New Delhi, April 8 -- Buying an insurance plan remains one of the toughest financial chores. From calculating how much cover you need to decoding policy features, the homework is already heavy. Now imagine a portal flashing three extra add-ons with a "skip and you miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" pitch. Fatigue meets FOMO-and you click "add".

This is a classic dark pattern: a design-led nudge that pushes you to buy more than you intended. The insurance regulator has now sounded a warning.

Dark patterns are subtle, design-based digital "nudges" built to manipulate consumer choices and inflate premiums. While common in e-commerce, they have increasingly embedded themselves in insurance journeys.

Recognising the growing threat to co...