How to stop health insurance calls
All unwanted calls—whether telemarketing calls, surveys, or scam calls—are annoying. Health insurance calls can often be a very special kind of annoying, though. It seems like when it rains, it pours with these kinds of calls, and these callers can be particularly pushy and hard to get rid of.
You may never be able to fully stem the flood of health insurance calls, but you can certainly bring it down to a trickle. Read on to learn what you can do with the health insurance calls you’re getting now, and how to set yourself up for a future free of spam-calls.
Don’t pick up
You might come across some health insurance companies and health insurance brokers online encouraging you to answer these spam calls and even “get a quote or two” while you’re at it.
Needless to say, these companies have a vested interest in boosting the effectiveness of spam health insurance calls.
Answering a spam call will almost certainly lead to more spam calls in the future. Even if you pick up, don’t say anything, and hang up. The spammer knows that your number is active and in use. They also know you’re willing to answer calls from unknown callers and possibly even engage with cold calls. Answering spam calls is a great way to end up on more spam lists.
Another reason these companies might be encouraging you to ask for quotes is that this could be a way for them to bypass the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call registry: if you’ve approached a business with an inquiry (asking for a quote, for example), it may no longer be bound by the Do Not Call registry.
Add your number to the National Do Not Call registry
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) maintains the National Do Not Call registry, a database of phone numbers belonging to people who don’t want to receive telemarketing calls. Any business that fails to abide by this registry is in violation of the law and open to prosecution.
Spammers already operating outside the law are unlikely to respect the Do Not Call registry, but given that most health insurance calls are legitimate, adding your number to the registry should drastically reduce the number of these calls.
To add your number to the National Do Not Call registry:
- Go to https://www.donotcall.gov/.
- Click “register your phone.”
- Click “register here.”
- Enter up to three phone numbers and your email address. Click “submit.”
- Make sure you’ve entered everything correctly and click “register.”
- Check your inbox for an email from register@donotcall.gov. Open the message and click on the verification link within 72 hours to complete your registration.
Once registered, your telephone number or numbers will stay on the Do Not Call list indefinitely. It takes 30 days for registration to take effect, so any unwanted calls you receive after 31 days are likely in violation of the FTC’s regulations: read on to learn what you can do about them.
Lodge a complaint with the FTC
If a health insurance company or insurance broker continues to harass you with unwanted calls 31 or more days after registering your number with the FTC, you can file a complaint with the FTC. Here’s how:
- Go to https://reportfraud.ftc.gov.
- Click on “report fraud.”
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete and lodge your complaint.
Between adding your number to the Do Not Call registry and filing complaints against any insurance company that refuses to respect your decision, you should already find that you’re receiving only a small fraction of the unwanted health insurance calls you were getting before.
Block individual numbers using your phone app
Any calls that keep coming 31 or more days after you sign up to the Do Not Call registry are overwhelmingly likely to be scam calls—legitimate businesses won’t risk the penalties and reputational damage that can result from ignoring the registry or making illegal robocalls.
So be extra careful not to answer these calls. If you get a call from an unknown number, let it ring out and then check online to see if it’s already been flagged as a spam or scam number. Block the number if it has a lot of negative comments or if it keeps calling you. Here’s how:
Blocking numbers on Android
- Open the phone app.
- Go into your “call history” or “recents” tab.
- Tap the call from the number you want to block.
- Tap “block/report spam.”
Blocking numbers on iOS
- Open the phone app.
- Tap “recents” (or “voicemail” if you took the call).
- Tap the “i” icon next to the number you want to block.
- Scroll down and tap “block this caller.”
This will work well for everything other than spammers who’ve manipulated their Caller ID information—whether to make their number private or to spoof another number. Read on for a couple of ways to deal with these spam calls too.
Block all calls from unknown callers
This is definitely the nuclear option, short of pulling the SIM card out of your phone. You can block all calls from unknown numbers—including not only private and no-caller-ID numbers but also phone numbers that don’t appear in your contacts list. Here’s how:
Block unwanted calls from all unknown callers on Android
- Open the phone app.
