TERMS OF BUSINESS

Please use this information to decide if our services are right for you. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) The FCA is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services.

Who regulates us?

Trade Protect (trading style of Vision Insurance Services Ltd) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our FCA number is 512500. You can check this on the FCA’s website www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

Our Service / Products we Offer

We are an Independent Insurance Intermediary and we will act on your behalf in arranging insurance. Our services include: advising you on your insurance needs; arranging your insurance cover with insurers/policies that meet your requirements and helping you with any ongoing changes you have to make.
We usually offer products from a range of insurers, representing a fair analysis of the market, however, under certain circumstances we may only deal with a limited panel, or single insurer.
We are also a credit broker in that we introduce those wishing to pay by instalments to firms that are able to lend money under a regulated or unregulated credit agreement.
After we have assessed your demands and needs, we will make you aware if we are not making a recommendation, and that you need to make your own choice as to how to proceed.
In respect of Legal Expenses/Motor Breakdown policies you will not receive advice or a recommendation from us and you will need to make your own choice about how to proceed.

Credit Searches

We may share your information with and obtain information about you from credit reference agencies. If you require information about the credit reference agency we have received information from or the credit reference agencies that we have approached please do not hesitate to contact us. Please note that any searches undertaken prior to your proceeding with your application will be soft searches and will not affect your credit rating.
Please contact us if you do NOT consent to a credit search being undertaken, however, this may affect our ability to offer instalment facilities to you and/or may affect the premium.

Information on Costs

In addition to the premiums charged by insurers, we may charge an administrative fee to cover the placing and ongoing handling of your insurance. We normally make the following standard charges to cover the administration of your insurance:
Arranging new policies and renewals - £25.00
Mid-term adjustments - £10.00
Replacement/duplicate certificates or cover notes - £10.00
From time to time depending on the work and risk involved it may be necessary to charge greater fees. The specific amount and purpose of any professional fee and administration charges will always be advised to you in advance.
We earn the entirety of our commission and/or fees when your risk is successfully placed and take our commission and/or fees immediately upon receipt of payment unless agreed otherwise with your insurer.

Disclosure of Earnings

You are entitled, at any time, to request information regarding the earnings that we, or any other intermediary we have used, receive as a result of placing your business.
In addition to commission from insurers, we may also receive payments based on volumes of business or profitability of the account placed with them. Obviously these payments can vary from year to year. Such remuneration is only earned on the basis that it does not detract from our obligation to act in your best interest at all times.

Mid-term adjustments or cancellations

In the event of an adjustment that results in a return of premium or cancellation mid-term we will refund the premium due net of our full commission and any charge made by insurers. Where the premium is being paid by instalments we will claim our full commission along with any charge made by the insurers in the calculation of any outstanding monies.

Cancellations due to premium / instalment defaults

If any payment in respect of a premium and/or credit agreement is not met, you acknowledge and agree that we may instruct on your behalf the relevant insurer to cancel the insurance and to collect any refund of premiums which may be made by the insurer and use it to offset any outstanding costs.

Consumers Cancellation Rights

Persons operating outside their business trade or profession have 14 days to cancel the insurance policy without penalty. The cancellation period begins the later of, the day of the conclusion of the contract or when the contractual terms and conditions are received. Exercising the right to cancel means that you have withdrawn from the contract and that cover is terminated. When exercising the right to cancel, costs may be incurred for the service provided.

Payment Terms

We normally accept payment by cheque, BACS, debit or credit card. We require full payment of the premium by the inception/renewal/adjustment date, unless specifically agreed, otherwise cover will be cancelled.
You may be able to spread your payments through a credit scheme either run by your insurer or by a finance provider and we will advise you further if these options are available.

How we will handle your money

Our Statutory Trust Account has been set up in accordance with strict rules laid down by the Financial Conduct Authority. We sometimes act as agent of the Insurer for the collection of certain premiums and hold your money on a risk transfer basis.
In arranging your insurance we may engage the services of other intermediaries who are regulated by the FCA and your premium may be passed to these intermediaries for payment to insurers. Any interest, or investment returns, earned on your money whilst in our possession will be retained by us.

