Regulation 

 

Simcox Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Firm Reference 

Number (FRN) 1030692. Simcox Brokers Ltd is registered in England under company number 11806119 at 

Unit 1, Office 1, Tower Lane Business Park, Tower Lane, Warmley, Bristol, United Kingdom, BS30 8XT. Our 

FCA register number is 1030692 and you can check this on the FCA’s register by visiting our profile on the FCA’s website here: SIMCOX BROKERS LTD or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768 or consumer.queries@fca.org.uk. 

 

We are members of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA).

 

Our service to you 

  

We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs. Our service includes arranging your insurance cover with insurers to meet your requirements and helping you with any ongoing changes you need to make. As an insurance intermediary, we normally act for you when we arrange insurance for you. However, we also act as an agent of the insurer in relation to the coverage proposed, or the insurer may have outsourced to us certain work related to the administration of your contract. We will disclose to you where we act as agent of the insurer or provide services to the insurers when providing you with information on the coverage proposed. We may place your insurance business under a binding authority, managing general agency, lineslip or similar facility where we reasonably consider these match your insurance requirements/ instructions. We shall inform you whenever we bind your insurance risk under a facility. We do not offer advice in relation to tax . Unless otherwise agreed, we will select insurers from a range of insurers and facilities that we reasonably believe are suitable for your requirements. We do not undertake a whole-of-market review.

  

Quotations 

  

Our quotations will be valid for a period of 30 days from the date of issue. 

  

Disclosure of information 

  

Your responsibilities will vary according to whether your policy is a ‘Consumer Insurance Contract’ or a ‘Commercial Contract’. 

  

A ‘Consumer Insurance Contract’ is an insurance policy for an individual who needs the policy wholly or mainly for purposes unrelated to a trade, business or profession. 

A ‘Commercial Contract’ is an insurance policy that is needed wholly or mainly for the purposes of a trade, business or profession. 

  

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, when you renew your insurance and when you claim. It is important that you ensure that all statements you make in response to any request for information from insurers are full and accurate and that you do not make any misrepresentation or leave anything out when asked. You must check any form that you sign or any statement of facts relating to your policy. Reckless, deliberate or even careless mistakes could result in your insurance company refusing to deal with all or part of a claim. We will point out significant features and benefits, and significant or unusual exclusions or limitations, and answer any questions you may have regarding the insurance contract. However, it is impractical to explain all the terms and conditions at the outset. It is your responsibility to read the Policy Document and any other information provided, and if there is anything that you do not understand it is important that you contact us for an explanation. 

  

In addition, when entering into a ‘Commercial Contract’, please note that if you fail to disclose any material information to your insurers, this could invalidate your insurance cover and could mean that part or all of a claim is not paid. If you are unsure whether information is ‘material’ you should disclose it. 

Commercial customers are under a duty to make a fair presentation of the risk to insurers before inception, renewal and variation of cover in accordance with the Insurance Act 2015.

 

Pre Due Diligence Checks

 

We may undertake reasonable pre-placement due diligence checks in connection with the provision of our services, which may include identity verification, sanctions screening, anti-money laundering checks, insolvency searches and business or director credit checks where appropriate. Such checks may be carried out using third-party data providers and credit reference agencies. By instructing us to arrange insurance on your behalf, you acknowledge and consent to such checks where reasonably necessary for regulatory, compliance and commercial purposes’.

 

Awareness of policy terms 

  

When a policy is issued, you are strongly advised to read it carefully, as it is that document, the schedule and any certificate of insurance that is the basis of the insurance contract you have purchased.  If you are in doubt over any of the policy terms and conditions, please seek our advice promptly. 

  

Commission and Fees 

  

• Unless otherwise agreed in writing, we are entitled to receive or retain all or any commission or part thereof payable to us or any relevant third party upon inception of any insurance policy arranged by us for you or on your behalf.

• If by reason of any act or default by you, commission or any part thereof is not payable to us or

any relevant third party upon inception of any insurance policy arranged by us for you or on your behalf, or is clawed back, you will pay to us a sum equal to the commission that would otherwise have been payable but for your act or default or is clawed back by reason of your act or default 

• In addition, we may charge a policy production fee, cancellation fee and/or a mid-term

adjustment/duplicate documentation fee. Any chargeable policy production fee will be advised to you and agreed prior to inception of cover and shall be payable on inception of cover. Other chargeable fees will be advised to you during any adjustment, duplication and/or cancellation process and be payable on completion of such process. 

  

Commission Disclosure (applicable to commercial customers only) 

  

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 

 

Holding of Money (Risk Transfer Basis)

 

The rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) are designed to protect clients in the event that an insurance intermediary is unable to account for monies received.

Simcox Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number 1030692). We do not hold client money and are not authorised by the FCA to hold client money.

Where we receive premiums from you or handle claims monies or premium refunds, we do so strictly in accordance with risk transfer arrangements agreed with insurers and/or other authorised intermediaries.

Under these arrangements:

• When we act as agent of the insurer for the collection of premiums, any premiums you pay to us are treated as having been received by the insurer at the time they are received by us.

• When we act as agent of the insurer for the payment of claims or return premiums, any monies we receive from the insurer are treated as having been received by you once we have received them.

This means that, in such circumstances, your money is deemed to be held by the insurer (or other authorised intermediary) rather than by us.

We will inform you if, for any particular transaction, we are not acting as agent of the insurer and risk transfer does not apply.

If you have any questions about how we handle money, please contact us.

