FSA bans five people for insurance frauds

The FSA has banned five people for failings in relation to insurance fraud.

It has also imposed one of its largest ever fines – £150,000 – for insurance fraud.

It takes the number of people banned for failings relating to insurance to 14 so far this year, with fines totalling over £0.5m.

The latest to be banned includes Andrew Jeffery, of Jeffery Flanders, who received the £150,000 fine.  

He recklessly failed to put in place insurance policies appropriately, or in some cases at all, despite collecting payment from customers. He also forged documentation and correspondence potentially to mislead insurance companies.

Jeffery obstructed the FSA’s investigation by failing to report changes to the firm’s contact details, as well as not providing documents or attending meetings at the request of the FSA. 

Barrie Aspden, of Orion Direct and Peppercom plc, has been banned for dishonesty. He used some £300,000 of Orion client money to finance a new company, ‘Click the Pepper’, an online motor insurance site, which traded as Peppercom.

Having been made bankrupt and unable to obtain Approved Person status, Aspden put in place his wife, her sister and a friend as directors at Orion and Peppercom. All three lacked the competence to perform their roles and delegated their duties to Aspden.

Melanie Aspden and Gaenor Clayton were banned but escaped fines by demonstrating financial hardship; Paul Willment was fined £50,000 and banned.

The FSA was tipped off about Aspden by a whistle-blower.