Insurers are seeing a sharp rise in ghost broking, with data showing a scaled, professional threat that has evolved well beyond a cost-of-living response.
Rising volumes risk overwhelming detection controls, posing particular concerns for distorted underwriting and weakened claims ratios, with knock-on effects across insurer businesses.
The National SIRA risk intelligence consortium, used by 80% of the UK’s largest insurers to report fraud, reveals the growing scale of ghost broking:
The 63% rise in ghost broking reports and the associated 47% rise in fraud ring activity have been direct drivers of early policy churn, unpredictable loss ratios and mounting claims disputes. The data points to a professional fraud economy that is maturing fast and becoming a structured operation capable of targeting insurers at scale.
A major driver of this shift is the use of social media as both a recruitment channel and a distribution platform. Here, ghost brokers pose as experts to commit fraud far beyond the reach of insurer fraud controls.
What has not changed is the ghost broker’s preferred target: the UK’s 2.8 million young drivers, who are most likely to buy from ghost brokers. Social platforms like TikTok, WhatsApp and Instagram provide direct access to this segment, and the appeal to fraudsters is clear:
What began as a channel for outreach has become a virtual shopfront. Fake accounts mimic genuine experts, promoting pricing hacks and discounts. Discreet hashtags are often the only sign of fraud behind the façade.
Recently, Synectics’ insurance community identified and shut down one such broker. Armed with National SIRA intelligence, coordinated investigation and insight-sharing between members, insurers were able to disrupt a major ghost broking operation before further damage occurred. The real advantage comes when insurers align intelligence sharing with robust internal controls. This creates a joined-up defence that scales as fast as the fraud.
Ghost brokers have monetised the affordability pressures facing young drivers, effectively running a Fraud as a Service operation. As a result, risks already systemic to insurers are becoming harder to manage, with impact concentrated in three key areas.
Ghost broking has evolved into a scaled infrastructure, and much of it begins outside your perimeter. Social media platforms give ghost brokers the reach and credibility to operate at pace, well beyond the scope of insurer controls.
But while you cannot police the platforms, you can disrupt the infrastructure that supports the fraud. This includes the networks, documents and behaviours ghost brokers rely on to succeed. The real advantage comes when insurers align intelligence sharing with robust internal controls. This creates a joined-up defence that scales as fast as the fraud.
Our Risk Assessment Lab helps you start from a position of insight. By comparing your data against National SIRA, the UK’s largest risk intelligence consortium, it shows you what threats you are already exposed to and where stronger controls will have the greatest impact.
The 63% rise in ghost broking reports in 2024 and the associated 47% rise in fraud ring activity have been direct drivers of early policy churn, loss ratio volatility and mounting claims disputes. More joined-up defences are already helping to contain this impact, but sustained control relies on keeping pace with the threat’s scale and speed.
From there, the most effective strategies focus on:
Disrupting ghost broking means outpacing its infrastructure by exposing networks earlier, closing gaps faster and keeping controls aligned to the scale of the threat.