Choice wants the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to use its new product intervention powers to curb sales of “outright rip-offs” such as consumer credit insurance, funeral insurance and “tricky” life insurance policies.

“Many of these are deliberately targeted at people who are already disadvantaged,” the consumer group’s CEO Alan Kirkland said.

The corporate regulator is consulting on how to administer its new powers, which allow ASIC to act when financial and credit products are likely to cause harm to consumers. It can ban a product or feature, impose sales restrictions or amend product information and architecture.

It proposes naming products on its website and describing the consumer harm they have caused before intervening to stop sales. This will satisfy legal consultation requirements, it says.

ASIC also proposes that when consulting on making product intervention orders it will identify the nature of the product and its distribution, whether harm has already occurred and what kind.

“We’re glad to see ASIC move fast to signal how it will use these powers, because the sooner they are used, the sooner consumers will be protected from dangerous financial products,” Choice said.

The consultation closes on August 7.