Cases of bank employees chasing customers to buy insurance products when visiting a branch aren’t uncommon, but that experience can be awful if they demand you to buy one. Beware Of Bank Employees’ Demand To Buy Insurance Products. People nearing retirement or those retired could be prone to such demands as they generally have savings and financial ability and may fall for a product that may not be useful.

The Financial Express cited two recent cases where a customer in a Cuttack branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) was hounded by a staff member to sell insurance products; in another incident, a person complained that the bank debited Rs 435 from his account for a Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna (PMJJBY) policy which he never applied for. These incidents went viral on social media after they posted the matters.

After the backlash, the bank responded to the two incidents on social media, stating that it is up to the customers whether to buy a policy and its role is limited to creating awareness of insurance products. The reactions came after the customers complained about their experiences in the bank.

Express also posted a tweet from one of the customers: “@TheOfficialSBI was a nice xperience opening savings account at Chandi Chakk, Cuttack branch. nitpick: plz don’t force people to take insurance products. Let it be the account holder’s wish.” According to the report, following the tweet, SBI clarified that the decision to buy an insurance product is voluntary, and the bank only provides information about such products for the “benefit and awareness” of its customers.

“Opting for insurance and other investments is purely voluntary, and our branches provide the information for the benefit and awareness of our customers. Please DM us with your contact no. and details of the issue, along with (the) branch name and code/address. We will be happy to assist you,” the report quoted SBI’s tweet as saying.

Replying to the customer whose money was debited for a PMJJBY policy without his knowledge, SBI said: “Kindly note that opting for insurance and other investments is purely voluntary, and our branches provide the information for the benefit as well as awareness of our customers. We maintain (a) high standard of ethics while providing services to the customers, and no transaction is done in the account of the customer without his/her consent. Also, note that any type of insurance or investment is not mandatory to avail any type of service from us.”

Meanwhile, it urged the customer to formally register a complaint on its grievances portal.

Clearly, the cases show that some bank employees could be breaking their own rules, either unintentionally or deliberately, to meet their professional targets, such as selling insurance. Thus, senior citizens must be extra careful when dealing with such situations as they should be able to ward off possible relentless persuasions from the bank employees to buy financial products while visiting a branch next time.