RMK INSURANCE CONSULTANTS LTD
Terms of General Insurance Business
RMK Insurance Consultants Ltd, Suite 11, 351 London Road, Hadleigh, Essex SS7 2BT Company Registration Number 2687525 (tel 01702 555560) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our Registration number is 303978. We are permitted to arrange, advise on, deal as an agent of insurers and clients and assist in claims handling with respect to non-investment insurance policies. You can check this on the FCA’s Register by visiting the website www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768 (free phone). We are also authorised by the FCA for credit broking. We act for one lender.
Our Service – We offer products from a range of insurers for business and personal insurances unless we inform you otherwise.
When we arrange your insurance we will provide you with a personal recommendation to buy the policy, on the basis of a fair and personal analysis of the market. You will not receive advice or a recommendation from us where you complete a purchase from our website. The website will give you information about the products and you will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed. We generally act on your behalf in arranging your insurance, but we’ll make clear at the outset if we are acting for you or for the insurer in particular circumstances. As your insurance consultant we will always act honestly, fairly and professionally ensuring your best interests are our priority. In certain circumstances we may act for and owe duties of care to insurers and/or other parties. Where we become aware of any actual or potential conflict of interest with our duty to you, we will inform you of the situation and the options available to you before we proceed.
Protecting your Money – Prior to your premium being forwarded to the insurer, and for your protection, we either hold your money as an agent of the insurer (in which case your policy is treated as being paid for), or we hold it in a client bank account on trust for you.
We may extend credit to other customers from this account and we may transfer your money to another intermediary in some cases. However your money will be protected at all times because of the requirements of FCA rules. We also reserve the right to retain interest earned on this account. By accepting this Terms of Business document, you are giving your consent for us to operate in this way.
Consumers Duty of disclosure – You must take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer. This means that all the answers you give and statements you make as part of your insurance application, including at renewal and when an amendment to your policy is required, should be honest and accurate. If you deliberately or carelessly misinform the insurers, this could mean that part of or all of a claim may not be paid.
Commercial Customers Duty of disclosure – Where we arrange insurance wholly or mainly for purposes related to your trade, business or profession, you have a duty under The Insurance Act 2015 to make a fair presentation of the risk. This means that you must disclose every material circumstance which you and/or your senior management and/or anyone responsible for arranging your insurance know or ought to know. Alternatively, you must disclose sufficient information which would put the insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries for the purpose of revealing those material circumstances. You are expected to carry out a reasonable search in order to make a fair presentation of the risk and will be deemed to know what should reasonably have been revealed by the search. Your duty of fair presentation applies at the start of the policy, at renewal and when any variation of the policy is arranged. If you fail to make a fair presentation, the insurer may refuse to pay your claim or reduce the settlement amount, depending on the circumstances.
Confidentiality/General Date Protection Regulation (GDPR) – When you visit our website or contact us directly you will be expecting us to provide you with a quotation for an insurance product that you have selected. We do not require your consent in order to process the information you provide to obtain quotations on your behalf, as the processing of the information is necessary for the performance of the contract with you, or in your name to enable us to take steps to enter into a contract with you. Therefore, by completing our online forms or requesting a quotation over the telephone, we have a legal basis for processing your personal data to fulfil yours needs. We collect, use and store your personal information in order to fulfil requests for quotes, products and services as part of our insurance broking, claims handling and risk management business. It may also be used to verify your identity and to enable us to carry out anti-money laundering and other financial crime checks where required. If you pay by instalments your information may also be used to arrange credit. With your consent, your data may also be used to help us assess your ongoing needs, to inform you about products and services that meet those needs, to communicate with you, to administer your account with us and to carry out internal data analysis. We may monitor calls, emails, text messages and other communications with you. For a full copy of our Privacy Notice please visit our website or ask a member of our staff for a copy.
Our earnings – In return for placing business with insurers and/or underwriters and/or other product providers, we receive a commission from them which is a percentage of the annual premium that you are charged with. Occasionally we may also receive a bonus from insurers although this is not always guaranteed. In some circumstances, depending on the level of work involved, we may also charge you a separate fee however this will be discussed and agreed before any commitment to pay. 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 or arranging premium finance.
Please be assured that at no time will the way in which we are remunerated conflict with our responsibilities to meet your needs and treat you fairly.
Fees and Charges – RMK charge £25 for any policy alterations or copy documents. An administration charge of £15 also applies at renewal and for new business. It may be necessary to charge a higher fee. If this is the case you will be advised before you commit to the service. Please note that fees are non-refundable.
Cancellation – Private (Consumer) Clients – You have the right to cancel the insurance within 14 days of the contract being concluded or the day the terms and conditions are received (whichever is the later). Please refer to the insurers policy summary for details of any charges they make. In these circumstances RMK will make a £25 administration charge. If you should cancel after 14 days you may not receive a refund of premium – check the insurers policy document for details. RMK may also retain 5% of the annual insurance premium or first premium (if short period insurance) to cover administration costs or any policy arrangement fee subject to a minimum £25 administration charge.
Cancellation – Commercial Clients – Where an insurance is effected but subsequently cancelled mid term by you, RMK will be entitled to retain 5% of the annual insurance premium or first premium (if short period insurance) to cover administration costs and an adjustment in respect of this may be made in any credit or refund passed to you. To cancel the policy contact RMK Insurance Consultants Ltd.
Payment – Can be made by guaranteed cheque or you may be able to spread your payments through insurers’ instalment schemes or a credit scheme we have arranged with a single finance provider (see Protecting Your Information). We will normally offer the insurers instalment scheme unless a credit scheme offers more competitive terms. We will give you full information about our payment options and any instalment fees, charges or interest when we discuss your insurance in detail.
Claims -In the event of a claim you should notify RMK immediately for guidance. In the event of an out of hours emergency you should check your policy documentation for details of any emergency numbers provided by insurers. Except where we agree with you otherwise, we will
provide our claims handling services for the period of our appointment. These services can be continued beyond our appointment by mutual agreement, and may be subject to a separate fee.
Complaints – It is our intention to provide a high level of service at all times. However, if you have reason to make a complaint about our service you should contact any Director at the above address or ring 01702 555560. You may be entitled to refer the matter subsequently to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service by telephone on 08000 234 567 and further information is available at http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/ If you do decide to refer any matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service your legal rights will not be affected.
Compensation – 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. The scheme covers 100% for compulsory insurances such as motor third party and employer’s liability and 90% of other general insurance, without any upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS at: http://www.fscs.org.uk/ or by telephone on 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100.
Block Transfers – In respect of some classes of insurance we may operate block insurance arrangements in order to provide competitive terms. On occasions it will be necessary for us to transfer such blocks from one insurer to another where this is beneficial for our clients. By accepting this Terms of Business document, you are giving your consent for us to operate in this way.