Terms of Business

TERMS OF BUSINESS

IFM INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED

Registered Office: 1st & 2nd Floor, Parkway Works, Kettlebridge Road, Sheffield S9 3BL
Telephone 0114 268 4606 or e-mail jade.dent@ifminsurance.co.uk
Registered in England & Wales 2680875

Accepting our Terms of Business

By asking us to quote for, arrange or handle your insurances, you are providing your informed agreement to these Terms of Business. We draw your particular attention to the sections headed ‘The processing of your personal data’ and ‘Credit checks’.

For your own benefit and protection, you should read these terms carefully. If you are unsure about any aspect of our Terms of Business or have any questions regarding our relationship with you, please contact us at the above address.

The Financial Conduct Authority

IFM Insurance Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our FCA Register number is 308720. Our permitted business is introducing, advising, arranging, dealing as agent, assisting in the administration and performance of general insurance contracts and credit broking (and supplementary debt related administration) in relation to insurance instalment facilities. You may check this on this FCA’s register by visiting the FCA website www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

Our service

Our role is to advise you and, after we have assessed your needs, to provide you with a personal recommendation explaining why the product recommended best meets your needs. In situations where we are able to arrange insurance for you but do not offer advice, we shall confirm the position to you in writing. We will not in any circumstances act as an insurer nor guarantee or warrant the solvency of any insurer.

The capacity in which we act for you

We act as an insurance intermediary, not an insurer. We will usually act on your behalf when arranging your insurances, when helping you make any changes to your policy, when you renew your insurance and in the event of a claim. If there are any circumstances where we act as an agent of the insurer, we will let you know the capacity in which we act before we finalise your insurance arrangements.

Scope of service including our product range and the range of insurers used

We aim to provide you with a high level of customer service at all times but, if you are not satisfied, please contact our Head of Compliance, Jade Dent at the address shown above. When dealing with your complaint, we will follow our complaint handling procedures; a summary of these procedures is available on request. If you are still not satisfied, you may be entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). For further information you can visit the FOS website www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Access to the FOS is available for complainants coming within one of the following categories:

• Consumers (private individuals acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside that individual’s trade, business, craft, or profession)
• Micro-enterprises (businesses employing fewer than 10 persons and with a turnover or annual balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million)
• Other small businesses (with an annual turnover of below £6.5m, and less than 50 employees or with an annual balance sheet total of below £5 million)
• Charities with an annual income of under £6.5 million
• Trustees of a trust with a net asset value of under £5 million
• Certain types of Guarantor

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for our insurance mediation activities. 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. If you are eligible to claim from the FSCS, compensation is available in relation to insurance advising and arranging as follows:

• 90% of the claim, without any upper limit;
• 100% of the claim without any upper limit for
– compulsory classes of insurance (such as Third Party Motor or Employers Liability); and
– ‘pure protection’ contracts, professional indemnity insurance, and general insurance claims arising from the death or incapacity of the policyholder owing to injury, sickness of infirmity, all where there an insurance intermediary has failed to pay money to an insurer, pay away money it has received from an insurer, or has failed to take steps to allow the insurer to effect the contract of insurance.

Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS on 0800 678 1100 (freephone) or 020 7741 4100 or www.fscs.org.uk

Payment for our services

We normally receive commission from insurers, product providers and, where applicable, finance providers.

• Any commission we receive from the insurance premium will be paid by the insurer or product provider.
• Any commission we receive from the premium finance provider will be paid from the finance repayment.

In good time before the conclusion of each insurance contract, or upon renewal, you will be reminded of your right to be informed of the level of commission and other income, which we receive from underwriters. You are entitled, at any time, to request information regarding any commission, which we may have received as a result of placing your insurance business. In addition to commission paid to us we may also charge a fee for our services, however you will always be informed of any such charge before you purchase a policy. Irrespective of whether we receive our remuneration as commission, fee or a combination of both, administration charges are applicable to all clients as outlined below. The number of fees charged is capped at a maximum of three per client. For the avoidance of doubt, if more than three policies are arranged, made up of a combination of the below, then the largest fees will apply.

