Terms of Business

Curtis Drew Brokers Ltd are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our FCA Register number is 746547. This can be checked on the FCA Register by visiting www.fca.org.uk or by contacting them by telephone on 0800 111 6768.

We are committed to providing a professional service in the handling of General Insurances with access to a wide range of products and services. When we recommend an insurance product to you, we will select from a fair analysis of the insurance market. No insurance intermediary could possibly have access to every insurance company or provider so we can only select from the range of providers that we have facilities with. If you wish to know which insurance providers we have access to please ask.

For certain classes of business we only deal with a single insurer or a facility with a particular Insurer or group of Insurers. We will make it clear to you where our proposal includes these facilities and where we have not investigated alternatives on your behalf.

Our Service

We seek to:

  • Advise you on your insurance needs
  • Arrange cover with insurers to meet your requirements
  • Help you with any ongoing changes that may need to be made

Information about the Proposed Insurance

We will use reasonable efforts to ensure that:

You are provided with adequate information in a comprehensive and timely way to enable you to make an informed decision about the insurance that is being proposed.

We explain the differences in and the relative costs of the types of insurance that we think are relevant to you.

We explain the key features of the insurance provided including:

  • Essential cover and benefits
  • Any significant or unusual restrictions, exclusions, conditions or obligations
  • The period of cover and the insurer
  • Your options for paying the premium We explain any differences between your requirements and the insurance that we are suggesting is suitable for you.

 

If we have carried out a review of your insurances, we will provide you with a summary of the discussions, including any recommendations that we have made but were declined by you. We will forward all documentation without delay unless payment is outstanding in which case we will ensure that you have full details of your cover and any documents you require by law.

Confirmation of Cover

We will provide you with cover notes, legal documents and/or written confirmation that cover has been effected.

Costs and Remuneration

We will provide premium costs for each policy offered.

We will disclose the amount of any fees or additional charges and the reason for the charges before you incur them.

We will be paid for arranging the insurance in the form of commission paid to us by the Insurers, unless we have an arrangement with you that our service is provided for an agreed fee.

As well as any commission or an agreed fee, as appropriate, we will be entitled to benefit from earnings we are able to generate:

  • Due to business volumes placed with certain Insurers and their underwriting performance which are not identifiable to any specific client
  • Through the addition of an additional credit charge when premiums are arranged on a monthly payment basis either through Insurer credit facilities or independent premium credit.
  • Through the management of cash balances held on behalf of Insurers and clients, which are not identifiable to any individual clients.

 

We may retain all or part of any commission or fee if a change in risk results in a return premium or if you cancel a policy mid-term, which is not replaced by another policy, to cover administration expenses.

We reserve the right to make a charge for each transaction to cover our administration costs.

We act as Agent of the Insurer when collecting insurance premiums.

In order to satisfy your needs, we sometimes ask other Specialist Brokers to assist us in the placing of your business, where we believe that this is to your benefit. Unless a fee arrangement has been agreed, these Brokers will usually be paid a commission, which will be included in the premiums charged.

Holding Your Money

There are two situations in which we hold your money:

  1. Client money is where we hold payments from you which have not been passed onto the Insurer.
  2. It can also be refunds or claims money received from Insurers and not yet paid to a client.

 

We hold client money in an Insurer Trust Account held by HSBC. We have “Risk Transfer” agreements with our Insurers which allow us to receive and hold money as agents of the Insurer. This protects the money in the account as the Insurer accepts the money is paid if it is in the account.

We may sometimes find it necessary to act in circumstances where we do not have “Risk Transfer” from the Insurer. We will inform you if “Risk Transfer” is not in place and special arrangements for premium payment will be made.

Renewal

We will notify you of the renewal or expiry of your policy in time to allow you to consider and arrange any continuing cover you may need. We ask you to check that the cover offered by the renewal is appropriate for your needs.

Claims

Your policy wording will detail the procedures and conditions attached to making a claim. It is very important that claims or circumstances that may give rise to a claim are notified immediately.

If a claim/report form has been completed by anyone other than yourself, please check the accuracy of the answers before you sign. Misrepresentation can have extremely serious implications.

Curtis Drew Brokers Ltd provide a claims handling service for as long as you remain a customer. We will:

  • If you wish us to do so, give guidance in pursuing a claim under the policy.
  • Handle claims fairly and promptly.
  • Inform you in writing if we are unable to assist you with any part of the claim.
  • Keep you informed of progress at all times.

 

Insurers will provide all settlements and we cannot be responsible for the wrongful non-payment or delay in payment of any claim.

Your Responsibility

Providing Information to your Insurers

Your insurance is based on the information provided to the insurance company.

For Retail Consumers (individually buying insurance wholly or mainly for purposes unrelated to their trade, business or profession) this means that you must take reasonable care to answer all questions fully and accurately. Once cover has been arranged you must immediately notify us of changes to the information that has been provided to your insurers. Failure to provide accurate and up to date information may invalidate your insurance cover and mean that a claim may not be paid

All other customers must disclose all Material Facts* prior to inception and throughout the period of insurance.

(*a Material Fact is something that would have an effect on the mind of a prudent insurer in estimating the risk or would affect their judgement in deciding whether or not to enter into the insurance contract at all)

Alteration to Risk

Any changes to your business activities should be discussed with Curtis Drew Brokers Ltd as they may be considered to be “material information”. We may ask you to confirm that information briefly in writing.

Premium Payment

You agree to pay premiums on time as required by any policy condition. Failure to meet an agreed payment schedule can cause the policy to be cancelled. In the event of cancellation a claim may not be met by the Insurer. In addition, you may be pursued by the insurance provider in a court of law.

Your Protection

Complaints

We always strive to provide a first class service. If you wish to register a complaint please contact us either by writing to us at Melbourne House, 36 Chamberlain Street, Wells, BA5 2PJ or by telephoning on 01275 333301. A copy of our complaints procedure will be made available to you at this time. If you are unable to settle your complaint with us you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Please note that we are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (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.

Data Protection and Confidentiality

Information provided by you, or obtained from other sources in the course of our dealings with you, may be used by Curtis Drew Brokers Ltd to facilitate the provision of the service applied for or requested. Any information received will be treated in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (2018).

Under the General Data Protection Regulation you are entitled to a copy of your personal data held by us, which will be provided free of charge.

Cancellation Rights (Retail Consumers only)

Under the Regulations, we (including insurers) have to give you certain information before you make your decision. If you decide not to accept the policy(ies) you have to tell us of your decision in writing or by telephone within 14 days of receiving the information. If no claims have been made any premium paid will be refunded in full. Where a claim has been made a refund may be allowed by Insurers and the levels applicable will be specified in their cover details.