Terms of Business for General Insurance
and
Explanation of Intermediary Status and How We Are Regulated
Commercial
WHO WE ARE AND HOW TO CONTACT US: Mr John Robert Cox Trading As Insurance-Desk Services
Suite 2c Tower House High Street Aylesbury HP20 1SQ
Phone 01296 329611, E-mail info@insurance-desk.com Web insurance-desk.com
This document details our services and our arrangements for dealing with Your insurance. Please read it carefully and retain a copy for Your records. The English language will be used for all communications, the contractual terms and conditions, and any information we are required to supply to You, before and during the duration of the contract and this agreement shall be subject to English Law. Issue of this Terms of Business Agreement indicates that we have designated you as a Commercial Customer ie. that your insurance requirements are in relation to a business enterprise.
The Regulator
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is an independent watchdog that regulates financial services.
Our Financial Services Register number is 305402 and you can check our status and permissions at https://register.fca.org.uk/ or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768. 305402
Our Activities
The FCA has authorised us to advise, arrange, deal in and assist with the placing and administration of all types of General Insurance policies and Pure Protection policies.
Our Service and Product Selection
We are an independent insurance intermediary, who acts on our customers’ behalf in arranging insurance. Our services include: assessing Your insurance needs and Personally Recommending policies suitable for You; arranging Your insurance cover with insurers to meet Your requirements; and helping You with any ongoing changes You have to make. We usually offer advice from a range of insurers on our selected panel however, under certain circumstances we may only deal with a limited panel, or single insurer and we will notify You of the insurers considered when this applies.
We will advise and make a personal recommendation for You after we have assessed Your demands and needs. Our advice will be confirmed in a demands & needs statement, giving reasons for our recommendation.
We can act both as agent of insurer, and on behalf of you, the customer. We have in place management controls to deal with any conflicts of interest that might arise. Unless we advise you otherwise, we are acting on your behalf.
We also act on behalf of insurers when collecting premiums under risk transfer (See “Money” section).
We will ask questions to enable us to assess reasonably your insurance requirements, this may include checking information that we already hold about you and your existing insurance arrangements with us and other parties.
We will confirm to you the level of service we are providing as part of our sales process. In all cases our service will include arranging and administering your insurance, including helping you with on-going changes.
If we use the services of another intermediary to place your insurance we will advise you of the name of the intermediary we use and the name of the insurer.
Money
We will hold money that you pay to us in accordance with the regulators rules or under a risk transfer agreement with insurers. This will include holding your money in the following way.
A statutory trust client bank account that only allows us to use the money held in trust on behalf of a customer for paying that customers’ premium to an insurance company and to pay premium refunds or claims we receive from that insurance company to the customer, once the premium has been received from that insurance company. We cannot use that customer’s money to pay another customers premium or refund. We do not pay any interest on premiums held by us in the course of arranging and administering your insurance, unless, in the case of consumer transactions we receive more than £20 per transaction, and then we will ask for your permission to retain the interest. Unless you tell us otherwise, you are consenting to us holding your money in this way.
By holding your money in this way, means that in the event that this firm becomes insolvent your money remains protected.
In arranging your insurance we may employ the services of other intermediaries who are regulated by the FCA and your premium may be passed to these intermediaries for payment to insurers. These firms are also required to hold clients’ money in a separate trust account. We will also inform you if at any time we are required to pass your premium to firms that operate outside the UK where the protection may be different. Should you not wish us to pass premiums to a firm outside of the UK, please inform us.
Our Remuneration
We usually receive a commission from the insurance provider with whom we place your business, and this is expressed as a percentage of the premium you pay and in such a case, the commission will be paid to us either when we are in receipt of cleared funds from you (or the premium finance company, if one has been used) or, when the insurer has received cleared funds from us in respect of the premium due under your policy. The individual agreements we have with each insurer will determine which of the two methods above is used to make this transfer of commission. We also receive commission for arranging finance agreements for the payment of insurance premiums and this is usually expressed as a percentage of the individual loan and is paid to us directly by the premium finance provider. We may also receive a commission or fee for passing introductions to other professional firms.
In addition, we may also charge you a fee for arranging your insurance and full details will be provided to you at outset.
