US Patent 7890357 - Determining nanomaterial related risk

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7890357.html

This is another nanotechnology business method patent from Hartford Fire Insurance Company dealing with risk assessment used in underwriting an insurance policy. Claim 1 reads:

1. A system for determining a level of risk posed by a nanomaterial to an entity, the system comprising:

a memory;

a computerized model stored on the memory; and

a processor configured to:

retrieve from memory data related to the nanomaterial, the retrieved data including data representative of the size, shape, stability, and tendency for aggregation of the nanomaterial;

calculate, using the computerized model, an insurance nanomaterial risk score that is indicative of the level of health and environmental risk posed by the nanomaterial to the entity based on the retrieved data, wherein the insurance nanomaterial risk score is calculated based at least in part on a quantitative representation of the health and environmental risks posed by the nanomaterial based on the size, shape, stability, and tendency for aggregation of the nanomaterial indicated by the retrieved data;

evaluate the insurability of the entity responsive at least in part to the calculated insurance nanomaterial risk score; and

output the results of the evaluation process as an insurance evaluation of the entity.