The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has permanently banned a Perth-based broker for misleading and deceptive conduct.

John Barr fabricated three insurance certificates, an insurance policy schedule and an email purporting to be from an insurer while working for Willis Australia.

He also falsified another email and made misrepresentations about a client’s level of cover.

The offences – between May 2011 and May last year – left clients facing a potential exposure of more than $40 million, the regulator says. He also put one client at risk of breaching its Australian financial services licence.

Willis notified ASIC of Mr Barr’s actions and passed on its own internal investigation.

The regulator says it “considers this to be a good example of a licensee reporting breaches in line with its obligations” and that Mr Barr “acted independently of his employer”.

Mr Barr was employed from September last year until about a month ago as a senior account manager at Robinson Insurance Broking Services.