INFORMATION ABOUT US
Heath & Brown Insurance Services of 27 Sarum Complex. Salisbury Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 2RZ is a trading name of NPA Commercial Ltd. NPA Commercial Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (‘FSA’), the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. NPA Commercial Ltd FSA Register number is 463625. Our permitted business includes advising and arranging general insurance. You can check this by visiting the FSA’s website www.fsa.gov.uk/regisiter or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.
Please read this document carefully. It sets out the terms on which we agree to act for you and contains details of our regulatory and statutory responsibilities. Contact us immediately if there is anything which you do not understand.
We would particularly draw your attention to the following sections of these Terms of Business:
- duty of disclosure
- premium payment
- cancellation
- client money arrangements
ADVISING ON/ARRANGING YOUR INSURANCE
We will usually provide advice or information on the basis of a fair analysis of the market. The number of insurers approached will depend upon the type of insurance required and sometimes a selection of insurers or single insurer may be used. If you wish you might ask us for a list of the insurers we use to provide insurance. If we are not providing advice on a fair market analysis we will confirm this in writing to you.
Upon receipt of instructions we will place insurance with insurers and keep you informed on the progress of our negotiations. If it is not possible for us to place your insurance we will, of course, confirm.
SECURITY
We will advise which insurers it is proposed to place any insurance on your behalf. However, we cannot and do not guarantee the solvency or continuing solvency of any insurer used. You should note the financial position of an insurer can change after cover has been incepted. A liability for the premium, whether in full or pro-rata, may arise under policies where a participating insurer becomes insolvent.
DUTY OF DISCLOSURE
You must disclose to insurers, before the contract is concluded, any fact or circumstance which is known to you (or which ought to be known to you) in the ordinary course of your business and which is material to the risk. A fact or circumstance is material if it would influence the judgement of a prudent insurer in fixing the premium or determining whether he should take the risk. You must also advise us immediately of any alterations to the risk.
Should you not act with the utmost good faith or fail to disclose any material fact or circumstance to insurers, they may void the contract.
PREMIUM PAYMENT
You must provide the premium due in cleared funds in accordance with the amounts and payment dates specified in our debit notes. Failure to meet the payment dates may lead to insurers cancelling your policy. Where insurers have specified that the premium must be received by a certain date, failure to comply can result in the automatic termination of your insurance.
CANCELLATION
In the event of cancellation of the insurance contract after inception, insurers may return a pro-rata premium to us; once our remuneration has been earned our brokerage or fees will not usually be returnable. We therefore reserve the right to retain our brokerage or fees in full in such circumstances.
DOCUMENTATION
We will issue documentation confirming details of the policy purchased, including the identity of your insurers. We will advise you of dates on which any premiums are due and, if relevant, the consequence of late payment.
Where required by regulation we will also: -
- set out your demands and needs as understood by us
- confirm whether the contract has been personally recommended and, if so, the reasons for making that recommendation
- include a summary of the key aspects of your policy
- provide you with policy confirmation
- provide you with renewal terms in good time before the expiry of the policy, or notify you that renewal is not being invited
It is important that you read all your documentation carefully and inform us immediately if you have any concerns with the cover arranged for you.
CLAIMS
You must notify us as soon as possible of a claim or circumstances which may give rise to a claim. We will advise you what you need to do to pursue your claim; you should note that you would need to state all material facts concerning the claim.
We will remit claims payments to you as soon as possible after they have been received on your behalf. We will provide you with every assistance in submitting a claim and seeking to obtain reimbursement.
REMUNERATION
Remuneration for our services is normally in the form of commission or brokerage which is a percentage of the insurance premium paid by you and allowed by the insurer(s) with whom the insurance is placed; or by way of a fee previously agreed with you. In addition to client fees and/or brokerage payments we may also receive remuneration by way of;
- interest earned on insurance monies passing through our bank accounts
- profit commissions or profit shares paid by insurers
We will deal openly and, when requested, we will disclose the amount of any additional income we may receive in relation to insurance that we arrange.
CLIENT MONEY ARRANGEMENTS
Historically we have held premium monies on behalf of our clients. Recently, some insurers have elected for Risk Transfer whereby we hold premiums as agent for the insurer. In these circumstances premiums paid to us are deemed to be paid to the insurer. It is therefore possible that on any risk placed by us there could be a combination of some insurers who have accepted risk transfer and some who have not. If you would like to know the exact position on any particular placement please let us know.
Non-Statutory Trust
We keep client money with Barclays Bank plc; it is separate from our own money and subject to a non-statutory trust as prescribed by the FSA. We only take our remuneration from client money when we receive the relevant premium from the client. We also hold insurer money in the same non-statutory trust account. However, it is a condition that insurers subordinate their rights to those of our clients in respect of monies held in the account. Please note that in accepting these Terms of Business you are giving your consent for us to hold your money in a non-statutory trust and for us to retain any interest or exchange gains.
FUNDING
Notwithstanding the operation of the non-statutory trust as described above, our policy is not to fund premium on your behalf to insurers.
COMPLAINTS
It is always our intention to provide a high level of service. If our service falls below the standard our clients reasonably expect and they have cause for complaint, we endeavour to ensure that, at the appropriate stage, a suitable senior and independent member of staff handle the matter fairly and promptly.
If you wish to register a complaint then please contact our complaints manager in writing at the address shown above; or telephone 01895 812666 or email at info@heath-brown.co.uk
If we consider that your complaint does not relate to our service (for instance if the matter concerns the performance of your insurer) we will put you in contact with an appropriate person to whom your claim may be addressed.
We have a formal complaints procedure, details of which we will send to you either on receipt of a complaint or on request. If we are unable to settle your complaint, you may be entitled to refer to the Financial Ombudsmen Service at South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR , telephone 0845 080 1880; website www.financialombudsmen.org.uk.
COMPENSATION
Depending on the type of business and the circumstances, you may be entitled to compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if we cannot meet our obligations to you. Advising and arranging insurance is covered for 100% of the first £2,000 and 90% of the remainder of the claim without any upper limit. Full details and further information on the scheme are available from the FSCS at Lloyds Chambers, Portsoken Street, London, E1 8BN, telephone 0207 892 7300; email enquiries@fscs.org.uk.
MONEY LAUNDERING/PROCEEDS OF CRIME ACT
We are obliged to report to the National Crime Intelligence Service
DATA PROTECTION
We are registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 and we undertake to comply with the Act in all our dealings with client’s personal data.
LAW & JURISDICTION
These terms of business shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law. In relation to any legal action or proceedings arising out of or in connection with these terms of business we both irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English court. |
