This TOBA sets out our terms and conditions and is effective once it is received by you. It will remain in force until we issue a revised version. We request that you read this TOBA carefully, in conjunction with our correspondence, so you understand the basis of our services and charges.
Consumer Duty
As a regulated firm, we are required to provide information to you in a means that is “clear, fair and not misleading”. This applies when speaking to us and when receiving documentation. If you are unclear on any aspect, please discuss with one of our Insurance Advisors.
Cofton Insurance Services Ltd is an Independent Intermediary. We are not wholly or partially owned by an Insurer.
We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reference number 304327.
We will only deal with Insurers and Providers who are also authorised and regulated by the FCA.
We act as your Agent in arranging and dealing with your insurance needs.
We offer products from a wide range of Insurers, from a restricted number of Insurers, or from a sole Insurer. You will be advised which applies to the product we are offering you, when we provide a quotation and when arranging your policy.
We monitor the financial strength ratings of Insurers with industry accepted ratings agencies.
Our advice to you will always include disclosures of all excesses, benefits and exclusions; and we will advise you if we are arranging your insurance via any other intermediaries in a chain. This may apply when we do not deal directly with the Insurer.
We are members of the Broker Insurance Brokers Association. (BIBA). BIBA ensures that the professional standards of the insurance industry are maintained throughout its membership; ensuring standards of both the market in general and those of BIBA members are continually enhanced. Further information regarding BIBA can be found at www.biba.org.uk.
Material Information we will need from you
We will ask you a series of questions to establish your demands and needs; and it is important that you answer each and every question and provide us with full information. It is important that you understand that any information, statements or answers made by you to us, or your Insurer, are your responsibility. If you are unsure of a question or are uncertain as to whether you must tell us certain information, please ask us to explain what is needed to you.
Disclosure of information to Insurers by Consumers
If you purchase an insurance policy wholly or mainly for purposes unrelated to your trade, business or profession, your obligations to disclose information to the insurer are subject to the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012.
Under this Act you have a duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer. In the event of any breach of this duty, the insurer has legal remedies, which could, in a worst case scenario allow them to avoid the policy and thus their obligation to make payment of any claims.
Disclosure of information to Insurer by Non-Consumers / Commercial Clients
If you purchase an insurance policy wholly or mainly for purposes relating to your trade, business or profession, your attention is drawn to the importance of informing your Insurer of all relevant information.
The policy will be subject to the Insurance Act 2015, which requires all Insured parties to make a “Fair Presentation of the Risk” when seeking insurance. You MUST disclose every material circumstance which you know, or ought to know following a reasonable search of the information available to you. This may relate to the business and the people who control the business. Any failure to disclose facts material to the insurance or any inaccuracies in information you provide could invalidate your policy cover. This could mean that part or all of any claim you make may not be paid. Where a proposal form is not used, you are still obliged to disclose all material facts to your Insurers.
Duty of disclosure on all mid term changes by Consumers and Non-Consumers / Commercial Clients
You have a continuing obligation to disclose facts relevant to the insurance throughout the period of cover and at the renewal of the policy.
If you are in doubt about whether or not to advise your Insurer of any change in your circumstances that may be relevant to policy cover, you should discuss the issue with us at the earliest opportunity
Our quotation to you
We will seek quotations from a range of Insurers. Certain products may be offered on behalf of a limited range of Insurers. For commercial quotations you may request the names of the Insurers. Other products may be offered on behalf of a single provider who will be named on correspondence and on your documents. Once we have all the relevant information, we will advise you and make a recommendation which is based on your demands and needs; and the answers provided by you. All premiums quoted are subject to the current rate of Insurance Premium Tax (ipt) as defined by HM Government.
Our service includes advising you on your insurance needs, arranging insurance cover with insurers or other intermediaries to meet your requirements and assisting you with any ongoing changes that you may have to make.
You are a valued client and we will do all we can to match your expectations. However, as we are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), we are required to point out to you that you may be able to obtain a cheaper quotation elsewhere. Please be advised that in obtaining an alternative quotation from another source, we encourage you to obtain confirmation that this is on a “like for like” basis; and that certain aspects of cover are not reduced or excluded.
