A dark pattern review for a life insurer
A structured review of a life insurer's digital journeys against India's 13 specified dark patterns, producing a 39-row risk register and a matrix dashboard the product and compliance teams could act on.
- Sector
- Life insurance
- Scope
- 13 categories across 3 journey areas, 39-row register
- My role
- Review lead
The problem
India's guidelines on dark patterns name 13 practices that mislead users. A life insurer wanted to know where its own app and website stood before a regulator or a customer complaint told them.
Insurance journeys are long and full of choices: riders, add-ons, auto-renewal, consent screens. Each one is a place where a well-meant design can tip into a pattern the guidelines prohibit.
The approach
Map the journeys
Split the experience into three areas: discovery and quote, purchase and payment, and servicing and renewal.Test every category in every area
Check each of the 13 categories against each journey area, giving a 39-row register with evidence, severity and an owner for every row.Use AI to scale the evidence
Run screens and copy through an AI-assisted review tool to flag candidates, then confirm each finding by hand.Turn findings into a matrix
Build a dashboard showing categories against journey areas, so leaders could see the hotspots at a glance.
Who it served
Product teams
A clear list of screens to fix, ranked by severity.Compliance
Evidence for every finding, mapped to the guideline it relates to.Leadership
One matrix showing where the risk concentrates.
The outcome
The insurer received a complete 39-row register and a matrix dashboard, giving product and compliance a shared fix list instead of a debate.