KEYFACTS - About our insurance services
Riverside Insurance Brokers Ltd
Riverside House
River Lawn Road
Tonbridge, Kent
TN9 1EP
01732 783505
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. It requires us to provide you with this document
in order that you can use the information to decide if our services are appropriate for your requirements.
Riverside Insurance Brokers Limited are authorised and regulated by the FSA under Firm Reference Number 509843.
We deal with all classes of non-investment insurance classes and thus our permitted business is general insurance mediation.
this information can be checked by visiting the FSA website at www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.
Riverside is 100% owned by working directors.
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For all types of insurance we will assess your needs before offering advice and making our recommendation to you.
We usually offer advice on the basis of a fair analysis of the market (and a list of the insurers considered will be available upon request).
For specific risks this may be a limited number of insurers or even a single insurer. You will be informed if this is applicable.
Our services are normally paid for by the insurer but if a fee is to be charged we will inform you of this in advance.
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In the event of you wishing to make a complaint, please contact our nominated Complaints Officer, Richard Lloyd,
at Riverside House, River Lawn Road, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1EP in writing, by phone or by email to richard.lloyd@riversidebrokers.co.uk.
Should we be unable to satisfy your complaint, you are entitled to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service.
For your further protection, our dealings are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (as set out in our Terms of Business).
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TERMS OF BUSINESS
The purpose of this document is to set out our professional relationship and the services we will provide to you.
For your own benefit and protection you should read the terms carefully; if there are any terms which you do not understand, please ask for further information.
We are an independent insurance intermediary who will act on your behalf in arranging cover to meet your insurance needs and to this end we hereby undertake that we will:
a) act fairly and reasonably in our dealings with you.
b) ensure that all our relevant services satisfy the requirements of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules governing insurance mediation activities.
c) make sure all the information we give you is clear, fair and not misleading
d) avoid conflicts of interest with you
e) give you sufficient information regarding any proposed policy to enable you to make an informed decision before you make a commitment to cover.
f) promptly confirm your insurance arrangements and ensure you receive all relevant documentation.
g) handle claims with due care, skill and diligence.
h) protect any personal information, money and property that we hold or handle for you and, where appropriate, in accordance with legislation such as the Data Protection Act 1998.
i) handle complaints fairly and promptly. We will record and analyse your comments to make sure we continually improve the service we offer.
We will act on your behalf by advising on appropriate cover, recommending a suitable insurer, assisting with the completion of proposal forms and managing any claims that may arise.
We may in some circumstances act on behalf of an insurer, such as in the issue of cover notes or other policy documentation. In most cases we are paid commission by the insurance company but in some circumstances we may charge you a fee instead of commission or a combination of both. You are entitled, at any time, to request information regarding any commission which we may have received as a result of placing your insurance business.
Client money is money that we receive and hold on behalf of our clients over the course of our relationship. In most cases we have an agreement with the insurers where any money received by us will be treated as if it has been received by the insurer, who will thus bear the risk of any losses in the event that our firm becomes insolvent.
In cases where we do not have such an agreement, your money is held in a statutory trust bank account which is governed by rules that seek to protect against any inability of an insurance broker to transfer premiums to an insurer, or to transfer refunds to a client. All premiums collected can only be used in respect of the specific policy for which they were paid.
Any commission due to us may be taken from the client money account before we pass the premium onto the insurer. If we earn interest on any money held in this account, this will be retained by us and not passed on to you unless by specific agreement.
We will remit premiums to insurers in accordance with their agreed terms of trade. In some cases, in order to effect a transaction (buy a policy), premiums may pass to the insurers or their agent via a third party (such as another broker). We may also offer payment by instalment, either direct to the insurers or via a premium finance agreement with Close Bothers Ltd.
For the avoidance of doubt, we would confirm that we have no obligation to fund any premiums on your behalf and have no responsibility for any loss which you may suffer as a result of insurers cancelling the policy or taking any other prejudicial steps as a result of late payment of such sums if such a delay is attributable to you.
In certain circumstances insurers may impose a specific premium terms whereby they require payment of premium by a certain date. We must stress that breach of that term will entitle insurers to void the policy from inception of cover. You agree that the settlement of premiums in good time is your responsibility.
If we do not hear from you to the contrary, we assume you consent to us handling client money in this way.
As part of our service, we will help you should you ever need to make a claim on your policy.
However, in the event that we no longer act as your appointed broker, we may continue to manage any outstanding or unreported claims subject to a claims management fee.
In the event of non-payment of any monies to us, we reserve the right to retain certificates or other policy documents, until all monies under that policy have been paid. You will understand that in the event of non-payment of monies due to us, we reserve the right to refuse to accept any further instructions from you, until such amounts are fully paid.
CANCELLATION RIGHTS
If you are a customer classified as a “consumer” (ie where you are acting for purposes outside your trade or profession) you have the right to cancel your policy within 14 days of receiving your policy documentation. If you decide to cancel your insurance contract within this timeframe (and you have not made a claim on the policy), you will receive a refund of any premium paid, less any reasonable costs incurred by the insurer in providing the cover.
If you cancel your policy mid-term, and this results in a return of premium, we retain the right to retain commission or fee amount, or to levy a service charge, to cover our administration costs. This amount will be specified to you during the transaction process.
We are committed to providing our customers with a high standard of service but things can go wrong in any business. If for any reason we have not met your expectations please let us know by informing any of our directors or write to us at Riverside House, River Lawn Road, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1EP. If you are not happy with our response you may be eligible to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Full details of their service can be found at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk or you can call them on 0845 080 1800.
If we are unable to meet our obligations you may be able to submit a claim to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. For compulsory classes of insurance (such as employers liability), insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim. For full details and further information, please contact the FSCS helpline on 0207 892 7300 or visit their website at www.fscs.org.uk.
It should be noted that whilst we take very care to promote only the strongest institutions, we are unable to guarantee the financial strength of any insurance company.
It is important that you understand that any information, statements or answers made by you to us or your insurer are your responsibility and must be full and correct. Your attention is drawn to the importance of the declaration and signature on any forms from your insurer as any failure to disclose fact or circumstance material to the insurance, or any inaccuracies or inadequacies in your answers, may lead to a claim not being paid by your insurer and the cover could be invalidated.
Except in respect of injury to or death of any person resulting from our negligence (for which no cap or liability will apply), our liability to you for the services we provide shall not exceed £2,000,000 in connection with any one event or connected events.
This agreement may be cancelled by either party giving 30 days notice in writing to the other.
These terms of business shall be governed and construed by English Law. In relation to any legal action or proceedings arising out of, or in conjunction with, these terms of business we both irrevocably submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of England & Wales (unless otherwise agreed).
© Copyright 2010 Riverside Insurance Brokers Ltd