Busting ghost brokers with underwriting risk detection

Getting insurance is supposed to have gotten easier over the years. Online insurance brokerages and price comparison tools have made it easier to get the best prices, which means that the traditional role of insurance agents and brokers has evolved. In Germany, for example there are 33% fewer insurance agents than there were 10 years ago.

The prevalence of online channels means that it’s easier for insurers to reach customers directly and it’s easy to get insurance without seeing anyone face-to-face. However, this convenience has been co-opted by bad actors known as ghost brokers.

Ghost brokers prey on individuals who seek low-cost insurance, and who are familiar with the internet, but may be unfamiliar with how insurance works overall. Their targets are young people (34% of victims are between 17 and 29) who the ghost brokers draw in through social media ads offering irresistibly low insurance rates. Using this lure, victims end up purchasing fake policies. The ghost broker collects premiums and steals personal information — then vanishes, often once an insured event occurs.

This content explores the emergence of ghost brokers and how AI makes it much easier for insurers to detect ghost brokers and mitigate damage.

Topics covered:
• The anatomy of a ghost brokerage.
• Ghost brokers are taking advantage of insurance infrastructure.
• How AI helps insurers bust ghost brokers.