Evidence of No Claims Bonus
Your insurance will be arranged on the basis of any No Claims Bonus which you have advised us has been earned by you, on a previous policy; and which will be used on the insurance we have arranged for you. Insurers will issue at the premium net of the bonus earned; but will require evidence of bonus from your previous Insurer. If evidence of No Claims Bonus is not received within the required period, they will revert to the gross premium and you will be required to pay the difference.
Premium received from you
Premium received from you will be held by us as Agent of the insurer and the Bank account is designated as per the relevant regulatory rules, which require that monies are held in a Statutory Trust account, and are subject to a Trust Deed. We pass premium received from you to the insurer when requested. We earn a commission for arranging your insurance and this goes towards our administration costs. Commercial Clients may request details of the commission we receive for arranging such insurance.
We accept payment by guaranteed cheque, BACS, cash or credit card. You may be able to spread your payments through direct debit instalment schemes offered by your insurer or alternatively via credit schemes that we have arranged with third party premium finance providers. We will give you full information about your payment options when we discuss your insurance in detail.
We will act as your agent when arranging any premium finance agreement on your behalf. In the event of a default under the agreement you may be required by the premium finance provider to cancel your policy and return any premium refund to them to pay the outstanding loan. In such circumstances, any cancellation instruction we pass to the insurance company will be as your agent and not the agent of the premium finance provider.
Where any premium finance is subject to the Consumer Credit Act, the Lender is required to assess the affordability to you, and this may involve credit checks or other financial due diligence before any loan is agreed.
We will be entitled to keep all interest accruing to the account(s) we hold with our nominated Bankers.
Minimum capital solvency levels are laid down by FCA and in order to manage the requirement, we will ensure that such solvency requirements are met at all times and wherever possible exceeded.
Fees and Charges
We may include an administration fee or charge in relation to business arranged for you. You will be advised of the amount we charge at each transaction verbally, in writing or both. In addition to these charges, we will make a charge of £10 in relation to duplicate documentation and £25 in the event of a default in payment.
| Consumer | Fee | Commercial |
| New Business | £25.00 | Fees arranged on individual basis |
| Renewal | £25.00 | Fees arranged on individual basis |
| MTA | £25.00 | Fees arranged on individual basis |
| Cancellation | £25.00 | Fees arranged on individual basis |
Any fees charged will be disclosed and agreed with you in advance of making the charge and will be shown separately on your invoice.
In respect of business placed with certain insurers, we may receive a growth or profit share payment…
We also receive payments from the Finance provider for arranging your premiums on finance..
When recommending an Insurer to you, we will always place your interests first and will always observe our fiduciary duty to you to recommend the most appropriate policy irrespective of any growth or profit share agreements we have in place.
Finance and Credit checks
In the event that your insurance has been arranged on finance, we will advise you of the name of the finance provider, the initial amount required by the Insurance Company and the additional premium you will be required to pay, if you select to pay on premium finance. You will also be advised of the amounts you will be required to pay and when. You should be aware that certain Insurers and Finance providers may carry out credit checks when arranging your insurance. Please read the information provided by your finance provider carefully, including the cancellation arrangements, in conjunction with our Terms of Business Agreement and your Insurers information.
Cancellation
Cancellation terms vary by Insurer and it is recommended that you read this section carefully, as cancellation refunds are not given after a claim, and are otherwise calculated on a short period scale weighted in favour of the insurer. Cancellation during and after the “cooling off” period is explained in your policy wording. In certain circumstances you may have the right to cancel an insurance policy within a period of up to 14 days from conclusion of the insurance policy. You will not always receive a full refund of any paid premium. This right to cancel is subject to conditions that are contained in the policy document. If your right to cancel the policy is exercised, you may lose all rights under the policy of insurance and cover maybe forfeited from the date of inception of the policy and you may not be able to make a claim under the policy. We do not refund commissions earned on the cancellation of a policy.
