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Terms and Conditions

Elliott Slowther Insurance Services Ltd

Terms of Business Agreement                                         

Version170518

Introduction

Please read this document carefully, as 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.

 

Who we are

Elliott Slowther Insurance Services Ltd are independent insurance intermediaries, acting for a number of general insurance companies for the selling of general insurance. We are permitted to arrange, advise on, deal as an agent of insurers, assist in claims handling and help with ongoing changes in respect of general insurance policies on behalf of our clients. We are also authorised for consumer credit broking, where we act for one finance provider.

Once we have confirmed our terms and conditions in writing, they will be deemed to be acceptable unless you advise us to the contrary within fourteen days. This agreement shall be governed by the Laws of England, Wales or Scotland and the parties agree herewith that any dispute arising out of it shall be subject to the (non) exclusive jurisdiction of the relevant Court.

Ownership

Mr K P Slowther owns 100% of the business of Elliott Slowther Insurance Services Ltd. There is no holding between any insurer and ourselves.

The Financial Conduct Authority

Elliott Slowther Insurance Services Ltd, 70-71 North Road, Boldon Colliery, Tyne and Wear NE35 9AX are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Our FCA Register number is 303946. These details can be checked on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA’s website https://register.fca.org.uk/ or by contacting the FCA on 0300 500 8082.

What services will we provide you with?

Our permitted business is arranging general insurance contracts. We offer products from a range of insurers, a list of which is available upon request. Because of our wide range of providers, we are able to discuss your needs and establish a product best suited to you.

However, there may be times when we use a select panel of insurers or finance providers, or even a single insurer/finance provider due to the type of insurance required. In certain circumstances, we will use the services of another intermediary to place your insurance, and when this happens we will always advise you of the name of that intermediary.

Our advice

Upon assessment of your requirements, we will make a recommendation for a particular insurance product. Our advice will be confirmed in a demand and needs statement, which will clearly state the reasons for our recommendation.

In some circumstances, we may not provide you with advice, for example:

  • If we renew your insurance cover with your existing insurers without re-broking your insurance, and where no recommendation or opinion on the products suitability has been provided,
  • If we simply provide you with information on a product, or
  • If you are purchasing insurance products directly from our websites as these are purchased on a non-advised basis.

Protecting your money

We hold all client money as an agent of the insurer, which means that upon receipt of your premium by us, it is deemed as having been received by the insurer. We hold your monies in an insurer monies trust account, with an appropriate bank. It is our policy to retain any interest that may be earned on monies held in our insurer monies trust account.

Conflicts of interest

As insurance brokers, we generally act as your agent in advising you, arranging your insurance and assisting you in the event of a claim. In certain circumstances, we may act for and owe duties of care to insurers and/or third parties. Where we become aware of any actual or potential conflict of interest, we will inform you of the situation, along with the options available to you, and obtain your consent before we proceed.

Adequacy of insurance values

It is your responsibility to ensure that all sums insured and policy limits are adequate. Whilst we seek to assist in establishing and maintaining insured values and indemnity limits, we cannot accept responsibility for their accuracy. It is strongly recommended that the appropriate professional (e.g. surveyor/accountant etc) be consulted to ensure that the sums insured and limits under your policy are suitable.

 

What will you pay us for our services to you?

Please refer to the tariff below for fees payable under this Terms of Business Agreement. These charges apply if you instruct us to arrange insurance, carry out a mid-term adjustment, renewal, cancellation or other work on your behalf.

Arrange renewal                                      £40.00 (maximum)

Arrange new policy                                  £10.00

Mid-term adjustment or cancellation           £20.00

Dishonoured or late payment fee               £10.00

These charges are in addition to any charges made by the insurers themselves. In certain circumstances, we may have to apply additional charges to reflect the work involved. Customers completing commercial business with us have the right to request information about commission and other payments we may receive.

If you pay your premium by instalments we shall inform you of any additional fees, charges or interest as part of your credit arrangements.

Policy cancellation

Once you have entered into an agreement with us for the services we provide, you have a period of 14 days to reflect on whether to proceed with the purchase of the contract. If you cancel the contract within this period, you will be charged a proportion of the insurance premium for the cover afforded to date and may be charged a proportion of any of our fees that we have incurred.

You must contact us to request cancellation of your policy. Cancelling your Direct Debit mandate does not cancel your policy.

