Terms of Business

Terms of Business

CREST INSURANCE CONSULTANTS LIMITED

Chilterns House, Eaton Place, 64 High Street,
Burnham
Buckinhamshire
SL1 7JT.

Tel : 01895 435710

 

CONSUMER DUTY

We can confirm that we put your needs first in recommending any insurance product to you. We identify the characteristics and features of the product and review these against our understanding of your demands and needs to ensure the product is suitable for and meets your requirements. This includes identifying the target market for the product and making sure that it provides fair value to customers in that target market. We continually identify any changes made to the product to ensure it remains suitable. We will always appreciate your feedback which you can send to us via our CONTACT US page on this website.

OUR PRIVACY NOTICE
In this privacy notice, references to ‘we’ are to Crest Insurance Consultants Ltd, a limited
company, incorporated and registered in England and Wales, (company no 3155713),
whose registered office is at 83 Thornbridge Road, Iver Heath, Bucks SL0 0QB.
Crest Insurance Consultants Ltd is committed to protecting the personal information that
we collect and you provide to us. We would ask you to review this Privacy Notice carefully,
as it states how your personal information will be treated by us. Any personal information
will be treated in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation Act 25th May
2018. We will collect and process personal information about you, including sensitive data
(for example criminal convictions, personal health information). Personal details will either
be supplied by you or collected by us. We may ask you for this information via our
website, over the telephone or by filling in certain forms.
We will only process your personal information (for example, name, address, contact
telephone number, email address) to provide the products and services, (including third
party services, such as premium finance) that you have requested from us and to
administer your policies. You have the right to ask us not to process your personal
information, but in that case we would be unable to provide you with any quotation. We will
not sell your data to any third party and we do not carry out any marketing procedures. To
help us prevent money laundering and fraud, your details may be submitted to fraud
prevention agencies and other organisations, where your records may be searched. We
may also pass your details to a credit reference bureau who may conduct a search to
assist us in providing a quotation and to check payment options we can make available to
you.
In respect of personal information relating to any person other than yourself, you
must obtain the explicit consent of the person to whom the information relates to.
Apart from any disclosures already referred to in this policy, we will not disclose any
personal information without your permission, unless we are legally obliged to do so (for
example, required by Court Order, or for the prevention of fraud or other crime). In the
interests of security and to improve our service, telephone calls will be recorded and/or
monitored.
Our website may from time to time contain links to and from other websites of other
companies, such as partner Insurers and affiliates. If you follow a link to these websites,
please note that these websites have their own Privacy Policy and that we do not accept
any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please ensure you check these policies
before you submit any personal information to these websites.
Changes To Our Privacy Policy
A copy of our full Privacy Policy can be found on our website and this may be revised from
time to time, so please check our website regularly and take notice of any changes made.
You can also request hard copy by contacting us.
In the event of any questions or enquiries regarding this document please contact:
Jim Robinson at Crest Insurance Consultants Ltd – 01895 435710

DOCUMENTATION IS AVAILABLE IN LARGE PRINT FORMAT PLEASE CALL 01895 435710

 

 

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 section headed “Protecting your Money” and the section “Protecting your Information”

Introduction

The purpose of this document is to explain our professional relationship with you and the services that we are able to provide to you.

We are an independent intermediary acting as your agent and responsible for the advice we give you when arranging your insurance. We use facilities made available by general insurance companies and Lloyds’ syndicates alike. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which sets the standards and rules for the transacting of insurance business (consumer, retail and commercial), for intermediaries such as ourselves, with you, the client. ( The definition of a retail client is a client who is an individual acting outside his trade, business or profession). It makes sure that we provide you with sufficient information to enable you to make an informed decision about buying the products and services offered. We will carry out this business with you in a fair, competent and transparent way.

You can check our status on the Financial Services Register by visiting the Financial Conduct Authority website https://www.fca.org.uk/register

or by contacting the FCA on 0800 1116768 our FCA registration number is 306380.

