Aiming to put an end to the menace of mis-selling of insurance policies, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has issued draft guidelines on distance marketing. The regulator has proposed to make it mandatory for insurance providers to make verification calls to at least 20 per cent of policyholders who bought the policies through the distance marketing channel. And, in case of unit-linked insurance plans (Ulips), it has proposed that all policies be monitored.
To avoid any dlsptLte at a later stage, IRI)A has proposed to preserve all these records, whether electronic, voice or physical, till the tenure of the policy, which the customer should be able to retrieve in inalterable and easy way. For streamlining the process of solicitation, Irda has asked insurers and brokers to prepare standardised documents, including features, disclosures and benefits, after approval from the regulator. Similarly, the consent of the client should be explicit if he is interested in buying a policy For payment of the premium, the account could be debited online or over voice medium. Customers are also required to sign a written proposal to show their acceptance in case of distance- marketing selling. Further, every telecaller has to be trained by the insurer or broker, either in-house or through an accredited institute. These guidelines are applicable to telephone calling, e-mafls, Internet, postal mail, newspaper, magazines or any means other than in person. Irda has also asked insurance companies to attach a separate document containing key features of the policy which should not be part of other literature. This separate document will state what all your policy contains, to give you a precise information about the product. Meanwhile,- in the wake of the ensuing battle between the two regulators, IRDA and Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the finance minister has assured the public that the government will soon resolve the dispute over the regulation of unit-linked policies.
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