Terms of Business & Data Protection
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Purpose of this document
– This is an offer to provide services in setting up and / or manage insurance for you and this is called “Terms”.
– M C Assist Specialist Brokers Ltd assumes you accept these Terms unless you tell us in writing you do not.
– In the event that you do not agree to these Terms we will not arrange insurance.
– For your own protection, read these terms carefully.
– This is a legal document. Any words in it that you do not understand we can explain to you –please ask.
– These Terms replace all earlier proposals, discussions and representations whether written or spoken about.
– These Terms will end should you end your policy (Terminate) or fail to keep up payments on a monthly basis where due. Anything we do on your behalf after your cancellation may cause these
Terms to continue.
Who we are
In these terms references to “we”, “us” or “our” are:
Company name: M C Assist Specialist Brokers Limited.
Address: 212 West Hendon Broadway, West Hendon, London, NW9 7EE
Tel: 020 8203 8204
E-mail: info@mcassistinsurance.co.uk
We are an insurance broker and are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The FCA is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services.
Our FCA reference number is: 600972.
Our details can be checked by visiting the FCA’s website www.fca.gov.uk or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.
Our FCA authorisation permits us to:
Make recommendations as to which type of insurance
Set up the insurance
Help you manage your policies (General insurance only)
Act as Credit Broker for clients who wish to pay premiums monthly
Contained in this document is information which the Financial Conduct Authority requires us to tell you.
Read these terms carefully and use this information to decide if our services are right for you. If you are not sure about any of these or have any questions regarding our Terms of Business please contact us by telephone on 020 8203 8204 or by emailing info@mcassistinsurance.co.uk.
Our Services
We are able to offer insurances from a wide range of insurers and intermediaries. However, we are not able to guarantee the solvency of any insurer and shall not be liable for any losses suffered by you in the event of insolvency of an insurer.
We will endeavour to ensure that:
We provide you with comprehensive information early enough for you to make an informed decision about the insurance being proposed;
We explain to you the differences in and the relative costs of the types of insurance that we think will suit your needs;
We explain the key features of the insurance proposed including:
-The essential cover and benefits;
-Any significant or unusual restrictions, exclusions, conditions or obligations;
-The period of the cover;
If we are unable to match your requirements, we explain the differences between those requirements and the insurance we are proposing.
We will provide you with cover notes and/or written confirmation that cover has been put in place, including the terms of the insurance(s) and the insurers involved. These will normally be sent to you within fourteen days from the date when cover began.
We expect you to review all information upon receipt and to let us know immediately if the details of the cover or the participating insurers do not meet with your approval, or do not reflect the instructions previously given to us, and in particular if any cover you require is excluded. Where a full policy wording is required, this will be forwarded as soon as possible and normally within 90 days of when cover started.
Costs and Remunerations
We will:
Provide details of the premium costs of each of the policies offered.
Not impose any fees or charges in addition to the premium required by the insurer without first disclosing the amount and purpose of the charge. We draw your particular attention to the section of Administration Charges disclosed in these Terms of Business.
Be paid for arranging the insurance and / or the loan amount in the form of commission or brokerage paid to us by the insurance and / or premium finance providers. You are entitled to ask for details of such and we will be pleased to provide this information on request.
We have various payment options available to you for the payment of your premium.
You can pay us by:
Bank transfer direct to our account
Visa or Master card
Cash
Monthly payments via Close Brothers Premium Finance. In these circumstances the charges and other information will be advised to you separately by Close Brothers Premium Finance.
For fees charged by us in addition to the premium payment is due immediately prior to the commencement of cover or to the commencement of work undertaken by us and these fees are non – refundable under any circumstance.
Payment of Premium
We will notify you of premiums due to insurers by sending you a cover/debit note once we have finished arranging your insurance. This will normally be sent to you within fourteen days from the start of cover.
Premiums are due from the moment the insurance comes into force. So that we can settle with insurers promptly, we ask that you pay the premiums due within the terms specified on the cover/debit note or covering letter – this will normally be immediately.
