Personal Insurance Terms of Business
SERVICE & COMMITMENT
Backhouse Insurance Brokers Limited is a statutorily regulated company of the Financial Services Authority (reference number 307658).
Only companies regulated by The Financial Services Authority are authorised, with very little exceptions, to sell general insurance products, they undertake to monitor all activities including financial position, sales, advisory and service standards of the company.
Our name/address and statutory status can be checked by telephone on 0845 605 5525 or email at www.fsa.gov.uk.
The company acts independently and provides impartial advice and recommendations on the particular choice of Insurer; on occasion we will act as a sub-broker to obtain preferential terms, (where we do not deal directly with the insurer), when this situation arises you will be clearly advised.
PAYMENT
Premium payment may be made through the Insurers own direct debit facility where available or through our own premium finance arrangements.
REMUNERATION
Our remuneration is that provided within our standard ìagency agreements with those Insurers we represent.
Where we make a professional fee charge, rather than take a commission, this will be clearly identified.
In the instance that the fee is in addition to commission earned, this will be clearly identified as additional remuneration, explained and agreed prior to debiting.
You have the right at any time to request details of any commission earned.
No earned commission will be refunded for midterm alterations resulting in a return premium or cancellation of your policy.
Any premiums paid will be held by us in a Statutory Trust Client Money Bank account; we may earn interest from the account which will not be refunded being deemed part of our remuneration.
YOUR COMMITMENT
Whilst the Financial Services Authority regulates members for the protection of clients, it is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information before and during the policy period, it is important that you ensure that all statements made on proposal and claim forms are full and accurate, the possible consequences of not providing full information could be an avoidance of the policy or non payment or partial payment of a claim.
CLAIMS PROCEDURE
A major benefit of insuring with the Backhouse Insurance Group is our commitment during our period of appointment to provide a first class claims service, which is why we have a dedicated team dealing with claims.
WHEN A CLAIM OCCURS:
In office hours you have the option of contacting ourselves or the Insurer Help Line or Club Line, both provide a similar service and are designed to provide initial guidance, out of office hours the Insurer lines are open 24 hours a day / 365 days a year.
If you do contact the Insurer we will be notified, acting in your interests we will contact you in writing with our own claim number, contacting ourselves will produce a similar letter acknowledging the claim, either method will result in ourselves giving you advice on how to proceed.
If the incident is not covered in part or full we will provide in writing a full explanation.
Where selected we will appoint your legal expenses Insurer and supply them with all necessary documentation to pursue a recovery of your uninsured losses such as an excess.
It should be noted that the Insurer has the option of reinstating/replacing or providing cash settlement, the option is theirs but acting on your behalf we will endeavour to seek the option you require.
In the event of a large claim such as a fire, we would recommend the services of a loss assessor, who would represent your interests against that of the Insurer appointed loss adjuster.
All our claims are ìdiarisedî to chase the Insurer for settlement, where appropriate or where you specifically request we will provide a progress report, it is usual for larger material damage or liability claims to take longer to settle due to their complexity.
On settlement of the claim we will forward the cheque immediately its received, the settlement letter will provide advice on the progress of recovering costs from an at fault third party where appropriate.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
If you are dissatisfied in some way we would like to know, and as required by the FSA have a formal complaints handling procedure.
Speak to the person with whom you arranged the insurance policy or with whom you normally deal, if that person is unable to answer your query to your satisfaction and you wish to make a formal complaint you may do so either orally or in writing.
All complaints will be acknowledged within 5 business days of receipt and you will be advised whom from our management team will be dealing with it and when you should expect a response.
Within 20 business days of receipt unless further investigation is required due to the complexity of the problem a response will be made, (or reasons why there will be a further delay) with either:
An acceptance of complaint & an offer of redress OR A rejection of the complaint with reasons
If there remains dissatisfaction and you are a retail customer purchasing insurance other than for business purpose, or you are a commercial customer with turnover of less than £1,000,000, then a further appeal can be made after 8 weeks which will be considered by The Financial Services Ombudsman where compensation may be available, we are bound by any decision.
Financial Services Ombudsman, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, LONDON, E14 9SR Tel: 0845 605 5525 www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
CONFIDENTIALITY
We will only use and disclose the information we have about you in the normal course of arranging and administering your insurance, and other than this we will not disclose any information to any other parties outside our Group of Companies without consent, unless where we are members of, and disclosure is required by a regulatory regime to fulfil its regulatory function, or; where we are legally obliged to do so. You undertake that the data passed to us has been obtained in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. Customers should be aware that Insurers exchange information with each other through various databases to help check the information provided and also prevent fraudulent claims.
We may use information we hold about you to provide information to you about other products and services, which we offer. If you would prefer not to receive information on these services, please contact the Compliance Officer at Oakmount House, 9 Carrside, Lomeshaye Business Park, NELSON BB9 6RX.
