“How To” avoid being coerced into purchasing insurance – 9 tips
If someone has ever contacted you by phone offering you insurance or you go into a bank branch and there the employee assisting you wants to sell you insurance, you should be aware that there are some rules that will, in turn, not only provide you with better service, but also warrant you more security, being careful to watch for compliance with same.
In order to make this easier, the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services (Spanish: Comision Nacional para la Proteccion y Defensa de los Usuarios de Servicios Financieros, abbreviated CONDUSEF) began the "Standardized Commercial Protocol" program (Spanish: “Protocolo Comercial Estandarizado”), which will oversee insurance sales through telemarketing and the network of bank branches to ensure efficiency and security for customers:
1. The bank must explain and make clear that the insurance purchased is a sale transaction and not a “giveaway”.
2. The insurance sale should not be conditional on any other financial instrument.
3. They must provide information regarding the total insurance cost, including taxes, as well as its payment frequency, term and renewal process.
4. They should specify the name of the product, the scope of coverage and exclusions.
5. The bank should enter and record the express consent of the customer/client, the terms and conditions, and its cost.
6. The sales agent must provide information as to the folio number as well as the policy number relative to the insurance taken out which will be required in the event of a loss.
7. They must inform you as to how you will be provided with your policy or individual certificate.
8. Make sure you get the phone numbers for where you can report a loss, make inquiries, get clarification on any and all doubts, and cancel the insurance taken out.
9. They must clearly specify/detail the cancellation procedure.
CONDUSEF made it quite clear that banks will be subject to ongoing monitoring to ensure their correct use of insurance-sales promotions, it will oversee branch executives, and it will establish penalty mechanisms as a deterrent for coerced sales.
This Protocol was approved and adopted by Mexican Association of Insurance Companies, (Spanish: Asociacion Mexicana de Instituciones de Seguros, abbreviated AMIS), and the Association of Banks of Mexico (Spanish: Asociacion de Bancos de Mexico, abbreviated ABM).
Source: www.elfinanciero.com.mx, CONDUSEF
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