Insurance or credit broker: answering calls quickly without stepping outside the legal framework

For a broker, the telephone is one of the moments when trust is won or lost: a person comparing several contacts may choose the one who answers them, calls them back when promised and can say what happens next. We put forward no figure for the effect of response time: it depends on your clientele, your acquisition channel and the season, and you can measure it yourself by noting, over a few weeks, the time of each request, the time of first contact and the outcome.

The moment of truth can be a missed call: during an appointment, outside office hours, in the middle of a renewal period. A greeting that says clearly when the broker will call back is better than a ring that goes unanswered.

Qualification means gathering the details that will let the broker call back usefully: name and contact details, nature of the need (loan insurance, health top-up cover, business insurance, mortgage, debt consolidation), any deadline, preferred callback slot. It is information gathering, not advice. It is useful to include an open question, such as “What brings you here today?”, so that the request is noted in the caller’s own words.

Keep a clear dividing line: reception recommends no product, gives no view on eligibility, does not comment on a cover and promises no result. Nor does it collect documents or sensitive information over the phone. Anything that resembles a personalised recommendation belongs to the broker.

First, registration: ORIAS keeps the single register of insurance, banking and finance intermediaries in France, under the supervision of the Direction générale du Trésor (the French Treasury); registration of the intermediaries listed there is mandatory, and the register can be consulted by the public. Your registration number must be available to give and to check.

Next, information and advice. In insurance, article L521-4 of the Insurance Code (Code des assurances) requires the distributor to specify the requirements and needs of the prospective policyholder, to provide them with objective information in a comprehensible, accurate and non-misleading form, then to advise them on a contract consistent with those requirements and needs, stating the reasons for that advice. In mortgage lending, articles L313-13 and L313-14 of the Consumer Code (Code de la consommation) regulate the advisory service, distinguishing between advice and so-called independent advice, based on a sufficient number of contracts and with no remuneration from the lender. These obligations fall on the professional: they cannot be delegated to a reception service, whether human or automated.

Ordinance no. 2026-2 of 5 January 2026 overhauled the rules on the distance marketing of financial services to consumers, transposing Directive (EU) 2023/2673, and its entry into force is set for 19 June 2026, subject to provisions with deferred effect. Article L222-5-1 of the Consumer Code, which comes from this text, provides that, where the professional uses online tools, the consumer must be able to address a human being and talk to them before the contract is concluded, and afterwards where necessary for their proper understanding of it or its performance. It is in addition to the pre-contractual information in article L222-5 (the professional’s identity and contact details, the right of withdrawal, the total price, among other things). The professional must also provide adequate explanations free of charge before conclusion, and bears the burden of proof. An essential point for a broker: the article specifies that it does not apply where the product or service is governed by specific provisions on adequate explanations, which may be the case for certain credit or insurance products.

The text speaks of online tools; whether your activity falls within its scope, and whether a voice agent installed on your telephone line constitutes such a tool, are questions of interpretation to validate with your adviser or your professional association. If in doubt, the good practice is simple: a caller must be able to ask for a human at any time and get one, or be called back.

In practice: a reception that answers straight away, says it is an automated tool, notes the request, gives no advice, offers a callback at a precise time and lets the caller ask for a person. On the firm’s side: a callback within the announced time, an introduction of your status and your registration, then the advice phase proper, which you carry out yourself.

Alyas answers 24 hours a day from the information you give it (presentation of the firm, types of case handled, callback hours), announces that it is an AI and that the call is recorded, captures the caller’s details and request, and places a transcript and summary in your workspace. If it does not know, it says so and offers to pass the request on; it transfers, at the caller’s request, to a single number. It answers only from that information: put no prices or product recommendations in it, and arrange for it to refer any request for advice to a callback by the broker. Free 10-day trial, with no credit card required.