Our permitted business is introducing, advising, arranging, dealing as agent and assisting in the administration and performance of general insurance contracts for you, such as motor vehicles i.e. private car, motor-cycles and commercial vehicles (vans, lorries and special vehicles), household, travel, commercial (shops, offices, factories, contractors, liabilities etc and professional i e Professional Indemnity ).We do not arrange any other regulated business covered by the Financial Conduct Authority such as pensions and investments. We will not in any circumstances guarantee the solvency of any insurer.

We do not offer advice in relation to tax, accounting, regulatory or legal matters. You should take separate professional advice as you consider appropriate.

We do not offer advice in relation to tax, accounting, regulatory or legal matters. You should take separate professional advice as you consider appropriate.

Quotations

These are entirely based on the information that you provide to us at the time that the quotation is given. The quotation is guaranteed for the period stated. If we give a verbal quotation we will confirm this in writing to you. Where possible we will provide quotations from our full panel of insurers. However there may be some instances where it is necessary to obtain quotations from a restricted number of insurers or, in the case of our special schemes, from a single insurer only. Where this is the case we will disclose that information to you. We may also use other intermediaries in order to obtain quotations for you.

Policies purchased on-line via our Website

Please note that when you purchase products online via our website you will transferred to a website not controlled by us. This is a completely normal procedure and remains very secure but if you have any problems or questions and would prefer to speak to someone first about any part of the process, then please call us on 01895 435710 and a member of our team will be available to assist you.

Your responsibility

In order to allow the Insurer to make the decision to accept the risk and incept your policy you have a duty to answer all questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge, and not to make any misrepresentations. This duty applies during the life of the policy including when you renew your insurance and applies to proposal forms, claim forms and other documents. Failure to answer honestly and to the best of your knowledge could lead to insurers not paying claims. You must return to us any document that we request or that is requested by the Insurers. You will pay all sums due to us as requested.

There are additional obligations for Commercial Policies mandated by the Insurance Act 2015.

Exisitng obligations of good faith and ensuring accuracy of material information remain.

The Act, however, specifies what a business must do for a presentation to count as fair. There are two key elements:

“Clear & Accesible” presentation of risk information

This addresses the clarity of presentation and how insurers are able to assess the risk. “Data Dumping” of large amounts of information without explanation is unacceptible.

There is also an additional requirement to adequately highlight unusual activities and/or known areas of concern that could affect the risk.

‘Reasonable Search’ a new obligation which will vary based on business circumstances:

Business must make adequate enquiries within the organisation to identify and verify information relevant to the risk(s) concerned.

These must include all relevant knowlede of the “senior management” of the business and those involved in buying insurance (including the broker).

Reasonable enquiries must also be made of any relevant third parties involved with the business, including external consultants, contractors and anyone insured by the policy.

Provision of Information and Documentation

We will provide you with full policy documentation so you can check your policy details, confirm the period of cover and have available any certificates or documentation you must have by law. This also applies to any changes you wish to make to your policy during its period of cover.

At renewal time we will notify you of the date when cover will cease. If necessary, this will allow time to arrange:

a) Any changes to the policy cover
b) Alternative cover
c) The Insurer being offered

We will provide you with any documentation that is required by law.

Protecting your Money

Prior to your premium being forwarded to the insurer, and for your protection, we either hold your money as an agent of the insurer (in which case your insurance is treated as being paid for), or we hold it in a client bank account on trust for you. We may need to transfer your money to another intermediary in some cases. However your money will be protected at all times because of the requirements of the Financial Conduct Authority rules. We also reserve the right to retain interest earned on this account.

Our Charges

We will provide you with details of the cost of each policy, including any provision of finance arranged through us, and we will not impose any fees or charges in addition to the premium required without first disclosing the amount and purpose of the charge to you. This will include, but not be limited to, charges for placing the insurance initially, policy renewals, amendments, claims handling. If you cancel a policy we reserve the right to charge an additional fee to cover our administration costs. This fee usually equates to the amount of commission claimed back from us by your Insurer. We will provide details of the commission earned by us on any policy that we arrange on your behalf should you so request it.

