Some general agencies (GA) are still conducting briefing sales. Briefing sales refer to situations where insurance planners participate in various seminars or mandatory company training hours, fundraising events, etc., to encourage insurance subscriptions. While it is not illegal, there is a significant possibility of incomplete sales to the extent that the Financial Supervisory Service issued a consumer alert.
According to the insurance industry on the 17th, during a fundraising event for children with leukemia held last month at a public institution in Ulsan's Donggu, an actor who once won a supporting role at an awards show appeared to encourage donations. However, at the end of the event, an insurance planner came up and naturally began introducing whole life insurance. The screen displayed the names and logos of well-known large life insurance companies. This was a briefing sales tactic disguised as a fundraising event featuring celebrities, selling insurance to participants.
An institution named Korea Educational Development Institute is touring the country with prominent instructors to hold free lectures, all of which have been confirmed to allocate time for promoting insurance products. This corporation is entirely different from the Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDC), which is a formal commissioned training institution of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. On social media (SNS), it is masquerading as an educational center, promoting free lectures and events in areas like college admissions consulting, motivation, and talk shows.
To participate in the free lecture, individuals must provide personal information. While participants might think this is merely for identity verification, the privacy policy states that their personal information will be provided to various GAs specializing in briefing sales. This is the reason why applicants for the free lectures receive text messages or phone calls urging them to subscribe to insurance.
An insurance planner who engaged in briefing sales noted, "Basic information such as name, age, contact number, and address is being collected, as well as specific information for insurance subscriptions," and stated, "Personal information is being utilized for customer databases (databases) not only for insurance but also for the sale of various products like health supplements."
Recently, the main product sold through briefing sales is short-term whole life insurance. Short-term whole life insurance returns about 10% of the paid premiums as interest if the contract is canceled after a certain period following the contract. However, in briefing sales, it is sold as if it were a savings insurance, using the excuse of financial planning or investment. Moreover, due to the need to explain the product in a short time after gathering dozens of people and securing contracts, the likelihood of incomplete sales is high. One insurance planner stated, "Eight out of ten people subscribe without knowing what the product is."
Briefing sales have been a longstanding sales method. Both large and small insurance companies have engaged in briefing sales. Recently, the sales scene has been restructured around GAs, leading to the emergence of GAs specializing in briefing sales. These GAs often sell only the products of insurance companies that offer high commissions, and in the sales field, they frequently introduce themselves as if they were employees of those insurance companies. It is reported that some insurance companies have signed consignment contracts with briefing specialized GAs. An industry representative remarked, "You can consider that all companies are engaging in briefing sales."