This document details our service 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 (Scottish Law, where issued in Scotland).
The Financial Conduct Authority
From 1/4/2013 The Financial Conduct Authority is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. Deric Cotterill Insurance Brokers are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our FCA Register number is 431393. You can check our status at www.fca.org.uk/firms/systems-reporting/register
or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768. Our permitted business includes advising, arranging, dealing in and assisting with the placing & administration of General Insurance [and Pure Protection] policies.
Confidentiality and Data Protection
We will treat all your personal information as private and confidential to us and anyone else involved in the normal course of arranging and administering your insurance, even when you are no longer a customer. We will not give anyone else any personal information except on your instructions or authority, or where we are required to do so by law, or by virtue of our regulatory requirements. We may use information we hold about you to provide information to you about other products and services, which we feel may be appropriate to you. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you have the right to see personal information about you that we hold in our records. If you have any queries please write to us at our usual office address.
Our Service
We are an independent insurance intermediary, who acts on our customers’ behalf in arranging insurance. Our services include: advising you on your insurance needs; arranging your insurance cover with insurers to meet your requirements; and helping you with any ongoing changes you have to make. As part of our service, we will assist you with any claim you need to make and tell you what your responsibilities are in relation to making claims.
Whose products we offer
We usually offer advice from a range of insurers, representing a fair analysis of the market, however, under certain circumstances we may only deal with a limited panel, or single insurer. We may use providers who will conduct a credit check, which will be recorded on your credit record. Please contact us if you do NOT consent to a credit check being undertaken, 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 Close Premium Finance from whom we may receive a commission.
The service we will provide you with
We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your demands and needs. Our advice will be confirmed in a demands & needs and suitability statement, giving reasons for our recommendation. In respect of Legal Expenses, Motor Breakdown, Excess Protection, Guaranteed Vehicle Hire, Home Emergency Solutions & Land Lord Legal Expenses policies and any premium finance facility we may offer, you will not receive advice or a recommendation from us and you will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed.
Information on how we treat Payments You make to Us
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.
Reporting Claims
All incidents which could lead to a claim must be reported as soon as practicable. Your insurer’s claims contact number is shown in your policy. For Motor Insurance we operate an outsourced claims management service via Kindertons Accident Management, who will assist you with your claim and recovery of uninsured losses where this is possible. ALL such claims should be reported using the contact number 0845 2304900.
What you will pay for our services
We usually receive a commission from the insurer with whom we place your business and, in addition, we normally make the following charges to cover the administration of your insurance:
Arranging new policies £50.00
Mid term adjustments £25..00
Mid term cancellations and other refunds are refunded NET of commission. We may, in addition, charge a £25.00 administration fee.
Renewals £50.00
Replacement/duplicate certificates or cover notes £25.00
Payment by Credit Cards £2.5%
Personal lines/Retail policies cancelled during the ‘Right to Cancel’ period will be subject to an administration charge of £50.00, in addition to the premium charged by the insurer for the period of cover provided.
Occasionally we may arrange a policy on which we earn no commission and in these cases we will advise you of the arrangement fee before you take the policy out. We may also make additional charges specific to the arrangement and servicing of certain policies, but these will always be advised to you in advance and are shown on the relevant IDD.
What to do if you have a complaint
Our aim is to provide a first class service, however, if you wish to register a complaint, please contact us by writing to Mark Cotterill, Deric Cotterill Insurance Brokers, 130 Congleton Road, Butt Lane, Stoke-on-Trent, ST7 1LX, or, by phone Telephone 01782 782733, by fax 01782 787274.
If you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, for an independent assessment and opinion.
The FOS Consumer Helpline is on 0800 023 4567 and their address is:
Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR
Are we covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without an upper limit. For compulsory insurances (for example, motor insurance and employers’ liability insurance), insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, without an upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.
Payment Options
We normally accept payment by guaranteed cheque or the following credit/debit cards – Visa, Mastercard, Maestro. 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, however rates and acceptance may be subject to a credit check. We will give you full information about your payment options and the appropriate finance agreement when we discuss your insurance in detail.
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.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PERSONAL LINES CUSTOMERS (CONSUMERS) ONLY
Your Right to Cancel
You have a legal right to cancel your policy or credit agreement for any reason, subject to no claims having occurred, within 14 days of receiving the full terms & conditions. You will always be advised where this Right applies. A charge will apply for the period of cover provided and, in addition, we make an administration charge as detailed above. If you cancel a credit agreement you will need to repay any sums provided in full and make alternative arrangements to pay your premium. If you cancel after the 14 days, short-period cancellation rates apply. If you wish to cancel a policy you must advise us in writing, prior to expiry of the 14-day cancellation period, to our usual office address.
Consumers’ Responsibility to Provide Information
You must take reasonable care to answer all questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge, and if you volunteer any other information, you must ensure that the information is not misleading.
If any information that you have provided to us changes before you take out your insurance, during the life of the policy or at renewal, you must inform us of the change. If you deliberately, recklessly or carelessly misrepresent any information in relation to this insurance then your policy may be cancelled without refund, or treated as if it never existed, or your claim rejected or not fully paid.
INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS ONLY
Prior to the conclusion of each insurance contract, or upon renewal, we will remind commercial policyholders of their 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.
Commercial Customers’ Duty to Give Information
It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information to insurers when you take out your insurance policy, throughout the life of your policy, and when you renew your insurance. It is important that you ensure that all statements you make on proposal forms, statements of fact, claim forms and other documents are full and accurate as failure to disclose any 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.
