Market regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority directed the insurance companies to comply with the telemarketing guidelines issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. In connection to this, IRDA has issued a notification to the Chief Executives of all Life and General Insurance companies. The circular states that, according to the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations 2010 issued by TRAI and came into force from September 27, 2011, insurance companies doing telemarketing or sending text messages should be registered with TRAI as telemarketer.
Further, under this new guidelines registered telemarketers are supposed to use the telephone number series starting from 140 and filter the numbers they are having access through the National Customer Preference Register catalog before making calls and sending text messages.
The circular also pointed out the violation of TRAI’s norms. Many of the insurance companies and their marketing intermediaries and agents, promoting their products and services to the customers, engaged in telemarketing activities are not registered with TRAI.