- Tap on the three dots in the top-right corner.
- Select “settings” from the drop-down menu and tap on “blocked numbers.”
- Toggle on “unknown.”
Block unwanted calls from all unknown callers on iOS
- Open the settings app.
- Scroll down and tap on “phone.”
- Find the “call blocking & identification” section.
- Toggle on “silence unknown callers.”
These settings will prevent anyone whose number doesn’t appear in your contacts list from contacting you. This includes healthcare providers, schools, and anyone else who might have legitimate (and possibly urgent) reasons to contact you.
What about home phones?
If you use any kind of landline, see our comprehensive guide on blocking spam calls in general, rather than just health insurance calls. The section on how to stop spam calls on a landline will lay out your options, ranging from software solutions (for VoIP phones) to call-blocking devices (for actual landline phones).
Get your phone number off the internet and out of brokers’ hands
This is the solution that’ll both take the longest amount of time to take effect and have the greatest effect on the number of unsolicited health insurance calls you get. These spammers and scammers are only able to call you because they have your number, so why not take your number away from them?
Why you shouldn’t use third-party call-blocking apps
Third-party call-blocking apps like Hiya, Robokiller, and Truecaller do—for the most part—work.
Yet we don’t recommend you use them. Why? All of these call-blocking apps are closed-source, meaning that the source code from which they’re compiled is kept secret. In short, we know they block spam calls, but we have no idea what else they do.
This is the classic closed-source software trap: a piece of software that fills a need for users which can then be used to push all kinds of malicious and dangerous code to their devices. Think of pretty much any unpaid, commercial app on your phone: it presumably does what it says on the tin, but it also probably collects your personal information and uses it to serve targeted ads.
Ad-serving, as problematic as it is, is likely the least harmful thing an app can do on your phone. Permissively licensed, open-source apps have their source code freely available for public audit, so the risks are greatly reduced. Unfortunately, the only open-source call-blocking apps we were able to find haven’t been updated in a couple of years or more.
FAQ
How do I block insurance calls?
You can block insurance calls by adding your number to the FTC’s Do Not Call registry. As long as you haven’t previously reached out to any of the insurance companies calling you, they should comply. You can also block individual callers’ numbers or block all calls from unknown numbers.
Why am I getting spam insurance calls?
You’re getting spam insurance calls because some insurance companies (or the call centers they use) have managed to get ahold of your phone number. A major way in which they do this is by purchasing personal information from data brokers: companies that specialize in trading personal data.
How do I block insurance calls on my iPhone?
To block insurance calls on your iPhone, you can block individual callers’ numbers as they spam you or, in a more effective but risky move, block all calls from unknown numbers. The first option will allow you to target insurance calls, the second is indiscriminate and will affect all unknown callers.
How do I stop spam calls permanently?
To stop spam calls permanently, you could block all calls from unknown callers, but you might miss legitimate calls this way. A more long-term approach would be to keep your phone number secret from these spammers in the first place. Removing your personal data from data brokers is the best way to do this.
Is it better to ignore or decline spam calls?
It’s always better to ignore spam calls. Answering them lets the spammers know your number is active and that you’re gullible enough to answer a spam call. The result is almost invariably more spam calls. Ignore those health insurance brokers that recommend engaging with insurance spam calls.
How do I remove my number from spam lists?
To remove your number from legal spam lists, add it to the FTC’s Do Not Call registry. Spammers who ignore this registry will face penalties. This isn’t likely to affect spammers who already operate outside the law, though. To get off of their spam lists, remove your personal data from data brokers’ databases.
What is the best spam call blocker?
There’s no one third-party call-blocking app we could recommend. None of them makes its source code available for public scrutiny, so there’s no way to tell what these apps are doing in addition to blocking spam calls. Ultimately, the best spam-call blocker is the one whose developers you trust.
