CASL and Do Not Call Compliance

Match the rule to the communication

Insurance marketing can involve email, text messages, telephone calls and other channels. Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, commonly called CASL, addresses commercial electronic messages within its scope. The National Do Not Call List and the CRTC's telecommunications rules address telemarketing calls. Privacy and insurance advertising duties apply alongside these frameworks.

Permission under one system does not automatically satisfy the other. A client who agreed to receive a telephone call has not necessarily opted into an email marketing list. A client whose number is exempt from the National DNCL may still have told the agency to stop calling. Identify the message, recipient and current permission before contacting the person.

Transactional communications also require analysis. A narrowly focused policy-service notice can differ from a message promoting additional coverage. Adding a sales offer can change the compliance question. Use the actual statutory provision or exemption rather than assuming every message to a policyholder is exempt.

CASL's core requirements

• A commercial electronic message generally requires a valid consent basis, prescribed sender identification and contact information, and an unsubscribe mechanism, unless an applicable provision changes those requirements. The sender must be able to prove the consent relied upon.

• Identify the sender and, where applicable, the person on whose behalf the message is sent. Include the required mailing address and an additional contact method, such as a telephone number, email address or web address. Do not falsely state that a street address is the only permitted mailing address: CRTC guidance recognizes alternatives such as a post office box.

• The unsubscribe mechanism must be accessible and functional. Relevant contact information and the unsubscribe facility must remain valid for at least 60 days after sending. Give effect to an unsubscribe request without delay and no later than ten business days. A link that requires payment or creates unnecessary obstacles undermines the purpose of the requirement.

Express and implied consent

Express consent involves a clear proactive agreement and may be oral or written where the requirements are met. It does not expire merely because two years have passed; it continues until withdrawn. Preserve evidence of the consent, what the person agreed to and when it was obtained.

Implied consent exists only in specified circumstances. An existing business relationship can arise from a purchase within the preceding two years or a written contract that is ongoing or ended within the preceding two years. An inquiry or application can create a six-month period. Six calendar months should not be casually rewritten as exactly 180 days.

For example, a prospect asks about coverage but does not purchase. The inquiry may support the specified six-month implied-consent basis, subject to the requirements and absence of withdrawal. It does not create permanent permission to promote products.

A request for express consent sent electronically can itself be a commercial electronic message. An agent cannot generally send cold promotional emails to an unauthorized list merely to ask for permission. Establish a lawful basis for the initial message.

Published addresses and purchased lists

Conspicuous publication of a business email address can support implied consent only when the criteria are satisfied: there is no accompanying statement against commercial messages, and the proposed message relates to the recipient's business role, functions or duties.

An email address appearing somewhere online is not a general marketing licence. A personal life policy offer sent to an employee whose address is published for handling supplier invoices may not relate to that employee's role. Assess relevance and keep evidence of the basis relied upon.

Buying a contact list does not transfer the burden of proof away from the sender. Verify how consent was obtained, whether it covers the sender and message, and whether withdrawals have been respected. A vendor's unsupported statement that a list is “CASL compliant” is insufficient diligence.

National DNCL registration and subscription

Telemarketers and their clients must register with the National DNCL operator as required, including when their calls qualify for exemptions. Subscription obligations differ: non-exempt calling requires subscription for the relevant area codes and screening against the National DNCL.

Use a list version no older than 31 days for the required screening. Maintain processes that prevent excluded numbers from being loaded into campaigns. An outsourced call centre does not eliminate the client's responsibilities.

A National DNCL exemption does not remove all telemarketing rules. Business-to-business calls, for example, can be exempt from the national list restriction while remaining subject to applicable identification, calling-hour and internal-list obligations. Automated or prerecorded calls can have additional rules and should not be treated as ordinary live calls.

Existing relationships and internal opt-outs

For the National DNCL framework, an existing business relationship can involve a qualifying purchase or contract within 18 months, or an inquiry or application within six months. These periods differ from CASL's two-year purchase and contract periods. Learn the framework before applying the number.

Express consent can also be relevant to calling a registered number, but the telemarketer must have appropriate evidence and comply with the other rules. A relationship with one business does not automatically permit every related organization to call.

Maintain an internal do-not-call list. Add a number within 14 days of a request and retain it for three years and 14 days from the request. An internal stop request overrides reliance on an existing business relationship to continue solicitation. Do not ask the person to repeat the request to every employee or campaign.

Calling hours and identification

The CRTC's ordinary telemarketing hours are 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekends, based on the recipient's local time. More restrictive applicable legislation can change the permitted window.

Identify the caller and the organization on whose behalf the call is made, and provide required contact information. Do not conceal the agency behind a misleading insurer identity or a fictitious survey. A call intended to sell insurance remains solicitation even if its script begins with general questions.

An agency calling across provinces needs a process that handles local times accurately. A convenient time at the agent's office is not the controlling time for the recipient.

Combining the rules

Consider a customer who bought a policy 20 months ago, whose written contract remains active, and who has requested no further marketing calls. CASL's ongoing-contract basis may be relevant to electronic messages if no electronic withdrawal has occurred and other requirements are met. The internal telephone opt-out still prevents telemarketing calls. The customer need not cancel the insurance to stop solicitation.

For each campaign, keep consent and relationship evidence, screening dates, message or call scripts and opt-out actions. Train staff to distinguish policy service from promotion and escalate uncertain cases before contact.

The CRTC's CASL guidance and telemarketing rules explain the separate systems. Their different periods and obligations are common sources of exam errors.