Toronto, Ontario — Aviva Canada is cautioning Canadians to beware of a ghost broker known as AllcoveredbyAviva or Allcoveredbrokers advertising on social media sites such as Facebook, claiming to be affiliated with Aviva and selling fake insurance, the insurer wrote last week in a release.
“It has come to our attention that Canadians are being scammed by representatives of a company known as AllcoveredbyAviva or Alllcoveredbrokers, operating out of Alberta,” said Jamie Lee, head of financial crime and fraud at Aviva Canada. “Canadians are being led to believe they have purchased auto insurance coverage with Aviva.”
“Some were issued fake pink slips for auto insurance after being asked to transfer money for insurance premiums whereas others never heard back.”
Ghost brokers are individuals who disguise themselves as insurance brokers and wrongfully interact with the public under the false pretense of selling insurance. They blatantly defraud the public by letting on that they are selling insurance when, in fact, they don’t represent an insurance company. As a result, those who paid ghost brokers for these fake insurance policies are not covered or insured at all.
The insurer insists any suspected fraudulent behaviour be reported to Aviva’s Fraud Hub.
Aviva is warning customers that some red flags of fraudulent insurance clauses could be:
- Deals that are too good to be true
- No physical office or suspicious online presence
- Unable to provide proof of insurance immediately
- Charging a “finder’s fee”
- Asking for cash only payments
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