Can AI Call Life Insurance Leads? TCPA, Consent and the FCC AI-Voice Ruling

What did the FCC decide about AI voices?

In a declaratory ruling released February 8, 2024 (FCC 24-17), the FCC said the TCPA's restrictions on “artificial or prerecorded voice” calls “encompass current AI technologies that generate human voices.” The ruling did not create a new law. It confirmed that the existing robocall rules apply when the voice on the line is generated by AI.

So the question for an agency is not “is AI allowed?” It is “do I have the consent the TCPA requires for an artificial-voice call to this number?”

What consent does an AI sales call need?

For telemarketing calls that use an artificial or prerecorded voice, the FCC's rules require the called party's prior express written consent (47 CFR § 64.1200(a)(2) and (a)(3)). The rules define that consent in § 64.1200(f)(9). In plain terms, it has to be:

A written agreement, which can be electronic, signed by the person being called.
Clear that it authorizes the seller (your agency) to deliver telemarketing calls using an automatic dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice.
Tied to the phone number the person gave.
Not a condition of buying anything, and the disclosure has to say so.

Keep proof for every lead: the disclosure language exactly as the person saw it, the time it was captured and the lead source. If a lead vendor collected the consent, get those records from the vendor before you call, not after a complaint.

The rules define telemarketing by the call's purpose: encouraging a purchase. Treat a call whose job is to set a sales appointment as telemarketing.

Does a lead who filled out a form count as consent for AI calls?

Only if the form's language covers it. A form that says “an agent may contact me” may support a live agent's call and still fail for an AI voice call, because it never mentions an artificial or prerecorded voice. Read the actual disclosure on each lead source.

Check that the consent names your agency. If your agency is one of hundreds of “partners” behind a link the lead never opened, treat that consent as weak for AI voice calls.

Does the FCC's one-to-one consent rule still apply?

No. In 2023 the FCC adopted a rule that would have required consent to name a single seller and be “logically and topically related” to the call. On January 24, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit vacated it (Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC), holding the FCC had gone beyond the statute. The FCC removed that language from its rules in July 2025 (DA 25-621).

That does not make shared-lead consent safe. The consent still has to authorize the seller who is calling, and courts read the disclosure the lead actually saw.

How do leads revoke consent, and how fast must you stop?

Under the FCC's 2024 revocation rules (FCC 24-24, in force since April 11, 2025), a consumer can revoke consent by any reasonable means, and the caller must honor it within a reasonable time, no more than ten business days. Words like “stop,” “quit,” “cancel” and “unsubscribe” count.

The FCC changed part of this on September 30, 2026 (FCC 26-67; effective November 25, 2026). Callers may now designate one of three automated methods as the exclusive way to revoke, if they disclose it clearly on the call or text. The order also says a revocation in response to a telemarketing robocall revokes consent to all future telemarketing robocalls from that caller.

The order replaces the broader “revoke-all” provision of the 2024 rules, whose start had been pushed to January 31, 2027 (DA 26-12). The FCC also asks whether to shorten the ten-business-day deadline, for example to seven. Polca's own policy is stricter than the new federal option: an agency using Polca may not designate an exclusive revocation method.

What else applies to an AI call besides consent?

Identification. An artificial-voice message must state clearly, at the beginning, the business responsible for the call, and give a phone number. Artificial-voice telemarketing calls also need an automated opt-out mechanism (§ 64.1200(b)).
Calling hours. Federal rules bar telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the called party's local time. Several states are stricter.
Do Not Call. Telemarketing to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry is restricted unless an exemption applies, such as the person's prior express invitation or permission. The FTC's safe harbor requires a registry download no more than 31 days old (16 CFR § 310.4(b)(3)).
Reassigned numbers. Consent doesn't transfer to whoever gets the number next. The Reassigned Numbers Database exists for this; aged lists are where it matters most.
State laws. Several states have their own telemarketing statutes, registries, registration requirements and recording-consent rules, some with stricter consent and calling-hour limits than federal law.

Do you have to tell people the caller is an AI?

No federal rule required it as of November 3, 2026, but that may change. In August 2024 the FCC proposed rules requiring callers to disclose AI-generated calls (FCC 24-84); we found no final rule in the Federal Register as of this update. Some states have their own disclosure rules. Polca's policy leaves AI disclosure to the agency and does not promise that Ava will say she is automated.

Do courts have to follow the FCC's reading of the TCPA?

