Terms of Business: Consumer

This document contains important information. Please read it carefully. It sets out a statement of the terms of business on which we agree to act for you as a client and contains details of our new regulatory and statutory responsibilities under supervisions of the Financial Services Authority.

This Agreement will supersede any agreement previously in force. Please contact us immediately if there is anything in these or any other sections of the terms of business that you do not understand or with which you disagree.

  1. About Our Company

    Todd & Cue Limited is an independent insurance intermediary. Our registered Office is Located at Kingfisher House, Kingsway, Team Valley, Gateshead, NE11 0JQ.

    We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (“FSA”). Our FSA Register number is 308962. You may check our details on the FSA Register at www.fsa.gov.uk/register,or by telephoning the FSA on 0845 606 1234.

    We are committed to providing a high standard of professional service and to acting in accordance with FSA Rules and the following principles. We will:

    • Conduct business with integrity and with due skill, care and diligence;
    • Pay due regard to your interest and treat you fairly;
    • Pay due regard to your information need and communicate information to you in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading;
    • Avoid conflicts of interest or ensure we can manage them fairly;
    • Arrange adequate protection for your assets when we are responsible for them, including client money;
    • Take responsibility to establish and maintain systems and controls appropriate for our business.

    Definitions

    The FSA rules classify customers into two types, namely:

    • Consumer, defined as any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business or profession;
    • Commercial, defined as a customer who is not a consumer.

    Some of the FSA rules vary; dependent on whether you are a consumer or a commercial customer. This Terms of Business applies only to those classified as Consumers.

  2. Our Relationship with You

    As an independent insurance intermediary we act for you as an agent and we are subject to the law of agency.

    We may have arrangements with insurers or others that we may use to meet your requirements. In these circumstances we will act for and owe duties to other parties. We will advise you of any such arrangement if it could give rise to a conflict of interest.

    Todd & Cue Ltd record all telephone calls for training purposes.

  3. Your Insurance Arrangements

    We offer access to products from the Lloyds insurance market and a wide range of UK and international insurers. The selection of insurers is based on our knowledge and experience of the market as well as consideration of insurance contracts we have previously arranged in each market sector.

    We will normally arrange cover for you and provide advice, products or information on the basis of a fair analysis of the market by considering a sufficient number of insurers that we feel are appropriate to underwrite the insurance cover you are seeking.

    Where our advice is not based on an analysis of the market for a particular proposed insurance, we will tell you the basis upon which we have advised you.

    We may also recommend a policy for you on the basis of a particular arrangement with insurers who we feel provide the most suitable product for you.

    If you ask us to, we will provide you with a list of the insurers considered in arranging your proposed insurance.

    We will advise and make a recommendation on cover for you after we have made an assessment of your insurance needs based on the information you make available to us.

    For some classes of insurance, you may be asked to complete a proposal form. We will be happy to give you advice on the form but we cannot complete it for you.

    We will provide you with either a verbal or written statement of our understanding of your insurance requirements before concluding an insurance contract for you. It is important that you tell us if any of the information in this statement in incorrect. If we recommend an insurance contract to you, we will confirm why we believe the proposed insurance cover is suitable in satisfying your insurance requirements.

    We will also tell you if a particular product is not arranged on the basis of a recommendation from us but is based on your personal selection of a product or cover from your answers to a series of questions, such as may be included in a proposal form.

    To avoid misunderstandings, it is helpful if you provide written instructions by letter, fax or email. In urgent cases, we will of course take verbal instructions, but we recommend that these should be confirmed in writing.

    Once we have your instructions we will arrange your insurance and keep you informed of the progress of negotiations. We will also advise you if we are unable to obtain cover to satisfy any part of your insurance requirements or instructions.

  4. Duty of Disclosure (What you must tell insurers)

    It is your responsibility to disclose all material information that is known to you and which might influence the judgement of insurers in determining the scope of cover, the price or whether or not to accept your risk. This applies even if you complete a proposal form.

    The insurer is not required to make enquiries, the onus falls on you. If you fail to disclose information this may entitle insurers to void cover from inception (the starting date of your policy) and seek repayment of claims they may have paid to you. If insurers void cover, you will no longer have an insurance policy and claims will not be paid.

    Some insurance contracts may also include a condition that requires you to disclose any material changes throughout the term of the policy.

    If you are unsure whether information or a change in circumstances may be material, you should disclose it.

