Aviva responds to Ofcom’s reforms to online advertising rules

Aviva has encouraged Ofcom to use its consultation on Fraudulent Advertising Codes of Practice as an opportunity to strengthen online advertising rules.

Aviva’s remarks come as the insurer says that that its ghost broker Cease and Desist notices have doubled and website take downs have increased by more than eight times compared to 2025.^[1] Ghost broking is a practice where unsuspecting people are sold fake or invalid policies, often through social media. 

The insurer said that its latest figures can be attributed to Aviva application fraud teams working closely with law enforcement - but that a more joined-up effort is required to tackle the problem, with evidence that young people are at particular risk. FCA research earlier this year found that half (49%) of young drivers have bought insurance through social media or messaging apps.^[2]

Aviva has said that a key part of preventing insurance fraud is reforming online advertising rules to include:

• Mandatory verification of financial services advertisers – to ensure that account activity is in line with the relevant FCA authorisations, including whether a provider is legitimate and has genuine authority to sell, arrange, introduce or promote the relevant products.
• Faster takedown of fraudulent content – recognising the direct link between how long fraudulent content is live for and the extent of consumer harm.
• Platforms contributing more proportionately towards enforcement and victim support

The insurer has also called for deeper partnership between industry, social media platforms and others to share valuable intelligence that can help enforcement happen more quickly.

Owen Morris, CEO UK Personal Lines, at Aviva, said:

“We welcome Ofcom's consultation as an important step towards reducing the harm caused by fraudulent online advertising.

"At Aviva, we’re seeing how tech is scaling the threat posed by fraud.

“We think two things need to happen to curb this rise. The first is Ofcom following 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. 

“The second is a new coalition bringing together 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. 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”.

“It’s important to remember that insurance fraud is part of a wider trend of tech enabling online fraud more generally – an issue which includes the threat from 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”. 

Aviva’s top tips for avoiding insurance scammers online:

• Beware of anyone selling financial services only via social media or messaging apps – including where they are requesting that money is paid by bank transfers or personal accounts.
• Do your research: contact the financial institution directly and check the Financial Services Register.
• Check their BIBA and FCA registrations. 
• For motor insurance, check the insurer: ensure they’re in the Motor Insurers’ Bureau. 
• Avoid social media deals: legitimate financial institutions may advertise on social media, but they would always direct you to their legitimate website to purchase their services. 

-ends-

References:

_{1. Aviva data on its Cease and Desist notices and ghost broking enforcement. [↑]}

_{2. FCA press release, Young drivers warned about fake insurance sold on social media, May 2026. [↑]}

Media enquiries:

Erik Nelson

+44 (0) 7989 427 086

erik.nelson@aviva.com

Sid Varma

+44 (0) 7385 018 944

sid.varma@aviva.com