An insurance broker who diverted more than £133,000 in customer payments into his personal account - leaving individuals and businesses without valid cover - has been sentenced to over five years in prison, following an investigation by the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED).
Leon Price, 45, of Playstool Road, Sittingbourne, Kent, used his position as a commercial insurance manager to mislead customers, falsify documents, and misdirect payments intended for legitimate insurance policies. His actions left policyholders without valid insurance for homes, vehicles, and commercial property, exposing them to significant risk.
On Thursday, November 20, Price appeared at Inner London Crown Court, where he was sentenced to five years and three months in prison.
Price exploited his role to manipulate systems and deceive both customers and insurers. He generated policy documents without requiring payment during the initial cooling-off period, then redirected customer payments into his personal account while presenting the documents as genuine cover. In many cases, he cancelled policies before the cooling-off period expired and re-incepted them with another insurer, creating a new cooling-off window. This allowed him to maintain the appearance of valid insurance, while ensuring that no legitimate cover was in place.
Detective Oliver Gent of IFED said: “Leon Price systematically abused his position of trust to defraud customers and insurers, leaving victims uninsured and exposed to serious financial risk. His actions demonstrate the devastating impact of insurance fraud - not only financially, but in the risks it creates for innocent people. Thanks to the vigilance of insurers and the cooperation between industry partners, IFED was able to uncover the scale of Price’s offending and bring him to justice. This case highlights the importance of partnership working and intelligence sharing in tackling fraud.”
The fraud was uncovered after LV= General Insurance (part of Allianz) investigated a policy incepted by Price. LV= General Insurance identified that a motor insurance policy had been registered using the same address as another customer who already held home insurance. Records confirmed the newly insured details were incorrect, and the true resident at the address denied knowledge of the policy. When questioned, Price provided false assurances, but further checks revealed the policyholder did not own the vehicle in question and had not taken out the policy.
Matt Crabtree, head of financial crime intelligence & investigations at Allianz, commented:
“Insurance fraud continues to be a serious problem. In this case, our fraud teams spotted the insider concerns when validating a suspicious policy. Even though we were one of a panel of insurers used by the brokers, I’m pleased that our Special Investigations Team went on to uncover the true extent of Price’s wide-ranging and prolonged frauds, while the support of the senior leaders at our broker and officers at IFED led to his swift arrest upon our referral. While these cases may be rare, we work hard to ensure those behind insider frauds who are abusing their positions are brought to justice and we’re pleased with the result.”
Price also issued motor insurance cover notes directly to customers, taking cash or bank transfers into his own account. He moved privately owned vehicles onto trade policies without the knowledge or consent of policyholders, enabling drivers to avoid police seizure but leaving them uninsured. He offered commercial insurance to businesses, producing fraudulent documents and diverting payments into his personal account.
Beyond misdirecting premiums, Price impersonated genuine policyholders to pursue fraudulent claims against their policies. By controlling the claims process, he inserted his own bank details into payment forms, ensuring insurers paid him rather than the rightful customers. He submitted invoices, claim forms, and receipts as if they were genuine, while policyholders remained unaware that claims had been made in their names.
Through these methods, Price built long-term relationships with individuals and businesses, gaining their trust before exploiting it for personal gain. Victims believed they had valid insurance cover but were left exposed to significant financial and personal risk. In one case, Price failed to insure members of a horse-riding school, instead diverting their payments into his own account.
The scale of Price’s offending was revealed through cooperation between insurers and IFED, including:
During an interview with IFED officers, Price answered “no comment” to all questions.
As part of the sentencing process, IFED will seek confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA), with the funds directed to compensate the victims he defrauded.
