Terms of Business
This document details our service and our arrangements for dealing with your insurance. Please read it carefully and retain a copy for your records. The English language will be used for all communications, the contractual terms and conditions, and any information we are required to supply to you, before and during the duration of the contract and this agreement shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales and the parties agree herewith that any dispute arising out of it shall be subject to the (non) exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
The Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. Dental Insurance Agency is a trading name of Medical Insurance Consultants Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our FCA Register number is 309026. You can check our status at www.fca.org.uk/register
or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768. Our permitted business includes advising, arranging, dealing in and assisting with the placing & administration of General Insurance and Pure Protection policies.
Confidentiality and Data Protection
We take protecting our customers data very seriously and abide by the rules of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) you have the right to see personal information about you that we hold in our records. Please refer to our Privacy Notice for information on how we hold and process your data.
Our Service
In arranging insurance we act as an Independent Intermediary on behalf of our customers and will carry out a fair and personal analysis of the market on your behalf. Our service and permitted business includes advising you on your insurance needs and making a personal recommendation, arranging your insurance cover with Insurers to meet your requirements and helping you with any ongoing changes you have to make. We can also assist you with making a claim. We will give you full details of any such arrangements before you make any commitment on any product we recommend.
Whose products we offer
We usually offer advice 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 may use providers who will conduct a credit check, which will be recorded on your credit record. Please contact us if you do NOT consent to a credit check being undertaken, however this may affect our ability to offer instalment facilities to you. In relation to the provision of credit, we offer only the facilities provided by Insurers, or those of Premium Credit from whom we may receive a commission.
The service we will provide you with
We will advise and make a personal recommendation for you after we have assessed your demands and needs. Our advice will be confirmed in a demands & needs and suitability statement, giving reasons for our recommendation.
Fair Presentation of Risk
The Individual, Partner, Principal or Director of the Firm/Company, must make a fair presentation of the risk to us – in accordance with Section 3 of the Insurance Act 2015. Such fair representation must be reasonably clear and accessible, each representation of fact substantially correct, and every material representation of expectation or belief, made in good faith. In this regard, fair presentation covers ‘every material circumstance which the Individual, Partner, Principal or Director of the Firm/Company knows (or ought to know) generally, including any of the Senior Management. For the sake of completeness, this also includes any information held within the Firm / Company’s organisation. If any subsidiaries, affiliates or other parties are to be insured under an application, we expect that the relevant information has been sourced and provided.
For the purposes of this Fair Presentation the Senior Management means, in accordance with the Insurance
Act 2015: those individuals that play significant roles in the making of decisions about how the Insured’s activities / services / clients are to be managed. Under Section 4 of the Insurance Act 2015 an Insured must disclose all material circumstances known to its ‘Senior Management’ and those persons responsible for the Insured’s insurances.
Means of Providing Information
All information we provide will be made clear and accessible to you. You will also be given the choice to receive the information in paper format, free of charge. If you would like a paper copy at anytime then please let us know. At renewal we will rely on your existing choice.
Quotations
All quotations are subject to change in respect of the amount of premium indicated and/or the Terms and Conditions that are applied.
Information on how we treat Payments You make to Us
Under the terms of our agreements with the Insurance companies with whom we place business, we receive premiums you pay to us as Agent of the Insurer. All insurance premiums you pay to us are protected in an Insurer Trust Client Account until we pay insurers. If we arrange your policy through an external broker we may not act as Agent of the Insurer and payment will be due directly to the Insurer or their Agent. We do not pay any interest on premiums held by us in the course of arranging and administering your insurance.
Reporting Claims
All incidents which could lead to a claim must be reported as soon as practicable. Your insurer’s claims contact number is shown in your policy. You should also notify us as soon as possible of any circumstances which may give rise to a claim by contacting this office and providing your policy number, you will be informed of the procedures to follow to register your claim.
What you will pay for our services
Insurers pay us a percentage of the annual premium as a commission. If you would like to know the amount of commission we receive in respect of your insurance contract, this information is available on request. We shall only withdraw commission after we have received the premium from you, and in accordance with FCA regulations and agreements that we hold with Insurers.
We normally make the following charges to cover the administration of your insurance:
Arranging new policies/renewals up to 10% of the NET premium
Mid-term adjustments, duplicate certificate or cover note £0
Any policy refunds are refunded NET of commission.
Payment by Credit Card or Debit Card £0
Personal lines/Retail policies cancelled during the ‘Right to Cancel’ period will not normally be subject to an administration charge in addition to the premium charged by the insurer for the period of cover provided.
