OUR FIRMS TERMS OF BUSINESS
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is the independent watchdog that regulates Financial Services and General Insurance. It requires us to give you this document. Please use this information to decide if our services are right for you. Effective from 1st April 2010 these Terms of Business supersede all previous Terms of Business. Please keep this with your policy. Proceeding with a quotation or Renewal implies your acceptance of our Terms of Business
Priory Insurance Brokers Ltd, 4 Fairland Street, Wymondham, Norfolk, NR18 OAN are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Our registration Number is 300596. Our permitted business is arranging general insurance contracts. We can be contacted: Tel 08453 304305 or Email enquiries@prioryinsurance.co.uk
You can check this on the FSA’s Register by visiting the FSA’s website www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.We are an independent insurance broker. As we are not tied to any one insurance company we are able to offer products from a range of Insurers in order to find the most suitable product for you, price alone will not always be the best policy. Written list available upon request. For the following classes of products we use single providers :- Motor Breakdown – R.A.C, Overseas Home Insurance – Nilefern Ltd T/A Nelson Policies, Insure daily via our website is via HSBC Insurance only . Our claims management service is an insured product and is only provided by Highway Insurance.
OUR SERVICES
We offer a full range of insurance products, advice, information and claims service. In respect of any advice we give you in connection with any policy, we act as your agent. In respect of collection of any money, we hold all client funds in non-statutory account for your protection.
Under the terms of our client bank account (which has been set up in accordance with strict rules laid down by the FSA), we are required to inform you that we may use your individual premium to settle premiums due under other policies (including those payable by other clients). We are the Agent of Insurers for the purpose of collection of certain premiums. We may on occasions place business through another FSA regulated intermediary in which case premiums will be passed to that intermediary for payments to the Insurer.
We will advise our clients on their insurance needs from information they provide to us. We will arrange insurance cover in accordance with our client’s requirements with a single insurer, an insurer with support from other insurers or a panel of insurers we have selected. We will help our clients with any changes to such insurance cover that they wish to make. We will assist our client’s with claims on insurance polices that they have arranged through us.
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU
We will aim at all times to conduct our business with utmost good faith and integrity.
We will ensure that our internal affairs are organised and controlled in a responsible manner and that our staff are competent, suitable and adequately supervised. We will maintain a system of internal accounts to ensure that our clients’ monies are kept separately, from our own.
We will try our very best to satisfy the insurance needs of our clients and to place their interests before all other considerations. Subject to these requirements we have proper regard for others.
If we become aware that there is any actual or possible conflict of interest, we will tell our clients of this, advise them of their options and act upon their instructions.
When we are providing a quotation for a contract of insurance we will take due care to make sure of its accuracy and that we can place it at the price quoted. We will tell our clients the name of the insurer.
If this information changes we will inform our clients at the soonest possible opportunity.
If we intend to make any charges to our clients, which is in addition to the insurance contract with their insurers, we will disclose and identify this sum before you enter into the contract.
QUOTATIONS
Quotations are valid for a period of 7 days but maybe extended upon request. Summaries of policy cover provided by us are for Information purposes only and do not form part of the contract of insurance. For full details of policy cover, you should refer to the policy document and schedule of insurance or summary of policy cover provided by insurers. Customers are entitled to a new policy document at each renewal from the Insurers, upon request.
CONFIRMATION OF COVER
As soon as is practical after we have affected an insurance contract, we will write to our clients to confirm the type of insurance cover and outline the terms of the insurance which has been arranged. In respect of motor insurance this may take the form of a Road Traffic Act covernote or Policy documents.
We will liase with insurers to send to our clients, unless one is not required a policy document as soon as possible after cover has been assumed. This document will set out the various terms, conditions, warranties and exclusions relating to the cover arranged. This should be read carefully and understood.
We recommend to our clients that they read and check all confirmation of cover documents, policies and any other documents to make sure that their requirements have been met. If any amendment is necessary we must be informed immediately. We suggest that our clients keep all confirmations of cover and policy documents for as long as a claim is possible under the insurance policies. A specimen of any policy is available at any time upon request.
PREMIUM PAYMENT
Payment of the full anticipated annual premium is due when the insurance contract has been effected, including Insurance Premium Tax at the prevailing rate.
We accept payment of insurance premiums by cheques/postal orders and most major credit/debit cards.
We can offer our own in house facility via Beveland Ltd t/a Priory Finance to customers, for which an instalment application form for credit will be completed. We will advise you of the date’s payments are due and the charges involved. In the event of a payment not being made or met we reserve the right to cancel all policy cover after providing you with a Seven Day Cancellation Notice at your last address known to us. In the event of cancellation under these circumstances, we reserve the right to retain any credit allowed by the Insurers.
If payments are made using the insurance company’s' credit scheme or a separate finance company then any queries must be directed to the insurance company or finance company, as the agreement is between you and them. In these circumstances we cannot accept any responsibility for premium default as the Insurers impose their own cancellation conditions.
You should read carefully any application for the payment of premium by instalments and ensure you are fully aware of its consequences.
COMPLAINTS
It is always our intention to provide a first class service. However, if you have cause for complaint you should in the first instance, contact the Customer Service Department of Priory Insurance Brokers Ltd at 4 Fairland Street, Wymondham, Norfolk. NR18 0AN. Tel: 08453 304305. The Firms full complaint procedure is available upon request.
We will, within 5 working days, provide you with an acknowledgement of the complaint and details of who will be handling it together with a copy of a complaint handling procedure
Within 4 weeks of receipt of your complaint, we will provide you with a progress report, unless the matter has already been resolved. This will include reason as to why we need more time to deal with your complaint and when you can expect it to be resolved. If, after 8 weeks the matter cannot be resolved we will give you a final response with reasons why.
