Terms of Business – Our service to you

This Terms of Business comes into force on the date you receive it from us and will remain in force until you are provided with revised terms.  We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs if multiple markets exist.  If however we have access to a single market, we will present the information but not make a recommendation.  This will include the type of cover you seek together with the costs.  We offer products from a range of insurers; the list of insurers and products we offer is available on request.  However, in the case of Motor Claims Management, Premier Insurance only deals with Winn Assist.

Your duty to us

We will ask for and seek all relevant information from you in order to recommend an appropriate product.  You must supply us with the requested information, as failure to do so, or to provide incorrect information may lead to you buying an inadequate product, or worse, the Insurer may not pay a claim.  Insurer’s request all “material facts” to be disclosed, which may be described as any fact, if known, which may be likely to influence their decision to accept a risk and on what terms.  If any information supplied changes during the course of the policy period, you must notify us immediately as this may influence the cover and policy terms and conditions.

Our Quotation to You

All premiums quoted are inclusive of HM Government Insurance Premium Tax.  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.

Evidence of No Claims bonus:

In consideration of being granted temporary insurance cover under a policy without providing us with evidence of no claims bonus, you undertake to provide such evidence within fourteen days of the commencement date. If you do not provide such evidence you must pay such increased premium as results from your failure to provide evidence. In the event that the policy has to be cancelled as a result of failure to provide bonus proof and you failing to pay any increased premium, you will be asked to pay a time on risk charge based on the total gross premium plus a cancellation fee.

Remuneration

In the normal course of our business, we receive income as follows:  Commission paid to us by insurance companies with whom we place business.  All policy adjustments, alterations and cancellations will incur an administration fee of up to £25.00 this in addition to all other charges made by the insurer;  Commercial cases can be more time consuming and therefore may attract a higher administration fee.  Any charges for new business, adjustments or renewals will be advised to you in advance and confirmed in writing in our Statement of Price.  If an adjustment results in a return premium, the commission that is being repaid to the insurer will also be deducted from the final amount to yourself.  Be aware that any dishonoured payments will be subject to a fee of £25.00, which is in addition to any such fee that may be levied by a third party finance provider i.e. Premium Credit.  Some Insurers may pay us additional remuneration at the end of their financial year if their insurance account with us is profitable. We may also receive commission from third party claims providers. We reserve the right to make charges/fees, details of which will be provided to you verbally and/or in writing before conclusion of the contract.

Premiums received

Your premium to us is held by us as agent of the insurer.  We may assign our rights to collect a debt to a Debt Collection/Referral Agency.  Any fees incurred by us will be added to your outstanding debt before being passed to a Debt Collection/Referral agency and can be substantial.  The initial fee before court costs is currently 20% of the debt plus VAT.

Tacit renewals

In the event that your renewal is paid by insurer instalments, we will notify you, prior to the renewal date of the premium, terms, and conditions that will apply.  Unless we hear from you on or prior to renewal date, your policy will be renewed.

Settlement terms

We will be responsible for issuing invoices for all new, renewal premiums, and mid-term alterations as soon as practicable after inception or renewal of your policy.  We will remit premiums to insurers in accordance with the agreed terms of business.  You will be responsible for paying promptly all of our invoices for premiums to enable us to make the necessary payments to insurers.  For the avoidance of doubt, we have no obligation to fund any premiums on your behalf.  We also have no responsibility for any loss that you may suffer because of insurers cancelling the policy or taking any other prejudicial steps because of the late payment of such sums if such delay is attributable to you.  In certain circumstances, insurers may impose a specific premium term, whereby they require payment of premium by a certain date.  We must stress that breach of that term will entitle insurers to cancel the policy from inception of cover.  You agree that the settlement of premiums in good time is your responsibility.  We normally accept payment by cash, debit card, or credit card.

Policy documentation

We will issue policy documentation in a timely manner.  Your policy documentation will confirm the basis of the cover, give details of the insurers, and accompanied by a cover note/certificate/debit note/receipt.  Prior to the conclusion of the contract you will given a statement of demands and needs, which sets out and confirms the reason for making the recommendation. You will be provided, where possible, in writing in no less than 21 days for retail customers and for commercial customers 10 days before the expiry of the policy the renewal terms, or advised if renewal is not being offered.  You will be given an explanation of any changes and if you are a retail customer, the right to request a new policy document.  We may keep certain documents, such as your insurance policy and/or certificates of insurance until we receive full payment of premium and/or policy fees.  In these circumstances, we will ensure that you receive full details of your cover and any documents that you require by law.

Cancellation

You have certain rights of cancellation in the early stages of a policy life and these are shown in the insurer’s policy details document. Policies vary between insurers but be aware that cancellation refunds are not given after a claim and are otherwise calculated on a short period scale weighted in favour of the insurers as their costs are similar whether a policy has run for one day or for one year. Also, please be aware that we do not refund commission since this is earned for arranging the policy (unless you are replacing the policy through our agency with another insurer.

Complaints Procedure

Should you have any cause for complaint, please contact the Manager in the first instance, in order that the situation may be resolved to your satisfaction. In the event that we are unable to resolve your complaint, we will write to you within five working days advising you of the person who will be investigating the circumstances. In the event that your complaint is still outstanding after a further 4 weeks, we will write to you again advising you of the reasons for the delay and giving a timescale in which you will hear from us again. Should you wish to take the matter further you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service at South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. 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 the first £2000 and 90% of the remainder of the claim without any upper limit, for those products where insurance is compulsory. Non compulsory products are covered on a flat 90% basis. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.

Ownership

There is no ownership between any insurer and us.

Confidentiality / Data Protection Act

We will treat all customers’ personal information in a confidential manner and we will ask a series of questions to ensure that we are speaking to our customer and not a person who is not authorised to ask questions or to give instructions to us. We can only take instructions to effect or to alter a policy in some way from the Policyholder or their legal representative.  Your data is held in compliance with the legislative requirements.

Termination

You or we may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time without notice period or penalty.  Notice of termination must be given in writing and will be without prejudice to the completion of any transactions already initiated.  Any business currently in progress will be completed unless we receive your instructions to the contrary.  Any fees outstanding at the date of termination will be due within four weeks of the termination date.

Law

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.

Fraud Credit Check

To make sure you get the best offer from insurers, now or at any renewal or at any time and to protect their customers 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 may 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 applications proceed.  If you do not wish for this check to take place then please inform us as soon as possible.

Our status

Premier Insurance Intermediary Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).  Our FSA Register number is 308421.  Our permitted business is advising and arranging general insurance contracts. 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 6061234.  The FSA is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services.  It requires us to give you certain information to decide if our services are right for you.

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