  5. Insurer Security

    We use both UK and overseas insurers to obtain the best cover terms available for our clients. It should be noted that a different legal and regulatory regime may apply for non-UK insurers so your ability to enforce your legal rights or seek compensation may vary.

    We will provide you with details of insurers we are recommending or using to insure your risk. While we cannot guarantee the solvency of any insurer or its ability to meet policyholder obligations, we do use our reasonable endeavours to protect the interests of our clients by reviewing and monitoring the suitability of all insurers that we use.

    However, the final decision on the suitability of any insurer does rest with you. If you have any concerns about the insurers we are using to provide cover, please contact us immediately.

  6. Cover Information and Policy Documentation

    We will provide you with sufficient information to allow you to make an informed decision before concluding a contract of insurance. This may include details of:

    • The type of cover and its significant features and benefits;
    • Any significant or unusual exclusions or limitations to the policy.

    Policy documentation to provide the full terns and conditions of cover will be issued promptly once agreed with insurers. For some business, insurers may rely on the content of the brokers placing slip and an agreed wording where a formal policy will not be issued, unless requested. We will maintain records and retain documents for the insurances we arrange for you in line with FSA requirements.

  7. Mid-term changes to your policy

    If you need to make any changes to your insurance cover during the period of your policy (mid-term changes), please contact us immediately so that we can advise your insurers and obtain their approval. We may also need to seek further information from you. We will confirm the revised terms for cover to you in good time following receipt of your instructions.

  8. Renewals

    Todd & Cue Ltd. may make the premium payment on your behalf and in these circumstances you agree to reimburse us within 30 days. We operate a Tacit Renewal policy. This is where we commit you to the premium expenditure by renewing the policy on the assumption that you want to renew it, without obtaining your instruction to do so.

    We will contact you before your policy is due for renewal and provide you with renewal terms. If you do not wish to renew your policy, you must inform us prior to the renewal date. Otherwise, we will instruct the insurers to renew your policy automatically on the renewal terms offered. By reading and understanding these Terms of Business, you are giving us your consent to deal with your renewals on a tacit renewal basis.

  9. Cancellation Rights

    Your insurer gives you the right to cancel the contract within 14 days of

    • the day of the conclusion of the contract; or, if later
    • the day on which you receive the contractual terms and conditions and information in a durable medium.

    Please remember that the duty to disclose all material information applies for any alteration, extension or renewal of your insurance contract.

  10. Premiums

    We will provide you with a statement of the premium due for your policy in confirming cover. If you enter into a premium finance agreement arranged through us to pay your premium by instalments, we will inform you of the interest payable.

    We will issue a debit note or invoice, or payment instructions in your cover documentation. This will show you the amount due, how you should pay and when. Your premium will become due from the moment your insurance commences and so that we can settle with your insurers, we ask that you pay promptly in accordance with the debit note, invoice or instructions given.

    If you fail to pay your premium by a due date, your insurance may be cancelled by insurers from inception (the date your policy started).

  11. Claims

    We will administer your claims fairly and promptly. You must notify us as soon as possible of any claim you have or of any circumstances that might give rise to a claim from you. Most insurance policies require prompt notification of claims or claim circumstances or occurrences as a condition of the cover and some specify a time period or format for notification. We will tell you when confirming cover who you should contact if you have a claim and will assist you in submitting your claim and in seeking settlement from insurers.

    If in relation to a particular claim, an insurer declines cover, delays settlement or becomes insolvent, we will inform you and seek instructions.

    Claims payments will be remitted as soon as possible after they have been received from insurers.

    We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for our services if you cease to be our client, but wish us to handle claims on your behalf and we agree to do so.

  12. Charges and Fees

    Todd & Cue Ltd is normally paid a commission by an insurance provider for arranging a policy (details on request). We do not make charges for performing additional services such as handling renewals or claims

    In certain circumstances, Todd & Cue Ltd will charge a fee. We will notify you in writing prior to any fee being charged.

  13. Client Money

    Client money is any money that we receive and hold in the course of arranging or administering insurance on your behalf, or which we treat as client money in accordance with FSA client money rules.

    1. Non-Statutory Trust

      We will provide protection for client money by holding all client money in a general Non-Statutory Trust account. This is completely segregated from our own money and there are strict regulatory controls on us to maintain solvency of the Non-Statutory Trust account and to conduct a regular reconciliation of the account. Importantly, client money will be ring fenced in the Non-Statutory Trust account so that it will be returned to clients in the event of our company’s insolvency and cannot be used to reimburse other creditors.