Tacit Renewal
In the event that your renewal is paid by insurer instalments, we will notify you prior to the renewal date of the premium and terms and conditions that will apply. Unless we hear from you on or prior to renewal date, your policy will be renewed and payments will continue to be taken from your account.
Complaints Procedure
Should you have cause to complain, please telephone or write to the Office Manager, in order that the matter may be resolved to your satisfaction. We will write to you to advise you of the person who will investigate your complaint and we will thereafter communicate with you at regular intervals to keep you informed. You will be provided with a copy of our complaints procedure which sets out the procedure and timescales for handling your complaint. If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service, details of whom are available on their website and we will provide you with contact details.
We take all complaints seriously. If we believe that the complaint does not relate to the us, we will inform you in writing and wherever possible provide details of whom the complaint should be directed to.
Consumer vulnerability
As a regulated firm we are required to make the necessary enquiries to ensure that you are able to meet any payments to the Insurer, finance provider and our administration fee or charges.
We are also required to have in place systems and controls and disclosure information, which ensures that you are receiving the product which best suits your demands and needs and that you have received a full explanation of each product before you proceed with your purchase. If you require additional information or explanation, we ask that you request this when seeking a quotation and / or when purchasing insurance.
Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we fail to meet our obligations. Compensation depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Insurance advice and arrangement is covered for the first £2,000 and 90% of the remainder of the claim without any upper limit. Further information about the scheme is available from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or by visiting www.fscs.org.uk
Financial Crime
Please be aware that current UK money laundering regulations require us to obtain adequate ‘Know Your Client’ information about you. We are also required to cross check you against the HM Financial Sanctions List as part of the information gathering process. We are obliged to report to the National Crime Agency any evidence or suspicion of financial crime at the first opportunity and we are prohibited from disclosing any such report. We will not permit our employees or other persons engaged by them to be either influenced or influence others in respect of undue payments or privileges from or to insurers or clients.
Confidentiality and Data Protection
We will treat all clients’ information in a confidential manner and will ask you a set of questions to ensure that we are speaking to the policyholder only. We are not authorised to speak to another person in relation to your insurance and will decline any request for information or to make alterations to your policy, unless we have a legal mandate to do so. Your details will be held in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
You have certain rights in relation to how and when we may contact you and we will ask you a series of questions to determine which means you wish to receive communications from us.
You also have the right to be forgotten and should you request this option, we will explain what this means to you. Data held about you is secure and complies with GDPR rules. Details of any credit or debit card used in connection with the arrangement of your insurance will not be held by us on computer or file; and will not be passed to a third party.
Your information will not be shared with other parties for marketing purposes.
The use of data for the purposes of arranging your insurance will comply with the latest data security laws. Specific details of how your personal data will be used are:
- We undertake that any Confidential Information provided to us for the purpose of obtaining quotations for and/or the arrangement of insurance policies shall be used solely for such purposes.
- We undertake to keep the Confidential Information secure and not to disclose it to any party except to our employees and/or professional advisers who need to know the same for the purpose, and to any Insurer Managing General Agent Underwriter or any other party that has a legitimate need in relation to the purpose.
- The undertakings above shall apply to all of the Confidential Information disclosed by you but they do not apply to:
- any information which is in, or in future comes into, the public domain (unless as a result of the breach of this Agreement); or
- any information which is already known to us and which was not subject to any obligation of confidence before it was disclosed to us.
- Nothing in this Agreement will prevent the us from making any disclosure of the Confidential Information required by law or by any competent authority or Regulatory body.
- We will upon request from you return all copies and records of the Confidential Information disclosed by you and will not retain any copies or records of the Confidential Information disclosed by you. However, we may retain Confidential Information in order to comply with our own legal contractual or regulatory requirements.
- This Section of the agreement is governed by and is to be construed in accordance with English law. The English Courts will have non-exclusive jurisdiction to deal with any dispute which has arisen or may arise out of or in connection with this Agreement.
Law
This agreement shall be governed by the Laws of England, and the parties agree herewith that any dispute arising shall be subject to the (non) exclusive jurisdiction of the relevant Court.