Terms of Business

 

Accepting our Terms of Business

By asking us to quote for, arrange or handle your insurances, you are providing your informed agreement to these Terms of Business. We draw your particular attention to:
The section headed ‘Use of personal data’, specifically the paragraph explaining how ‘sensitive personal data’ will be used and the sub-section titled ‘Credit checks’
For your own benefit and protection, you should read these terms carefully. If you are unsure about any aspect of our Terms of Business or have any questions regarding our relationship with you, please contact us at the above address.

The Financial Conduct Authority

Clarke Williams Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our Financial Services Register number is 758683
Our permitted business is introducing, advising, arranging, dealing as agent, assisting in the administration and performance of general insurance contracts and credit broking [and supplementary debt-related administration] in relation to insurance instalment facilities.
You may check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA’s website, https://register.fca.org.uk/s/ or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

Our service

Helping you to decide

Our role is to advise you and, after we have assessed your needs, to make a suitable recommendation.
In some circumstances, we do not provide advice and we will therefore confirm in separate documentation whether or not any advice or recommendation has been made before finalising your insurances.

Our role is to advise you in relation to the insurance and, after we have assessed your needs, to make a suitable recommendation. Where we can offer the availability of an instalment facility in order to pay the insurance premium by regular premiums, we do not offer advice in relation to this but we may ask some questions to narrow down the selection of options available; you will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed.

We will not provide further advice or recommendations following the arrangement of insurance cover, unless you notify us of a material change of circumstances or formally request that we review your insurance arrangements. At renewal, unless we give you a quote for cover with an alternative insurer, we will not offer advice or make recommendations (unless you request this during the renewal process).

The capacity in which we act for you

In providing our service, we may sometimes act as an agent of the insurer. We will confirm the capacity in which we will act for you before undertaking any relevant transactions on your behalf
We are also a credit broker in that we introduce those wishing to pay by instalments to firms that are able to lend money under a regulated credit agreement by way of business.

Our product range and the range of insurers used

We select personal and commercial insurances from a range of insurers, but for certain products, we only select products from a limited number of insurers or only offer products from a single insurer. We will give you further information about this before we finalise your insurance arrangements; where we select products from a limited number of insurers you may ask us for a list of the insurers we deal with for these products
We will not in any circumstance guarantee the solvency of any insurer. Whilst we take every care to check the financial stability of any firm with which we place business, we cannot be held responsible if that firm subsequently ceases to trade.

Complaints and compensation

It is our intention to provide you with a high level of customer service at all times. If you should wish to make a complaint about our service we have a formal complaints procedure. In the first instance you should address your complaint to Alison Etchells, Complaints Manager. We will supply you with a copy of our complaints procedure upon receipt of a complaint or at any time upon request. If you cannot settle your complaint with us you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/ alternatively, other out of court complaint and redress procedures may be available.

Access to the FOS is available for complainants coming within one of the following categories at the time we receive their complaint:

– Private individual / Consumer or
– Micro enterprise
– Charity which has an annual income of less than £6,500,000 at the time the complainant refers the complaint to the firm
– Trustee which has a net asset value of less than £5,000,000 at the time the complainant refers the complaint to the firm
– Buy-to-let Consumer or
– Small business at the time the complainant refers the complaint to the firm. To be a Small business the firm must fall below the following turnover threshold and either the balance sheet or headcount threshold:-
– A) annual turnover of £6,500,000 and
– B) annual balance sheet total of £5,000,000 or
– C) head count of 50 people
– D0 a guarantor only to the extent that the complaint arises from matters relevant to the relationship with the firm
– We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for our insurance mediation activities. 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. If you are eligible to claim from the FSCS, compensation is available in relation to insurance advising and arranging as follows:
– 90% of the claim, without any upper limit;
– 100% of the claim without any upper limit for
– compulsory classes of insurance (such as Third Party Motor or Employers Liability); and
– ‘pure protection’ contracts, professional indemnity insurance, and general insurance claims arising from the death or incapacity of the policyholder owing to injury, sickness or infirmity, all where the insurance intermediary has failed to pay money to an insurer, pay away money it has received from an insurer, or has failed to take steps to allow the insurer to effect the contract of insurance.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

