Irda Warns Life, General Insurance Companies Against Defying Trai’S Norms​

​Insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), has sent out a circular to all the chief executive officers of life and general insurance companies, asking them to follow the norms of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) while carrying out their telemarketing activities.
 
IRDA’s circular read, “it has been brought to the notice of the Authority by the chairman of TRAI that some of the insurance companies and their marketing intermediaries, including agents, are engaging telemarketers not registered with TRAI to promote various products or services to customers, in breach of TRAI’s regulations.”
 
The circular further read, “the registered telemarketers have to use telephone numbers from ‘140’ number series and filter the numbers they are accessing through the National Customer Preference Register (NCPR) database before making voice call and sending SMS.”
As per the regulations of TRAI, no company can carry out telemarketing through their 10 digit numbers other which are out of the “140” number series.
 
Taking the above mentioned norms in consideration, IRDA has asked the insurance companies to adhere to the TRAI’s Regulations and “not engage any telemarketers who are not registered with TRAI for any promotional / telemarketing activity for marketing their products or services.”
 
Link to IRDA circular: http://www.irda.gov.in/ADMINCMS/cms/Circulars_Layout.aspx?page=PageNo2050