Declaration of Status and Terms of Business - EFM General Insurance Division

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=15.625% BGCOLOR="#006633" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="136d6c20ddvuru.jpg"> <div> <IMG SRC="1dd84d80.jpg" border=0 width="132" height="216" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#003366" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT></div> <div>  <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" "><U>home</U></A> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Tahoma" > l </FONT>   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Covers Available"><U>Covers Available</U></A>   |   <B>Declaration of Status and Terms of Business - EFM General Insurance Division   </B>   |   <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Commercial Insurance Guidance Notes"><U>Commercial Insurance Guidance Notes</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Commercial Property Owners Guidance Not"><U>Commercial Property Owners - Guidance Notes </U></A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002"><U>Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Commercial Insurance Technical informat"><U>Commercial Insurance - Technical information</U></A></div> <div> Declaration of Status and Terms of Business - EFM General Insurance Division   </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>   <IMG SRC="21865290.jpg" border=0 width="101" height="41" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> efm<FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003366" FACE="Arial" >insurance</FONT>&<FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003366" FACE="Arial" >financial</FONT>group</div> <bR> <div> <B>Declaration of Status and Terms of Business - EFM General Insurance Division</B></div> <div> <I>Please read this document carefully. It sets out the terms and conditions on which we agree to act for you, contains details of</I></div> <div> <I>our responsibilities together with your responsibilities both to us and to insurers. Please contact us immediately if there is anything</I></div> <div> <I>in this document that you do not understand or with which you disagree. Your receipt of this document constitutes your informed</I></div> <div> <I>consent to its contents. This document supersedes any previous versions in your possession.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>In the interests of security, staff training and to generally improve our service please be aware that telephone calls may be monitored and or recorded.</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>ABOUT EFM</B></div> <div> Essex Financial Management Limited “EFM” is an independent insurance broker. EFM acts on behalf of it's customers when arranging insurance. EFM is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA Firm Reference Number is 149177).  You can check this on the FSA's Register by visiting the FSA's website www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is the independent body that regulates financial services. </div> <bR> <div> EFM is a member of the British Insurance Brokers Association.</div> <bR> <div> Information is also available on our web site <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.efmgroup.co.uk" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.efmgroup.co.uk"><U><U>www.efmgroup.co.uk</U></U></A></FONT> </div> <bR> <div> <B>PRODUCTS AND SERVICES</B></div> <div> We are an independent intermediary committed to providing quality advice, service and products from a range of insurers.</div> <bR> <div> As an intermediary and your agent we owe various duties to you. If we are aware that a conflict of interest exists, we will advise and will obtain your advices as to how you would wish us to proceed. A conflict of interest is something that we do or fail to do that is in our or someone else's interest and which may work to the material detriment of a customer.</div> <bR> <div> Our permitted business activities are advising, arranging (bringing about) deals, making arrangements with a view to transactions, dealing as agent, assisting in the administration and performance of a contract and agreeing to carry on a regulated activity in respect of General Insurance contracts for all customer types.</div> <bR> <div> We offer a wide portfolio of General Insurance products from a range of insurers and undertake to explain all the main features of the products and services that we offer to you as well as the basis on which we have provided information and or advice.</div> <bR> <div> We offer our service usually from a range of insurers but for specific risks this may be a limited number of insurers or even a single insurer.  We will advise you accordingly prior to conclusion of the contract. We will advise you and if applicable, make a personal recommendation after we have assessed your insurance needs. This will include the type of cover you require together with the costs involved. We will keep you informed of the progress of our negotiations and upon receipt of your instructions we will place, amend or renew insurance cover with insurers. We shall assume unless you confirm to the contrary in writing, you have authorised us to agree the terms and conditions of your insurance policy with insurers consistent with your instructions. We will advise you of any inability to place your insurance.