Banning insurance cold calls welcome, but further restrictions required

LEADING advocates for financial industry reform, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers has welcomed ASIC’s announcement it will heed the recommendation of the Hayne Royal Commission to ban cold call telephone sales of life insurance and consumer credit insurance.

Maurice Blackburn principal, Josh Mennen said the Royal Commission revealed many people have been taken advantage of by unsolicited telephone calls from financial companies pushing unsuitable products.

“This is an important step by ASIC in faithfully implementing Commissioner Hayne’s recommendations and will help protect the vulnerable members of our community from unscrupulous product spruiking by banks and insurers eager to sell their own in-house products.

“However, the hawking prohibitions apply only to unsolicited telephone calls and meetings, and do not apply to other unsolicited communications,” Mr Mennen said.

“More work needs to be done to address digital-era communications, such as email spamming, brochures or digitally-targeted media advertisements.

“There is also a need for more robust requirements on financial institutions to report to customers and the regulator as to how they obtain and use personal information,” Mr Mennen said.

“Over the years, Maurice Blackburn has seen how banks and large wealth managers have systematically targeted existing customers through unsolicited approaches in an effort to cross-sell their insurance and other financial services.  

“As shown by the Royal Commission, this has too often resulted in consumers, including many of our clients, taking out inappropriate or unnecessary cover at significant personal cost,” Mr Mennen said.

“Ridding the industry of this type of underhanded practice will be a key step in stopping the exploitation of people’s understandable desire to protect their financial future.”

The ASIC ban on unsolicited insurance telephone sales will take effect from mid-January next year.

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