Terms of Insurance Business
About us
PJ Frankland Ltd t/a Franklands Insurance & Risk Management of Exeter House, Stanier Way, The Wyvern, Derby DE21 6BF is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) under Registration Number 300198. You can check this on the FSA Register by visiting their website http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.
We are committed to Treating our Customers Fairly. We arrange and advise on insurance, deal as Agent of Insurers and assist in claims handling on behalf of our customers based upon a fair analysis of the market. For some insurance arrangements we may use a small number of insurers or a single specialist insurer. We will inform you if this is the case. Our quotations are valid for 30days unless we state otherwise.
Conflicts of Interest
Occasions can arise where we or one of our associated companies, clients or product providers will have a potential conflict of interest with business being transacted by 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 detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.
Responsibilities
You are responsible for providing complete and accurate information, which all insurers require in connection with any proposal for insurance cover. This is particularly important before taking out a policy and at renewal, but it also applies throughout the life of the policy. If you fail to disclose a material fact or other information material to the insurance this could invalidate the policy and mean that claims may not be paid. You should check all details on any proposal form or Statement of Facts and pay particular attention to any declaration you may be asked to sign.
You should read all insurance documents issued to you and ensure that you are aware of and understand the cover, limits and other terms that apply. Particular attention should be paid to any warranties and conditions as failure to comply with them could invalidate your policy. You should inform us immediately of any changes in your circumstances that may affect the cover provided by your policy.
You should take note of the required procedures in the event of a claim, which will be stated in the policy documentation. Generally, insurers require immediate notification of a claim or circumstances that might lead to a claim.
If we are appointed as insurance broker mid year on policies arranged by another insurance broker we do not accept any liability for errors or omission on the existing contract of insurance until we have completed a review of the contract and policy wording and made our recommendations relative to your requirements.
Our Use of Information Supplied by You
All personal information about you will be treated as Private & Confidential (even when you are no longer a customer), except where the disclosure is made at your request, with your consent, in relation to administering your insurance or where law requires us. As part of the FSA’s duties we may be asked to provide them with access to our customer records in order that they may carry out a review of our activities.
Some or all of the information you supply to us in connection with your insurance proposal will be held on computer and may be passed to other insurance companies for underwriting and claims purposes. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you have a right of access to see personal information about you that is held in our records, whether electronically or manually. If you have any queries, please write to the Managing Director at the above address.
Telephone Recording
For our joint protection, telephone calls may be recorded or monitored.
Cancellation Rights
Non-business customers may have cooling off cancellation rights under their policy and these are described in the policy summary provided. Business customers are not entitled to a cooling off period. Many commercial policies do not allow for any refund of premium if a policy is cancelled mid term. For those policies that do allow for a refund, this is at the discretion of the insurer.
Our Remuneration
Where a fee or charge is payable, you will be advised before you commit to paying it. If by mutual agreement we are remunerated in addition to or in lieu of commission, the amount of our fee will be clearly disclosed to you. If you decide to cancel an insurance policy mid-term we reserve the right to deduct our commission from any return premium. Prior to the conclusion of each insurance contract, or upon renewal, we will remind you of your right to be advised of the level of commission that we receive from underwriters. Under certain circumstances some insurers also make profit share and volume overrider payments to us and some make work transfer payments to us. Also we may receive an administration payment for arranging third party finance. You are entitled, at any time, to request information regarding any payment, which we may have received as a result of placing your insurance business.
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 policy is treated as being paid for), or we hold it in trust for our clients. All premiums received from clients are co-mingled within a client Statutory Trust Bank Account. Our commission and fee earnings are withdrawn from this account within 25 business days of receipt. We may need to transfer your money to another intermediary in some cases. However your money will be protected at all times to the extent of the protection offered by the requirements of the FSA. We also reserve the right to retain interest earned on the client account. For retail clients only, where the interest exceeds £20.00 we will offer to return the interest to you.
By accepting this Terms of Insurance Business document, you are giving your consent for us to operate in this way.
Choice of Insurers
We only seek insurance from companies that meet our minimum financial guidelines for usage (BBB ‘good’ defined by Standard & Poor) we also use insurers having an equivalent agency rating either A M Best or Fitch. We will not use insurers with a lower rating unless we receive instructions from you to the contrary. We will not in any circumstances act as an insurer nor guarantee or warrant the solvency of an insurer.
Complaints Handling
It is our intention to provide a high level of service at all times. If, however you have reason to make a complaint about our service you should contact the Managing Director. We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days and attempt to provide a resolution within four weeks. If we are unable to resolve the issue within this time, we will inform you the reason why and confirm the next action. You may be entitled to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Further information is available at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. You may be entitled to compensation from the Scheme if we cannot meet our insurance obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Further information about Compensation Scheme arrangements is available at www.fscs.org.uk.
UK Money Laundering Regulations (1993)
The UK Money Laundering Regulations require certain financial institutions to confirm the identity and place of residency of each proposer. This may require sight of certain documentation and or checking with a credit reference agency, the electoral role or directory enquiries in order to verify your details. A credit reference agency may record the search.