We are covered by the 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. Full details and further information on the compensation scheme is available from the FSCS https://www.fscs.org.uk/We aim to provide you with a high level of customer service at all times but, if you are not satisfied, please contact us:

Payment for our services

We normally receive commission from insurers, product providers and where applicable finance providers. We also charge you for handling your insurances and arranging your premium finance as follows:

Administration Fees
New Business Arrangement Fee: Up to £50
Renewal Arrangement Fee: Up to £50
Charge for Duplicate Documents: Up to £10
Mid Term Adjustment Administration: Up to £25
Non Standard Fees

Due to the complexity or nature of arranging your insurances we may deem it necessary to charge a fee in excess of the above, this will be discussed with you and the level of fee disclosed in writing prior to any transactions. We earn the entirety of our commission and/or fees when your risk is successfully placed and take our commission and/or fees immediately upon receipt of payment unless agreed otherwise with your insurer.

Cancellation and Amendment Fees

Any fees or commissions earned are non refundable in the event of any cancellation or amendment of your policy or termination of our services as these cover the costs of providing our services already provided, primarily incurred at inception/renewal and when arranging cancellation of a policy. Non-payment of any premium or non receipt of any forms will be deemed, in the absence of any other agreement, instruction to cancel cover. If a policy is cancelled, the net premium less commission and fee will be returned to you, this is subject to any short term charges imposed by the insurers and there is no return premium in the event of a claim. If your premium is funded on Direct Debit via an installment plan you will be required to pay any commissions due to us and will be billed separately for this. Please note that policies arranged on ‘Minimum and Deposit’ premium terms will not be due any return premium, please check with us before issuing cancellation instructions on this type of policy.

In the event of an adjustment that results in a return of premium or cancellation mid-term we will refund the premium due net of our full commission and any charge made by insurers. Where the premium is being paid by instalments we will claim our full commission along with any charge made by the insurers in the calculation of any outstanding monies.
You will receive a quotation which will tell you the total price to be paid, and which identifies any fees, taxes and charges separately from the premium, before your insurance arrangements are concluded.

You are entitled at any time, to request information about earnings that we, or any other intermediary we have used, receive as a result of placing your business. In addition to commission from insurers and premium finance providers, we may also receive payments from insurers based on volumes of business or profitability of the account placed with them. These payments can vary from year to year. Such remuneration is only earned on the basis that it does not detract from our obligation to act in our customer’s best interests at all times.
We also draw your attention to the sections headed ‘Cancellation of insurances’ and ‘Ending your relationship with us’.
Full payment of premium and fees is due before cover commences, or as otherwise stated under terms of credit, or in the debit note, invoice or statement issued to you. Failure to pay the premium due will mean that your insurance policy might not commence or that it will be cancelled.

Handling money

We act as agents of the insurer in collecting premiums and handling refunds due to clients such monies are deemed to be held by the insurer(s) with which your insurance is arranged.
In arranging your insurance we may employ the services of other intermediaries who are Authorised and Regulated by the FCA and your premium may be passed to these intermediaries for payment to insurers. Any interest, or investment returns, earned on your money whilst in our possession will be retained by us.

Cancellation of insurances

In the event of an adjustment that results in a return of premium or cancellation mid-term we will refund the premium due net of our full commission and any charge made by insurers. Where the premium is being paid by instalments we will claim our full commission along with any charge made by the insurers in the calculation of any outstanding monies.
You should make any request for the cancellation of a policy in writing and any relevant certificate of insurance must be returned to us or to the insurer concerned.
In the event of cancellation, charges for our services will apply in accordance with the ‘Payment for our services’ section above.
The terms of your policy may allow insurers to retain the premium in full or to charge short-period premiums in the event of cancellation before the policy expires.
If any credit agreement payment is not met, you acknowledge and agree that we may instruct on your behalf the relevant insurer to cancel the insurance and to collect any refund of premiums which may be made by the insurer and use it to offset any outstanding costs. Cancellation of the insurance policy will mean there is no cover in force should a claim occur.