</div> <bR> <div> You are not to rely on any insurance policy you have instructed us to place on cover until we have confirmed in writing to you that the insurer has agreed to such insurance cover being in place. Please note that you must comply with the terms and conditions of the insurance policy you purchase including any matters where the insurer makes cover subject to your compliance with conditions or with express or implied warranties. Failure to comply will entitle the insurer to cancel your insurance contract and risk a loss you suffer not being paid in part or in full. </div> <bR> <div> <B>LAW AND JURISDICTION</B></div> <div> This agreement is governed by English Law and is subject to the jurisdiction of the English Courts. No term is enforceable under the Contract (Rights of Third Parties Act) 1999. </div> <bR> <div> <B>DEFINITIONS - Customer types</B></div> <div> We offer a wide range of general insurance products to both Commercial Customers and Consumers.</div> <div> A Consumer means anyone acting outside their trade or profession. A Commercial customer means a customer who is not a Consumer. Reference to `you' or “your” means you (and or your appointed agent whichever is the most appropriate party) and `we' or `us' or “our” means the firm as noted in the heading to this document.</div> <bR> <div> <B>CANCELLATION RIGHTS (“Consumers” only)</B></div> <div> For General Insurance products you have a right to cancel a policy within 14 days of conclusion of the contract or receipt of the policy terms and conditions whichever is the later.</div> <bR> <div> <B>PAYMENTS DUE</B></div> <div> Unless agreed otherwise, all invoices are due for payment when issued</div> <bR> <div> <B>OUR LIABILITY TO YOU</B></div> <div> Unless we have otherwise agreed with you in writing, we shall treat your instructions to us to place or renew your insurance cover as acceptance of the limitation of our liability to you and to any other person with an interest in your insurance cover, as follows:</div> <bR> <div> Except in respect of any claim: -</div> <bR> <div> resulting from our fraudulent act; or</div> <div> resulting from a breach by us of the FSA's rules or Principles of Business; or</div> <div> in relation to any liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence; or</div> <div> in relation to any other liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or limited</div> <bR> <div> our liability to you (whether in contract, tort [including, without limitation, negligence] or otherwise) shall be limited to £1,000,000 in respect of any and all insurance mediation activities undertaken by us on your behalf over any 12-month period.</div> <bR> <div> This Agreement contains all obligations owed by us to you. Our liability shall be strictly limited to direct liability in contract. We expressly exclude any liability for indirect or consequential loss howsoever arising and any and all liability in tort save in relation to liability for our negligent acts causing personal injury or death or other liability expressly reserved by statute.</div> <bR> <div> <B>INSURER SECURITY</B></div> <div> The claims paying ability of even the strongest insurers can be affected by adverse business conditions. We cannot therefore guarantee the solvency of any insurer or underwriter.</div> <bR> <div> <B>DUTY OF DISCLOSURE</B></div> <div> We would draw your attention to your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information to insurers and us prior to and when you purchase an insurance policy, throughout the life of the policy and when you renew that policy. </div> <bR> <div> <B>Failure on your part to immediately disclose information relevant to your insurance or any inaccuracies in the information given could result in your insurance cover being invalid or not fully operative</B>. </div> <bR> <div> All statements and material facts disclosed on proposal forms, statements of fact, claim forms and other documents should be full, true and accurate. Material facts are those that would influence an insurer in deciding whether or not to accept a risk and the terms and conditions that would apply. Where forms are completed or partially completed on your behalf, you should check them for accuracy before signing.</div> <bR> <div> <B>If you are in any doubt as to whether a fact is relevant, you should disclose it and then ask for guidance</B>.           </div> <bR> <div> <I>Please note that this duty of disclosure applies to you and all persons who may benefit from the policy cover.</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>RENEWALS</B></div> <div> Renewals are invited on the basis that there have been no changes in the risk other than those specifically notified to us or your insurers (see Duty of Disclosure and Notification of Changes and Alterations). Consumers also have the right to request a new policy document at renewal.<B> </B></div> <bR> <div> Where renewal of an insurance cover is paid by an Insurer's monthly instalment facility and renewal has been invited, we may, in the absence of instructions from you to the contrary, assume that the risk is to be renewed for a further period on the terms notified to you.</div> <bR> <div> <B>DOCUMENTATION</B></div> <div> <B>It is your responsibility to read all documentation upon receipt and raise any query regarding it otherwise you risk a loss you suffer not being paid in part or in full</B>.