Not automatically. In McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson (June 2025), the Supreme Court held that district courts are not bound by the FCC's interpretation of the statute and must give it “appropriate respect.” In practice, don't plan on a court reading “artificial voice” more narrowly than the FCC did. The statute's text already covers artificial voices.

Does the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule apply too?

It can. The Telemarketing Sales Rule restricts prerecorded-message sales calls without an express written agreement and runs the Do Not Call safe harbor. How far it reaches a given insurance call depends on who is calling and on state insurance regulation, which is a question for your counsel. The FTC's plain-language guide is Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

What does Polca enforce, and what does the agency have to do?

Polca gives your agency calling controls; your agency stays responsible for its own compliance. This is a summary of Polca’s Calling & Recording Policy.

What Polca enforces on every call, AI and human

Your agency's Opt-Out Ledger and suppression records, checked at dial time, on Ava's calls and on the power dialer.
Opt-outs detected on calls (words like “stop”) are added to the ledger and suppressed platform-wide, including for manual dialing.
Calling hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the lead's local time, checked against more than one signal (state and area code), and no outbound dialing on Sundays.
Caps on attempts per lead, and a kill switch that stops all of your agency's outbound dialing at once.
Before Ava calls a list, your agency certifies that every contact on it gave prior express written consent to AI voice calls from your agency. AI dialing does not start until the agency owner completes a separate confirmation.
Agencies can tighten these limits (narrower hours, lower caps) but cannot loosen them.

What your agency does

Holds the consent. You are the caller and the seller; Polca is the technology provider.
Checks that each list's consent language actually covers AI voice calls from your agency, list by list. Consent that worked for a human dialer often does not.
Scrubs against the National Do Not Call Registry and state registries where your calls require it. Polca does not do this for you.
Checks reassigned numbers on aged or imported lists, and suppresses wrong numbers.
Sends Polca every opt-out you receive outside the platform (by text, email, or to an agent directly).
Handles any AI disclosure, identification, state registration and call-recording rules that apply to your calls. Polca does not promise that Ava will say she is automated.

Polca gives no legal advice and makes no compliance guarantee. Calls go through an authorized carrier network with STIR/SHAKEN attestation, and recordings are kept for 90 days, then deleted.

What should an agency do before turning on AI calling?

List every lead source and pull the exact consent language each one used.
Sort them: covers AI voice from your agency, covers human calls only, or can't tell. Only the first group goes to the AI.
Get the capture records (timestamp, page, source) for the first group.
Scrub against the National and state DNC registries where your calls require it, and against your own opt-out list.
Check reassigned numbers on anything old or imported.
Decide how your calls identify the agency and give a callback number, and how you'll handle any AI disclosure rules in the states you call.
Write down your opt-out process, and make sure every channel feeds one list.

Then start with one clean list. Our aged leads guide covers the extra checks for old leads.

Common questions

Is it legal to use AI to call life insurance leads?

Yes, if each lead gave your agency prior express written consent to telemarketing calls using an artificial or prerecorded voice, and you follow DNC, calling-hour, identification and opt-out rules. The FCC's 2024 ruling (FCC 24-17) treats AI voices as artificial voices under the TCPA.

Does the FCC AI-voice ruling apply to leads who filled out a form?

Yes. The ruling is about the voice, not the lead source. Whether the form is enough depends on its wording: it must authorize your agency to call using an artificial or prerecorded voice, be signed (electronically is fine) and not be a condition of purchase.

Is the one-to-one consent rule in effect?

No. The Eleventh Circuit vacated it on January 24, 2025, and the FCC removed it from its rules in July 2025. Consent still has to authorize the seller who calls.

Does Polca scrub my list against the National Do Not Call Registry?

No. Polca enforces your agency's opt-out list, detected opt-outs, calling hours, attempt caps and a kill switch. Scrubbing against the National and state registries is the agency's job where its calls require it.

Do I have to tell leads they are talking to an AI?

No federal rule required it as of November 3, 2026; the FCC proposed one in 2024. Some states have their own rules. Polca leaves AI disclosure to the agency.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws and rules change; check the sources and talk to your own counsel.

Calling controls that can't be loosened.

Polca enforces your opt-out list, detected opt-outs, calling hours, attempt caps and a kill switch on every call. Your agency certifies consent for each list before Ava calls it.

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Can AI call life insurance leads? TCPA, consent and the FCC's AI-voice ruling.