CRTC refuses insurance brokers exemption to unsolicited telemarketing rules

The Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decided its unsolicited telemarketing rules apply equally to insurance agents and brokers and investment and financial advisors.
The commission’s Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules include the National Do Not Call List and the Automatic Dialing-Announcing Device (ADAD) Rules.
Previously, the rules did not apply to investment or financial advisors – a point of contention for brokers. The commission re-evaluated this distinction in March, and in its recent decision has ruled that rather than granting an exemption to those in the insurance industry, it would instead apply the rules to those in the financial industry as well.
The commission noted that while parties from both industries have a duty and obligation to communicate with clients in certain circumstances, there “is no obligation to do so exclusively by telephone,” it said in its decision.
“Furthermore, the commission notes that there is no evidence on the record of this proceeding that investment or financial advisors and insurance agents or brokers have an obligation to communicate with their clients in a manner that would violate the Telemarketing Rules or the Automatic Dialing-Announcing Device Rules (ADAD) – for example, calling outside calling hours, not identifying themselves during the call, and not accepting do not call requests from their clients.”
It went on to note that every other industry is subject to the rules when making unsolicited calls to sell or promote products or services, and as such, “there is no compelling reason, policy or otherwise, for the financial and insurance industries to be subject to a different application of the Telemarketing Rules and the ADAD Rules.”