In certain circumstances, insurers may impose a specific premium term requiring payment of the premium by a certain date. Please be aware that if you do not make a payment by this date, insurers may cancel the policy from the date when cover originally came into force. It is your responsibility to pay premiums on time and as required by any policy conditions.
Administration Charges
In addition to the premiums charged by Insurers we make charges for our professional services to cover administration involved in arranging, amending or renewing your insurance.
Any charges for the New Business or Renewal will be advised to you in advance and confirmed in writing in our statement of price and/or your renewal invitation.
The adjustment schedule will show the net due to insurer and we will advise you of any charges when obtaining quotations for adjustments.
OUR STANDARD CHARGES DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF POLICY
Policy Type and Our Fee
New Business and Renewals for all policies up to £4000.00, fee is £50.00
New Business and Renewals for all policies from £4000.00 and more, fee is £100.00
Mid Term Adjustments on annual policies, fee is £50.00
MID updates for Motor Traders, fee £10.00/Month
Mid Term Adjustments on Short Term Private Hire policies, fee is £10.00
Policy Cancellation, fee £40.00
Issuing duplicate documents, fee £15.00
Bounced cheques and assistance with overdue payments, fee £35.00
Any likely variation from these charges will be advised to you when you take out or renew your policy.
Please note our charges are non-refundable in the event of cancellation. No cover will be incepted until
the agreed payment has been received.
Cancellation & Cooling off Period
You may have a statutory right to cancel your insurance policy within a short period of time. A request to cancel your policy must be made to us in writing and delivered to us together with all the insurance documents we have supplied. In the event of cancellation our administration charges apply. Please refer to your policy documents for further details regarding premium refunds as the terms of your policy may allow insurers to retain the premium in full.
Under the FCA Insurance Code for private customers we will have to give you certain information before you make your decision. If you buy any general insurance product through us without being given this information (and you have not told us you do not want it), we will allow you a cooling off period of 14 days from time you receive the information. If you do not wish to continue, you may cancel your cover within this period (providing you have not made any claims).
In circumstances where we are unable to continue providing our services to you, we will give a minimum of 7 days’ notice.
Proposal Forms & Statement of Fact
For certain classes of insurance, we will ask you to complete and sign a proposal from. As your insurance intermediary, we are happy to provide you with advice on completing the form, but we cannot complete it on your behalf. Please pay particular attention to your duties of disclosure (see below) as it is essential that we and/or the insurers are informed of all material facts before placing any cover on your behalf.
Duty of Disclosure (What you must tell us)
As a proposed insured, it is your responsibility to disclose all material information to insurers when obtaining cover, whether or not proposal forms are applicable or completed.
Information is material if it would affect the insurer’s estimate of the risk involved, or if the misrepresentation/non-disclosure induces the insurer to enter into the contract of insurance on particular terms.
The insurer is not required to make enquiries – the onus falls upon you as the insured.
If any material information is omitted or misrepresented, insurers have the right to void the policy and return the premium. This means there is no longer an insurance policy and no claims will be paid. It is therefore extremely important that you take care when providing information to enable the insurers to consider the risk, regarding the accuracy and completeness of that information. The duty of disclosure arises when the insurance is first taken out and also every time you renew or amend it. The policy may also include a requirement to advise the insurer of changes throughout the term of the policy.
Please contact us immediately if you need to make mid-term changes to your policy so that we can obtain approval of changes from the insurers and any further information required.
If you are unsure whether a fact is material or not, it should be disclosed.
Client Money
We are permitted to handle client money in respect of non-investment insurance business. Client money is held in a statutory trust. Client money will only be held on behalf of an insurer or underwriters in accordance with a written agency agreement. We are not permitted to, and do not use client money balance to provide credit for clients, or potential clients. We may earn interest on monies held in our client account, for which you consent to our retaining.
Retention of Documentation
We will maintain records of the insurance contract(s) we arrange on your behalf. It is our policy to keep placement and claims records in accordance with best practice within the insurance industry. We will automatically destroy records after these periods unless you ask us to do otherwise. We are happy to provide this service free of charge for as long as you are our client.
Market Security
As an insurance intermediary, we use both UK and overseas insurers to obtain the best terms and conditions available for our clients.
