Seeking mobile numbers for policy information ‘dark pattern’: Irdai chief Ajay Seth

MUMBAI: Irdai has flagged insurers seeking personal information to provide quotes or policy details as a ‘dark pattern’ and has commissioned a study by a public policy institute to define and track such practices over nine months. Speaking at an event organised by the Life Insurance Council, Ajay Seth, chairman, Irdai, said the industry must focus on covering the missing middle, a large segment that is neither poor nor wealthy. He said insurance penetration should be measured by the number of people covered rather than premium as a share of GDP, as the latter can rise through the sale of high-value policies. In online regulation, ‘dark patterns’ refer to practices that manipulate users into sharing data or making choices they may not otherwise make. “If I need a quote on a term plan, I have to necessarily agree to be educated about products of large insurers. Product discovery is hidden behind a wall of personal data collection. Not that everyone is doing this, but it is a concern. If people do not have a choice to know the product, price, and performance freely, how will they take a decision?,” said Seth. Seth said Irdai had asked insurers about timelines to comply with norms on avoiding dark patterns, and most companies said they did not have such practices in their online processes. Following this, Irdai has asked the Institute of Public Policy to conduct a study and monitor over nine months which entities deploy dark patterns and which do not. Seth also questioned the rationale for selling life insurance to 85-year-olds and said insurance should not be used for estate planning purposes. The regulator has also shifted its stance on listing under Seth. Former chairman Debasis Panda had said that once a company achieves scale and age, listing should be a natural progression, as it brings benefits such as better disclosures and more value for policyholders. He said that the regulator would be coming out with distribution guidelines that will define suitability of products. Seth said listing should be driven by promoters’ capital requirements. “My view is, go to the market if you need capital, not for transparency. The regulator is capable of making sure that everybody is comfortable with respect to transparency,” said Seth.