Ending your relationship with us

Subject to your immediate settlement of any outstanding premiums and fees, you may instruct us to stop acting for you and we will not impose a penalty.
Your instructions must be given in writing and will take effect from the date of receipt.
In circumstances where we feel we cannot continue providing services to you, we will give you a minimum of 7 days’ notice. Valid reasons may include but are not limited to non-payment of premium or fees, commission clawback by insurers where instructions are given to another party to handle the customer’s insurance(s), failure to provide requested documentation or information, deliberate failure to comply with terms set out within the ToB or insurer’s documentation, deliberate misrepresentation or non-disclosure or attempted fraud, use of threatening or abusive behaviour or language, or the attempted bribery or intimidation or bullying of our staff or suppliers.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, if our relationship ends, any transactions previously initiated will be completed according to these Terms of Business. (ToB) You will be liable to pay for any transactions concluded prior to the end of our relationship and we will be entitled to retain commission received for conducting these transactions, together with all fees charged by us for services provided.

Treating Customers Fairly (TCF)

We set high standards for ourselves and it is our intention to act honestly, fairly and professionally at all times in accordance with our customer’s best interests. We have appointed Alison Etchells to ensure these standards are met. If at any time you feel that we have fallen short of acting in our customer’s best interests’ please contact us in order that the matter may be addressed.

Prevention of Bribery

It is our intention to meet the requirements of the Bribery Act 2010. We have appointed Henry Clarke with overall responsibility for the prevention of bribery. If, at any time, you feel that we have not acted in a way that meets the requirements of the Bribery Act 2010 you should contact us immediately.

Your responsibilities

Your Duty to Provide Information (consumers)
It is your duty to take reasonable care to answer all questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge. If you do not, your insurance policy may be cancelled or treated as if it never existed or your claim may be rejected or not paid in full. It is important that all statements you make on proposal forms claim forms and other documents are full and accurate. If a form is completed on your behalf, you should check that the answers shown to any of the questions are true and accurate before signing the document. Failure to provide requested information to your insurers could invalidate your insurance cover and mean that part or all of a claim may not be paid.
This also applies to your responses in relation to any assumptions you may agree to in the process of applying for insurance cover. This is particularly important before taking out a policy but also at renewal or if you make a mid-term amendment to your policy.
If you fail to disclose information, or misrepresent any fact, which may influence the insurer’s decision to accept the risk or the terms offered, this could invalidate the policy and mean that claims may not be paid.

Fair presentation of risk (non consumer clients)
It is your statutory duty before entering into a contract of insurance, prior to an alteration and at renewal to make a fair presentation of the risk to be insured and to ensure that information is provided in a clear and accessible format. Once we have collated the information about the risk copies of the information will be sent to you for checking. Where practical every material circumstance should be disclosed. We will expect firms to make reasonable enquiries and proactively gather information however, where this is not practical you must make us aware, as your broker, that further enquiries are needed to accurately underwrite the risk. Any questions put to you in a proposal form or otherwise must be answered honestly, accurately and in good faith and should include all information that would influence the judgment of the insurer or that would put the insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries.

Examples of material circumstances are:

• Special or unusual circumstances relating to the risk;
• Any particular concerns which led you to seek insurance cover for the risk; and
• Anything which those concerned with the class of insurance and field of activity in question would generally understand as being something that would be dealt with in a fair presentation of risks for this type of insurance.

The information must be presented in a way that would be reasonably clear and accessible to a prudent insurer. If you are unsure whether to disclose any information you should speak to us. You need to take into account the size & complexity of your business and allow yourself sufficient time before your renewal date to consider and / or assess your insurance requirements.
Failure to provide a ‘fair representation’ may result in a number of remedies by the insurer. If the breach was deliberate or reckless the insurer can void the contract and keep the premium. If the breach was not deliberate or reckless the insurer can void the contract, proportionately reduce a claim settlement or amend the insurance policy terms and conditions then review the merits of a claim on this basis.

