FSS Warns "Be Cautious of Insurance Briefing Sales and Unapproved Insurance Information Materials"

Source: Financial Supervisory Service

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Mr. A, while attending the company's mandatory legal training (sexual harassment prevention) in November 2020, heard an explanation from an insurance planner about a savings insurance to accumulate a large sum of money during the break and signed up for the insurance along with his colleagues. However, he later found out that the insurance was not a savings-type but a whole life insurance guaranteeing death benefits, and filed a complaint with the Financial Supervisory Service requesting a refund of the premiums already paid.

Mr. B signed up for the insurance after seeing phrases such as savings, annual compound interest rate of 3.98%, and limited-time offer in the insurance guide materials provided by the planner. However, he later discovered that it was an annuity insurance with a monthly fluctuating declared interest rate, and that the materials were unauthorized guides arbitrarily produced by the planner.

The Financial Supervisory Service announced on the 6th that consumers should be cautious of insurance briefing sales disguised as mandatory workplace legal training and false advertising using unauthorized insurance guide materials.

The Life Insurance Complaint Team at the Financial Supervisory Service’s Rapid Complaint Handling Center released materials on precautions when subscribing to life insurance by introducing recent major complaint cases in the life insurance sector.

The aforementioned insurance briefing sales refer to a sales method where insurance planners use workplace mandatory legal training, seminar times, etc., to provide product information and encourage group subscriptions.

Since product explanations are usually given within a relatively short time, such as after the training ends or during breaks, there is a possibility of incomplete sales due to consumers not fully understanding the product details.

The Financial Supervisory Service emphasized that when subscribing to insurance, consumers should not rely solely on the planner’s explanation but must check key details such as product name and coverage through the product description document before making a decision.

In particular, since there are many cases of incomplete sales where whole life insurance with high business expenses is mistakenly explained as a savings product, special caution is required.

Additionally, when subscribing to insurance, it is essential to verify whether the insurance guide materials (subscription plan, product summary, etc.) have been approved by the insurance company (checking for a management number).

In case of suspicion of unauthorized guide materials, consumers should contact the insurance company call center or take photos of the guide materials along with the planner’s business card to keep as evidence.

It should be noted that if the acquisition date or source of unauthorized guide materials is unknown, it may be difficult to recognize them as evidence to prove incomplete sales.

Furthermore, consumers should respond to happy calls (complete sales monitoring calls) only according to their own will, and be aware that complaint agencies that are not lawyers cannot demand money from consumers in exchange for premium refunds or other services.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.