	Personal Lines	Small Business (SME)	Technical Risks
Annual administration fee	£10.00	£30.00	£50.00

Your attention is specifically drawn to the following information: Where you cancel your policy after expiry of the cooling off period or where you request a mid-term adjustment which results in a refund of premium, we reserve the right to charge you for our time and costs. This will usually result in us reducing the amount refunded to you by the full amount of commission and fees we would have received had you not cancelled. However, any charge made will not exceed the cost of the commission and fees we would have earned.

You will receive a quotation, which will tell you the total price and which identifies any fees, taxes (IPT or VAT) and charges separately from the premium, before your insurance arrangements are concluded. Full payment of premium and fees is due before cover commences, or as otherwise stated under terms of credit, or in the debit note, invoice or statement issued to you. Failure to pay the premium due will mean that your insurance policy might not commence or that it will be cancelled.

We also draw your attention to the sections headed ‘Cancellation of Insurances’ and ‘Ending your relationship with us’.

Handling Money

Our financial arrangements with most insurance companies and product providers are on a ‘Risk Transfer’ basis. This means that we hold premiums and refunds due to clients on their behalf under a risk transfer agreement in an Insurer Trust account. Such monies are therefore deemed to be held by the insurer(s) with which your insurance is arranged. You will be notified if Risk Transfer does not apply and, in that case, we will arrange for payment of premiums by you direct to the insurer or his agent. If the agent will not hold money on a ‘Risk Transfer’ basis you will be advised of this. Your agreement to pay the premium together with your acceptance of these Terms of Business will constitute your informed consent to our holding your money in the Insurer Trust account. Interest earned on monies held in the Insurer Trust account will be retained by us.

Cancellation of Insurances

You should make any request for the cancellation of a policy to the contact details included within this Terms of Business, either by letter, email or phone and where requested any relevant certificate of insurance (where applicable) must be returned to us or the insurer concerned.

In the event of cancellation, charges for our services will apply in accordance with the ‘Payment for our services’ section above. The terms of your policy may allow insurers to retain the premium in full or to charge short-period premiums in the event of cancellation before the policy expires.

Ending your relationship with us

Subject to immediate settlement of any outstanding premiums and fees, you may instruct us to stop acting for you and we will not impose a penalty. Your instructions must be given in writing and will take effect from the date of receipt.

In circumstances where we feel we cannot continue providing services to you, we will give you a minimum 7 days notice in writing.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, if our relationship ends, any transactions previously initiated will be completed according to these Terms of Business. You will be liable to pay for any transactions concluded prior to the end of our relationship and we will be entitled to retain commission received for conducting these transactions, together with all fees charged by us for services provided.

Your responsibilities

If you are a consumer, you are responsible for answering any questions in relation to any proposal for insurance cover honestly and to the best of your knowledge, providing complete and accurate information which insurers will require. This also applies to your responses in relation to any assumptions you may agree to in the process of applying for insurance cover. This is particularly important before taking out a policy but also at renewal or if you make a mid-term amendment to your policy.

If you fail to disclose information, or misrepresent any fact which may influence the insurer’s decision to accept the risk or the terms offered, this could invalidate the policy and mean that claims may not be paid.

If you are a commercial customer you have a duty to give a fair presentation of risk to the insurer. This means that you should disclose every material circumstance relevant to the risk being insured following a reasonable search within your business to identify and verify such information. This should include information which you and where applicable your senior management, persons responsible for arranging your insurance or other relevant third parties know or ought to know and should include all information that would influence the judgement of the insurer or that would put the insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries.

Examples of material circumstances are:

• Special or unusual circumstances relating to the risk;
• Any particular concerns which led you to seek insurance cover for the risk; and
• Anything which those concerned with the class of insurance and field of activity in question would generally understand as being something that would be dealt with in a fair presentation of risks for this type of insurance.

The information must be presented in a way which would be reasonably clear and accessible to a prudent insurer. If you are unsure whether to disclose any information you should speak to us. You need to take into account the size & complexity of your business and allow yourself sufficient time before your renewal date to consider and/or assess your insurance requirements.