Proof of Payment

We will provide you with documentary evidence in respect of any premiums, fees or charges paid by you.

Cancellation Facility for Retail Clients

As a customer right you have a period of 14 days from the date of inception of the policy to cancel it. You may cancel your cover within this period and obtain a pro-rata refund of premium paid, as long as no claims have been made during that period.

Policy Premium Refunds

You have the right to cancel any policy we arrange on your behalf by providing us with a written request to do so. We and the Insurers also reserve the right to cancel, should you or any of your appointed representatives act in an uncivilised or illegal manner, or default on payment, or do not provide requested information or documentation in good time. If the policy is cancelled, or expires, we will send all documentation you are entitled to receive.

Refunds on cancellations vary from insurer to insurer and are made at the discretion of the underwriters. You must be aware that refunds are not normally given after a claim is made. Where a policy is issued on the basis that no refund of premium will be made for cancellation then we will advise you of this condition before the policy is initiated. Where refunds are given they may be calculated on a “Short Period” scale. This is weighted in the Insurers favour, as their costs in setting up the policy are the same whether the policy runs for one day or the whole year.

Claims handling arrangements

In the event of you having to make a claim you should contact your Insurer direct, as detailed in the Insurer’s policy document. If this is not to hand or you have any difficulty with the insurer, then please seek our assistance. You will provide us with any information and documentation that either we, or your Insurers request in order to progress the claim. If we receive any settlement payment on your behalf from Insurers we will forward this to you immediately.

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 potential conflict exists, we will write to you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions and we will detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.

Complaints

We intend to provide you with a high level of service at all times. However, if you think you have just cause to be dissatisfied with, or unhappy about, that service or insurance cover, please contact, in the first instance, Mr. James Robinson, director of this company, who will be pleased to help you.

We will provide you with a prompt written acknowledgement to your complaint. We will keep you up-to-date with progress in resolving your complaint. We will send a final response to you within eight weeks of receiving your complaint.

If you remain dissatisfied a more formalised and detailed complaints procedure will be found in your policy documentation. If you are still dissatisfied you are entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service at:

Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower
Harbour Exchange Square
London
E14 9SR
Tel 020 7964 1000
Website: http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. 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.

Amendments

You agree that we have a right to amend these Terms of Business. A current copy of these terms will be available on our website for inspection.

Electronic Communication

We may from time to time communicate with you by electronic communication (e-mail). By consenting to this method of communication we and you accept the inherent associated risks, such as interception or unauthorized access to such communications. Notwithstanding this fact we have reasonable anti-virus and security systems in place to protect these communications. If you do not wish to accept this specific term you must advise us in writing accordingly.

Protecting your Information

The data we hold on our computer system about you is copied to a secure facility off site each working day. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you have a right of access to your own personal data held on our system and this includes both paper and electronic files. If you wish to see this information you must apply to us in writing for it to be copied or printed out.

All information will be treated as private and confidential even if you cease to be a client, except where the disclosure is made at your request or with your consent in relation to administrating your insurance and except where the law requires us. The FCA may ask us to provide it with access to our client records in order that it may carry out a review of our activities. Some or all of the information you supply to us in connection with your insurance proposal may be passed to other insurance companies for underwriting and claims purposes.

To make sure you get the best offer from Insurers, now or at any renewal or at any time and to protect their customers from fraud and to verify your identity, they may use publicly available data, which they obtain from a variety of sources, including a credit reference agency and other external organisations. Their search will appear on your credit report whether or not your application proceeds.

As well as these searches Insurance companies may use a credit check to ascertain the most appropriate payment options for you. This credit check will also appear on your credit report whether or not your application proceeds. By continuing you agree to these uses of your information.

Governing Law

These Terms of Business will be subject to English Law. Any dispute arising under them will be subject to the jurisdiction of English courts.

Authorised and Regulated the Financial Conduct Authority Registration number 306380
Our Company number is 3155713 registered in England

Crest Consort and Crest Class are trading names of Crest Insurance Consultants ltd