</div> <bR> <div> Documentation including your Policy and Certificate if applicable will be issued to you upon receipt from insurers. Our documentation will confirm to you the basis of cover, provide details of the insurers, set out your Demands and Needs, confirm whether the contract has been personally recommended by us and if so, the reasons for making that recommendation.</div> <bR> <div> You must check all documentation issued to you to ensure the details are correct and the insurance cover provided meets your requirements. We will arrange insurance cover according to your instructions but only you can identify if it does not meet your intentions. If you are uncertain as to any meaning or have any concerns in respect of the insurance cover or if errors are discovered in the documentation then you must notify us immediately.</div> <bR> <div> <B>METHODS OF PAYMENT</B></div> <div> We normally accept payments by cheque or by direct payment into our Client Bank Account. It may however be possible to spread payments through insurers' instalments schemes or through an external credit facility we have arranged with specialist premium finance providers. We are responsible for issuing invoices detailing premium fees and taxes. </div> <bR> <div> <B>CHARGES</B></div> <div> Unless stated in our documentation, or separately agreed with you in advance, no fees or service charges are payable in addition to your insurance premiums. We are usually remunerated by commission from your insurer. Commissions are within the normal acceptable range within the industry. We will disclose the amount if asked. In the event of a policy being cancelled mid term, we may retain our fee or commission from any premium rebated by the Insurer to cover the cost of risk placement and administration. We may also receive earnings from certain Insurers due to the performance of our account with them. You may be offered the opportunity to pay a fee partly or wholly in lieu of commission and in that event this will be confirmed in writing to you at the time of incepting or renewing your insurance.</div> <bR> <div> <B>UNDERINSURANCE</B></div> <div> We strongly recommend that all Sums Insured are reviewed regularly. Failure to maintain adequate Sums Insured can result in a reduction to claim settlements. If doubt exists Professional Valuations should be sought.</div> <bR> <div> <B>CONFIDENTIALITY AND SECURITY</B></div> <div> We will ensure that any information obtained from you is treated as Private and Confidential by us. These Terms of Business assume that any information you supply to us on behalf of a third party is done so with their permission. We will not take instructions on your insurance arrangements from anyone else unless we have your prior written permission. We will also not provide information you supply to anyone else unless we have your prior written permission to do so or are required by a regulatory body, by law or are required to do so in the normal course of arranging your insurance or in connection with claims matters or other services we may provide to you. We take appropriate steps to ensure the security of any money, documents, other property or information handled or held on your behalf. It is our policy to retain records for insurance cover effected on your behalf for a minimum of 3 years after expiry and otherwise as required by regulation or law.</div> <bR> <div> <B>All information in any form, with the exception of policy documents and certificates issued on behalf of insurers, supplied by us to you must be treated as strictly private and confidential and not be released directly or indirectly to any other party, without our explicit, written consent.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>DOCUMENTATION</B></div> <div> Our aim is to provide all documentation in a timely manner and in a clear and understandable format. In the event of any uncertainty we would ask you to let us know immediately. Our staff are always happy to clarify the cover provided. We strongly recommend that you should check all policy documentation issued by insurers to ensure that the details are correct and the cover provided meets with your requirements. Any errors should be notified to us immediately. A copy of your policy wording is available on request. We may keep certain documents such as insurance certificates, while we are awaiting full payment of your premiums or fees, or if you ask us to do so. In these circumstances we will ensure that you receive full details of your insurance cover and provide you with any documents, which are required by law.</div> <bR> <div> <B>When your policy documents are issued, we strongly recommend that you read them carefully as the documents are the basis of the insurance contract you have purchased. Your policy documentation will show details of the Conditions, Exclusions and any requirements / Warranties which apply. These must be fully complied with to ensure the cover remains in force.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES TO YOUR COVER</B></div> <div> We will normally deal with a request to increase or amend your insurance cover on the day your instructions are received, or the next working day if a weekend or public holiday. Sometimes changes cannot be processed without obtaining additional information. If additional information is required we will contact you as quickly as possible. We will confirm changes to your policy with you once agreed. We will also advise you of any change in premium; we cannot accept responsibility for failures in the postal, electronic or communications systems.