Pre-recorded insurance phone calls are the calls that are made by spammers or insurance companies using a pre-recorded or automated voice to persuade the consumers to purchase insurance. Most pre-recorded spam calls are usually made through auto-dialing systems that allow the companies to call hundreds of customers at the same time.
Such calls are generally spoofed or made to appear as if they are made being using a local mobile number. This trick has been used by solicitors and companies in order to persuade customers to answer that “local phone call”.
Most insurance companies tend to use pre-recorded insurance calls for contacting consumers and persuading them to purchase the insurance plans offered by them. However, some of these plans offer limited coverage while some are even fraudulent.
A few of these insurance companies have allegedly taken the payments from consumers but never actually followed through on offering coverage. More often than not, the plans that are offered via pre-recorded insurance calls don’t actually comply with the standards set by the Affordable Care Act.
Pre-recorded spam calls from insurance companies can be a bit annoying or even illegal. However, there are several options available to the consumers if they want to stop these calls.
Tips to stop unwanted pre-recorded spam calls
- Never answer phone calls from unknown numbers. In case you answer such a call, immediately hang up.
- You might not be able to realize right away if the incoming calls are spoofed. Be aware… if a caller ID shows a local number, it does not necessarily mean that it is a local number.
- In case you answer the call, and the caller asks you to hit particular buttons to stop getting the calls, immediately hang up. Scammers use this trick to identify which customers to target.
- In case you have a voice mail account, be sure you set a password for it. Many voicemail services are preset and they allow access if you’re calling in from your own phone number. Hackers can spoof your home phone number and even gain access to your voice mail in case you don’t set a password.
- Never give any personal information including account numbers, passwords, mother’s maiden name, social security number, or any other identifying information as a response to the unexpected calls especially if you are suspicious.
- Never respond to any questions, especially the ones that can be answered with “Yes/No” responses.
- Be cautious if you’re being pressured to provide information. A legit insurance company will never force its customers to reveal information that they don’t want to provide.
- Get in touch with your phone company about call blocking tools that they provide and check the apps that you can download on your mobile phones for blocking unwanted calls.
- If you’re using robocall-blocking technology already, it definitely helps to let that company know precisely which phone numbers are involved with unwanted calls. That’ll make it easier for them to block potential pre-recorded spam calls.
- If you want to block any telemarketing calls, register your phone number on the Do not call list. A legitimate telemarketer tends to consult such lists to avoid calling any phone numbers on the list.
Are pre-recorded spam calls from insurance companies against the law?
Most pre-recorded tend to be in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. This act is meant to protect consumers from facing harassment by unwanted phone calls from solicitors. Under this act, entities and companies are prohibited from getting in touch with consumers using pre-recorded voices unless the consumers have confessed their interest. Any company that violates the TCPA is subjected to fines as high as $1500 per violation.
A consumer who has received pre-recorded spam calls from an insurance company can hire a qualified attorney and file class-action lawsuits against the solicitors responsible for such calls. Shamis & Gentile, P.A. is a renowned firm in Miami that has reliable attorneys with whom you can speak and take legal action.
Victims might want to keep track of such phone calls by obtaining copies of their phone call records, by taking screenshots of the messages, saving any texts or voicemails, and writing down the details of each call, including the exact time, data, the identity of the caller, and summary of the spam call.
Any victim who is able to prove that the phone calls which they received were made in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. They will be eligible to collect up to $1,500 per violating call.
