What happened to the broker who filed a fraudulent auto theft claim

A British Columbia broker has been suspended for at least three years after participating in a plan to defraud the public auto insurer of $110,000 by falsely reporting her vehicle stolen.

B.C.’s public auto insurer, Insurance Corporation of B.C., conducted an internal investigation of the broker in May 2024, which resulted in her being barred from conducting auto insurance business with ICBC for a minimum of five years.

The Insurance Council of B.C.’s licence suspension follows the auto insurer’s investigation.

“Council found that the [broker’s] conduct in intentionally misleading ICBC by submitting a fraudulent insurance claim on a vehicle, especially a vehicle of significant value, amounted to a serious violation of the trustworthiness principle that [brokers] are expected to follow,” says the Insurance Council of B.C.’s decision, released July 7.

“Additionally, council found that the [broker] purchased an annual insurance policy from ICBC for a vehicle that she knew would be exported and that she would not be operating in B.C. for a period of one year. Council also determined that the [broker] improperly used her position as an insurance licensee for personal gain and was dishonest in the initial stages of ICBC’s investigation.”

ICBC’s investigation determined the broker, Wanan (Page) Li, had “financed a vehicle valued at over $110,000, purchased an annual insurance policy for it, and then immediately sold it to an overseas exporter,” says the council’s reasons for decision.

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“The licensee provided the exporter with the vehicle on July 31, 2023, in exchange for $30,000 cash with the understanding that she would be paid the remaining value of the vehicle.”

Only the exporter reneged on the deal. The broker attempted to contact the exporter several times to receive the remaining value for the vehicle, but the exporter stopped responding to her, as the council’s decision notes.

In January 2024, the broker finally heard from the exporter, who refused to pay.

According to the council’s decision, the exporter “suggested to the [broker] that she should report the vehicle as stolen to receive the rest of the money owing on the vehicle. The exporter had suggested to the Licensee to report the theft from Victoria or a ‘hot spring resort.’”

The broker then made what the council called “an elaborate plan” to report the vehicle as stolen.

First, she visited Victoria, B.C., on Feb. 11-12, 2024. Then, on Feb. 12, 2024, she reported the vehicle as stolen from Victoria.

The problem is that she had not been in possession of the car since July 2023. Also, she reported to the RCMP that the vehicle was stolen, and she said it was stolen from the dealership where she bought it.

Confronted with the evidence, she admitted to ICBC that her claim was fraudulent.

B.C.’s broker council said this case was “egregious” compared to precedent decisions of brokers engaged in similar acts of dishonesty.

David Gambrill

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