After a sales call, consent, documents and any potential signature should be considered separately. In insurance, sales cannot be made during the first call, and a period of 24 hours is required before signing a contract. Take this time to reread the documents received, understand what is being offered and ask your questions before deciding.
Distinguishing between forms of consent during the conversation
Consent to sales calls is the agreement given to be called. Since 11 August 2026, a business is generally prohibited from making sales calls to you if you have not given your consent before the call. Exceptions exist, notably when you have an ongoing contract with the business and the call concerns that contract, as well as for offers of newspapers, periodicals or magazines.
In insurance, insurers must first obtain your agreement to continue the call and stop the conversation if you are not interested. You can therefore choose to continue to obtain information, then take time to study the offer. If you prefer to stop, make this clear to the person calling you.
Signing takes place at a different stage. To avoid confusion, ask the business to clarify what it expects you to do at each proposed step: do you only want to receive information, confirm a choice or sign a contract? Ask what the requested confirmation means before you give it.
Read the documents before deciding
Ask to receive the documents relating to the offer discussed, then compare them with your notes. The aim is to be able to refer back to the precise terms of the proposal, rather than relying solely on your memory of the conversation.
- Identify the business and the name of the product offered.
- Reread the cover, its limits and the exclusions stated in the documents.
- Check the amount requested, how often it is payable and the dates mentioned.
- Note any points that do not match what you understood during the call.
- Ask for explanations of ambiguous passages before giving any confirmation.
If wording seems unclear, you can request a written answer and keep it with the documents received. For example: “Can you clarify what this cover includes and under what conditions it applies?” Or: “What action are you asking me to take to sign?”
Reviewing an offer and signing an insurance contract remotely are two distinct steps in your review: use the documents to decide whether the offer meets your needs, then check what you are signing. This preparation advice is general; if you have a difficulty concerning your situation, ask a qualified person for an answer tailored to your circumstances.
What records should you keep?
Keep the documents received, your questions and the answers provided together. You can also note the date of the call, the name given by the person calling you and the steps they ask you to follow. This file will help you reconstruct the sequence of events if you want to seek an explanation or make a complaint.
The business must be able to prove that you gave your consent to sales calls. It must retain and archive digitally the information used to obtain that consent, as well as the date and time at which you gave it. These records must be kept for 3 years from the date of consent; during that period, you can ask the business for proof of your consent free of charge.
This proof concerns consent to sales calls: also keep the documents relating to the proposal and, if you choose to sign, those relating to your signature. In insurance, calls must be recorded and kept for 2 years. If you have questions about how the conversation took place, specify the date and purpose of the call in your request to the business.
What can you do if you no longer wish to be called?
You can withdraw your consent to sales calls at any time, including verbally during the call. If, during a call, you object to the conversation continuing, the business must end the call without delay and refrain from contacting you again.
If sales calls continue when you have not given your consent or after you have withdrawn it, you can report the matter on Signal Conso. You can also contact the Cnil if your report concerns the use of your personal data for marketing purposes. Before taking action, gather your notes and relevant correspondence to describe the situation.
