TERMS OF BUSINESS
Brownhill Insurance Group Limited trading as BIG Underwriting.
BIG Underwriting only trades with other insurance industry professionals and has no direct contact with clients unless you instruct us otherwise. Our terms of business are as per the agency agreement that you signed to access our facilities. The remainder of this document is for information purposes and in no way supersedes your agency agreement.
Who regulates us?
Brownhill Insurance Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our FCA reference number is 306131. Our permitted business is advising on, arranging, transacting and administering general insurance contracts. You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the website: www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on FREEPHONE 0800 111 6768. We are also registered credit brokers allowing us to arrange monthly premiums.
Our Service
We act as an underwriting agency placing business with our partner insurers. If the business you propose does not fit our underwriting facilities, we may offer to wholesale this in the open market.
What products do we offer?
Where we are using our underwriting facility we only place business with the insurer that has provided the capacity for the facility. usually select products from a wide range of insurers. In circumstances where we wholesale your business we will tell you which insurers we have approached and the end results.
Our Remuneration
We receive commission from our insurer partners which is shared with you. Whenever we charge a fee, it will be notified to you in advance and shown separately from the premium.
We may also earn commission from placing insurance premium funding.
Information on Fees and Charges
We reserve the right to make charges to cover the administration of insurance policies. You will be notified of any such changes in advance with our quotation.
Receipt of Instructions
We do not consider instructions to arrange or change cover to have been received until they reach the relevant personnel in our offices. We do not accept responsibility for instructions which do not reach us due to failures in the postal, electronic or telecommunications systems.
We normally deal with requests to arrange or amend cover on the day instructions are received, or the next working day if a weekend or public holiday, however, some instructions cannot be processed immediately or without obtaining additional information. Arranging cover or changes to your policy will only take place when they have been agreed and we have confirmed them to you in writing. We will also advise you of any extra premiums you must pay or premiums we must return to you. Refunds of less than £20.00 will be held to credit on your account unless specifically requested otherwise.
Payment Terms
We normally accept payment by cheque; debit or credit card or via the BACS system in accordance with the credit terms agreed within either your agency agreement or the terms of our debit note.
How we will handle money
We will hold money that you pay to us in accordance with FCA rules or under a risk transfer agreement with insurers in one of the following ways:
A non-statutory trust client bank account that allows us to use the money held in trust on behalf of one customer to pay anther customers premium before we receive it and to pay premium refunds before we receive payment from insurers. This is standard practice within our industry and we cannot use your money for any other purpose. We do not pay interest on monies held and retain any interest earned.
A statutory trust client bank account that only allows us to use the money held in trust on behalf of a customer for paying their premium or providing refunds once they have been received from insurers. We cannot pay other client’s premiums from this account. We do not pay interest on monies held and retain any interest earned.
Quotations
Unless stated otherwise in our documentation, all quotations provided for new insurances are only valid for a period of 30 days from the date of issue. You should be aware that quotations may change or be withdrawn if the information given to us or your insurers in proposal forms or declarations differs from that provided at the time the quotation was issued.
Claims
Many insurers provide a 24-hour Helpline in respect of claims, these details are within your policy documentation. Please ensure that you report all incidents that could give rise to a claim immediately once you become aware of them by contacting your insurer or by telephoning our office. Late notification could result in your claim being rejected. You will be advised if you need to complete a claim form or produce documentation to support your claim.
If the claim involves damage to your property, please do not dispose of damaged items and/or authorise repair work (except in an emergency or to prevent further damage) until your insurers or we advise that you can. If your claim involves damage to other people’s property or bodily injury please pass copies of all correspondence, including solicitors’ letters to us immediately; unanswered. Any attempt to negotiate or respond to the incident without prior reference to your insurers or us might prejudice your cover. You should be aware that a claim arising after renewal of the policy has been invited might affect the renewal terms or premium quoted by your insurers.
As part of our service we will assist you with any claim you need to make. Please call your usual contact.
Documentation
We aim to produce documentation and issue correspondence in a clear, error free and understandable format. In the event of any uncertainty please let us know immediately; we will be happy to clarify the cover provided. You should check all policy documentation to ensure that the details are correct, and that the cover provided meets with your requirements. Any errors should be notified to us immediately. All policies contain conditions and exclusions, and some contain warranties and excesses. It is your responsibility to examine the document to familiarise yourself with these. A breach of policy conditions may result in claim rejection and breach of a warranty may invalidate the cover entirely if it is not complied with precisely.
Cooling off period
If you take out a personal insurance policy through us you have a right to cancel the cover up to 14 days from the policy commencement or its renewal or from the date you receive your policy documentation, either from your insurers directly or from us. You will be informed if you have such a cancellation right in separate documentation. Should you decide to exercise that right you will be entitled to a refund of premium less an appropriate charge for the period of cover given before the cancellation right was invoked. We are also entitled to make a reasonable charge for the administration of your policy up to the point of cancellation. If the premium has not been paid a charge may be made for the period of cover given prior to the exercise of the right. Should any claim occur prior to the exercise of the right where the claim terminates the insurance cover, your insurers may not allow a refund of any of the premium paid. To exercise your cancellation right you should contact us at our normal address or your insurers at the address shown on your policy.
Our Right of Cancellation
We have the right to withdraw our services by giving you 30 days written notice of our intention to cancel your cover. You will be fully informed of our reasons should we decide to take this course of action.
Insurer Security
We endeavour to place your business with insurers who demonstrate an adequate level of financial solvency and who are regulated to maintain an appropriate level of capital. Please note that the claims-paying ability of even the strongest insurers could be affected by adverse business conditions or mismanagement. We therefore do not accept any liability for any unpaid amounts in respect of claims or return premiums due to you from an insurer who becomes insolvent or delays settlement.
Complaints
It is our intention to always provide you with a high level of customer service but if you wish to make a complaint about our service, we have a formal complaints procedure. In the first instance you should contact us at the address on page 1; please address your complaint to Ben Henderson. We shall supply you with a copy of our complaint procedure upon receipt of a complaint or at any time upon request. You will be advised of any redress available to you should you believe the matter has not been resolved to your satisfaction. If you do not consider that you have received adequate resolution of your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service; we will send you details of this service.
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. Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. For compulsory classes of insurance this increases to 100% of the claim, without any upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.
Confidentiality and Use of Personal Data
Please refer to our privacy notice for full information in respect of your rights and our use of your data under General Data Protection Regulation. A copy is available on our web site and will be supplied to you on request either by email or by post at your convenience.
Telephone conversations
Telephone conversations may be recorded for quality control and training purposes.