Customer Information Status Disclosure & Terms of Business
Relationships
Level of Service & Policy Documentation
Cancellation Clause
Your Duty of Disclosure to Insurers
Claims
Remuneration
Client Money
Payment to Third Parties
Bank Accounts
Segregation of Designated Investment
Confidentiality& Data Protection
Premiums
Complaints & Compensation
Important Information
Taking Instruction From Someone Else
Security
Cancellation of This Agreement
Law and Jurisdiction
Introduction
We are permitted under the FSA to advise on all Non Investment Insurance Contracts and are required to comply with the FSA Regulations relevant to an insurance intermediary. These include the following:
• A firm must conduct its business with integrity, and pay due regard to the interests of its customers and treat them fairly.
• A firm must conduct its business with due skill, care and diligence.
• A firm must pay due regard to the information needs of its clients and communicate information to them in a way which is clear, fair and not mis-leading.
• A firm must manage conflicts of interests fairly, both between itself and its customers and between a customer and another client.
• A firm which holds client money has to meet certain specified conditions.
• A firm must take reasonable care to establish and maintain such systems and controls as are appropriate to its business.
• A firm must maintain and keep up to date a list of the insurance undertakings it selects from and be able to provide a copy of this list in a durable medium to a customer on request.
Please read this document carefully. It sets out the terms on which we agree to act for our clients and contains details of our regulatory and
statutory responsibilities.
Please contact us immediately if there is anything in these terms of business which you do not understand or with which you disagree.
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Relationships
As an independent intermediary we act as the agent of our client. We are subject to the law of agency, which imposes various duties on us. However, in certain circumstances we may act for and owe duties of care to other parties. We will advise you when these circumstances
occur so you will be aware of any possible conflict of interest. We offer products from a range of insurers. A list is available on request.
Upon receipt of your instructions we will place insurance with insurers, and keep you informed of the progress of our negotiations. We will advise you of any inability to place your insurance.
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Level of Service & Policy Documentation
Policy documentation will be issued in a timely manner. This will normally be within 30 days of the contract of insurance being concluded.
Your policy documentation will confirm the basis of the cover and give details of the insurers. A policy summary and a debit note or premium billing will accompany this, if it has not been sent to you earlier. The dates that the premium is due, together with any penalties, will be clearly shown.
We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs. This will include the type of cover you seek together with the costs.
If you are a retail customer, you will be provided with renewal terms no less than 21 days before expiry of the policy, or notified that renewal is not being invited. If you are a commercial customer, you will be provided with renewal terms in good time before expiry of the policy. Where payment for the contract you have undertaken is by regular installment, for example by direct debit, you give your consent to the contract being automatically renewed, without further reference to you, at the renewal date. This means that insurance will continue to be provided to you, and you will be obliged to continue to pay for such insurance, unless you specifically contact us at renewal to notify us that you no longer require such insurance.
You will be given an explanation of any changes, where necessary and in good time, which may appear in your policy and you will be advised of your right to request a new policy statement.
BBi will retain appropriate documents relating to business effected on your behalf in electronic or paper format for up to seven years after the expiry of the policy. This applies to all business transacted after 01-02-04.
For some types of insurance cover it is possible that a claim may be made under a policy long after its expiry date and it is therefore important you keep such documents safely.
BBi may submit information to your insurers in an electronic format either by website or email.
BBi will provide you with written confirmation and details of the insurance that has been effected on your behalf, as well as the underwriters who have subscribed to the risk. Please check the details to ensure that they meet your requirements.
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Cancellation Clause
Your insurance policy may contain a right to cancel within a specified period of time after taking up the policy. In the event that you fail to pay your premium by the due date the insurance may be cancelled forthwith or by insurers, giving notice of the cancellation. In the event of cancellation of the insurance contract, insurers may return a pro rata premium to us.
Once our remuneration has been earned, in the event that the insurance is cancelled after inception, our fees or brokerage will not usually be returnable.
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Claims
It is essential that all claims are notified to BBi promptly and that all relevant and material facts are disclosed in order for us to inform underwriters. Certain insurers prefer to deal direct on straightforward claims but we will always be on hand to assist. However, we do not accept liability for any unpaid claims following the insolvency of an insurer.
We will remit claims payments to you as soon as possible after they have been received on your behalf.
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Your Duty of Disclosure to Insurers
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. Failure to disclose all material facts could render your insurance invalid and you may not be given protection in the event of a claim.
A material fact is information which would influence the judgment of a prudent insurer in fixing the premium or determining whether to accept the risk.
Please discuss with us if you are in any doubt as to whether or not information might be material or if you have any concerns that BBi might not be aware of all material information.
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Remuneration
BBi is committed to transparency in its relationship with its clients. BBi acts as an insurance broker, and provides consultancy services to our clients. BBI is usually remunerated by the insurer by way of a commission payment. Where there is no commission, we will agree a fee with you.