</div> <bR> <div> <B>CLIENT AND INSURER MONEY</B></div> <div> Where we receive premium payment from you or premium refund from your insurer we hold these either on your behalf or on behalf of your insurer(s) as determined by the Terms of Business Agreement we have in place with each insurer. Where possible it is our policy to agree with insurers that when we receive premium payment from you this is held on insurers behalf as their agent. This protects you against the risk of our insolvency as the money is deemed to have been immediately received by the insurer. However, the insurer will not have fulfilled their obligation to pay a claim or premium refund to you until we pay those monies to you. Equally, once we have received a premium payment from you, we shall be unable to refund that premium to you without the insurer's consent.</div> <bR> <div> Client money, that is money held on your behalf, will be held in a Statutory Trust Account in accordance with the FSA Client Money rules. A copy of these rules is available at the FSA website <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >www.fsa.gov.uk</FONT>. Under the terms of a Statutory Trust, general creditors are not able to make claims on Client money. The fact that we hold money on trust gives rise to fiduciary duties, which will be owed to you until your money reaches the insurer or product provider who has permission to hold monies at the insurer's risk. We are not entitled to use Client money held on behalf of one customer for any other purpose than to pay their premium to the insurer. We are also unable to pay your premium to the insurer or take our commission payments before confirmation of its receipt. We cannot pay premium refunds to you before confirmation of their receipt from the insurer. </div> <bR> <div> We may hold both Insurer and Client money in the same bank account but when this happens insurers will have previously agreed that any claim by you on monies that are Client money will come before their claim. Interest earned on Client and Insurer money held by us is retained by us. </div> <bR> <div> The legal and regulatory regime applying to a broker or settlement agent outside the UK may be different from that of the UK and in the event of a business failure of that broker or settlement agent this money may be treated in a different manner from that which would apply if the money were held by a broker in the UK. Please notify us if you do not wish your money to be passed to a person in a particular jurisdiction.</div> <bR> <div> <B>TRANSFER OF CLIENT MONEY TO THIRD PARTIES</B></div> <div> We may transfer Client money to another broker or settlement agent for the purpose of effecting a transaction on your behalf.</div> <bR> <div> <B>TRANSFERRED BUSINESS</B></div> <div> If we take over the servicing of insurance policies which were originally arranged through another insurance broker or intermediary we do not accept liability for any claim arising our of the advice given by that broker or intermediary, nor for any errors omissions or gaps in your current insurance protection. We reserve the right to process any return premiums relative to the pre transfer date on a net of commission basis. We would ask you to contact us without delay should any aspect of a policy which has been transferred to us cause you concern or if you need an immediate review. Otherwise we will endeavour to review all transferred policies as they fall due for renewal.</div> <bR> <div> <B>FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPENSATION SCHEME</B></div> <div> We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) and you may be entitled to compensation from the </div> <bR> <div> FSCS if we cannot meet our obligations. Full details and further information on the scheme are available from the FSCS at <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.fscs.org.uk" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fscs.org.uk"><U><U>www.fscs.org.uk</U></U></A></FONT>. 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. For compulsory classes of insurance, insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, without any upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.</div> <bR> <div> <B>COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE</B></div> <div> We recognise the importance of service and set ourselves high standards. Should there be an occasion when we do not meet your expectations please contact Mark Felman ACII, Director, EFM Leigh House, Broadway West, Leigh on Sea, Essex SS9 2DD telephone number 01702 482284 and provide details of your complaint.</div> <bR> <div> Your Complaint will be acknowledged within 5 working days of receipt. You will also be advised of the name of the person dealing with your complaint and when you can expect to receive a response. We will normally be able to respond in writing within 20 working days but sometimes the time-scale can be longer if the complaint is complicated or information is required from a third party. </div> <bR> <div> We will keep you informed if this is the case. Should we be unable to satisfy your complaint or resolve within 8 weeks of receipt you maybe entitled to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.</div> <bR> <div> <B>SEVERABILITY</B></div> <div> If any provision of these Terms of Business is found to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, the validity of the other provisions of these Terms of Business and the remainder of the provision in question will not be affected.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>