Crossbrook Insurance Brokers written statement of terms and conditions of business

Our Status

Crossbrook Insurance Brokers are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to act as an Independent Intermediary on their behalf. Our registration number is 309980. We are permitted to arrange, advise and deal as an agent of an insurer and assist in claims handling with respect to non-investment insurance policies. You can check these details on the FSA’s register by contacting them on 0845 606 1234 or by visiting www.fsa.gov.uk/register.

Duty of Disclosure

Your insurance is based upon the information provided to the insurance company and you must ensure that all such information is complete and accurate and that any facts that may influence the insurer’s decision to accept the policy and what terms are applied must be disclosed. If you do not return, or fail to sign and date any page of the proposal form, we will not be liable for any undisclosed convictions or claims that you may have had and any additional premium that may apply. Failure to disclose any material fact or information may invalidate your insurance policy and could mean that part, or all, of a claim may not be paid.

How to Cancel

You may have a statutory right to cancel a policy within a short period (normally a period of 14 days), but please refer to your policy summary or your policy booklet for further details. If you cancel within this period, you will receive a pro rata refund of premium from the insurer. If you wish to cancel outside this period you may not receive a pro rata refund of premium. Insurers are also entitled to make an administrative charge and we may also keep an amount that reflects the administrative costs of arranging and then having to cancel the policy.

Protecting your Information

All personal information about you will be treated as private and confidential (even when you are no longer a customer), except where the disclosure is made at your request or with your consent in relation to administering your insurance and except where law requires us to do so. Some or all of the information you supply to us in connection with your insurance proposal may be passed to insurance and other companies for underwriting, claims and premium collection purposes. Your data will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, under which you have a right of access to see personal information about you that is held in our records, whether electronically or manually.

How to Claim

Please refer to your policy summary or your policy booklet if you need to notify a new claim or incident. You should contact the insurer or legal expenses provider direct as soon as possible using the contact details provided. If in doubt about who you should contact, please contact us by telephone, fax or e-mail or by visiting www.crossbrook.com.

Fees and Charges

We reserve the right to make an administration charge in addition to any premiums charged by insurers for arranging, amending, renewing or cancelling of your policy. The specific charge from £20.00 will be advised to you in advance and will apply to the following: payment by instalments, dishonoured cheques, cancellation of policy and issue of new business, duplicate and adjustment documents. We never make charges in excess of the premium amount charged by insurers.

Block Transfers

In respect of some classes of insurance, legal expenses or premium finance provider, we may operate block arrangements in order to provide competitive terms. On occasions it will be necessary for us to transfer such blocks from one provider to another where this is beneficial to you as our client. This written statement of terms and conditions of business constitute both your acceptance that we may do this and your prior request for us to do so.

Protecting your Money

Prior to your premium being forwarded to the insurer and for your protection, we hold your money as an agent of the insurer (in which case your policy is treated as being paid for). 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 FSA rules. We also reserve the right to retain interest earned on this account. This written statement of terms and conditions of business constitute both your acceptance that we may do this and your prior request for us to do so.

Accounts

All accounts are payable on demand, but if for any reason you are unable to settle an account, we ask you to discuss this as soon as possible with a member of staff. We reserve the right to cancel your policy if payment is not received without any refund, either from inception or from an agreed date and to add on all charges incurred to the final amount if payments are not received and debt collectors are appointed. If the policy is cancelled within the first 90 days a minimum premium of 30% will apply. If a claim is reported, the full premium must be paid and if the policy is cancelled, no refund will be due. Where the premium is being paid by direct debit, the premium finance provider, who is arranging a loan for you to pay for your insurance will apply his or her own terms and conditions.

Complaints

It is our intention to provide a high level of service at all times. If however, you have reason to make a complaint about our service you should write to the manager at the above address. You may be entitled to refer the matter subsequently to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). You can contact the FOS on 0845 080 1800 or by visiting www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk. If you do decide to refer any matter to the FOS your legal rights will not be affected.

Compensation Arrangements

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and 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 100% of the first £2,000 and 90% of the remainder of the claim, without any upper limit. Further information about the compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS on 020 7892 7300 or by visiting www.fscs.org.uk.

These terms and conditions were revised on 31st March 2009.