All insurance companies from Tuesday next week are required to film or record their conversations with people aged 70 or older when seeking to sell investment-linked insurance to avoid disputes, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday.
If a prospective customer refuses to be filmed or recorded, insurers may not sell the policies, Insurance Bureau Deputy Director-General Thomas Y.H. Chang (張玉煇) told a news conference.
Given that filming or recording by smartphone is easy and popular, sales agents are free to use any electronic device they want, Chang said, adding that they would be required to keep the files for their supervisors to verify if it is appropriate to sell a policy.
Consumer disputes regarding investment-linked products have soared this year, particularly from relatives of older people, the commission said.
“Angry family members suspect that sales agents failed to notify older potential clients of the risks involved or misled them about potential returns,” Chang said.
The commission would limit the filming requirement to the disclosure of information about risks, returns and other important details, Chang said.
The regulation is to take effect next year after the commission amended the Directions for Sale of Investment-linked Insurance Products (投資型保險商品銷售應注意事項) in July.
In addition, the commission said it would next year unify definitions of cancer and 22 kinds of catastrophic illnesses for insurance policies to reduce disputes.
Catastrophic illnesses include severe Alzheimer’s disease, motor neuron diseases, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, severe head trauma and tertiary burns, it said, adding that the list could be amended if additional diseases are identified.
Insurers have adopted different definitions, which has fostered disputes, Chang said.
The change would not raise insurance costs and polices already sold would not be affected, he said.
In related news, the commission said that automated teller machine handling fees would next year be reduced from NT$15 to NT$10 per transaction for sums totaling less than NT$1,000, while transactions of less than NT$500 would be spared the charge once per day.
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