Device Account Upgrade-At-Claim

1 . A method of upgrading a device account, the method comprising:

disposing a processor in communication with a software package, wherein said software package is capable of

receiving a data file containing a current device account status indicator from a device account status data provider;

referencing said data file to inform a decision regarding whether a device account owner is eligible for an account upgrade at the time a device account claim is processed; and

notifying said device account owner whether a device account upgrade is available.

2 . The method of upgrading a device account of claim 1 , further comprising:

changing the brand of a protected device after processing an eligible account upgrade request.

3 . The method of upgrading a device account of claim 1 , further comprising:

changing the model of a protected device after processing an eligible account upgrade request.

4 . The method of upgrading a device account of claim 1 , further comprising:

expanding or reducing the scope of services associated with a device account after processing an eligible account upgrade request.

5 . The method of upgrading a device account of claim 1 , further comprising:

enabling an owner-requested change in a device account after processing an eligible account upgrade request without extending the term of the device account.

6 . The method of upgrading a device account of claim 1 , further comprising:

enabling an owner-requested change in a device account in a single transaction after processing an eligible account upgrade request.

7 . The method of upgrading a device account of claim 1 , wherein said software package is further capable of:

correlating owner enrollment data and owner claims data when assessing whether an account upgrade request is eligible.

8 . The method of upgrading a device account of claim 7 , further comprising:

obtaining either or both of said enrollment data and said claims data from a database maintained by an associated system operator.

9 . The method of upgrading a device account of claim 7 , further comprising:

obtaining either or both of said enrollment data and said claims data from a database maintained by an external database service.

10 . The method of upgrading a device account of claim 1 , wherein said software package is further capable of:

tracking and managing fulfillment of an approved account upgrade request.

11 . A system for upgrading a device account, the system comprising:

a processor disposed in communication with a software package, wherein said software package is programmed with

means for receiving a data file containing a current device account status indicator from a device account status data provider;

means for referencing said data file to inform a decision regarding whether a device account owner is eligible for an account upgrade at the time a device account claim is processed; and

means for notifying said owner whether a device account upgrade is available.

12 . The system for upgrading a device account of claim 11 , wherein said software package is further programmed with means for changing the brand of a protected device after processing an eligible account upgrade request.

13 . The system for upgrading a device account of claim 11 , wherein said software package is further programmed with means for changing the model of a protected device after processing an eligible account upgrade request.

14 . The system for upgrading a device account of claim 11 , wherein said software package is further programmed with means for expanding or reducing the scope of services associated with the device account after processing an eligible account upgrade request.

15 . The system for upgrading a device account of claim 11 , wherein said software package is further programmed with means for enabling an owner-requested change in the device account after processing an eligible account upgrade request without extending the term of the device account.

16 . The system for upgrading a device account of claim 1 wherein said software package is further programmed with means for enabling an owner-requested change in a device account in a single transaction after processing an eligible account upgrade request.

17 . The system for upgrading a device account of claim 11 , wherein said software package is further programmed with means for correlating owner enrollment data and owner claims data when assessing whether an account upgrade request is eligible.

18 . The system for upgrading a device account of claim 17 , wherein said software package is further programmed with means for obtaining either or both of said enrollment data and said claims data from a database maintained by an associated system operator.

19 . The system for upgrading a device account of claim 17 , wherein said software package is programmed with means for obtaining either or both of said enrollment data and said claims data from a database maintained by an external database service.

20 . The system for upgrading a device account of claim 11 , wherein said software package is further programmed with means for tracking and managing fulfillment of an approved account upgrade request.