{"id":87950,"date":"2017-02-23T04:53:18","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T02:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/spam-sms-from-sas-insurers-to-come-to-an-end\/"},"modified":"2017-02-23T04:53:18","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T02:53:18","slug":"spam-sms-from-sas-insurers-to-come-to-an-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/spam-sms-from-sas-insurers-to-come-to-an-end\/","title":{"rendered":"Spam SMS from SA\u2019s Insurers to Come to an End"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spam SMS from SA\u2019s Insurers to Come to an End<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Consumers will soon be able to opt-out of unwanted SMS communication from insurance companies thanks to a draft replacement of the Policyholder Protection Rules (PPRs) by the Financial Services Board (FSB).<\/p>\n

Speaking in a recent interview, Lezanne Botha, a senior specialist for the Insurance Regulatory Framework department at the FSB said: \u201cThere is existing consumer-protection legislation in place in the form of the Consumer Protection Act. But it’s important to bear in mind that the Consumer Protection Act does not apply to insurers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be said that financial services industries should be held to a higher standard of consumer protection than other industries, because of the risks and the failures in that these products can actually impose considerable hardships for consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the new regulations come into effect, estimated to be June 2017, the South African insurance industry will be in-line with international standards. \u201cThis is fantastic news for consumers,\u201d remarks SMSPortal MD, Charles Stretch. \u201cThe CPA protects consumers against unwanted SMS, currently there isn\u2019t anything to stop insurance companies sending unwanted direct marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The draft states:<\/strong><\/p>\n