Occasionally we may arrange a policy on which we earn no commission and in these cases we will advise you of the arrangement fee before you take the policy out. We may also make additional charges specific to the arrangement and servicing of certain policies, but these will always be advised to you in advance and are shown on the relevant documentation.
What to do if you have a complaint
Our aim is to provide a first class service, however, if you wish to register a complaint, please contact us by writing to Managing Director, Medical Insurance Consultants Limited, Park House, 45 The Park, Yeovil, Somerset, BA20 1DF
If you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, for an independent assessment and opinion.www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Are we covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (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 an upper limit. For compulsory insurances (for example, motor insurance and employers’ liability insurance), insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, without an upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.
Where the claim is in respect of a relevant omission on a Professional Indemnity Policy, then 100% of the claim is covered. A relevant omission is where the firm has not passed the premium on to the Insurer or passed claim payments onto the policyholder or otherwise not taken steps and caused a contract not to be effected by the Insurer.
Where the firm has not taken steps and caused a contract not to be effected by an Insurer on a Pure Protection Policy or General Insurance claim arising from the death or incapacity of the policyholder owing to injury, sickness or infirmity, then 100% of the claim is covered.
Security
We do not guarantee the solvency of any Insurer we place business with. A liability for the premium, whether in full or pro rata, may arise under policies where a participating insurer becomes insolvent. In the event that an insurer becomes insolvent or delays making a claims settlement we do not accept liability for any unpaid amounts.
Payment Options
In order to be able to offer you credit facilities, we hold the necessary credit broking permission under the FCA. We accept payment by guaranteed cheque, bank transfer or the following credit/debit cards – Visa, Mastercard, Maestro. You may however be able to spread your payments through an Insurer's instalment scheme or take out a credit arrangement through a third party finance provider. If you choose to spread your payments through one of these methods we may receive additional earnings for the setting up and administering of such arrangements. We will give you full information about your payment options when we discuss your insurance in detail.
We may keep certain documents, such as your insurance policy documents or certificate, whilst we are waiting for full payment of premiums. In this circumstance, we will ensure you receive full details of the insurance cover and provide you with any documents that you are required to have by law.
Please Note: Your policy cover will cease if you fail to keep up payments on an instalment agreement or premium finance facility related to it and your credit rating may be affected. We have no responsibility for any loss that you may suffer as a result if insurers cancelling your policy or taking any other prejudicial steps as a result of late payment of such sums if such delay is attributable to you.
Policy Terms
It is important that you read through the Policy Schedule/Booklet to ensure you understand what you are covered for including any limitations or exclusions that may apply.
Important Information for Consumers Only
Your Right to Cancel
You have a legal right to cancel your policy or credit agreement for any reason, subject to no claims having occurred, within 14 days of receiving the full terms & conditions (30 days for Pure Protection policies). You will always be advised where this Right applies. For insurance policies, a charge will apply for the period of cover provided and, in addition, we make an administration charge as detailed above. If you cancel a credit agreement you will need to repay any sums provided in full and make alternative arrangements to pay your premium. If you cancel after the 14 days, short-period cancellation rates apply. If you wish to cancel a policy you must advise us in writing, prior to expiry of the cancellation period, to our usual office address.
Disclosure requirements
It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information to us and Insurers when you take out an insurance policy, throughout the life of the policy and when you renew, vary or amend your insurance. Failure to do so, or any inaccuracies in information given, could result in your insurance being invalid or cover not operating fully. If a form is completed on your behalf, you should check that the answers shown to all questions are true and accurate before signing the document. You are advised to keep copies of any correspondence you send to us or direct to your Insurer.
Consumer Disclosure - Consumers are customers who are 'not' acting for the purposes relating to a trade, business or profession. It is important that you ensure all statements you make on Proposal Forms, Claim Forms and other documents are true, full and accurate.
Commercial Disclosure - Commercial customers are customers who are acting for the purposes relating to their trade, business or profession. You have a duty to disclose all material facts that is known or ought to be known by the policyholders senior management, or those responsible for arranging the insurance. This allows us to provide the Insurer with a fair presentation of all material circumstances so that they can determine whether to take the risk and, if so, on what terms.
Please note that if you fail to disclose any information or change in circumstances to your insurers which could influence the cost, or their decision to accept your insurance, could mean that your policy could be invalidated or cancelled without refund, or that part or all of a claim may be not be paid.
Need a quote?
Please click the 'Request Quote' button or alternatively contact us using the details below:
Dental Insurance Agency
Park House
45 The Park
Yeovil
Somerset
BA20 1DF
T: 0345 034 1432
E: [email protected]