specifically, the disclosure as a pet medical insurance system and method utilizes data available in veterinary hospital practice information systems to facilitate real-time insurance enrollment and claims processing.

1 . A pet medical insurance claims system, comprising:
 a backend component implemented on a computer, the backend component comprising a services component;   a plug-and-play data integration system connected to a practice management system in a veterinary practice and the backend component, wherein the plug-and-play data integration system receives data from the practice management system and maps the data according to the backend system, thereby limiting the data traffic between the backend component and the practice management system, the plug-and-play data integration system being integratable with a second or more different practice management systems for connection thereto;   wherein the data comprises, one or more pieces of information about one or more treatments and procedures for a patient by the veterinarian practice, and wherein, subsequent to an issuance of an insurance offer to an owner of the patient, the backend component is configured to send the data to a claim processing component for processing.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the backend component comprises the claim processing component and the claim processing component is configured to process a claim for one or more treatments and procedures for the patient. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the claim processing component is further configured to pay an amount to the veterinary practice after processing a claim. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the claim processing component is configured to process the claim for one or more treatments and procedures for the patient at the time of completion of the one or more treatments and procedures for the patient. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the claim processing component is remote from the backend component. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the backend component further comprises an enrollment processing component configured to receive a request for insurance coverage for a patient and issue the insurance offer to an owner of the patient. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the claim processing component is configured inform the veterinary practice of the amount paid based on the processing of the claim. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the backend component further comprises a user interface component that is configured to generate a user interface containing information about the animal for the veterinary practice. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the backend component further comprises one or more databases that store one or more pieces of the information about one or more of treatments and procedures for the animal by the veterinarian or an employee of the veterinary practice. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the backend component is configured to generate an insurance claim form. 
     
     
         11 . A method of processing pet medical insurance claims using a backend component implemented on a computer, comprising:
 receiving, by a services component of the backend component from a first veterinary practice system that is remote from the backend component, one of more pieces of data about one or more treatments and procedures for an animal;   mapping the data from the first veterinary practice system to the first services component, by a plug-and-play data integration system connected to the first veterinary practice system thereby limiting the data traffic between the services component and the first veterinary practice system, the plug-and-play data integration system being integratable with a second or more veterinary practice systems for connection thereto; and   sending claim data based on the mapped data to a claims processing component for processing a pet insurance claim.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising processing, using a claims processing component of the backend component, a claim for one of the treatment and the procedure for the animal, wherein the claims processing component processes the claim to determine whether a claim is covered by a pet insurance policy. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising paying a veterinary hospital based determining whether a claim is covered by a pet insurance policy. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the processing of the claim occurs as at the time of completion of the one or more treatments and procedures for the patient. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising processing, using a claims processing component remote from the backend component, a claim for the one or more treatments and procedures for the animal. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising enrolling, by an enrollment processing component, an owner of the animal for pet medical insurance for the animal upon receipt of a request for the insurance of the animal and issuing an insurance offer for the animal. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising informing, by the claim processing component, the veterinary practice of the amount paid based on the processing of the claim. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising generating a user interface containing information about the animal. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising storing the one or more pieces of data about the one or more treatments and procedures for the animal. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising generating an insurance claim form from the claim data.