Terms of Business
This page details our service and our arrangements for dealing with your insurance. Please read it carefully and retain a copy here for your records.
The English language will be used for all communications, the contractual terms and conditions, and any information we are required to supply to you, before and during the duration of the contract and this agreement shall be subject to English Law (Scottish Law, where issued in Scotland).
The Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. Indigo Indemnity Limited is an appointed representative of Medical Insurance Consultants Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, reference number 309026. You can check this on the Financial Services Register www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768. Our permitted business includes advising, arranging, dealing in and assisting with the placing & administration of General Insurance and Pure Protection policies.
Confidentiality and Data Protection
We will treat all your personal information as private and confidential to us and anyone else involved in the normal course of arranging and administering your insurance, even when you are no longer a customer. We will not give anyone else any personal information except on your instructions or authority, or where we are required to do so by law, or by virtue of our regulatory requirements. We may use information we hold about you to provide information to you about other products and services, which we feel may be appropriate to you, by post, email, phone, fax or sms. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you have the right to see personal information about you that we hold in our records. If you have any queries please write to us at our usual office address.
Our Service
We are an independent insurance intermediary, who acts on our customers’ behalf in arranging insurance. Our services include: advising you on your insurance needs; arranging your insurance cover with insurers to meet your requirements; and helping you with any ongoing changes you have to make. As part of our service, we will assist you with any claim you need to make and tell you what your responsibilities are in relation to making claims.
Whose products we offer
We usually offer advice from a range of insurers, representing a fair analysis of the market, however, under certain circumstances we may only deal with a limited panel, or single insurer. We may use providers who will conduct a credit check, which will be recorded on your credit record. Please contact us if you do NOT consent to a credit check being undertaken, however this may affect our ability to offer instalment facilities to you. In relation to the provision of credit facilities, we hold the necessary credit broking permission under the FCA. We offer only the credit facilities provided by Insurers, or those of Premium Credit from whom we may receive a commission.
The service we will provide you with
We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your demands and needs. Our advice will be confirmed in a demands & needs and suitability statement, giving reasons for our recommendation.
Information on how we treat Payments You make to Us
Under the terms of our agreements with the Insurance companies with whom we place business, we receive premiums you pay to us as Agent of the Insurer. All insurance premiums you pay to us are protected in an Insurer Trust Client Account until we pay insurers. If we arrange your policy through an external broker we may not act as Agent of the Insurer and payment will be due directly to the Insurer or their Agent. We do not pay any interest on premiums held by us in the course of arranging and administering your insurance.
Reporting Claims
All incidents which could lead to a claim must be reported as soon as practicable. Your insurer’s claims contact number is shown in your policy. You should also notify us as soon as possible of any circumstances which may give rise to a claim by contacting this office and providing your policy number, you will be informed of the procedures to follow to register your claim.
Policy Terms
It is important that you read through the Policy Schedule/Booklet to ensure you understand what you are covered for including any limitations or exclusions that may apply.
What you will pay for our services
We usually receive a commission from the insurer with whom we place your business and, in addition, we normally make the following charges to cover the administration of your insurance:
Arranging new policies up to 10% of the NET premium
Mid-term adjustments, duplicate certificate or cover note £0
Mid-term cancellations and other refunds are refunded NET of commission.
Renewals up to 10% of the NET premium
Payment by Credit Card 2%
Payment by Debit Card £0
Personal lines/Retail policies cancelled during the ‘Right to Cancel’ period will not normally be subject to an administration charge in addition to the premium charged by the insurer for the period of cover provided.
Occasionally we may arrange a policy on which we earn no commission and in these cases we will advise you of the arrangement fee before you take the policy out. We may also make additional charges specific to the arrangement and servicing of certain policies, but these will always be advised to you in advance and are shown on the relevant documentation.
What to do if you have a complaint
Our aim is to provide a first class service, however, if you wish to register a complaint, please contact us by writing to Managing Director, Medical Insurance Consultants, Park House, 45 The Park, Yeovil, Somerset, BA20 1DF
If you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
Are we covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without an upper limit. For compulsory insurances (for example, motor insurance and employers’ liability insurance), insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, without an upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.
Where the claim is in respect of a relevant omission on a Professional Indemnity Policy, then 100% of the claim is covered. A relevant omission is where the firm has not passed the premium on to the Insurer or passed claim payments onto the policyholder or otherwise not taken steps and caused a contract not to be effected by the Insurer.
Where the firm has not taken steps and caused a contract not to be effected by an Insurer on a Pure Protection Policy or General Insurance claim arising from the death or incapacity of the policyholder owing to injury, sickness or infirmity, then 100% of the claim is covered.
Security
We do not guarantee the solvency of any Insurer we place business with. A liability for the premium, whether in full or pro rata, may arise under policies where a participating insurer becomes insolvent. In the event that an insurer becomes insolvent or delays making a claims settlement we do not accept liability for any unpaid amounts.
Payment Options
We normally accept payment by guaranteed cheque, bank transfer or the following credit/debit cards – Visa, Mastercard, Maestro. You may be able to spread your payments through insurers’ instalment schemes or a credit scheme, which we have arranged with Premium Credit Ltd, however rates and acceptance may be subject to a credit check. We will give you full information about your payment options and the appropriate finance agreement when we discuss your insurance in detail.
Please Note: Your policy cover will cease if you fail to keep up payments on an instalment agreement or premium finance facility related to it and your credit rating may be affected. We have no responsibility for any loss that you may suffer as a result if insurers cancelling your policy or taking any other prejudicial steps as a result of late payment of such sums if such delay is attributable to you.
Important Information for Consumers Only
Your Right to Cancel
You have a legal right to cancel your policy or credit agreement for any reason, subject to no claims having occurred, within 14 days of receiving the full terms & conditions (30 days for Pure Protection policies). You will always be advised where this Right applies. For insurance policies, a charge will apply for the period of cover provided and, in addition, we make an administration charge as detailed above. If you cancel a credit agreement you will need to repay any sums provided in full and make alternative arrangements to pay your premium. If you cancel after the 14 days, short-period cancellation rates apply. If you wish to cancel a policy you must advise us in writing, prior to expiry of the cancellation period, to our usual office address.
Consumers’ Responsibility to Provide Information
You must take reasonable care to answer all questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge, and if you volunteer any other information, you must ensure that the information is not misleading.
If any information that you have provided to us changes before you take out your insurance, during the life of the policy or at renewal, you must inform us of the change. If you deliberately, recklessly or carelessly misrepresent any information in relation to this insurance then your policy may be cancelled without refund, or treated as if it never existed, or your claim rejected or not fully paid.
Important Information for Commercial Customers Only
Prior to the conclusion of each insurance contract, or upon renewal, we will remind commercial policyholders of their right to be advised of the level of commission which we receive from underwriters. You are entitled, at any time, to request information regarding any commission which we may have received as a result of placing your insurance business.
Commercial Customers’ Duty to Give Information
It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information to insurers when you take out your insurance policy, throughout the life of your policy, and when you renew your insurance. It is important that you ensure that all statements you make on proposal forms, statements of fact, claim forms and other documents are full and accurate. Please note that if you fail to disclose any information or change in circumstances to your insurers which could influence the cost, or their decision to accept your insurance, could mean that your policy could be invalidated or cancelled without refund, or that part or all of a claim may be not be paid.