Failure to provide a ‘fair representation’ may result in a number of remedies by the insurer. If the breach was deliberate or reckless the insurer can void the contract and keep the premium. If the breach was not deliberate or reckless the insurer can void the contract, proportionately reduce a claim settlement or amend the insurance policy terms and conditions then review the merits of a claim on this basis.

You should therefore always provide complete and accurate information to us when we ask you about the insurance risks your business faces before taking out a policy, at renewal and throughout the life of the policy. This also applies to your responses in relation to any assumptions you may agree to in the process of applying for insurance cover.

You must check all details on any proposal form or Statement of Facts and pay particular attention to any declaration you may be asked to sign. It is important that you read all insurance documents issued to you and ensure that you are aware of the cover, limits and other terms that apply. Particular attention must be paid to any warranties and conditions as failure to comply with them could invalidate your policy or mean that claims may not be paid.

You must inform us immediately of any changes in circumstances which may affect the services provided by us or the cover provided by your policy.

If you are unsure about any matter, please contact us for guidance.

The processing of your personal data

In your dealings with us you may provide us with information that may include data that is known as personal data. Where we process personal data we comply with statutory data processing requirements as set out by the Data Protection Act 2018. The personal data we will collect will include information relating to your name, address, date of birth, contact details and ‘health’ or ‘criminal offences’.

We will process your personal data to allow us to provide you with our services as your insurance broker in quoting for, arranging and administering your insurances (and in arranging insurance premium finance where applicable). Your personal data will also be used to manage future communications between ourselves. Where you have agreed, or in circumstances where to do so will be in our mutual interests, your personal data will be used to provide you with further information about our wider products and services. You can opt out at any time from receiving such communications by e-mailing info@ifmins.co.uk.

In processing personal data for insurance purposes about health or criminal offences, we will only do so to enable us to provide our service to you and on the basis of it being in the public interest.

We will only use your data for the purpose for which it was collected. We will only grant access to or share your data within our firm or with other authorised third parties and product and service providers such as insurers and premium finance providers where we are entitled to do so by law under lawful data processing.

The Data Protection Act 2018 provides you with Access Rights that allow you to gain an understanding on the data being processed, who we share it with, for what purpose, why we need to retain it and retention periods, to object to the processing and to place restrictions on the processing, to request copies of your data and to request the deletion of your data. Subject to certain exceptions, you will be entitled to have access to your personal and sensitive personal data free of charge unless in our view the request is frivolous and vexatious for which you will be charged a fee of £10.

If you require further information on how we process your data or you wish to exercise your rights, please contact our Head of Compliance, Jade Dent by emailing jade.dent@ifminsurance.co.uk or by writing to our registered address shown above, or by telephoning 0114 268 4606. How we process your personal data is detailed further within our Privacy Notice www.ifminsurance.co.uk/privacy-statement.

Credit checks

We, and other firms involved in arranging your insurance (insurers, other intermediaries or premium finance companies) may use public and personal data from a variety of sources including credit reference agencies and other organisations. The information is used to help tailor a price, to ascertain the most appropriate payment options for you and to help prevent fraud. Any credit reference search will appear on your credit report whether or not your application proceeds. If you have any questions about this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Conflicts of interest

Occasions can arise where we or one of our clients or product providers, may have a potential conflict of interest with business being transacted for you. If this happens, and we become aware that a conflict exists, we will write to you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions, and detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.

Claims handling procedures

You should take note of the required procedures in the event of a claim explained within the policy document. Generally, insurers require immediate notification of a claim or circumstances which might lead to a claim. We will employ due care and skill if we act on your behalf in respect of a claim.

Limitation of Liability

Our liability for losses suffered by you as a direct consequence of any negligent performance of our services shall be limited to £10,000,000 per claim, and to an aggregate amount of £10,000,000 for multiple negligence claims arising out of one single cause.

We consider the above noted limit to be adequate, however, if you wish us to consider higher limits, please let us know. If alternative limits are agreed, the agreed alternative limit will form part of this Terms of Business agreement. If there are any additional charges to amend the limits, these will be discussed with you prior to the amendment being put in place.