Elderly Insurance Enrollment for Those Aged 65 and Over, Children Assist via Mobile

Life and Non-Life Insurance Association Establishes 'Insurance Company Happy Call Guidelines'

From now on, individuals aged 65 and older will also be able to receive happy calls via electronic methods such as mobile phones when subscribing to insurance. When conducting happy calls with foreigners, foreign language interpretation and translation services will be provided to ensure smooth communication.

The Life Insurance and Non-life Insurance Associations announced that they will implement the "Insurance Company Happy Call Guidelines" containing these details starting from the 15th. A happy call is an explanatory procedure in which the insurance company confirms and supplements whether a complete sale has been made at the stage of concluding an insurance contract. The happy call guidelines serve as a self-regulation within the insurance industry, unifying the detailed practical handling methods and standards of happy calls, which previously varied by insurance company, and establishing compliance requirements. This was one of the tasks promoted as part of the "Measures to Enhance Trust in the Insurance Industry" by financial authorities and the insurance industry during the 2nd Insurance Reform Meeting in August.

The insurance industry introduced a family assistance system for the elderly through these guidelines. Until now, happy calls via electronic methods such as mobile phones were not possible for those aged 65 and older. Going forward, if an adult family member under 65 years old, such as a spouse or direct descendant, is designated as an assistant, happy calls via electronic methods will be possible.

An illustration depicting a situation where a child helps an elderly parent enroll in insurance. Provided by ChatGPT.

A happy call prior notification service has also been introduced. Before the insurance company conducts the first happy call via voice call or other means, it is stipulated that within one business day, the company must notify the consumer of the insurance application date and product name via text message or notification talk, thereby increasing the consumer's predictability.

Protection measures for foreign policyholders have also been established. When conducting happy calls with foreigners, interpretation and translation services will be provided in major foreign languages to ensure smooth communication. The foreign language services will be selected by each company based on statistics of foreign subscribers for each insurance company.

In cases where consumers provide incorrect or no answers to happy call questions, step-by-step response principles have been established to help insurance companies fulfill their explanatory obligations faithfully and prevent incomplete sales. Along with the establishment of the guidelines, the existing standard happy call scripts have been simplified and terminology refined to reduce the time required and enhance effectiveness.

The happy call prior notification service and the improved standard scripts will be applied immediately from this day. Foreign language interpretation and translation services and the elderly family assistance system will be implemented by March 31, 2025, after revising regulations and preparing each company's system. The Life and Non-life Insurance Associations stated, "We will continue to work with the insurance industry to improve consumer convenience and enhance trust."