You should therefore always provide complete and accurate information to us when we ask you about the insurance risks your business faces before taking out a policy, at renewal and throughout the life of the policy. This also applies to your responses in relation to any assumptions you may agree to in the process of applying for insurance cover.

You must check all details on any proposal form or Statement of Facts and pay particular attention to any declaration you may be asked to sign. It is important that you read all insurance documents issued to you and ensure that you are aware of the cover, limits and other terms that apply. Particular attention must be paid to any warranties and conditions as failure to comply with them could invalidate your policy or mean that claims may not be paid.
You must inform us immediately of any changes in circumstances which may affect the services provided by us or the cover provided by your policy.
If you are unsure about any matter, please contact us for guidance.

Use of personal data – Confidentiality (how we use your information)

All personal information about you will be treated as private and confidential. We are registered with the ICO as a Data Controller. We undertake to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 in all our dealings with your personal data. Your personal information will be kept secure. If you require more information on how we use your personal data please refer to our privacy notice.
We will process any personal information we obtain in the course of providing our services to you in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and in line with our Data Protection Policy. In administering your insurances and where applicable arranging premium finance it will be necessary for us to pass such information to insurers and other relevant product or service providers which may also provide us with business, claims and compliance support.
We may also disclose details to relevant parties, as necessary, to comply with regulatory or legal requirements. We may contact you in order to promote products or services which may be of interest to you if you have provided your consent to receive this, you can update your consent at any time. We will not otherwise use or disclose the personal information we hold without your consent.
Some of the details you may be asked to give us, such as information about offences or medical conditions, are defined by the Act as sensitive personal data. By giving us such information, you signify your consent to its being processed by us in arranging and administering your insurances.

Updating your information or change your marketing preferences:

Please let us know if your information changes as it is important that the information we hold about you is accurate and up to date.
You can ask us to update or correct your personal information or opt out of Clarke Williams’s use of your information for direct marketing purposes by contacting us using any of the following methods:

By Phone: 01732 252898 or +44 1732 252898 (from abroad) By email: aetchells@clarkewilliams.co.uk

By post: Data Protection Officer, Clarke Williams Ltd, Unit 1, Blue Bell Court, Tonbridge, TN9 1FU

Your rights of access to your data:

You have a right to obtain a copy of the personal information that we hold about you. If you believe that any information held is incorrect or incomplete, you should contact us. Any information that is found to be incorrect or incomplete will be amended promptly.

You also have a right to “be forgotten”, this means you can ask for the information which we hold about you to be deleted from our records but this will mean that we will be unable to continue to handle your insurance arrangements.

Credit checks:

We, and other firms involved in arranging your insurance (insurers, other intermediaries or premium finance companies) may use public and personal data from a variety of sources including credit reference agencies and other organisations. The information is used to help tailor a price, to ascertain the most appropriate payment options for you and to help prevent fraud. Any credit reference search will appear on your credit report whether or not your application proceeds. If you have any questions about this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Claims and Underwriting Exchange Register and Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud Register:

Insurers pass information to the Claims and Underwriting Exchange Register operated by Insurance Database Services Limited and the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register compiled by the Association of British Insurers. The objective is to check information provided and 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 th e event of an accident, this database may be used by insurers, MIIC and your motor insurer to identify relevant policy information. Other insurance related databases may also be added in the future.

Conflict of interests

Occasions can arise where we may have a potential conflict of interest with business being transacted for you. If this happens, and we become aware that a potential conflict exists, we will write to you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions and we will detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.

Claims handling arrangements

You should take note of the required procedures in the event of a claim, which will be explained in the policy documentation. Generally, insurers require immediate notification of a claim or circumstances which might lead to a claim. We will employ due care and skill if we act on your behalf in respect of a claim.

Jurisdiction and applicable law

These terms of use and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales and the jurisdiction of English Courts.