Terms of Business AgreementThe Financial Conduct Authority
From 1/4/2013 The Financial Conduct Authority is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. GMM Commercial Insurance Services Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our FCA Register number is 458372. You can check our status at www.fca.org.uk/firms/systems-reporting/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768. Our permitted business includes advising, arranging, dealing in and assisting with the placing & administration 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. We will not provide you with any advice on the purchase or make a recommendation of policies, and customers should make their own decision regarding the suitability of products offered via our website. Whose products we offer We offer products from a limited number of selected insurers and you can ask us for a list of the insurers considered for your business. The service we will provide you withIn respect of all policies purchased via our website you will not receive advice or a recommendation from us and you will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed. Guidance on the circumstances in which any policy is likely to meet customer’s needs, will be confirmed in a demands & needs statement with the quotation. Reporting Claims All incidents which could lead to a claim must be reported as soon as practicable. Your insurer’s claims contact number is shown in your policy.What you will pay for our servicesWe 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:
Personal lines/Retail policies cancelled during the ‘Right to Cancel’ period will be subject to an administration charge of £25, 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 and in these cases we will advise you of the arrangement fee before you take the policy out. We may also make additional charges specific to the arrangement and servicing of certain policies, but these will always be advised to you in advance and are shown on the relevant IDD. Prior to the conclusion of any commercial insurance contract, or upon renewal, we will remind commercial customers of their right to be advised of the level of commission which we receive from underwriters. Commercial customers 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 Simon Rice, GMM Commercial Insurance Services Ltd, Carlisle House, 61 Wolborough Street, Newton Abbot, TQ12 1JQ or, by phone Telephone 01626 332 433, by fax 01626 333 111. 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/Consumers only) You have a legal right to cancel your policy or credit agreement 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 cancel a credit agreement you will need to repay any sums provided in full and make alternative arrangements to pay your premium. If you wish to cancel 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 90% 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 the following credit/debit cards – Visa, Mastercard, Maestro. For certain policies, 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, however rates and acceptance may be subject to a credit check. 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 and your credit rating may be affected. 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 receive premiums you pay to us as Agent of the Insurer. 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. |
