A third. This is the number of insurers whose commercial practices are “not in accordance with the regulations on good consumer information or on the fairness of commercial practices”, according to the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Repression. fraud (DGCCRF).
According to a study made public this Wednesday, June 21, 2023, of the 147 insurers (mutual funds, bank subsidiaries, brokers, insurance companies, etc.) that the DGCCRF inspected, between 2021 and 2022, 34% of them non-compliant or even illegal practices. What are these abusive methods? How to avoid them?
The termination of insurance contracts (auto, home, health, etc.) has provided for several years that consumers can terminate their contract at any time after the first year. All this at no cost. Bottom of the form However, nearly 17 insurers checked do not reimburse costs to customers who decide to break their contract and do not notify them of their right to partial reimbursement. However, the management fees or part of the insurance premium still due can be partly paid back to the customers.
Of these 17 insurers pinned, 3 received a warning from the DGCCRF, 2 an injunction to cease their bad practices and, finally, 2 additional are now concerned by criminal reports. DGCCRF checks have revealed other abusive practices on the part of insurers. What are they ?
“In terms of cold calling, the practices of 38% of the establishments inspected do not respect consumer rights”, reveals the DGCCRF. Indeed, some brokers “hold misleading speech deliberately maintaining confusion with the insured’s mutual”. In this case, the insurer pretends to be the health insurance of his interlocutor and claims to have him sign “a simple amendment” to his contract. But, in fact, the consumer is in the process of taking out new insurance which he will not necessarily need.
Worse, “the investigation also highlighted the persistence of bad practices in terms of electronic signature. Some contracts are still signed fraudulently during a single telephone call by electronic signature”. However, since 2021, the law requires insurers to send the consumer the contract and to give him 24 hours to study it.
The DGCCRF gave a warning to 21 insurers, an injunction to 4 others. Finally, 5 criminal reports and 2 administrative reports were sent to the insurers. DGCCRF checks have revealed other abusive practices on the part of insurers. What are they ?
“Legal protection insurance contracts were also subject to checks following reports of abusive practices” reveals the study by the DGCCRF. These contracts are often sold with home or auto insurance. “The investigators found that the pre-contractual information on the guarantees subscribed, the total amount of the premium, the obligations of the insured or the terms of termination, was sometimes incomplete, misleading, missing, or not delivered in due time” .
Worse, abusive clauses have been pointed out by the investigators: these let “the consumer believe that he could be automatically deprived, in the event of a breach, of his right to compensation”. 5 warnings and 5 injunctions were sent to professionals by the DGCCRF.
