Warning over fake insurance broker con

A rise in ‘ghost brokers’ has prompted a warning from one of Britain’s biggest insurers about these fake firms who have been ripping off new riders in particular.

MCE Insurance – a well, respected insurance provider, and one of 43 chosen by MCN for our MCN Compare service –  has issued the warning after what it calls a ‘significant increase’ in the problem in the past year with first-time insurers and younger riders being at risk more than those with existing policies.

MCE told MCN: “These ‘ghost brokers’ pose as legitimate middlemen often using listing sites such as Gumtree and student sites to advertise their fraudulent services. The culture of shopping around online for the best deal has actually played into these fraudsters’ hands. They promote heavily discounted insurance policies from well-known brands to hook the potential victims, often found to be young riders searching for cheap deals.

“These young riders may have not insured a bike before and can be coaxed in by impressive discounts only to find they are not insured. This in turn could lead to criminal convictions for the rider as it is against the law to ride without insurance.”

Police have started a campaign to crack down on these fraudsters and have already made a large number of arrests as well as recovering millions in stolen cash.