Des Moines, Iowa – The Iowa Insurance Division recently issued a cease and desist order against Proactive Indemnity Corp., Ahmed Badrus Salam, and Umer M. Masood.  They are not licensed in any state and have a history of fraudulently offering insurance coverage to consumers nationally through their website. Proactive Indemnity Corp. also uses the names of Proactive Financial Corp. and Contingent Cargo Co.  Both Salam and Masood use the alias of Josh Capello. Iowa Insurance Division spokesman Chance McElhaney said “It’s easy for consumers to purchase insurance coverage online.  While that’s good for consumers, it’s also easier for scammers with no licenses whatsoever to defraud people by selling non-existent coverage. It’s important for Iowa consumers to double-check with our office to ensure both the agent and insurer are licensed before purchasing any type of coverage, but especially those purchased online.”

Proactive Indemnity Corp., Salam and Masood’s history of harming consumers in other states includes:

• Issuing insurance policies and certificates of coverage when no such insurance coverage actually exists.
• Misrepresenting to consumers that policies have been underwritten by Lloyd’s of London without authorization to bind coverage on behalf of Lloyd’s and when Lloyd’s has no record of a policy being issued.
• Collecting premium payments which are deposited into banks in Pakistan, not forwarded to an insurance company.
• Holding themselves out as being licensed in states where they are not licensed to engage in the business of insurance.
• Providing false agent names to consumers.

Proactive Indemnity Corp. gave consumers in other states fraudulent insurance coverage documents leading consumers to believe they have insurance when in fact they do not. Iowa consumers that have purchased coverage from Salam, Masood or “Capello” through Proactive Indemnity Corp., Proactive Financial Corp., or Contingent Cargo Co. may be a victim of fraud and should contact the Iowa Insurance Division immediately at 515-281-6348. Iowans double-checking to ensure they are utilizing a licensed agent in Iowa may do so at https://iid.iowa.gov/find-a-licensed-agent.