Terms of Business
Updated January 2019
OUR SERVICE
In arranging insurance for our customers, we act as an Independent Insurance Broker. You will not receive advice or a recommendation from us. We may ask you some questions to narrow down the selection of products that we will provide details on. You will then need to make your own choice on how to proceed. We will help you with any ongoing changes you have to make. We can also assist you with making a claim.
DISCLOSURE
It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information to insurers when you take out your insurance policy, throughout the life of your policy, and when you renew your insurance. Failure to disclose information pertaining to your insurance, or any inaccuracies in information given, could result in your insurance policy being invalid or cover not operating fully, and may affect any claim you may make. If you are in any doubt about whether information is material, you should disclose it.
It is important that you ensure all statements you make on proposal forms, claim forms and other documents, are full and accurate. If a form is completed on your behalf, you should check that the answers shown to any questions are true and accurate before signing the document.
You are reminded that it is an offence under the Road Traffic Act to make any false statements or withhold any relevant information to obtain a Certificate of Motor Insurance.
Please note that under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 you are not required to disclose convictions regarded as ‘Spent’.
You are advised to keep copies of any correspondence you send to us or direct to your insurer.
GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION
We act as the Data Controller. We will normally store your information on a computer and how we use and look after your personal information is set out below.
Information may be used by us, insurers and service providers for the purposes of providing you with a quotation, insurance administration, risk assessment and underwriting, claims handling, research and statistical purposes, marketing purposes, and crime prevention.
The lawful basis for the processing is that it is necessary for us to process your personal information in order to provide your insurance policy and services, such as assessing your application and setting you up as a policyholder, to administer and manage your policy of insurance and all related services, handling and communicating with you with regards to any insurance claim you may submit to us under this policy.
The processing of your data may also be necessary to comply with any legal obligation we may have to protect your interest during any claim.
If you do not provide such information, we will be unable to offer you a policy or process your claim.
Please see our privacy statement for further information which can also be accessed at https://mortoninsurance.co.uk/privacy-statement.
You can request to see what personal information we hold on your behalf. A charge may be made for this service. If you wish to exercise this right, or have any other related queries please contact:
Data Protection Officer
Morton Insurance Brokers Ltd
671 Finchley Road
London NW2 2JP
Claims and Underwriting Exchange & Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Registers
Insurance Companies pass information to the Claims and Underwriting Exchange Register (CUE) and the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft register (MIAFTR) run by the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB). The aim is to help us check information provided and also to prevent fraudulent claims.
When we deal with your request for insurance we or your insurer may search these registers. Under the conditions of your insurance, you must tell us about any incident (such as an accident or theft) whether or not it gives rise to a claim. When you tell us about an incident, we or your insurer will pass information relating to it to the registers.
CLAIMS
It is essential that you notify us or your insurer immediately of all incidents which may result in a claim under your insurance policy whether or not you believe you are liable. Any letter of claim, summons, notice of prosecution, inquest or fatal accident received by you must be passed to us immediately.
When we receive notification of an incident that might give rise to a claim under your policy, we will inform your insurer without delay. We will advise you promptly of your insurer’s requirements concerning your claim, including the provision, as soon as possible, of information required to establish the nature and extent of loss.
You should not admit liability or agree to any course of action, other than emergency measures to minimise your loss, until you have agreement from your insurer. We will forward any payments received from your insurer, in respect of any claim, without delay.
We will notify you of any request for information we receive from your insurer.
COMPLAINTS
It is our objective to provide you with a high level of customer service at all times. However, we recognise that things can go wrong occasionally and when this happens we are committed to resolving matters promptly. If you find that you wish to make a complaint, please notify us/your insurer in accordance with the following procedure.
If your complaint concerns our service
In the first instance you should discuss your complaint with the member of staff with whom you have been dealing. If you remain dissatisfied, please contact:-
The Managing Director,
Morton Insurance Brokers Ltd.
671 Finchley Road, London NW2 2JP
Or by email at adrian.morton@mortoninsurance.co.uk
We have a Customer Complaints Handling Procedure and a copy of this document is available on request.
If your complaint concerns the service provided by your insurer
If your complaint is about the service provided by your insurer (this will include complaints about the claims service or the amount offered in settlement of a claim) you should write to:
Customer Service Manager,
XYZ Insurance Company Ltd.