      Under the rules, money held in the Non-Statutory Trust account may continue to be used for payment of premium or claims for another client before their monies are received, but increased credit controls will be maintained where this occurs. We are not entitled to use client money to take payment of fees or brokerage before we receive the relevant premium from a client.

    2. Risk Transfer

      Under FSA client money rules, we may agree to act as agent for insurers in handling payment of premiums, return premiums or claims. This is subject to ‘Risk Transfer’ where insurers assume the credit risk as that payment by you of your premium to us will be deemed payment to insurers and claims and return payments paid by insurers through us will not be deemed paid until received by you.

    3. Bank Accounts

      We will deposit client money we receive in a bank account with one or more UK approved banks.

    4. Interest on Client Money

      Any interest earned on client money held by us and any investment returns on any segregated designated investments will be retained by us.

  14. Complaints

    We take complaints made against us very seriously and maintain a procedure to ensure that complaints are dealt with promptly and fairly.

    If you wish to register a complaint, please notify a director either in writing or by telephone.

    If we cannot resolve your complaint straight away, we will acknowledge its receipt promptly and arrange for a director to investigate the matter and provide you with a response.

    If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction or if you are unhappy with the way we handled it, you may be eligible to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service if at the time of the complaint you are a small company or partnership with an annual turnover of less than £1m, or charity with an annual income of less than £1m, or trustee of a trust with a net asset value of less than £1m.

    If you are eligible, we will provide you with details of how to refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service when we send you your final written response or at 8 weeks after receipt of your complaint (whichever occurs first).

  15. Compensation Schemes

    In the event of the failure of Todd & Cue Ltd or another UK broker or UK insurance company, you will be entitled to compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in respect of any compulsory insurance, but you must be an eligible small company with an annual turnover of less than £1m at the time of a claim to be entitled to compensation in relation to non-compulsory insurance.

    However, no compensation is available in respect of marine, Aviation, Transport or Credit Insurance or for any Reinsurance.

    Full details and further information on the scheme will be given in the event of a failure and are also available directly from the FSCS.

  16. Money Laundering

    We are obliged to take reasonable steps to safeguard our company and our clients against the risk of financial crime.

    To help us achieve this we may need to ask you to provide us with additional information relating to any insurance transactions you ask us to undertake on your behalf.

  17. Data Protection

    So that we may fully understand your circumstances and requirements, Todd & Cue Ltd will need to collect information about you which we will hold as Data controllers under the Data Protection Act 1998. Todd & Cue Ltd will use and disclose the information we have about you in the normal course of arranging and administering your insurance.

    Our regulator the FSA requires us to keep records of our business transactions for at least 3 years. Some records are required to be held for longer. However, we will not keep records longer than is necessary. To protect your privacy, you, or your appointed agent, have the right to inspect computer (and certain manual) records relating to yourself and your transactions through ourselves and where appropriate have it corrected or deleted. All such requests for information must be referred to a Director of Todd & Cue Ltd. As we treat all our clients’ records as private and confidential, we reserve the right to give you copies of your record, where in certain circumstances to release the original would compromise other clients’ confidentiality.

    You agree that Todd & Cue Ltd may on occasions use your personal details or share your information with other carefully selected organisations, so that they, or we can inform you of other products and services which may be of interest, either by telephone, post, or other appropriate methods.

    If you do not wish to receive such marketing information from us, or to allow us to disclose information about you to other parties for marketing purposes, please let us know immediately. Please note that by reading and understanding these Terms of Business you agree to information about you being used/disclosed in the manner described.

  18. Termination of this Agreement

    Termination is without prejudice to any transactions already initiated, which will be completed according to these terms of business unless otherwise agreed in writing. You may terminate your instructions to us at any time. We reserve the right to require such termination in writing. We may terminate this agreement by giving you a minimum of fourteen days notice. No penalty shall be payable on any termination but we shall be entitled to remuneration for work undertaken prior to such termination. Any such termination shall be subject to completion of any transactions, which are in progress at the time.

    Note: If you change your mind, in the future, and decide you no longer wish to receive marketing information from us, or for us to disclose information about you to other parties for marketing purposes, simply tell us when you next call, or write to us.

  19. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

    Todd & Cue Ltd undertakes its activities as an insurance intermediary in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

    Please contact us immediately if there is anything in these terms of business that you do not understand or with which you disagree. If you have any questions, please advise our usual contact in the first instance who will be pleased to assist.