Products that speed disability claims, help drivers avoid hail damage and let customers quickly obtain basic personal cover are winners of the Canstar Innovation Excellence Awards.

Macquarie Life was honoured for its FutureWise total and permanent disability (TPD) product, which aims to simplify eligibility and claims experience by using a customised checklist.

Doctors evaluate a patient’s condition with objective impairment and diagnostic criteria, but traditional TPD definitions require a more subjective assessment of their ability to work, Macquarie Life says.

By using the checklist to remove subjectivity, advisers and clients achieve “greater certainty” in the claims assessment process.

Head of Macquarie Life Justin Delaney told insuranceNEWS.com.au the product “aims to address a disconnect between the medical assessment of patients and the subjective nature of TPD insurance definitions and assessments on fitness to work”.

The innovation paves the way for a quicker, more efficient and transparent means of paying claims, according to financial researcher Canstar.

Budget Direct won an award for technology that pinpoints areas likely to soon suffer severe hailstorms, allowing car owners to be warned by text message.

It gives people time to act before the hail hits, Budget Direct IT Director Paul Malt says. “From a safety perspective, we don’t want people moving their car during a hailstorm.”

The tool harnesses technology in a way that is personalised, cost-effective and beneficial to customers, Canstar says.

MLC Insurance won for Riskfirst Rapid, an optional service for advisers that helps their clients quickly obtain a basic level of personal cover.

When the underwriting department receives a personal insurance application, it is split into two components – cover that does not require medical and financial checks and that which does.

This lets clients gain basic cover much faster and allows them to retain it even if the rest of the application is rejected, Canstar says.