However the levels of regulation differ in each jurisdiction and if non-EU or non UK insurers participate in insurance contracts, your future ability as an insured to issue proceedings and/or execute judgement may also vary.
In selecting security, a wide variety of factors are taken into account including the financial statements of the insurer in question. Even so, we cannot guarantee the future ability of any insurer to meet policyholder obligations and therefore the final decision on the suitability of any insurer rests with you. If you have any concerns about the security offered, please contact us immediately.
Data Protection and Confidentiality
M C Assist Specialist Brokers Ltd will treat any personal (or other) information received by us from you with the utmost respect and, where appropriate, in accordance with data protection legislation, including the Data Protection Act 2018.
By accepting the policy arranged through us you agree that we may hold your personal data and contact you should the need arise.
In order to improve further the quality of services we provide to you we may appoint third parties from time to time to assist with the processing of non-sensitive personal data relating to you.
In doing so we complete data processing agreements with such parties to ensure the personal data is properly protected.
By accepting these terms you consent to our undertaking such arrangements and passing on nonsensitive personal data relating to you to such third parties. If this is not acceptable to you please confirm in writing to us and we will make alternative arrangements.
Under the Data Protection Act 2018 you are entitled to a copy of your personal data held by us upon written request and payment of a fee. These are the individual rights under the Data Protection Act 2018:
the right to be informed about the collection and the use of your personal data
the right to access personal data and supplementary information
the right to have inaccurate personal data rectified, or completed if it is incomplete
the right to erasure (to be forgotten) in certain circumstances
the right to restrict processing in certain circumstances
the right to data portability, which allows the data subject to obtain and reuse their personal data for their own purposes across different services
the right to object to processing in certain circumstances
rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
the right to withdraw consent at any time (where relevant)
the right to complain to the Information Commissioner
The personal data we will collect will include information relating to your name, date of birth, address, contact details like phone number and email address, health, motor and criminal convictions.
In order to obtain best deal for you some insurers may do credit checks on you which will appear on your credit report.
All data about you we will collect directly from you over the phone, via email or via written correspondence, from third party from who you requested an insurance quotation and from any third party you agreed or requested us to obtain information from for the purpose of obtaining quotation and assisting with your policy adjustments.
As a necessary part of arranging an insurance policy for you, we might need to disclose your personal
data to authorised third parties like insurers, premium finance providers, claims handling companies.
Please note that in order to prevent fraudulent claims most insurers will exchange information with other
insurers through various databases.
You can exercise your Individual Rights at any time. If you wish to exercise these rights please email us
to: info@mcassistinsurance.co.uk or post your written request to M C Assist Specialist Brokers Ltd, 212
West Hendon Broadway, London, NW9 7EE.
More detailed information on how we process your data can be found within our Data Protection Policy
and Privacy Policy.
Conflicts of Interest
Occasions can arise where we, or one of our customers, will have some form of interest in business which we are transacting for you. If this happens, or we become aware that our interests or those of one of our other customers conflicts with your interests, we will inform you in writing and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions.
Complaints
It is our intention to provide you with a high level of customer service at all times. If there are occasions when we do not meet your standards or you feel dissatisfied with your insurance cover in any way, then we operate a comprehensive complaints procedure to assist with your complaint.
Complaints may be made either verbally to any member of staff by calling 0208 203 8204, in writing or by emailing: info@mcassistinsurance.co.uk. Please mark your correspondence as “Complaint”.
In line with our complaints procedure, we will formally log the complaint and refer the matter to a member of staff who is independent from the reason for the complaint. All complaints will be acknowledged in writing within 5 business days of receipt of complaint and will include the name of the staff member who will deal with the complaint. We will provide you with a full written response within 20 business days of receipt or explain the current position of your complaint and provide you with a timetable for a full response.
If you cannot resolve your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman
Scheme (FOS) to which we subscribe. The FOS is available to retail (private) customers and
commercial customers. The contact details are as follows:
The Financial Ombudsman Services,
Address: South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SN
Telephone: 0207 964 1000
E-mail: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Website: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
If your complaint is related to Data Protection you also have the right to complain to Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO) The contact details are as follows:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website for live chat: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/live-chat