What happened when the broker confessed to auto fraud

A British Columbia broker who made false claims to the province’s public insurer about his own personal auto insurance claim has been suspended for a year and fined $2,500.

Peter Singh Bagry has been a licensed insurance broker in B.C. since 2013, rising from a Level 1 broker to a representative of the brokerage during that time.

He was driving his father’s car when he got into a collision on May 19, 2023. After the accident, he called colleagues at the brokerage to ask about the status of the vehicle’s insurance. He found out his father’s policy, on which he was named the principal driver, had lapsed in April 2023, one month before the collision.

Bagry proceeded to renew the vehicle’s policy on May 19 and reduce the collision deductible from $2,500 to $300.

Meanwhile, the driver of the other car involved in the crash reported the incident to the province’s public auto insurer on May 19, 2023. The other driver told the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC) the collision happened that day at 3:30 p.m.

Four days later, Bagry notified ICBC of the collision, saying it happened on May 19 at 5:30 p.m., “approximately half an hour after the vehicle’s insurance had been renewed and the collision deductible lowered,” as noted in the ICBC’s decision.

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Bagry told an ICBC claims adjuster on July 4, 2023, that he had renewed the vehicle’s insurance after the collision. He reiterated this statement to an ICBC special investigation unit officer on July 21.

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During its investigation, ICBC learned the broker had processed 15 out of 17 insurance transactions related to the vehicle for which he was principal driver, contrary to ICBC policy.

ICBC suspended the broker from conducting Autoplan auto insurance transactions for 180 days, and he was required to pay $4,505 for the damage to the other vehicle prior to being reinstated. ICBC also required the licensee to complete their security and privacy course, within seven days of being reinstated.

The Insurance Council of B.C. followed up with Bagry to see whether or not he had complied with its conditions for reinstatement. The regulator said it was a mitigating factor in its decision regarding the penalty that Bagry had been honest and forthright with them during the investigation.

“Nevertheless, his actions in the wake of the May 19, 2023, collision raise significant ethical concerns,” the council wrote in its decision released last week.

“Section 3 of the Code of Conduct states that ‘improper use of your position or knowledge as a licensee for personal benefit,’ ‘intentionally misleading clients, insurers or council through false statements or by withholding material information,’ and ‘conduct in the nature of theft or fraud’ are all examples of conduct that would reflect adversely on a licensee’s trustworthiness.

“Council believes that each of these examples applies to the licensee’s conduct, in attempting to mislead ICBC about the date and time of the collision, and in reducing his collision deductible.”

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify the Insurance Council, the province’s broker, regulator followed up with Bagry to see if he had complied with the public insurer (ICBC)’s conditions for reinstatement. The council’s role as regulator is separate from ICBC’s role as a public auto insurer. CU apologizes for the error.

David Gambrill

David has twice served as Canadian Underwriter’s senior editor, both from 2005 to 2012, and again from 2017 to the present.