Hastings in ‘ghost broker’ warning as it takes weather hit

THE boss of Hastings, the motor insurer, has warned that the number of so-called “ghost broking” rings duping drivers has risen significantly this year.

Toby van der Meer, the chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph that the company has helped to close down 33 fraudulent groups since January.

Ghost brokers pose as middlemen offering to save motorists money. Mr Van der Meer said people often don’t suspect that they have been scammed until they try to make a claim because they are initially sent legitimate documents. “[Ghost brokers] will pretend they can buy cheap car insurance in that area, but only take it out for a few hours [before cancelling it] under the 14-day cooling off period. Now a fraudster can just go to an insurance company website and pretend to be anyone and buy a policy.”

His warning coincided with Hastings’s half-year results to June 30, which revealed it had taken a £7m hit from weather-related claims earlier this year. Profit before tax rose to £86.8m, compared with £68.9m the previous year.