Our Fees and Charges for the services we provide to You
We usually receive a commission from the insurer which is taken from the premium You pay to Us and, in addition, we normally make the following charges to cover the administration of Your insurance:
| Arranging polices | Minimum £35.00 for premiums between £0 – £399.99, £45.00 for premiums between £400 – £1,000 and £60.00 for premiums above £1,000. Any variance will be advised. |
| Mid term adjustments | Minimum £10.00 any variance will be advised |
| Mid term cancellations and other refunds | Are refunded NET of commission, we may in addition charge a £35.00 administration fee |
| Renewals | Minimum £35.00 for premiums between £0 – £399.99, £45.00 for premiums between £400 – £1,000 and £60.00 for premiums above £1,000. Any variance will be advised |
| Replacement / duplicate certificates | No Charge |
We may also receive additional renumeration based on the volume or profitability of our account with an insurer. Occasionally we may arrange a policy on which we earn no commission, and in these cases we will advise You the arrangement fee before you take the policy out.
We may also make additional charges specific to the arrangement and servicing of certain policies, these will always be advised to You in advance.
Prior to the conclusion of each insurance contract, or upon renewal, We will remind You of Your right to be advised of the level of commission which We receive from underwriters. You are entitled, at any time, to request information regarding any commission which We may have received as a result of placing Your insurance business.
Payment Options
We normally accept payment by cheque or the following credit/debit cards – Visa, Mastercard. You may be able to spread Your payments through insurers’ instalment schemes or a credit scheme, which we have arranged with an established insurance premium finance provider. Rates and acceptance may be subject to a full credit check. We will give You full information about Your payment options and the appropriate finance agreement when we discuss Your insurance in detail.
Under the terms of our agreements with the Insurance companies with whom we place business, we normally receive premiums You pay to us as Agent of the Insurer. All insurance premiums You pay to us are protected in a Statutory Trust Client Account until we pay insurers. We do not pay any interest on premiums held by us in the course of arranging and administering Your insurance.
We will provide you with full details of all the payment options available to you when we provide you with your insurance premium.
If you choose to enter in a finance arrangement, we are a credit broker, not a lender. When quoting, our systems will undertake a ‘soft’ check on your credit file, to verify your details, however this will not show on your credit file for other companies and will not affect your credit rating. We may use insurance and finance providers who will conduct a full credit check and share Your payment record with other lenders, all of which will be recorded on Your credit record. Please advise us if You do NOT consent to a full credit check being undertaken and you require premium finance, however this may affect our ability to offer instalment facilities to You. In relation to the provision of credit, we offer only the facilities provided by Insurers, or those of Investec Premium Finance and Close Premium Finance from whom we may receive a commission. Where a choice of providers is available, which could include instalment facilities provided by your insurer, we will explain the reason for our selection on any credit product offered.
Importantly, the arrangement you will enter into will be with the finance company not us. It is an entirely separate contract irrespective of the insurance contract. Please Note: Your policy cover will cease if You fail to keep up payments on an instalment agreement or premium finance facility related to it and Your credit rating may be affected. In entering into a credit agreement to pay Your insurance premium, You give the finance provider the legal Right to cancel Your insurance policy on Your behalf in the event that You default on the loan, and offset any refunded premium against the outstanding amount owed to them. This means that if You default on Your payment terms and the finance provider requests that we cancel Your policy, we will do so as Your agent.
It is important that you read the finance agreement that is sent to you before you agree to enter into such an agreement.
We do not charge any fees to you for introducing you to a credit provider
Your Right to Cancel
This agreement will remain in force unless cancelled by either party in accordance with the terms below or You have no insurance business placed through Us. You may cancel the agreement at any time, subject to notification in writing to our usual office address. In the event of cancellation, We shall be entitled to retain any commissions and fees earned prior to the date of cessation of the agreement in full. We have the right to cancel this agreement subject to one month notice in writing to Your last notified address.
Complaints
Our aim is always to provide our customers with a first-class service; however we are aware that, occasionally, it is possible that we may fail to meet your expectations. If for any reason we have not met your expectations, let us know as soon as possible, by calling our main office telephone 01296 329610, or write to John Cox t/a Insurance Desk Services, Suite 2c Tower House High Street Aylesbury HP20 1SQ or email info@insurance-desk.com
If we are unable to resolve the issue to your satisfaction by the end of the next business day, we will formally investigate the matter. You will receive an acknowledgement of the matter together with a copy of our complaints process promptly and certainly within 5 working days. We will then aim to investigate and provide a resolution as quickly as possible, informing you of a final response no later than 8 weeks.
If you are not happy with our response, or the position after a period of 8 weeks, you may be eligible to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for an independent assessment and opinion.
The FOS Consumer Helpline is on 0800 023 4567 (free for people phoning from a “fixed line” (for example, a landline at home) or 0300 123 9123 (free for mobile-phone users paying monthly charge for calls to No’s starting 01 or 02). Alternatively you can contact them at Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange Square, London, E14 9SR. www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
A full copy of our complaints procedure is available on request.
