Terms of Business Agreement Version 1.5
The Financial Services Authority(FSA)
The Financial Services Authority is the independent watchdog that regulates
financial services. Bloomhill Insurance Solutions Limited is authorised and
regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Our FSA Register number is
481793 and you can check our status at www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.
Our permitted business includes advising, arranging, dealing in and assisting
with the placing and administration of all types of General Insurance policies.
Confidentiality and Data Protection
We will treat all your personal information as private and confidential to us and
anyone else involved in the normal course of arranging and administering your
insurance, even when you are no longer a customer. We will not give anyone
else any personal information except on your instructions or authority, or
where we are required to do so by law, or by virtue of our regulatory
requirements. We may use information we hold about you to provide
information to you about other products and services, which we feel may be
appropriate to you. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you have the right to
see personal information about you that we hold in our records. If you have any
queries please write to us at our usual office address.
Our Service
We are an independent insurance intermediary, who acts on our customers
behalf in arranging insurance. Our services include: advising you on your
insurance needs; arranging your insurance cover with insurers to meet your
requirements; and helping you with any ongoing changes you have to make. As
part of our service, we will assist you with any claim you need to make and tell
you what your responsibilities are in relation to making claims.
If you mislay your policy at any time, we will issue a replacement policy
document, if you request it.
Whose products we offer
We usually offer advice from a range of insurers, representing a fair analysis of
the market, however, under certain circumstances we may only deal with a
limited panel, or single insurer. We will confirm, for each individual policy we
provide you with, the basis of our advice on our Initial Disclosure Document.
The service we will provide you with
We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed
your demands and needs. Our advice will be confirmed in a demands & needs
and suitability statement, giving reasons for our recommendation. In respect of
Legal Expenses/Motor Breakdown policies you will not receive advice or a
recommendation from us and you will then need to make your own choice
about how to proceed.
What you will pay for our services
We usually receive a commission from the insurer with whom we place your
business and, in addition, we normally make the following charges to cover the
administration of your insurance:
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Arranging New Policies
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£12.50
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Renewals
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£12.50
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Mid Term Adjustments
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£12.50
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Mid term cancellations and other refunds are refunded NET of commission.
We may, in addition, charge a £ 12.50 administration fee.
We do not charge for replacement / duplicate certificates or covernotes
Personal lines/Retail policies cancelled during the ‘Right to Cancel’ period will
be subject to an administration charge of £12.50, in addition to the premium
charged by the insurer for the period of cover provided.
Occasionally we may arrange a policy on which we earn no commission (a
‘net-premium policy’) and in these cases we will advise you of the arrangement
fee before you take the policy out. Specific charges, which apply to individual
policies will be shown on the Initial Disclosure Document applicable to that
policy. The specific charge and purpose of any additional charges will
always be advised to you in advance.
Prior to the conclusion of each insurance contract, or upon renewal, we will
remind commercial policyholders of their right to be advised of the level of
commission which we receive from underwriters. 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.
What to do if you have a complaint
Our aim is to provide a first class service, however, if you wish to register a
complaint, please contact us by writing to: Matthew Stringer, Bloomhill
Insurance, Eastlands Court, Wade Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG24 8FA , or, by phone Telephone 01256 463090, by fax 01256
409014.
We will provide you with a copy of our full complaints procedure and respond
to you promptly. We will keep you informed of the progress of your complaint
and aim to make a final response to you within eight weeks, or keep you
informed as to why this is not possible. In the event that your complaint relates
to activities or services provided by another party, we will ensure that your
complaint is appropriately forwarded in writing, and will track the progress of
the complaint and responses of that party.
After our final response has been issued, if you still cannot settle your
complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman
Service, for an independent assessment and opinion.
The FOS Consumer Helpline is on 0845 080 1800 and their address is:
Financial Ombudsman Service,South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR.
Your Right to Cancel (Applicable to Personal Lines/Retail customers only)
You have a legal right to cancel your policy for any reason, subject to no
claims having occurred, within 14 days of receiving the full terms &
conditions. You will always be advised where this Right applies. A charge will
apply for the period of cover provided and, in addition, we make an
administration charge as detailed above.
If you wish to cancel a policy you must advise us in writing, prior to expiry of
the 14-day cancellation period, to our usual office address.
Are we covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The
FSCS is the UK’s statutory fund of last resort for customers of authorised
financial services firms, like ourselves. The FSCS can pay compensation if an
authorised firm is unable or likely to be unable to pay claims against it, usually
because it has gone out of business or is insolvent.
Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the first £2,000 and
90% of the remainder of the claim, without an upper limit. For compulsory
insurances (for example, motor insurance and employers’ liability insurance),
insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, without an
upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is
available from the FSCS.
Payment Options
We normally accept payment by guaranteed cheque or cash. You may be able
to spread your payments through insurers’ instalment schemes or a credit
scheme, which we have arranged with an established insurance premium
finance provider. We will give you full information about your payment
options and the appropriate finance agreement when we discuss your insurance
in detail.
Please Note: Your policy cover will cease if you fail to keep up payments on
an instalment agreement or premium finance facility related to it.
Language Used
The English language will be used for all communications, the contractual
terms and conditions, and any information we are required to supply to you,
before and during the duration of the contract.
Information on how we treat Payments You make to Us
Under the terms of our agreements with the Insurance companies with whom
we place business, we normally receive premiums you pay to us as Agent of
the Insurer. All insurance premiums you pay to us are protected in a Statutory
Trust Client Account until we pay insurers. We do not pay any interest on
premiums held by us in the course of arranging and administering your
insurance.
Your Duty to Give Information
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.
It is important that you ensure that all statements you make on proposal
forms, statements of fact, claim forms and other documents are full and
accurate.
Please note that if you fail to disclose any information or change in
circumstances to your insurers which could influence the cost, or their
decision to accept your insurance, this could invalidate your insurance
cover, and could mean that part or all of a claim may be not be paid.
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