The Australasian Life Underwriting and Claims Association (ALUCA) has announced the contenders for its annual excellence awards.

ALUCA says 64 entries were received this year across 11 categories for individual and group honours. The winners will be announced on October 22 at the ALUCA Life Insurance Excellence Awards event, which will be streamed lived.

The finalists in the individual category are:

• Leadership Award - Joanne Faglioni (OnePath/Zurich Australia), John O’Leary (Zurich Australia) and Aaron Widt (TAL)
• Claims Award - Yi Jin (TAL), Janine Lippi (TAL) and Miranda Wozniak (QSuper)
• Underwriting Award - Matthew Apps (Zurich Australia), Jo Coutts (AIA Australia), Andrew Korck (AIA Australia) and Leigh O’Malley (Zurich Australia)
• Rehabilitation Award - Kimberley Lewis (Incite Solutions Group), Rachael Rubic (OnePath/Zurich Australia) and Chris Thompson (AMP Life)
• Rising Star Award - Sean Frosali (AMP Life), Ryo Katsumata (AMP Life), Jun Lee (TAL) and Mitu Ray (BT Life Insurance)
• David Mico Education Award - Stuart Donaldson (CommInsure) and Jo Hetherington (TAL)
• Volunteer Hero Award - Matt Paul (Munich Re), Michael Reid (AIA Australia) and Devi Uka (TAL).

Here are the finalists in the team category:

• Claims Team of The Year Award - AIA Retail Claims Team (AIA), CBus Claims Team (TAL), MetLife Reimagine Claims Team (MetLife Australia) and Capability Coaches Team (QSuper)
• Underwriting Team of The Year Award - Zurich Technical Underwriting Team and TAL Group Underwriting Team
• Customer Service Team Award - Direct Claims Team (TAL), Lodgement Team (AMP Life) and Zurich Health Connect Team (Zurich Australia)
• Innovation Team Award - AIA-Rest Group Claims-Musculoskeletal Team 1 (AIA Australia), Integrity Team (Integrity Life), TAL Risk Academy (TAL) and Well Life Team (Thrive Re Consulting, Well school, AIA Australia).