Address,
Postcode
What happens if you do not feel that your complaint has been resolved
If you are dissatisfied with the final response you receive from either ourselves or your insurer and you are an eligible complainant*, you may refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The FOS is an independent organisation whose role is to resolve disputes between consumers and financial firms.
Should you wish to refer your complaint to the FOS you should write to them within 6 months to:
The Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall, London
E14 9SR
Tel No: 0800 023 4567
Fax No: 020 7964 1001
E-Mail: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
* An eligible complainant is a private individual or a business with a turnover of less that £1m.
CANCELLATION RIGHTS (THE MEDIATION CONTRACT)
The Mediation Contract is the agreement between you and us for the insurance mediation services that we provide to you in respect of your insurance requirements.
If you are a retail customer, and you have entered into a Mediation Contract with us, you are entitled to a period of reflection during which you may decide whether to proceed with the purchase of the Mediation Contract. The
duration of this cancellation period is 14 days and commences from either:
* the day of conclusion of the Mediation Contract; or
* the day on which you receive the full terms of the Mediation Contract detailing the full contractual terms, conditions and information of the contract;
whichever is later
Haven Insurance do not provide a 14 day cooling off period on their policies.
No Cancellation rights apply to monthly policies or policies of less than one month in duration.
To cancel this Mediation Contract within the cancellation period, please contact us as soon as possible. If you do cancel this Mediation Contract within the cancellation period, you may be charged a proportion of any of our fees
that you have incurred.
This Mediation Contract can be cancelled at any time by either party in writing by giving 7 days notice. If you wish to give notice of cancellation, please contact us as soon as possible. If we wish to cancel this Mediation Contract
we shall write to you at the last known address we have for you on our records by recorded delivery.
If you decide to cancel the Mediation Contract with us at any time other than during the cancellation period, we will retain in full fees that you have paid. Most insurers apply short period cancellation charges which means you
will not receive a pro-rata refund. Please refer to your policy documentation for full Terms and Conditions.
PREMIUMS AND FINANCIAL ASPECTS
In order to be able to offer you credit facilities, we are registered under the Consumer Credit Act and our Licence Number is Z7142873. We normally accept payment by bank transfer, cash, guaranteed cheque or most major
credit/debit cards.
You may be able to spread your payments through instalment schemes or a credit scheme we have arranged with a third party finance provider. We may receive commission for providing this service. 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, while we are waiting for full payment of premiums. In these circumstances, we will ensure that you receive full details of your
insurance cover and will provide you with any documents that you are required to have by law.
RISK TRANSFER
Premiums that we collect from you are held in an insurance broking bank account specifically used for the purpose of holding client premiums. By virtue of agreements that we hold with insurers, we collect premiums as
agent of the insurer. Therefore, once we have collected premiums from you, under the terms of our agreements with insurers, those premiums are treated as having been paid to the insurer.
We receive commission, and, or fees from the premiums that you pay to us. We shall only withdraw commission or fees after we have received the premium from you, and in accordance with FCA regulations and agreements that we hold with insurers. We will remit the premiums to insurers, after deduction of our commission or fees, in accordance with the terms of our agreements with insurers.
CUSTOMER MONEY PASSED TO ANOTHER INSURANCE INTERMEDIARY
If your insurance has been arranged through another insurance intermediary in accordance with FCA Regulations we have to inform you that in managing and/or arranging your insurance requirements, we may transfer money that you have paid us, in payment of an insurance premium, to another insurance intermediary.
By accepting these Terms of Business, you are giving your consent for us to act in the manner described in this Section.
RETURN PREMIUMS
Return premiums usually arise if an insurance risk is reduced or a policy cancelled.
On a return premium, we repay commission, and, or fees on the amount to your insurer and this will be deducted from the final amount due to you, together with our administration charge.
POLICY TERMS, CONDITIONS AND WARRANTIES
When a policy is issued to you, we strongly advise you to read through all policy terms, conditions and warranties shown on your policy documentation. Please ensure you understand them and are able to follow their requirements exactly. If not, please advise us immediately, as a breach of any terms, conditions or warranties may enable your insurer to terminate your policy from the date of that breach, and/or repudiate a claim under your policy.
DISCLOSURE OF COMMISSION
If you are a commercial customer and would like to know the amount of commission that we are paid in respect of your insurance contract, this information is available on request.
APPLICABLE LAW
This Terms of Business is subject to English Law and does not affect your normal legal rights.