Spam calls from insurance agents: How did they get all my details?

Not sure, data is getting shared at what level, either at dealer or insurance company agents, but its like a menace.

BHPian chaitanyakrish recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello all,

I would like to share my experience on recent car insurance renewal process and many of you would've faced it as well.

My insurance is due for renewal on 27th July 2022 and I am getting spam calls from all insurance agents since 1 month, with renewal quotes and they have all my details.

Not sure, data is getting shared at what level, either at dealer or insurance company agents, but its like a menace. I missed lot of important calls like gas delivery boy for example ( he called me twice and went away and I need to call him back urgently ).

I assumed every unknown number is an agent and started blocking them.

I prefer buying directly from insurance company portals and not from agents.

Any solution or blocking is the only option ?

Also, i have a query on the proposed IDV value by Royal Sundaram. My car's Ex-showroom price is 999000 and they're proposing IDV of 1020000.

Is it possible in general ?

Please share your views.

Here's what BHPian deehunk had to say on the matter:

Mahindra dealers are not alone in selling private data, recently Paytm had disabled my Fastag and profile when I was on the way to Hassan. I had to change my route because of this nuisance. They later aaked me to submit KYC documents to the nearest store, I just dumped them and bought another Fastag via e-KYC. The MO may be like forcing you to submit private details giving vague reasons. This happens almost everywhere.

Here's what BHPian RaSing had to say on the matter:

From my experience, this data gets leaked from the car service centers. I can say that as they noted wrong spellings for my name and from there onwards, I used to get calls with these wrong spelled names. The easiest way to stop these insurance agents from calling is to tell them that you have renewed your insurance. There is no way they can cross-check this until u tell them other details like which insurance, when, etc. The moment you tell them that you have got it done already, they are eager to drop the call even before you expect them too. Also use the Truecaller app as suggested by other folks here.

Here's what BHPian locusjag had to say on the matter:

I had done a study of Insurance Aggregators in India, back in 2018, on the job. One thing that I starkly remember is that IRDA allows (or requires) the aggregators to share the customer leads data back to participating insurance companies on the aggregator's platform. The insurance companies are probably free to further share the customer leads with their licensed agents.

Now, this is the case with customer data sharing by insurance web aggregators. If we look carefully and widely enough, there's probably other modes of IRDA sanctioned customer data sharing as well.

It needs to be said that the IRDA exists to ensure better insurance penetration among the population - or, at least that is one of its core reasons to exist. Seen with this fact in light, all this data sharing will probably make sense to you.

Here's what BHPian Gypsian had to say on the matter:

The courts have gone to the extent of making Aadhar card not mandatory, confirming privacy as a fundamental right. If these companies share data its nothing but a crime, this issue has to be elevated to higher levels to make an impact and to curb this unethical practice.

This can turn into a menace if not confronted. Whether you block or unblock their phone numbers, the bottom line is that your data has been shared without your consent.

Here's what BHPian Quoter had to say on the matter:

IRDAI actually has very strict data protection requirements.:

• The aggregators can share customer data only with that insurance company for which the customer has expressed interest on their website.
• Insurance companies can share customer data with their licensed agents, but again, only if the customer had expressed interest in the insurance company to begin with.
• If you are an existing customer of an insurance company, your data cannot be shared with any other insurer for any reason. Data leakage mostly happens at the level of junior employees for a small amount of money (a few Rs per customer in most cases). As is the case in India, problem is not the law, but adherence to it.

I would strongly encourage everyone to download the DND application from TRAI and complaint against all such numbers. It is a very simple process. Even if 1% of complaints lead to genuine action, it can be effective if everyone files a complaint.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.