STATUS
Clifton Insurance Consultants Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our Firm Reference Number is 600383. You can check these details online using the Financial Services Register at https://register.fca.org.uk/ or by contacting the Financial Conduct Authority Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768. We are independent insurance intermediaries who act on your behalf in arranging your insurance, and our service includes advising you on your insurance needs, arranging insurance cover with insurers to meet your requirements, helping you with any ongoing changes you have to make, and assisting you with any claim you need to make. We are also authorised by the FCA for credit broking acting for a single lender.
OUR SCOPE OF SERVICE
We offer a range of personal Insurance products and have access to many leading Insurers in the marketplace. When we arrange your Insurance we will inform you of the nature of the service we provide. This will usually be one of the following:-
1) a personal recommendation to buy the policy on the basis of fair and personal analysis of the market or 2) a personal recommendation to buy a policy we select from one or more Insurers (not on the basis of a fair and personal analysis of the market) in which case we will provide the names of those Insurers.
However, for some types of Insurance we deal exclusively with a single Insurer, which we have selected as offering good value for money allied to an excellent service. WE also act as agents for a number of specialist Intermediaries to obtain exclusive arrangements for unusual or specialist policies. Full details of any such arrangements will be provided before you make any commitment on any product we offer you.
We generally act on your behalf in arranging your Insurance but we will make it clear at the outset whether we are acting for you or for the Insurer in particular circumstances.
PROTECTING YOUR INFORMATION
We take your privacy extremely seriously and we will only use your personal details in line with our Privacy Notice. Please read our Privacy Notice carefully and contact us immediately if you have any queries. Where necessary, for example, where we would like to use your data for some marketing purposes, we shall ask for your specific consent to do so. Your personal information includes all of the details you have given us to process your insurance policy (we will not ask for more information than is necessary). We may share your data with third parties for the provision and ongoing performance of your insurance policy. Your data may be transferred outside the UK. We will not sell, rent or trade your data under any circumstances. All of the personal information you supply to us will be handled strictly in accordance with the applicable Data Protection regulations and legislation.
By agreeing to these terms and conditions you agree to these uses of your information.
PROTECTING YOUR MONEY
Prior to your premium being forwarded to the insurer, and for your protection, we hold your money as an agent of the insurer (in which case your policy is treated as being paid for). Your money will be protected at all times in line with the requirements of the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority. We also reserve the right to retain interest earned on this account.
We may transfer your premiums to the Insurer through another party, such as a broker or an underwriting agent for the purpose of effecting a transaction.
By agreeing to these terms and conditions you are giving your consent for us to operate in this way.
CHARGES
We derive income from commissions paid to us by Insurers for polices arranged with them. However, it may be necessary from time to time to make additional charges, but should this be necessary we will advise you of the level of charge and reason for the charge before you make any commitment on any product we offer you. You may be able to spread your premium payment through insurers’ instalment schemes or a credit scheme, which we have arranged with a premium finance provider. Using premium finance makes the overall cost of your Insurance more expensive. We will give you full information about your payment options, and a breakdown of your Insurance costs and the cost of credit, when we discuss your insurance in detail.
Please be assured that at no time will the way in which we are remunerated conflict with our responsibilities to meet your needs and to treat you fairly.
HOW TO CANCEL
We hope that our clients’ annual policies will remain in force for the entire projected duration of the contract. Please contact us immediately if you wish to cancel any insurance policy we have arranged for you. You may have a right to cancel a policy without penalty within the first 14 days (or, in some cases, longer). Please refer to your policy summary or your policy document for further details. If you cancel within this initial cancellation period (where this applies) you will receive a pro-rata refund of premium from the insurer. However, insurers are entitled to make an administrative charge. In addition, we will charge an amount which reflects the administrative costs of arranging and cancelling the policy. If you choose to cancel other than within an initial cancellation period you may not receive a pro-rata refund of premium. In addition, we will charge an amount which reflects the administrative costs of arranging and cancelling the policy.
OUR EARNINGS
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 or arranging premium finance.
YOUR DUTY OF DISCLOSURE
Consumers: You must take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer. This means that all the answers you give and statements you make as part of your insurance application, including at renewal and when an amendment to your policy is required, should be honest and accurate. If you deliberately or carelessly misinform the insurers, this could mean that part of or all of a claim may not be paid.