Sums Insured and Indemnity Limits
You will be responsible for ensuring that all sums insured and indemnity limits are adequate for the cover requested. We will advise You of the basis of calculation for sums insured and will, on request, give You details of external experts, such as surveyors and valuers, which You may wish to consult. The following information on calculating business interruption sums insured is given for guidance, but You should always seek specific advice from us if You are in any doubt as to what should be included.
Average
In the event of under-insurance, Insurers may reduce the amount of any claim settlement in the same proportion as the sum insured bears to the total value of the insured items.
Information on Business Interruption/Loss of Profits Insurance
Several types of cover exist for Business Interruption cover, which is sometimes referred to as Loss of Profits insurance; Gross Profit basis (usual for manufacturers, retailers etc); Gross Revenue basis (normally for consultants, professions); and Increased cost of working (ICW) basis, for businesses that believe there would be no loss of profit or revenue in the event of a claim, but would need to cover increased trading costs until the claim is settled.
NB ‘Accounting Gross Profit’ and ‘Insurance Gross Profit’ are not the same thing.
Where Your policy includes this cover, the Sum Insured for ‘Gross Profit’ should normally be calculated using the following method:
Annual turnover plus year-end stock and work in progress; less opening stock (and work in progress) and purchases, bad debts and uninsured variable expenses (such as the purchase of raw materials or shipping costs).
Gross Revenue insures the total turnover without deductions and Increased Cost of Working is based on projected additional costs of temporary relocation and other forecast additional costs.
Business interruption sums insured should then be adjusted to take into account the indemnity period (eg. doubled for 2 years indemnity period).
Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
If we are unable to meet our obligations, you may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS. If we have advised or arranged insurance for you this will be covered for 90% of a claim, without any upper limit, however claims under compulsory insurance, professional indemnity insurance and certain claims for injury, sickness or infirmity of the policyholder are protected at 100%. Further information is available from the FSCS helpline on 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100 and www.fscs.org.uk.
The FSCS is the UK’s statutory fund of last resort for customers of authorised financial services firms. Compensation is usually payable if an authorised firm is unable or unlikely to pay claims usually because it has ceased trading or become insolvent.
Declarations
Our Service and Obligations to You:
We will conduct a fact-find to evaluate Your insurance needs with the member of Your business that You choose to nominate as Your Insurance Contact, who will be responsible for ensuring that Your disclosure obligations to insurers are met.
We will act as Your agent in sourcing a policy to meet Your demands and needs and presenting the information provided by Your nominated Insurance Contact in a manner which is clear and accessible to insurers. Where We operate under delegated authority from insurers We will act as their agent in certain circumstances and We will always advise You where this is the case.
We will advise and make a personal recommendation for You after We have assessed Your demands and needs. Our advice will be confirmed in a demands & needs and suitability statement, giving the reasons for Our recommendation. We typically offer advice from a limited panel of selected insurers, or from a single insurer and we will advise You of the identity of the insurers considered, or if we have given advice based on a fair analysis of the market. We do not accept responsibility for the solvency of any insurer recommended.
We may use another, specialist, intermediary to access the insurance product that most suits Your needs and We will inform You where this is the case.
Your Responsibility to Provide Information:
You have a duty under the Insurance Act 2015 to make a fair presentation of the risk to insurers. This duty applies when You take out Your insurance cover, throughout the life of Your policy, and when You renew Your insurance.
This duty includes a need for You to undertake a reasonable search for material information which is known, or ought reasonably to be known, by anyone playing a significant role in making business decisions in Your business (such as Your company’s principals, directors, senior management or shareholders) and staff responsible for arranging or administering Your firm’s insurance.
You should advise Us of any particular concerns which led You to seek insurance cover and any special or unusual facts relating to the risk.
You must ensure that all material statements of fact are substantially correct and not misleading, and any material information which is a matter of expectation or belief (eg. an estimate or forecast) is provided in good faith.
Failure to disclose any material information or change in circumstances to Your insurers which could influence the cost, or their decision to accept Your insurance, could mean that Your policy could be invalidated or cancelled without refund, or that part or all of a claim may be not be paid. ‘Material Information or changes in circumstances’ could include Your inability to comply with any conditions or warranties applicable to Your policy, which should be notified to Us immediately.
‘Material statements’ and ‘material information’ are information which could influence the judgement of a prudent insurer in determining whether to take on a risk and on what terms.