Insurers

Whilst we take care to check the financial stability of any firm with which we place business, we cannot be held responsible if that firm subsequently ceases to trade.

Your Duty to Provide Information

It is your duty to take reasonable care to answer all questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge. If you do not, your insurance policy may be cancelled or treated as if it never existed or your claim may be rejected or not paid in full. It is important that all statements you make on proposal forms, claim forms and other documents are full and accurate. If a form or statement of fact is completed on your behalf, you should check that the answers, information or statements shown are true and accurate, whether or not the form requires to be signed by you. Failure to provide requested information to your insurers could invalidate your insurance cover and mean that part or all of a claim may not be paid.

Fair Presentation of Risk (Non Consumer Contracts)

It is your statutory duty before entering into a contract of insurance, prior to an alteration and at renewal to make a fair presentation of the risk to be insured and to ensure that information is provided in a clear and accessible format. The information that we have collated will be retained on our files for a period of time, and this information can be requested by you for checking. Where practical, every material circumstance should be disclosed.
You must make reasonable enquiries and pro-actively gather information, however, where this is not practical you must make us aware. Trade Protect can provide you with information regarding the Insurance Act 2015; please contact our office if you would like a copy of this. Any questions/statements put to you in a proposal form, statement of fact or otherwise must be answered honestly, accurately and in good faith.

Claims

As part of our service we can assist you with any claim you need to make. When you first become a customer we will give you details of how you can make a claim and tell you what your responsibilities are in relation to making claims.
If you are ever in any doubt as to what action to take in the event of a claim, please contact us at the address above.
You must advise us as soon as practically possible about any circumstance that could lead to a claim under your policy. Failure to do so could prejudice your policy cover for the claim that you subsequently wish to make.

Treating Customers Fairly (TCF)

It is our intention at all times to treat customers fairly. We have appointed David MacKinnon to oversee TCF within this firm. If at any time you feel that you have not been treated fairly please contact us in order that the matter may be rectified.

Prevention of Bribery

It is our intention to meet the requirements of the Bribery Act 2010. We have appointed David MacKinnon with overall responsibility for the prevention of bribery.
If, at any time, you feel the we have not acted in a way that meets the requirements of the Bribery Act 2010 you should contact us immediately.

Complaints

It is our intention to provide you with a high level of customer service at all times. If you should wish to make a complaint about our service we have a formal complaints procedure. In the first instance you should address your complaint to David MacKinnon, Director. We will supply you with a copy of our complaints procedure upon receipt of a complaint or upon request. If you cannot settle your complaint with us you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Further information about the Financial Ombudsman Service can be found on their website at www.fos.org.uk Alternatively, other out of court complaints and redress procedure may be available.

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. Full details and further information on the compensation scheme is available from the FSCS.

Confidentiality

All personal information about you will be treated as private and confidential. We are registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 and we undertake to comply with the Act in all our dealings with your personal data. Your personal information will be kept secure.
Claims and Underwriting Exchange Register and Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud Register Insurers pass information to the Claims and Underwriting Exchange Register operated by Insurance Database Services Limited and the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register compiled by the Association of British Insurers. The objective is to check information provided and to prevent fraudulent claims. Motor insurance details are also added to the Motor Insurance Database operated by the Motor Insurers’ Information Centre (MIIC), which has been formed to help identify uninsured drivers and may be accessed by the police to help confirm who is insured to drive. In the event of an accident, this database may be used by insurers, MIIC and your motor insurer to identify relevant policy information. Other insurance related databases may also be added in the future.

Motor Insurance Database (MID)

If an Insurer specifies that a client must take responsibility for populating and updating the MID, Trade Protect cannot accept liability if a client fails in their obligations to do so as set down by current legislation.
Compliance with Health and Safety (and similar) requirements Trade Protect cannot be held responsible for your non-compliance with Health and Safety (or similar) requirements. We may recommend the services of an outside Health and Safety consultancy company to assist you with their requirements, however we cannot ultimately take responsibility that you comply with such matters.

Applicable Law

This Terms of Business document is subject to English Law and the jurisdiction of English Courts.


V4/02/2018/TD