SIB INSURANCE TERMS OF BUSINESS

T: 01704 500999

Please read this document carefully as it sets out the terms on which we agree to act for our clients and contains important regulatory and statutory information.

Definitions

“We/us/our” means SIB Insurance (SIB, SIB Insurance and SIB Group are trading titles of Southport Insurance Brokers Ltd. of 36 Hoghton Street, Southport, PR9 0PQ.

Status

We act as an Independent Insurance Broker and are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, Canary Wharf, London. Our registration no. is 305866. You can check this on the FSA’s register by visiting the FSA’s website www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.

Complaints

We take complaints seriously, if you wish to register a complaint, please write to the Managing Director, at the above address, or contact this office on 01704 500999. If we cannot settle the complaint satisfactorily, you may be entitled to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Details of how will be provided to you in these circumstances.

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 scheme are available from the FSCS.

Explaining our service

We act as Independent Intermediaries on behalf of our Clients and are subject to the Law of Agency which imposes duties upon us. Our service includes:

Advising and arranging your insurance cover with insurers to meet your requirements.
Helping you with any ongoing changes you have to make.
As part of our service we also offer to assist you with any claim you need to make.

Products

A list of insurers is available on request. 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. We will endeavour to conduct a fair analysis of the market place when dealing with your insurance, in the event of us using only one carrier for a particular product; you will be advised at the time of negotiation.

Use of other intermediaries

When we consider it appropriate and for your benefit, it may be necessary for us to request another broker or intermediary to act as our agent and assist in the placement of your insurance product. In such cases we will provide specific instructions to such sub agents so as to meet your insurance requirements.

Fees and Remuneration

You will receive information about any fees we receive relating to the product you are being offered. This will include commission, fees, over-rider agreements, profit share arrangements and any volume business deals that your policy may contribute towards. We are committed to ensuring complete transparency of our remuneration and we will, at your request, fully disclose our remuneration.

Brokerage or fees are for the policy period and we will be entitled to retain all brokerage/fees in relation to policies placed by us. For mid-term alterations there will be a service charge of £10. For midterm cancellations or upon a change resulting in a return premium being due to you we will charge a fee equal to the amount of commission the Insurers will want us to refund to them.

If you require duplicate documentation there will be a £10 service charge in addition to any amount required by your Insurer. We normally accept payment by guaranteed cheque or certain credit or debit cards and you should enquire which are available. You may be able to spread your payment through insurers’ instalment facilities or a finance arrangement. We will give you full information about your payment options when we discuss your insurance.

Duty of Disclosure

It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information when you take out your insurance policy, now, throughout your policy, and when you renew your insurance.

It is important all statements you make at quotation stage, on proposal forms, claim forms and other documents are full and accurate. A fact or circumstance is material if it would influence the judgement of a prudent insurer in fixing the premium or determining whether they would take the risk.

Please note that failure to disclose material information could invalidate your insurance cover, and part of, or all of a claim may not be paid or the contract voided. Please keep copies of documentation sent by/received from us. Please contact us if you are in doubt on any aspect.

Data Protection

Unless required by law, public interest, regulators or you give your consent, all information you supply will be kept confidential to us and parties involved in the normal course of arranging/administering your insurance without your prior consent.

We may provide you with information about other products and services, which we feel may be appropriate to you. We may pass information about you to credit reference agencies for the purpose of arranging payments by instalments and may also pass to them details of your payment record with us. If you do not wish to receive marketing information, or to allow us to disclose information about you to other parties, please notify us in writing.

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, which will be kept secure. You are entitled to see personal information we hold about you in our records.

IMPORTANT - Insurers pass information to the Claims and Underwriting Exchange run by Insurance Database Services Ltd and the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register run by the Association of British Insurers.

The aim is to check information provided and also prevent fraudulent claims. Motor insurance details are added to the Motor Insurance database run by the Motor Insurers’ Information Centre that has been formed to help identify uninsured drivers and may be searched by the Police to help confirm who is insured to drive. In the event of an accident the database may be used by Insurers and the Motor Insurers Bureau to identify relevant policy information. Other insurance related databases may also be added in the future.

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.

Claims

You must notify us as soon as possible of a claim or circumstances which may give rise to a claim. In the event of a claim you should contact this office and we will promptly advise you and if appropriate, issue you with a claim form and pass all details to your Insurer.

You should not admit liability or agree to any course of action, other than emergency measures carried out to minimise the loss, until you have agreement from your Insurer. We will remit claims payments to you as soon as possible after they have been received on your behalf. In the event that an insurer becomes insolvent or delays making settlement we do not accept liability for any unpaid amounts.

Client Money

In most cases premiums are collected in line with strict agency agreement known as Risk Transfer. Where Risk Transfer does not apply, client money is held in a non-statutory trust in accordance with the FSA client assets sourcebook (CASS). Copies of these rules are available on request. Any interest we earn on client money and any investment returns will be retained by us for our own use.

Cancellation Clause

Your insurance contract may include a cancellation clause. If you are a retail customer, this is mandatory. Full cancellation details will be explained to you during the negotiation process. In the event that you fail to pay your premium by the due date the insurance may be cancelled forthwith or by the insurers, giving notice of the cancellation.

In the event of cancellation, insurers may return a pro rata premium to us, but you are advised to check your insurance policy for full details of your insurers' cancellation clause. 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.

Money Laundering/Proceeds of Crime Act

Money Laundering regulations require us to obtain evidence of a client's identity at the start of a business relationship. We may ask for sight of your passport, utility bill or bank statements. For companies, evidence usually consists of a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation or we may check the Companies House register.

Termination

Our services may be terminated without cause or penalty by giving one month's notice in writing. In the event that our services are terminated by you other than at the expiry of the policy we will be entitled to retain any fees and all of the brokerage payable. The responsibility for handling claims reported after the date of termination shall in the absence of an express agreement be the responsibility of the party taking over the role.