BBi Ireland agrees to issue all premium rebates over €10 within five business days, subject to having received the premium rebate from the relevant insurance undertaking. You will be contacted by BBi Ireland to determine how you wish the return premium to be handled for premiums under €10.
In addition to premiums charged by the insurer, we normally make the following non-refundable charges to cover the administration of your insurance as follows:
Mid-term adjustments £11.00
Requesting duplicate documents £11.00
Referred/bounced cheque's£20.00
We do not charge or return premiums under £10.00
Client Money
BBi is governed by strict rules pertaining to Client Money, as defined and set down by the FSA. A copy of these rules is available on request. Client money can be held in one of the following ways:
(a) It can be subject to a statutory trust
(b) It can be subject to a non-statutory trust or
(c) In accordance with the FSA client assets sourcebook (CASS)
Client money will only be held on behalf of an insurer or underwriter in accordance with a written agency agreement. Any interest earned on client money held by us and any investment returns on any segregated designated investments will be retained by us.
BBi holds all premiums in a separate Client Account from which it may make advances for credit for, for example, premiums, claims and returns of premiums. We act as agents for insurers with this regard which means that premiums are treated as being received by insurers when received in our bank account and any return premiums or claims money is treated as being received by you when it is actually paid over to you. We will inform you when premiums are not held in this way. Where BBi act as Trustees of our clients’ monies we must meet certain legal and regulatory conditions and we will hold the money in a non-statutory trust.
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Payment to Third Parties
We may transfer client money to another person, such as another broker or settlement agent, for the purpose of effecting a transaction on your behalf through that person.
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Bank Accounts
Client money will be deposited with Barclays Bank plc.
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Segregation of Designated Investments
We keep client money separate from our own money. We may do this by paying it into a client bank account. However, we may also do this by arranging to hold separately permitted designated investments with a value at least equivalent to the money that would otherwise have been paid into a client bank account.
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Confidentiality & Data Protection
Information you provide to HIB will be passed on to underwriters, co-brokers, subsidiaries and subcontractors when acting on your behalf. This information will remain confidential but may be used to help insurers check the information provided, to prevent fraudulent claims and to help reduce the level of uninsured drivers on the road. Various databases are in place for this purpose.
Information provided to you by HIB by way of reports and publications constitutes confidential and proprietary information belonging to HIB and may only be disclosed and/or used in accordance with permission granted by HIB.
HIB are registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 and we undertake to comply with the Act in all our dealings with your personal data. Your personal data will be kept secure.
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Premiums
Premiums must be paid to BBi by the due dates as specified within our accounting documentation for cover to be maintained.
Various installment facilities are available, both from BBi, insurers and third party providers. Details will be provided on request.
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Complaints & Compensation
It is our aim to provide a first-class standard of service at all times. However, there may be occasions where you feel that this has not been achieved.
BBi will deal with complaints as quickly and as efficiently as possible. All complaints should, in the first instance, be addressed to the Compliance Officer at our registered address. Complaints will be acknowledged within five business days of receipt and you will be advised of the person who will be dealing with the complaint.
BBi Ireland will offer updates thereafter of not less than 20 business days of the progress of your complaint. BBi Ireland will attempt to resolve the complaint within 40 business days, and if this is not met then we will inform you of the timeframe which we expect the issue to be resolved. Within 5 business days of the completion of the investigation, BBi Ireland will advise you of the 1) outcome of the investigation, 2) the terms of any offer or settlement, 3) opportunity to contact the Ombudsman 4) contact details of the Ombudsman.
If we cannot resolve your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it the Financial Services Ombudsman, contact details at www.financialombudsman.ie. BBi are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Full details and further information on the scheme are available from the FSCS.
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Important Information
Our quotations are based on the information you have provided. We reserve the right to withdraw quotations before they are taken up. Cover in all circumstances is subject to the insurer’s acceptance of the proposal form. Please also note that:
- If you have a claim before you accept the quotation offered, a different premium may apply
- Insurance is offered on the understanding that you will take reasonable steps to safeguard your property and/or vehicle at all times
- the policy we recommend is based on the information you have supplied. If this is incorrect or we have not been informed of any relevant information you will need to contact us immediately as this could affect the premium you pay or invalidate your cover.
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Taking Instructions From Someone Else
If you require us to take instructions or deal with someone other than yourself including your spouse, we will require written authority dated and signed by you.
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Security
We do not guarantee the solvency of any insurer we place business with. A liability for the premium, whether in full or pro-rata, may arise
under policies where a participating insurer becomes insolvent.
BBi monitor the security of insurers with which we place business and obtain security ratings from the leading agencies. We will notify you if any of the insurers involved in your insurances fall below a credit rating of BBB.
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Cancellation of This Agreement
Our agreement may be terminated by either party giving 14 days notice in writing to the other. In the event that our services are terminated by you we will be entitled to receive any fees or brokerage payable.
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Law and Jurisdiction
These terms of business shall be governed 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 Courts.
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 Courts and Irish Conduct of Business rules.
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