JOHANNESBURG - Getting charged for opting out of an insurance spam will soon become a thing of the past following new rules passed by The Financial Services Board (FSB).
The new rules will now allow you to opt out of insurance marketing SMSs for free, which will come into effect in July, later this year.
It is believed that recipients of insurance spam via a phone call, SMS, or voice messages must have the option to opt out of future direct marketing from the company in question. An insurer may not charge the user any fee for “opt-out of advertising” requests.
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The FSB told Mybroadband, “The implication of the rule is that insurers may not charge policyholders any fee for demanding to opt out of receiving any advertisement through a telephone or mobile call, voice or text message, or other electronic communication,” said the board. The insurer and service provider will therefore have to come to an agreement as to how these SMSs are paid for, without charging any cost to the recipients.”