 

Referrals and Introducer Arrangements

 

In some circumstances, we may introduce you to another intermediary, broker, insurer or specialist service provider where we reasonably believe this is in your interests or necessary to meet your insurance requirements. We may receive and retain remuneration, commission, referral fees or other financial benefits in connection with such introductions or arrangements. You are entitled, at any time, to request further information regarding the nature of any such remuneration received by us.

 

Customer protection information 

  

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, please contact us either verbally or in writing.  We will acknowledge in writing, advising you of who is dealing with your concerns and attempt to address your concerns within five working days.  If our investigations take longer, we will provide a full response within twenty working days or explain our position and provide timescales for a full response. If we cannot satisfy your complaint you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. 

  

Employers Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) 

 

ELTO is an insurance industry initiative set up to assist the tracing of Employers Liability (EL) insurers by employees who may have suffered injury or disease at work. It was established in April 2011 and since 1st April 2012 it is a legal requirement for employers to submit specific details i.e. the Employers Reference Number (ERN) and details of any subsidiary companies, to insurers to assist in the upkeep of this register. From April 2012 it is legally required to collect it for any policies containing an element of EL cover either incepting or renewing from that date. Further information is available at https://www.elto.org.uk/home/  

 

Cooling off period and Right to Cancel (applicable to consumers only) 

 

We will give you enough information and help so you can make an informed decision before you make a final commitment to buy your insurance policy. However, you will have fourteen days to change your mind and cancel the insurance contract from the date you receive the policy documentation. 

 

Security

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Whilst we seek to place business with insurers that we reasonably believe to be financially sound, we do not guarantee the solvency or future financial condition of any insurer. Financial strength ratings may change after placement and are outside our control.

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Renewals 

 

To make sure you have continuous cover under your policy we may automatically renew your policy when it runs out, unless you tell us not to. Each year we will notify you well in advance before the renewal date of your policy and tell you about any changes to the premium or the policy terms and conditions. Automatic renewal will be advised to you at the time your policy is issued. If you do not want to us to automatically renew your policy, please advise us. Otherwise we will renew your policy and invoice you accordingly. You should also note that your renewed policy will only be valid when: you have told us about any changes to your circumstances 

 

Claims

 

You must tell Us as soon as possible of any incident or circumstance which may result in a claim under any insurance arranged by Us and of all relevant facts relating to it. Failure to do so may result in the insurer not paying the claim. This is in addition to any obligations imposed by insurers, details of which will be set out in the policy wording. We will notify insurers in accordance with the circumstances notified by You. You will be required to give all necessary information and assistance required by insurers in order to deal with Your claim. In some circumstances, claims will be dealt with directly by Your insurer or by someone appointed by them. We will let You know if that is the case

Professional Indemnity, Cyber Liability, Directors & Officers Liability and certain other financial lines policies are generally written on a claims-made basis. It is essential that any claim, complaint, investigation, regulatory enquiry, cyber incident or circumstance that may give rise to a claim is notified promptly in accordance with the policy terms. Failure to do so may result in insurers declining cover.

Cyber

 

In respect of Cyber Insurance policies, insureds must notify actual or suspected cyber incidents, ransomware events, privacy breaches, network intrusions or other security incidents immediately and in accordance with the incident reporting procedures specified by insurers. Delayed notification may prejudice recovery under the policy.

 

Sanctions

 

We may be unable to arrange, maintain or service insurance where doing so would expose us, insurers or reinsurers to sanctions, embargoes or other applicable trade restrictions.

 

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) 

 

We are covered by the FSCS. 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 this increases to 100% of the claim, without any upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS. 

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

We maintain procedures designed to identify and manage conflicts of interest. Where we become aware of a conflict that cannot be effectively managed, we will disclose this to you.

 

Use of Personal Data 

 

Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), we must always have your consent or a legal basis for using personal data. By asking us to quote or provide you with insurance you have consented to our use of your personal data because it is in our legitimate business interests to use it (legal basis). You may withdraw your consent to such processing at any time. However, if you withdraw your consent this will impact our ability to provide insurance or pay claims. Your personal data may be used by example for the following purposes: Quotation/Inception, Policy administration, Claims Processing, Renewals, Mid Term Adjustments, Complaints Handling. Further information can be found in our Privacy Notice.  

 

Limitation of liability

 

Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or exclude Our liability for personal injury or death caused by negligence, or fraudulent acts, or any liability to You arising under our regulatory obligations insofar as we are prohibited from limiting our liability to You in relation to the same. In respect of all other claims arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, We will not be liable for any loss or damage where there is no breach of a legal duty owed to you by Us, where such loss is not a reasonably foreseeable result of any such breach, or for any increase in loss or damage resulting from breach by You of any term of this Agreement. We will have no liability in respect of losses relating to lost profits or business interruption. For commercial clients, our total aggregate liability in respect of all claims arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be limited to the sum of £2 million, unless otherwise agreed in writing. You acknowledge and agree that You shall only be entitled to make a claim against Us, and not against any individual employee, director or officer of Ours.

Electronic Communications

 

We may communicate with you by email and other electronic means. Whilst we take reasonable precautions, electronic communications may not be secure. Unless you instruct us otherwise, you consent to electronic communication.

 

 

Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) 

 

Your premium detailed in the policy will include IPT at the prevailing rate. Should the rate of IPT be amended by the Government, your premium will be amended by the insurer to reflect the change. 

  

Applicable Law 

 

This Terms of Business document is subject to English Law.