The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld another ruling against a life insurance lead generator which it found to have misled customers by promising them an online comparison quote only to feed their data to a third party.
In recent months, the regulator has upheld a handful of rulings highlighting this practice.
It sees customers led to believe they will get an online quote if they enter their details, only to be told they will get a call from an ‘agent’ - usually an insurance broker - instead.
Earlier this month, the ASA ruled against MPJ Invest Ltd on the same basis.
In the ruling published today (February 22), the ASA said three paid-for Facebook ads and a website operated by lead generator Digital Results Group were misleading because they implied they could provide online quotes and did not make clear they were a lead generation service.
Suddenly the protection gap looks like something we can manage.Luke Ashworth, Adviser AIThis ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on lead generation marketing the ASA has been conducting, and which FTAdviser revealed the beginnings of back in 2021.
“Rather than providing consumers with a number of life insurance quotes, the ad collected consumers’ personal information, which was then passed to other businesses,” the ASA said.
“Because the ads were for a lead generation company, and that was not made clear, we concluded that the ad was misleading and breached the code.”
The ASA also upheld four other issues raised over Digital Results Group’s adverts, which operate under the brands ‘UK Life Protection’, ‘British Life Cover Quotes’, and ‘British Life Benefits’.
These included:
- Not making clear the basis of the stated cover levels, or that the level of cover was based on factors including age, health and lifestyle;
- Three claims were “misleading” and could not be substantiated. These included: ‘save up to 65 per cent on life insurance cover’, ‘best policy, best price - that is our promise to you and your family’ and ‘try it risk free with our 30 day money back guarantee’.
The lead generator, Digital Results Group, did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries. According to its website, the firm is based in Switzerland.
The ASA told Digital Results Group these adverts must not appear again, and that it must remedy adverts going forward to ensure they are not misleading when it comes to product promises and information of what cover is based on.
‘This is huge’
For some in the protection industry, the ASA’s recent focus on lead generators which falsely promise online comparison quotes has been a long time coming.
Luke Ashworth, a former protection consultant and now three-time business founder - most recently of Adviser AI -said these rulings were “huge” and “will solve the lead generation industry”.
He told FTAdviser lead generators have for years preyed on the fact that when someone looks at their site, they think they will get a quote.
“A person submits their details, but then they’re told they will get a call versus getting a quote upfront,” Ashworth explained.
“If a customer sees a quote, it's harder to sell to them. But that's why we get sales people pushing customers into life insurance on the phone, and why we get customers who come through these channels more likely to cancel their protection policy.
“Millions of phone calls go out because of these leads, and it gives the [protection] industry a bad name. It’s why people turn down protection when mortgage advisers bring it up.”
Ashworth reckons these rulings will create lots of short-term pain for the life insurance industry, and that these ramifications will not just be felt by lead generators, but by insurance brokers who are doing their own marketing too.
Some firms have changed their practices ahead of these rulings following FTAdviser’s warning of the ASA’s investigation into the sector. But many are yet to catch up.
“Getting rid of these misleading ads will help drive down clawback, we’ll get less businesses suffering from clawback and going bust,” said Ashworth.
“Just imagine how many ads can’t run, and how many people won’t get mad about life insurance. Suddenly the protection gap looks like something we can manage.”
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
