Terms of Business

About us

Ray Millard Insurance Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as an insurance intermediary.  Our firm reference number is 301381.  We are permitted to arrange and advise on non-investment personal & commercial insurance products.  We act as agents/intermediaries of insurers and clients and assist in claims handling.  You can check these details online using the Financial Services Register (accessible from www.fca.org.uk) or by contacting the Financial Conduct Authority Consumer Helpline on 0800 1116768.

We are also authorised by the FCA for consumer credit broking.  We act with 2 finance lenders, Premium Credit Ltd & Close Brothers Ltd

Your duty of disclosure

Consumers : You must take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer. This means that all the answers you give and statements you make as part of your insurance application, including at renewal and when an amendment to your policy is required, should be honest and accurate. If you deliberately or carelessly misinform the insurers, this could mean that part of or all of a claim may not be paid.

Non-consumer customers : Where we arrange insurance wholly or mainly for purposes related to your trade, business or profession, you have a duty under The Insurance Act 2015 to make a fair presentation of the risk. This means that you must disclose every material circumstance which you and/or your senior management and/or anyone responsible for arranging your insurance know or ought to know. Alternatively, you must disclose sufficient information which would put the insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries for the purpose of revealing those material circumstances.  You are expected to carry out a reasonable search in order to make a fair presentation of the risk and will be deemed to know what should reasonably have been revealed by the search.

Your duty of fair presentation applies at the start of the policy, at renewal and when any variation of the policy is arranged. If you fail to make a fair presentation, the insurer may refuse to pay your claim or reduce the settlement amount, depending on the circumstances. 

How to cancel

Please contact us immediately if you wish to cancel any insurance policy we have arranged for you. You may have a right to cancel a policy without penalty within the first 14 days (or, in some cases, longer). Please refer to your policy summary or your policy document for further details. If you cancel within this initial cancellation period (where this applies) you will receive a proportionate refund of premium from the insurer. However, insurers are entitled to make an administrative charge.  In addition, we may charge an amount which reflects the administrative costs of arranging and cancelling the policy. Details of the amount we charge are detailed below under Fees and Charges.

If you choose to cancel other than within an initial cancellation period you may not receive a pro-rata refund of premium. In addition, we may charge an amount that reflects the administrative costs of arranging and cancelling the policy (see our Fees and Charges below).

Protecting your information

We take your privacy extremely seriously and we will only use your personal details in line with our Privacy Notice. Please read our Privacy Notice carefully (which is enclosed – if you have not received this then please ask us for a copy) and contact us immediately if you have any queries. Where necessary, for example where we would like to use your data for some marketing purposes, we shall ask for your specific consent to do so. Your personal information includes all of the details you have given us to process your insurance policy (we will not ask for more information than is necessary). We may share your data with Third Parties for the provision and ongoing performance of your insurance policy. Your data may be transferred outside the UK. We will not sell, rent or trade your data under any circumstances. All of the personal information you supply to us will be handled strictly in accordance with the applicable Data Protection regulations and legislation.

Our earnings

When we sell you a policy the insurer pays us a percentage commission from the total premium that you are charged with. If the type of policy we sell reaches specific profit targets the insurer may also pay us an additional bonus.

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 or arranging premium finance. 

Please be assured that at no time will the way in which we are remunerated conflict with our responsibilities to meet your needs and treat you fairly.

Fees and charges

Please refer to our tariff of administration charges for fees payable under this Terms of Business Agreement.  These charges will apply if you instruct us to carry out a mid-term adjustment, renewal, cancellation or other work on your behalf.

If your policy is a personal lines policy and you pay your premium by instalments via the scheme administered by Premium Credit Ltd or Close Brothers Ltd then you will pay an additional 8% if your premium is  £500 or over or 10% if your premium is below £500.  

If your policy is a commercial lines policy then then we will confirm the interest rate to you at policy inception and at each renewal.

In the event of mid -term cancellations due to Direct Debit defaults or if our premium is paid by Direct Debit, then you will be responsible for any outstanding instalments or premium shortfalls.

Insurers may not offer a refund if a non-recoverable claim has been made on the policy during the period of insurance.  You would be liable for any outstanding premiums.

Protecting your money

Prior to your premium being forwarded to the insurer (or forwarded to you in the event of a premium refund) we generally hold your money as an agent of the insurer with which we arrange your insurance. Where we hold premium as the agent of the insurer it is regarded as received by the insurer. If we are not acting as an agent of the insurer when we receive your premium, we shall hold it as client money in trust for you within a client bank account with an approved bank. Our client bank account(s) may contain other clients’ money and money we hold as an agent of insurers. In line with strict FCA rules, our client bank account(s) is/are rigorously monitored in order to segregate and safeguard client money. We reserve the right to retain interest earned on our client bank accounts.

We may transfer your premiums to the insurer through another party, such as a broker or underwriting agent for the purposes of effecting a transaction. 

By accepting this Terms of Business Agreement, you are giving your consent for us to treat your money in this way. Please notify us immediately if you have any objection or query. 

Treating You Fairly 

We aim to treat you fairly.  We consider carefully the products we offer and we select or design them with our customers in mind.  We work hard to make sure you`re not misled and that the information we provide is clear and understandable.  Our complaints process is clear and precise and if we make a mistake then we will aim to put things right.

Complaints

It is our intention to provide a high level of service at all times.  However if you have reason to make a complaint about our service you should contact David Allen at the above address or call 01202 528726.  You may be entitled to refer the matter subsequently to the Financial Ombudsman Service.  You can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service by telephone on 0800 0234567 and further information is available at http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/. If you do decide to refer any matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service your legal rights will not be affected.

How to claim

Please refer to your policy summary or your policy document if you need to notify a claim.  

If the claim notification is during our business opening hours then please contact our office, if not then for motor claims, please contact our out of hours claims line  on 01204 567567 or for all non-motor claims, please contact the insurers emergency contact number within your policy booklet. If in doubt about whom you should contact, please contact us on 01202 528726 or 01728 833709 during our business hours. 

Money laundering/Proceeds of crime

We are obliged to report to the National Crime Agency any suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing activity and we are prohibited from disclosing any such report.

Adequacy of insurance values

It is the responsibility of the insured to ensure that all sums insured and policy limits are adequate. It is strongly recommended that the appropriate Professional (e.g. Surveyor/Accountant) be consulted to ensure that the sums insured and limits under the policy are suitable.

Conflicts of interest/Customers best interests

As insurance brokers we generally act as your agent in advising you, arranging your insurance and assisting you in the event of a claim; we will always act honestly, fairly and professionally ensuring your best interests are our priority. In certain circumstances we may act for and owe duties of care to insurers and/or other parties. Where we become aware of any actual or potential conflict of interest with our duty to you, we will inform you of the situation and the options available to you before we proceed.

Insurer security

The insurers we use are regulated and are required to have adequate capital resources. However, we cannot guarantee the solvency of any insurer we place business with. An insolvent insurer may be unable to pay claims or may be unable to pay them in full and you may have to pay a further premium to pay for alternative insurance cover.

Termination

You or we may terminate authority to act in connection with your insurance arrangements at any time. Notice of termination must be given in writing and will be without prejudice to the completion of any transactions already commenced. Any business currently in progress will be completed unless we receive instructions to the contrary. Any premiums or fees outstanding will become payable immediately. In circumstances where we feel we cannot continue providing services to you, we will give you a minimum of 7 days’ notice. 

Law and jurisdiction

These Terms of Business shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.