Aviva's ghost broking cease and desist notices have doubled, and its website takedowns have risen more than eightfold, compared with 2025. The insurer disclosed the figures as it responded to Ofcom's consultation on its Fraudulent Advertising Codes of Practice, backing the regulator's proposals for tougher action against online insurance fraud.
Aviva did not publish the underlying numbers. It attributed the rise to its application fraud teams working closely with law enforcement, but said a more joined-up effort was needed to tackle the problem.
The consultation opened on July 10 under the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA). It sets out nearly 40 draft measures that would require the UK's largest platforms to police paid-for advertising. Ofcom plans to publish its final statement by mid-2027.
"At Aviva, we're seeing how tech is scaling the threat posed by fraud," said Owen Morris, CEO personal lines at Aviva.
Ghost broking, in which criminals sell fake or invalid policies, often through social media, has grown steadily as platforms give fraudsters access to price-sensitive audiences. The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) recorded a 52% rise in cases between 2022 and 2024, a trend that has extended into AI-generated fake policies that bypass insurers altogether. Action Fraud logged 870 reports of insurance broker fraud in the year to September 2025, a 12% increase on the previous year.
Young drivers are most at risk. Research published by the FCA in May found that 49% of young drivers had bought insurance through social media or messaging apps. In the same research, 39% said they were not confident identifying a fake policy.
Cost-of-living pressure adds to the exposure. One in seven young drivers said they struggled to fit insurance into their monthly budget, making artificially cheap ghost-brokered policies harder to dismiss. A fake or void policy leaves the driver uninsured, which is a criminal offence in the UK.
Aviva backs the Association of British Insurers' (ABI) call for mandatory verification of financial services advertisers. Platforms would have to confirm that an advertiser's activity matches its FCA authorisations, including whether it has genuine authority to sell, arrange, introduce or promote the products concerned, before any insurance advert can run.
It also wants fraudulent content removed faster, pointing to the direct link between how long it stays live and the extent of consumer harm. And it wants platforms to contribute more proportionately towards enforcement and victim support.
Under existing rules, platforms have no binding duty to verify financial services advertisers before allowing paid adverts to run. Ofcom's draft code would close that gap for Category 1 and Category 2A services, although its final statement is not expected before mid-2027. Google has run FCA verification for UK financial advertisers since 2021, and Meta has its own scheme, but both remain voluntary.
Morris said Ofcom needed to follow through on its proposals "to ensure that fraudulent content is identified and removed before it has the chance to do real harm to the public". He also called for a new coalition of financial institutions, platforms, consumer groups, regulators and law enforcement "to share both real-time intel and discuss broader trends".
"Social media platforms are key to these efforts," he said. "We encourage them to work with the insurance industry to establish better intelligence sharing and cooperation. We would also like to see the platforms contribute more proportionately towards enforcement and victim support."
Morris placed ghost broking within a wider pattern of technology-enabled fraud, including investment scams and finfluencers promoting unregulated financial advice. "Without this new regulation, as well as more joined-up enforcement, we risk more of the public falling victim to these scams," he said.
The eightfold rise in Aviva's website takedowns points to a volume of fraudulent activity that insurer-by-insurer enforcement cannot address at scale. That is the central argument behind the industry's push for binding platform obligations.
Legitimate brokers have a direct stake. Ghost brokers often trade on the credibility of real firms, and Aviva's own guidance to consumers is to check a seller's BIBA membership and FCA registration before buying. Brokers can reinforce that message with clients, particularly younger drivers, and watch for any impersonation of their own brand on social media and messaging apps.
