Former insurance broker was sentenced to 12 months in jail after gaining £25,000 from setting up fake car insurance policies and using his contacts book from his time as a broker.
A former insurance broker was jailed on 14 May 2018 after pleading guilty to acting as a ghost broker and selling fake car insurance policies to hundreds of people.
Nigel Fox, 49, of Diadem Grove, Hull was sentenced at Hull Crown Court to 12 months in prison, following an investigation by the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).
The case was referred to IFED in 2015 by the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), which had collaborated with several insurers to uncover the fraud.
They discovered that a significant number of motor vehicle policies were being incepted using similar details such as the IP address, email and property risk addresses, and credit card details.
These details led the IFB to Fox, and its early investigation revealed that his fraudulent activity had been on-going since 2009.
Ghost broker
It was also discovered that Fox acted as a ghost broker and used false personal details to incept numerous fake motor insurance policies for people.
According to IFED he also created fake no claims discount letters, which he submitted to insurance companies to significantly lower the price of the premium.
While Fox operated from the Hull area, the people who he incepted policies for were based all across the UK, predominantly the North East.
Further research by IFED showed that Fox had previously worked as an insurance broker for a company in Hull and that because of this professional experience he had knowledge of insurance practices and the industry.
He also knew how to manipulate customer details to help lower policy costs.
IFED added that Fox had not changed his contact work mobile number after he left his previous employment and would receive calls from his customer base of 5,000 people, which he had built up during his time at the broker.
In an interview with IFED officers, Fox went on to admit that he arranged policies for those who contacted him.
When IFED officers put a figure of roughly 7,000 to Fox for the amount of quotes he had made for people, he accepted it was accurate.
A spokesperson for IFED declined to disclose which company Fox had worked for.
Customers
In a separate interview, Fox also stated that he incepted motor insurance policies for ‘hundreds’ of people from 2009-2015.
According to IFED Fox incepted the fake policies using multiple price comparison websites.
On one website, several hundred policies had been bought using the same personal details, which linked them to Fox.
In addition, an investigation by a financial investigator for IFED identified a significant amount of financial transactions passing through bank accounts held by Fox during the years of his offences.
It is estimated that Fox gained roughly £25,000 from his activities..
Knowledge
City of London Police Detective Constable Peter Gartland, who led the IFED investigation, said: “It’s clear that Fox used his prior knowledge of the insurance industry to deceive multiple insurance companies and manipulate their policies so that he could offer them at a cheaper price.
“On top of this, he defrauded a number of innocent members of the public with offers of fraudulent cheap insurance and exposed them to the direct harms caused by ghost broking, such as points on their licence and possible seizure of their car.”
He added: “It seems his fraudulent activity also helped facilitate local criminal gangs as their vehicles were insured to appear legitimate.
“This case is just one in a series of investigations where the IFB and the insurance industry has shared valuable intelligence with IFED to help us convict insurance fraudsters, including ghost brokers, and bring them to justice.”
Manipulative
Jason Potter, IFB’s head of investigations, commented: “Fox was a particularly manipulative individual who was willing to go to great lengths to deceive members of the public in order to line his own pockets.
“We are pleased that the collaborative work between IFB, IFED and our insurer members has been successful in bringing Fox’s criminal activities to light.”
He continued: “We hope that this sentencing sends a clear message to anyone considering carrying out an insurance fraud scam that the industry is committed to tackling this serious issue and we are dedicated to working together in order to ensure these fraudsters get the justice they deserve.”
For all the latest industry news direct to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.