Insurance agents may soon be required to maintain audio-visual records of their sales pitch during which they must read out a summary of the policy features to prospective buyers.
A final decision on the issue will have to be taken by the IRDAI, which regulates the insurance sector.
With thousands of complaints of mis-selling, the Consumer Affairs Department has written to the Finance Ministry about requiring agents to clearly explain the terms and conditions of an insurance policy that is being sold, or at least a summary of it, reported The Times of India. In particular, inclusions and exclusions must be set out clearly in the terms and conditions of an insurance policy.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Mr Rohit Kumar Singh wrote in a letter to Financial Services Secretary Mr Vivek Joshi that consumers often complain that only positive aspects of an insurance policy are told to them during the sales pitch.
Mr Singh also suggested that insurance policies be issued “in the regional languages for the rural population of a particular area” and that “ambiguous language” be avoided.
