Dental tourism insurance among the year's innovative financial products
Canstar has included a mobile banking alert system, two travel insurance products, an investment loan and a bill splitter on a banking app in its financial innovation award winners.Canstar, which released its 2016 Innovation Award report this week, said it was looking for new products that would benefit consumers, were innovative and would have a wide impact. A bit of wow factor was also on the judging sheet.Commonwealth Bank picked up two awards: one for its well-publicised payment terminal Albert and the other for an international travel insurance product.CBA's Credit Card Travel Insurance is included with CBA credit cards, has no activation fee, no minimum spend on the card to qualify and cardholders don't have to pay for their travel on the card. Cover includes unlimited medical, travel delays, alternative travel arrangements and lost or damaged luggage. The policy covers the cardholder, a spouse and up to ten dependents.Another insurance product that received a gong was Go Insurance's Dental Tourism cover. The policy is for people who travel overseas for elective dental treatment. The cover is for unexpected complications, including up to $25,000 of remedial treatment and $10,000 for accommodation expenses.Canstar said the policy was affordable, with standard travel insurance plus dental cover starting at $200. Go Insurance is back by Lloyd's.Suncorp got a gong for a mobile banking app feature called BillSplitter, which uses SMS to notify people that they owe money for part of a bill. Payments are directed to a nominated bank account.Canstar said BillSplitter was easy to use and had a number of convenient features, such as keeping track of who had paid their share and interfacing with contact lists.National Australia Bank was awarded for a new investment loan, Equity Builder, which has a principal and interest structure. The loan can be split into multiple accounts for purchasing different assets.Canstar said the loan offered peace of mind because the P&I structure meant there would not be any margin calls.