Non-consumer customers: Where we arrange insurance wholly or mainly for purposes related to your trade, business or profession, you have a duty under The Insurance Act 2015 to make a fair presentation of the risk. This means that you must disclose every material circumstance which you and/or your senior management and/or anyone responsible for arranging your insurance know or ought to know. Alternatively, you must disclose sufficient information which would put the insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries for the purpose of revealing those material circumstances. You are expected to carry out a reasonable search in order to make a fair presentation of the risk and will be deemed to know what should reasonably have been revealed by the search. Your duty of fair presentation applies at the start of the policy, at renewal and when any variation of the policy is arranged. If you fail to make a fair presentation, the insurer may refuse to pay your claim or reduce the settlement amount, depending on the circumstances.
DOCUMENTS
Policies and Certificates may be withheld until the premium is settled or the direct debit mandate confirmed. In these circumstances we will ensure that you receive full details of your insurance cover and we will provide you with any documents, which you are required to have by law.
AWARENESS OF POLICY TERMS
When a policy is issued you are advised to read it carefully. It is that document, the Schedule and any Certificate of Insurance that is the basis of the contract you have purchased. Please ask for advice if you are in any doubt over any of the terms or conditions. Where your insurance includes Employers Liability cover you are required to retain your Certificate for a minimum of 40 years.
CLAIMS
If you have to make a claim on your policy, or are involved in an incident that may result in a claim, you must notify us immediately. Failure to do so may invalidate your claim. In an emergency and outside normal business hours your policy may contain advice on claims with telephone numbers. You should not admit liability or agree to any course of action, other than emergency measure to minimise your loss, until you have agreement from your insurer.
BLOCK TRANSFERS
In respect of some classes of insurance we may operate block insurance arrangements in order to provide competitive terms. This is where we place all insurances of a certain type with one insurer who can provide particularly competitive terms for all our customers. On occasions it will be necessary for us to transfer such blocks from one insurer to another where this is beneficial for our clients. This Terms of Business Agreement constitutes both your acceptance that we may do this and your prior request for us so to do.
COMPLAINTS
It is our intention to provide a high level of service at all times. If, however, you have reason to make a complaint about our service please put your grievance in writing to Nigel Parkinson at Clifton Insurance Consultants Limited, 25 Skillman Drive, Thatcham, Berkshire RG19 4GG in the first instance. You may be entitled to refer the matter subsequently to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service by telephone on 0800 0 234 567 and further information is available at http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/. If you do decide to refer any matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service your legal rights will not be affected. We will provide a summary of our complaints handling procedures should you make a complaint which we cannot resolve informally and at any other time, upon your request.
COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENTS
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. For compulsory classes of insurance, insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, also without any upper limit. The compensation scheme does not apply to consumer credit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS on 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100 or by visiting http://www.fscs.org.uk/.
MONEY LAUNDERING/PROCEEDS OF CRIME
We are obliged to report to the National Crime Agency any suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing activity and we are prohibited from disclosing any such report.
ADEQUACY OF INSURANCE VALUES
It is the responsibility of the insured to ensure that all sums insured and policy limits are adequate. It is strongly recommended that the appropriate Professional (e.g. Surveyor/Accountant) be consulted to ensure that the sums insured and limits under the policy are suitable.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST/CUSTOMERS’ BEST INTERESTS
As insurance brokers we generally act as your agent in advising you, arranging your insurance and assisting you in the event of a claim; we will always act honestly, fairly and professionally ensuring your best interests are our priority. In certain circumstances we may act for and owe duties of care to insurers and/or other parties. Where we become aware of any actual or potential conflict of interest with our duty to you, we will inform you of the situation and the options available to you before we proceed.
INSURER SECURITY
The insurers we use are regulated and are required to have adequate capital resources. However, we cannot guarantee the solvency of any insurer we place business with. An insolvent insurer may be unable to pay claims or may be unable to pay them in full and you may have to pay a further premium to pay for alternative insurance cover.
TERMINATION
You or we may terminate authority to act in connection with your insurance arrangements at any time. Notice of termination must be given in writing and will be without prejudice to the completion of any transactions already commenced. Any business currently in progress will be completed unless we receive instructions to the contrary. Any premiums or fees outstanding will become payable immediately. In circumstances where we feel we cannot continue providing services to you, we will give you a minimum of 7 days’ notice.
LAW AND JURISDICTION
These Terms of Business shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
Date February 2021