If we are unable to resolve the complaint you may be entitled to refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman who can be contacted at. Financial Ombudsman Service South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR, Tel: 0845 0801800. You have 6 months to take this action. We will advise you if you are able to refer any complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
OUR REMUNERATION/CHARGES
We receive commission from the premiums that you pay to us. We may also receive remuneration from credit providers. We shall only withdraw commission after we have received the premium from you, and in accordance with FSA regulations and agreement that we hold with insurers.
We may retain interest/investment income on premiums paid to us by our clients. Disclosure of Commission will be made upon request.
Our administration charges are as follows: -
CANCELLATION £30.00 nett of insurers commission
DUPLICATE DOCUMENTS £15.00
PREMIUMS UNDER £200 PER ANNUM £15.00 maximum
POLICY ALTERATIONS £17.50 (£25 Commercial Clients )
A maximum charge on all new business and renewal of a policy will apply to Nelson policies (£10.00)
In addition fees may be charged for specialist services/polices, details of which will be provided at the time of the quotation.
Any refund in premium allowed by the insurers will be subject to the charge nett of insurer commission. No charge will be made for the use of credit/debit cards.
By accepting these Terms of Business, you agree these terms
CANCELLATION RIGHTS
These vary dependant upon the policy type/insurer. Consumer customers buying most insurance will be entitled to a 14 day cancellation period, although Insurers and ourselves can charge a reasonable sum for any cover provided. For policies under 1 month duration (such as travel policies) there is no right to cancel.
REMINDER OF THE DUTY OF DISCLOSURE TO INSURERS AND OF UTMOST GOOD FAITH
All answers on any proposal form and any other statement made to us by you are your responsibility. If we are requested to amend or enter any additional information on the proposal form we will send you a copy of the form indicating what we have done, You will have the opportunity of correcting any amendment or entry if it is not correct.
It is important that you understand that any information or answers given to us must be correct.
Any other matter or information which might influence your Insurers as to the acceptability or otherwise of your proposal for insurance or the renewal of it, must be disclosed at the earliest opportunity and certainly at each renewal. If you do not tell us then your insurance may not cover you properly or may not operate at all. If you are unsure about any matter you may contact us for guidance as to whether it should be disclosed or not. The obligation of disclosure is not limited to material information of which the Insurers are aware, it expands to those matters of which they ought to be aware in ordinary course of their business. In English law it states that all information or every circumstance is material if it “would influence the judgement of a prudent insurer in fixing the premium or determining whether he will take the risk.”
CLAIMS
Any claim or possible claim must be reported immediately. Any delay in the notification of a claim or possible claim to your insurers may entitle them to deny claims.
You should refer to your Insurers Policy or Information Sheet for claims procedures and telephone numbers.
YOUR PROTECTION
We maintain Professional Indemnity Insurance Cover for a minimum of £2,000,000 indemnity which is in excess of FSA requirements
We only seek insurance from insurers that meet our minimum financial guidelines for usage, unless we receive instructions from our clients to the contrary. However, we cannot and do not guarantee the solvency or continuing solvency of any insurer used and you should note that the financial position of an insurer could change after cover has been incepted.
DATA PROTECTION ACT
We may use the personal and business details you give us, or which are supplied by third parties, to provide you with a quotation, to administer your policy, to search files of credit reference agencies who may keep of the search, to carry out such financial and other enquiries as we consider necessary to evaluate the risk and assist in making a decision regarding our acceptance of the risk, to support the development of our business include your details in customer surveys, and for market research and compliance business reviews.
We may also share these details with other insurance organisations, FSA regulations or complaints resolution body, to help offset risks, to help administer your policy and to handle claims and prevent fraud. We will store your details on computer but will not keep them longer than necessary. Under the terms of the Data protection Act 1998, you are entitled to a copy of all the information we hold about you.
CLAIMS AND UNDERWRITING EXCHANGE REGISTER AND MOTOR INSURANCE ANTI-FRAUD REGISTER
Insurers pass information to the Claims and Underwriting Exchange Register operated by Database Services Ltd and the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud Register compiled by the Association of British Insurers. The objective is to check information provided to prevent fraudulent claims. Motor insurance details are also added to the Motor Insurance Database operated by the Motor Insurers’ Information Centre (MIIC) which has been formed to help identify uninsured drivers and may be accessed by the Police to help confirm who is insured to drive. In the event of an accident, this database may be used by Insurers, MIIC and the Motor Insurance Bureau to identify relevant policy information. Other insurance related databases might also be added in the future.
CUSTOMER CODE PRIVATE & COMMERCIAL
We offer a wide range of insurance products for Consumer and Commercial customers.
GENERAL DEALINGS
We wish our clients to give us instructions in writing to avoid possible disputes, but will however accept oral instructions of which a record will be kept upon your file. It is important that you advise us immediately of any alteration or adjustment in order that we may advise your Insurers, so that the correct policy cover remains in force. It also allows us to ensure that the best possible quotation at renewal or recommend a transfer of Insurers mid-term if required. Telephone calls may be recorded or monitored for information purposes.
FINANCIAL COMPENSATION SCHEME (FSCS) – We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This is dependent on the type of business and circumstances of the claim. Most insurance contracts are covered for 90% of the claim. Further information about the compensation scheme is available from the FSCS at www.fscs.org.uk or by calling 020 78927300. Our Terms of Business is subject to English law.
