Terms of Insurance Business Agreement
Please read this document carefully. It sets out the terms on which we agree to act for our clients and contains details of our regulatory and statutory responsibilities. Please contact us immediately if there is anything in these terms of business that you do not understand or with which you disagree.
Your Policy Wording should be read carefully to ensure your insurance suits your requirements.
Our Service
Rothwell & Towler Ltd is a specialist insurance intermediary, and Appointed Representative of Crispin Speers & Partners Ltd who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), FCA reference 311507. Our trading address is Rothwell & Towler Ltd, Tourism House, Woodwater Park, Pynes Hill, Exeter EX2 5WS. All policies are offered on a non-advised basis. You will not receive any recommendations on the basis of a fair and personal analysis of the market. You will be provided with enough information to make an informed decision, and then you will need to decide if the product is suitable for you. Premiums and availability of cover may vary depending on individual circumstances.
Your Insurer
We always use recognised insurers who are to the best of our knowledge financially sound. However we cannot guarantee the solvency of any particular insurer and if you feel it necessary you must ensure that the choice of insurer meets your requirements. Details of who your insurer is can be found on your policy documentation.
Our Remuneration
This insurance is arranged under a delegated authority arrangement delegated by the Insurer(s) to us, an insurance intermediary. As an agent of the insurer we may perform certain duties on their behalf including but not necessarily limited to confirming insurance cover, providing policy documentation including evidence of insurance cover, making policy amendments and receiving and processing premiums and refunds.
In exchange for our services we as the intermediary, are remunerated in the form of commission, which is an amount of the insurance premium paid by you and allowed to us by the insurer with whom the insurance contract will be placed. We may in addition earn another form of income which is contingent on meeting certain targets as set by the insurer(s).
Financial Conduct Authority
You can check our authorisation on the FCA's Register by visiting the website www.fca.org.uk or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.
Disclosure of Information by You
Under English law, if you are a consumer insured (an individual buying insurance wholly or mainly for purposes unrelated to their trade, business or profession) you have a duty to take reasonable care to answer the insurer's questions fully and accurately and to ensure that any information that you/they volunteer is not misleading. This duty exists before the cover is placed, when it is renewed and any time that it is varied. The policy wording confirms that this duty continues for the duration of the policy. If you do not do this, the insurer may be able to impose different terms on the cover, may charge a higher premium or, in some circumstances, may be able to void the policy from inception and any claims under it would not be paid.
If you are a business insured (i.e. an insured who has bought insurance wholly or mainly for purposes related to their trade, business or profession) you have a duty to make a fair presentation of the risk to the insurer and disclose every material circumstance which you know or ought to know after reasonable search. This is the case before cover is placed, when it is renewed and any time that it is varied. The policy wording confirms that this duty continues for the duration of the policy.
A circumstance is material if it would influence an insurer's judgment in determining whether to take the risk and, if so, on what terms. If you are in any doubt whether a circumstance is material we recommend that it should be disclosed.
Failure to disclose a material circumstance may entitle an insurer to impose different terms on the cover or proportionately reduce the amount of any claim payable. In some circumstances an insurer will be entitled to void the policy from inception and in this event any claims under the policy would not be paid.
Confidentiality of Information
All personal information about you will be treated as private and 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 FCA'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.
General Data Protection Regulation & Privacy
In accordance with Data Protection legislation, including General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) any personal and/or sensitive data requested from you will be stored securely and will only be used in order to manage the contract of business, including insurance requirements, we are arranging for you where we have a legal obligation in handling your data. We may also have a legitimate interest in handling your data when dealing with third parties, such as your insurers. This information will only be made available to third parties, such as insurers or their claims handling agents, in order to further manage and service your insurance policy. We will retain your information for a period of time which is necessary to ensure no further liability, such as any insurance claims, exists. After your policy expires with us, we may keep your data for up to 7 years. If you provide data to us about other people you must provide this notice to them before you pass their data to us. You must obtain their consent if this includes sensitive data such as health details.
Rothwell & Towler Ltd respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. Our privacy notice is available at https://www.rothwellandtowler.com/privacy.html and will inform you as to how we look after your personal data when you visit our website (regardless of where you visit it from) and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.
If at any time you wish to know what information we hold on you, or have any queries relating to Data Protection or your privacy then please write to: The Data Protection Officer, Rothwell & Towler Ltd, Tourism House, Woodwater Park, Pynes Hill, Exeter EX2 5WS. Telephone: 0345 90 80 171. Email: compliance@rothwellandtowler.co.uk
Notification of Claims
Refer to the claims section of your policy documentation if you wish to notify a claim or require emergency medical assistance.
Changes to Your Cover
We will normally deal with requests to increase or amend cover on the day your instructions are received, or the next working day if a weekend or public holiday. Sometimes changes cannot be processed without obtaining additional information. If additional information is required we will contact you as quickly as possible. We will confirm changes to your policy, once agreed, in writing. We will also advise you of any extra premiums or administrative charges you must pay or premiums we must return to you.
Cancellation Rights
Your policy contains a 14-day cooling off period during which you can cancel your policy and obtain a refund. You can contact us by email, phone or online and full details can be found in your policy documentation. A pro-rata charge may be made for the time you have been on cover in addition to an administration fee. If you have any queries please direct them to us in the first instance. If you wish to cancel your policy after the cooling off period, you can notify us by email, phone or online. Please refer to your policy documentation for the full terms.
Security of Your Money
Prior to your premium being forwarded to the insurer, and for your protection, we hold your money as an agent of the insurer, this means that once you have paid us, you are deemed to have paid the Insurer.
Complaints Procedure
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 Compliance Officer at, Rothwell & Towler Ltd, Tourism House, Woodwater Park, Pynes Hill, Exeter EX2 5WS. Or by telephone on 0345 90 80 171. You may also email enquiries@rothwellandtowler.co.uk.
You may be entitled to refer the matter subsequently to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Further information is available at www.fos.org.uk or by contacting them on 0800 023 4 567 or by emailing them at complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk. This must be done within 6 months of our final response. The FOS will inform you directly of its decision. Referral to the FOS will not prejudice your right to take subsequent legal proceedings.
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 obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. For compulsory classes of insurance, insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, without any upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS on 020 7892 7300 or by visiting www.fscs.org.uk.
Financial Crime
UK anti-money laundering and Sanctions regulations require us to obtain evidence of the identity of clients for whom we act at the start of a business relationship. We routinely check anyone taking out a policy against the financial sanctions database.
We are obliged to report to the National Crime Agency any evidence or suspicion of money laundering at the first opportunity and we are prohibited from disclosing any such report to you.
Claims payment will be made in favour of the insured. If you require a payment to be made to a third party then you must confirm the required payee name and details and provide a brief explanation for your request.
Any suspicion that any improper activity has, or may take place must be reported to the other party immediately.
It is a condition of this agreement that the parties will not knowingly facilitate in any activity which may be construed as tax evasion. It is further agreed that the parties will have adequate and proportionate procedures in place to identify suspicious circumstances which could be construed as tax evasion, either by themselves or those they do business with (termed 'Associated Persons').
Law and Jurisdiction
These terms of business shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. In relation to any legal action or proceedings arising out of or in connection with these terms of business we both irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.