In order for insurers to comply with Rule 13 of the Policyholder Protection Rules, they require certain details of the members they cover on group schemes.
We have always received member data on a monthly basis, but the additional requirements are around the insurer being able to communicate with members, should they have to, and this came into effect from 1 January 2020.
Understandably, people are not always comfortable sharing their personal contact details. Particularly in our industry, there is a concern that they may be used for things like marketing other products or services, as well as concerns around the protection of their personal information.
It is probably helpful, should these concerns be raised by employers or members, to explain three things to them:
- We are all governed by the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, as well as other legislation in the insurance sector that specifically protects the rights of the consumer and the misuse of things like their personal information.
- It is now a legal requirement that insurers must be able to contact members in certain situations. The insurers have not come up with the new requirements – they are simply trying to comply with what the Regulator is asking of them.
- The intention of the regulations is to keep members informed and educated about the cover they have in place, so it is for their good and not to their detriment.
In addition to the well known requirements of full names, ID numbers, salaries and categories, they also now require either the cell phone numbers, home addresses or email addresses of members.
In order to assist employers, we have put together a template that they can complete and send to us. It is not the only format that they can use but it will ensure that the correct information is gathered and submitted, and it will alleviate the need for manual intervention before it is uploaded into our system for processing.
New regulations are not always simple to implement but if we focus on the intention and benefits of them and work together in implementing them, they are often less of an issue than one might think initially.
As always, we welcome new ideas and suggestions, and thank you for your co-operation in advance.
Thank you and regards,
The TSA Team
Vol. 9 Issue 5