If you cancel your policy after the initial 14 days cooling off period, you will be liable to pay a premium based on the insurer’s standard cancellation rates. Details of these can be found in your policy booklet. For some insurance contracts, insurers will not provide refunds for mid-term cancellation of cover. We will advise you of this if it affects you. We repay commission on the cancellation amount to your insurer, and this will be deducted from the final amount due to you.

Please note in all circumstances, if a claim has been made under the policy then the full annual premium must be paid – no refund is issued upon cancellation. If you pay your premium on instalments and a claim is made, then the remaining instalments must also be paid.

How to make an insurance claim

Please refer to your policy summary or your policy document if you need to notify a claim. You should contact us or the insurer direct as soon as you become aware of any incident which could give rise to a claim. If you are in doubt about whom you should contact, or if you require our assistance in relation to a claim or potential claim, please contact us.

Confidentiality and data protection

To help make sure you receive a competitive quotation, offer of appropriate payment options, protect against fraud and to verify your identity, insurers may use publicly available data which they obtain from a variety of sources, including a credit reference agency and other external organisations. Their search may appear on your credit report whether or not your application proceeds. We can only take instructions to effect or to alter a policy in some way from the Policyholder themselves, or their legal representative.

We will treat all customers’ personal information as private and confidential and will only be disclosed to others such as our business partners, insurers, credit providers and other third parties who are directly involved in the normal course of arranging and administering your insurance. By using our services or relevant websites, you consent to any such transfer of information to a third party.

Where you have given us consent, we may use the data we hold about you to provide you with a renewal quotation and information about products and services that we consider may be appropriate.

By using our services, you consent to us and our partners retaining any personal information you have provided. We will retain this only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the business purpose for which it was collected. We will also retain and use your personal information for as long as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

Under the General Data Protection Regulations 2018, you have the right to ask us for a copy of any personal information about you that we hold on our records. For further information on your rights under these regulations, please refer to the Information Commissioners Office – www.ico.org.uk.

Duty of Disclosure

You must take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to your insurer. This means that all of the answers you give and statement that you make as part of your insurance application, including at renewal and when an amendment is made to your policy, 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.

Renewal of contracts

We contact you in good time before your renewal date offering you renewal terms, or in situations where we are not inviting renewal, we will advise you. Renewal of the contract is based on the information you supplied when we arranged your current contract, along with any amendments you have made during the period of cover. It is vital that you advise us of any changes to your requirements.

Where we offer you renewal terms, and your insurance is paid by continuous monthly direct debit instalments, i.e. no new credit agreement is required, in the absence of a response from you we will deem this as your consent to renew the cover automatically. This will ensure that you are not in a position without insurance cover.

Money laundering and 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.

Insurer security

The insurers that we use are regulated and are required to have adequate capital resources. However, we cannot guarantee the solvency of any insurer that 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 to arrange alternative insurance cover.

What to do if you have a complaint

Our aim is to provide all our clients with an excellent level or service. However, we recognise that there may be occasions when you do not feel satisfied with the service you receive from us. We take all complaints very seriously.

Should you have any cause for complaint, you can :

  • Write to us at Elliott Slowther Insurance Services Ltd, 70-71 North Road, Boldon Colliery, Tyne and Wear NE35 9AX,
  • Telephoning our office on (0191) 519 4000, or
  • You can email your complaint to info@a19insurance.co.uk.

We aim to handle your complaint promptly and fairly. You can be assured that we will deal with your complaint promptly and fairly, in line with our formal Customer Complaints Procedure, a copy of which you receive when you first arrange your insurance with us. A further copy is available on request.

Should you remain dissatisfied, you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk, or telephone them on 0800 0234567.

Bribery and corruption

Our company culture and ethics mean that we do not bribe or use any other means to improperly influence the decisions of clients, potential clients or government officials. Our business is structured with appropriate systems and controls to comply with the requirements of the Bribery Act 2010.

Further information

All premiums quoted to you are inclusive of HM Government Insurance Premium Tax at the current rate. We reserve the right to withdraw premium indications before they are taken up, and to apply any changes notified to us by underwriters after the indication has been given.

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS is the UK’s compensation fund of last resort for clients of authorised financial services firms. 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 100% of those products where insurance is compulsory. Non-compulsory products are covered on a flat 90% basis. Further information about the compensation scheme is available from the FSCS at their website www.fscs.org.uk. The scheme does not apply to consumer credit.