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Terms of Business (personal)

R P Lovatt is an independent intermediary. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Our permitted business is arranging general insurance contracts and associated services. Our FSA number is 308947. These details can be checked on the register of the FSA by visiting their web site http://www.fsa/gov.uk/register or telephoning on 0845 606 1234.

We are required to comply with the FSA regulations relevant to an insurance intermediary, these are:-

  • A firm must conduct their business with integrity and pay due regard to the interest of their customers and treat them fairly.
  • A firm must conduct their business with the due skill, care and diligence.
  • A firm must pay due regard to the information needs of their clients and communicate information to them in a way which is clear, fair and not misleading.
  • A firm which holds client money has to meet certain specific conditions.
  • A firm must take reasonable care to establish and maintain such systems and controls as are appropriate to their business.
  • We will give advice based on a fair analysis of the market.

Please read this document carefully, it sets out the terms on which we act for our clients and contains details of regulatory and statutory resonsibilities.

We specifically draw your attention to the following sections.

(a) Non Statutory Trust

(b) Interest on Client Money

Please contact us immediately if there is anything in these terms of business you do not understand or with which you disagree.

Relationships

As an independent insurance intermediary we act as the agent of our client. We are subject to the law of the agency, which imposes various duties on us. However, in certain circumstances we may act for and owe duties of care to other parties. For instance, we may, on behalf of certain Underwriters with whom we have authority to transact business on their behalf underwrite your policy/certificate. In this instance all records relating to your Policy are available for inspection by participating Underwriters. We will advise you when these circumstances occur so should you require any further information you may contact us.

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.

Documentation

Documentation issued by us or by insurers will be issued in a timely manner. Your documentation will confirm the basis of the cover, give details of the insurers, and be accompanied by a policy summary and a debit note or premium billing. The date that the premium is due, together with any penalties, will be clearly shown.

In respect of retail business (policies bought by an individual for the benefit of themselves or their family and outside their trade or profession), you will be provided with renewal terms in a durable medium no less than 21 days before expiry of the policy, or be notified that renewal is not being invited. Attached to the renewal terms will be a statement of any changes to the terms of the policy, and changes to directive-required information (information required under the EU Directives), statement of price and information about cancellation, in respect of commercial business, renewal terms will be provided in a timely manner.

Mid-term changes to your policy, initiated by your insurer and provided for in your policy will be provided in good time, prior to the change taking effect. It is our policy to retain significant documents for business effected on your behalf in electronic format for 7 years or paper format for up to 3 years.

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 relevant documents safely.

Claims

If you should become aware of any claims or circumstances that could lead to a claim being made you must notify us immediately at unless the notification of claims condition in any specific policy states otherwise. Failure to do so could prejudice your position.

We will provide you with every assistance in submitting a claim and seeking to obtain reimbursement for you. However, in the event that an insurer becomes insolvent or delays making settlement we do not accept liability for any unpaid amounts.

Duty of Disclosure to Insurers

You must disclose to insurers, before the contract is concluded, any fact or circumstance which is known to you (or which ought to be known by you) in the ordinary course of your business and which is material to the risk. A fact or circumstance is material if it would influence the judgement of a prudent insurer in fixing the premium or determining whether he would take the risk. You also have a continuing obligation to disclose facts material to the insurance throughout the period of cover. If you have any doubt on whether to advise of a change of circumstances that may be relevant to cover then, for your protection, it is preferable that you contact us in order that this information is advised to the insurer for their consideration.

Should you not act with the utmost good faith or fail to disclose any material fact or circumstance to insurers, insurers may void the contract.

Credit referencing

To make sure you get the best offers from insurers, now or at any renewal and to protect you from fraud and to verify your identity, they may use publicly available data which they obtain from a variety of sources, including a credit reference agency and other external organisations. Their search will appear on your credit report whether or not your applications proceed.

As well as these searches insurance companies may use a credit check to ascertain the most appropriate payment options for you. This credit check will also appear on your credit report whether or not your application proceeds. What to do next? If you agree to the above stated use of your information you do not need to do anything. At your next renewal a credit check will be done as part of the quotation process.

If you do not agree to the above stated use of your information, please contact us in the next 14 days either by telephone, email, letter, or drop in to see us and let us know that you do not wish for a credit check to be conducted.

Premium

You must provide the premium due in cleared funds in accordance with the amounts and payment dates specified. Failure to meet the payment date may lead to insurers cancelling your policy.

Where insurers have specified that the premium must be received by a certain date, failure to comply can result in the automatic termination of your insurance contract.

Remuneration

Our remuneration may be as a fee, or as brokerage, which is a percentage of the insurance premium paid by you and allowed by the insurers with whom the business is placed. Brokerage and fees are earned for the policy period and we will be entitled to retain all the fees and brokerage in respect of the full policy period in relation to policies placed by us unless in respect of a retail customer, the policy is cancelled within the cooling off period.

In addition to client fees and/or brokerage payments we may receive remuneration by way of administrative fees or commissions for services provided to Underwriters or other relevant parties such as finance providers.

Client Money

Client money is money of any currency that we receive and hold in the course of carrying on insurance mediation on behalf of our clients (including you) or which we trust as client money in accordance with the FSA’s client money rules. A copy of these rules is available on request.

Non-Statutory Trust

We hold client money subject to a non-statutory trust. In accordance with existing practice and subject to FSA’s solvency rules, this means that we are entitled to and may use client money held on behalf of one client to pay another client’s premium before the premium is received from that other client, and to pay claims and premium refunds to another client before we receive payment from the insurer.

However, we are not entitled to use client money to pay our commissions/fees before we receive the relevant premium from the client.

Interest on Client Money

Any interest earned on client money held by us will be retained by us for our own use.

Payment to Third Parties

We may transfer client money to another regulated party, such as another broker or settlement agent, for the purpose of effecting a transaction on your behalf through that party.

This may include brokers and settlement agents outside the UK. The legal and regulatory regime applying to a broker or settlement agent outside the UK may be different from that of the UK and in the event of a failure of the broker or settlement agent, this money may be treated in a different manner from that which would apply if the money were held by a broker or settlement agent in the UK. You may notify us if you do not wish your money to be passed to a party in a particular jurisdiction.

Bank Accounts

Client money will be deposited with one or more separate banks.

Cancellation Clause

Your insurance contract may include a cancellation clause. In the event of cancellation of the insurance contract, insurers may return a premium to us. Alternatively, this may be returned to premium financiers in accordance with any premium finance agreement. Once our remuneration has been earned, in the event that the insurance is cancelled after inception or in the case of a retail customer, after the cooling off period, our fees or brokerage will not usually be returnable.

In the event that you fail to pay your premium by the due date, the insurance may be cancelled forthwith by the insurers, giving notice of the cancellation.

Cancellation of this Agreement

Our agreement may be terminated by one of us giving 30 days’ notice in writing to the other. In the event that you terminate our services we will be entitled to receive any fees or brokerage payable.

Complaints

We take all complaints seriously. If you wish to register a complaint then please contact our Compliance Officer Mr. M. Lovatt, either in writing at 5 George Street, Banbury, Oxon. OX16 5BH, or by telephone on 01295 264181. We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days of receipt.

If we are unable to settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service at South Quay Place, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR.

Compensation

We 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. Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim without any upper limit.

Full details and further information on the scheme are available from the FSCS 7th Floor, Lloyds Chambers, Portsoken Street, London, E1 8BN.

Data Protection

We 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 information will be kept secure.

Law and Jurisdiction

These terms of business shall be governed by 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.