Oakland Insurance Services Ltd, 16 Upper Main Street, Larne
BT40 1SX
Accepting our Terms of Business
By asking us to quote for, arrange or handle your
insurances, you are providing your informed agreement to these
Terms of Business. We draw your particular attention to:
- The section headed ‘Use of personal data’ and specifically the paragraph
explaining how ‘sensitive personal data’ will be used; and
- The section headed ‘Handling money’, which explains our terms for
handling client money
For your own benefit and protection, you should read these terms
carefully. If you are unsure about any aspect of our Terms of
Business or have any questions regarding our relationship with
you, please contact us at the above address.
The Financial Services Authority
Oakland Insurance is a trading style of Oakland Insurance
Services Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial
Services Authority (FSA). Our FSA Register number is 310691
Our permitted business is introducing, advising, arranging,
dealing as agent and assisting in the administration and
performance of general insurance contracts.
You may check this on the FSA’s register by visiting the FSA
website,
www.fsa.gov.uk/register/ or by contacting the FSA on 0845
606 1234.
Our service
Typically, our role is to advise you and, after we have
assessed your needs, to make a suitable recommendation. In some
circumstances we do not provide advice and we will therefore
confirm in separate documentation whether or not any advice or
recommendation has been made before finalising your insurances.
We will not in any circumstance guarantee the solvency of any
insurer.
In providing our service, we may sometimes act as an agent of
the insurer. We will confirm the capacity in which we will act
for you before undertaking any relevant transactions on your
behalf.
We select personal and commercial insurances from a range of
insurers, but for certain products, we only select products from
a limited number of insurers or only offer products from a
single insurer. We will give you further information about this
before we finalise your insurance arrangements; where we select
products from a limited number of insurers you may ask us for a
list of the insurers we deal with for these products.
Complaints and compensation
We aim to provide you with a high level of customer service
at all times but, if you are not satisfied, please contact:
in writing... Mr R P Matthews, Managing Director, Oakland
Insurance Services Ltd, 16 Upper Main Street, Larne, Co Antrim,
BT40 1SX
by phone... on 028 2827 9621
by email….
rpmatthews@oaklandinsurance.co.uk
When dealing with your complaint, we will follow our complaint
handling procedures; a summary of these procedures is available
on request. If you are still not satisfied, you may be entitled
to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
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. If you are eligible to claim
from the FSCS, compensation is available as follows:
- Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim,
without any upper limit
- For compulsory classes of insurance (such as Third Party Motor or
Employers Liability), 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 on 020 7892 7300 or
www.fscs.org.uk.
Payment for our services
We normally receive commission from insurers or product
providers. On request, we will be pleased to provide information
to consumer customers about any commission received by us in the
handling of your insurances.
We also charge you for handling your insurances as follows:
Mid Term Adjustments £20
Cancellation charges 10% of refund premium or £25, whichever is
the greater*
New Business £20
Renewal £20
Lost Motor Certificates £20
Premium Instalments costs will be provided prior to setting up
any agreement.
*Our cancellation charges will not apply to consumers cancelling
within the 14 day cooling off period.
You will receive a quotation which will tell you the total price
to be paid, and which identifies any fees, taxes and charges
separately from the premium, before your insurance arrangements
are concluded.
In good time before the conclusion of each commercial
insurance contract, or upon renewal, we will remind our
commercial customers of their right to be informed of the level
of commission which we receive from underwriters. Commercial
customers are entitled, at any time, to request information
regarding any commission which we may have received as a result
of placing commercial insurance business.
We also draw your attention to the sections headed ‘Cancellation
of insurances’ and ‘Ending your relationship with us’.
Full payment of premium and fees is due before cover commences,
or as otherwise stated under terms of credit, or in the debit
note, invoice or statement issued to you.
Handling money
Our financial arrangements with most insurance companies are
on a ‘Risk Transfer’ basis. This means that we act as agents of
the insurer in collecting premiums and handling refunds due to
clients. In these circumstances such monies are deemed to be
held by the insurer(s) with which your insurance is arranged.
However, if Risk Transfer does not apply, such monies will be
held by us in a Statutory Trust account set up in accordance
with FSA rules. Interest earned on monies held in such a
Statutory Trust account will be retained by us.
Cancellation of insurances
You should make any request for the cancellation of a policy
in writing and any relevant certificate of insurance must be
returned to us or to the insurer concerned. We will not be able
to process any request for cancellation until that written
request is received and we have received the relevant
certificate.
In the event of cancellation, charges for our services will
apply in accordance with the ‘Payment for our services’ section
above.
The terms of your policy may allow insurers to retain the
premium in full or to charge short-period premiums in the event
of cancellation before the policy expires. Details of such
charges are contained within the policy booklet.
Ending your relationship with us
Subject to your immediate settlement of any outstanding
premiums and fees, you may instruct us to stop acting for you
and we will not impose a penalty.
Your instructions must be given in writing and will take effect
from the date of receipt.
In circumstances where we feel we cannot continue providing
services to you, we will give you a minimum of 7 days notice.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, if our relationship ends,
any transactions previously initiated will be completed
according to these Terms of Business. You will be liable to pay
for any transactions concluded prior to the end of our
relationship and we will be entitled to retain commission
received for conducting these transactions, together with all
fees charged by us for services provided.
Your responsibilities
You are responsible for providing the complete and accurate
information which insurers require in connection with any
proposal for insurance cover. This is particularly important
before taking out a policy and at renewal, but it also applies
throughout the life of a policy. If you fail to disclose
information, or misrepresent any fact which may influence the
insurer’s decision to accept the risk or the terms offered, this
could invalidate the policy and mean that claims may not be
paid. You must check all details on any proposal form or
Statement of Facts and pay particular attention to any
declaration you may be asked to sign.
It is important that you read all insurance documents issued to
you and ensure that you are aware of the cover, limits and other
terms that apply. Particular attention must be paid to any
warranties and conditions as failure to comply with them could
invalidate your policy.
You must inform us immediately of any changes in circumstances
which may affect the services provided by us or the cover
provided by your policy.
If you are unsure about any matter, please contact us for
guidance.
Use of personal data
We will process any personal information we obtain in the
course of providing our services to you in accordance with the
Data Protection Act 1998. In administering your insurances it
will be necessary for us to pass such information to insurers
and other product or service providers which may also provide us
with business and compliance support.
We may also disclose details to relevant parties, as necessary,
to comply with regulatory or legal requirements. We may contact
you or pass your details to other companies associated with us
in order to promote products or services which may be of
interest to you. We will not otherwise use or disclose the
personal information we hold without your consent.
Some of the details you may be asked to give us, such as
information about offences or medical conditions, are defined by
the Act as sensitive personal data. By giving us such
information, you signify your consent to its being processed by
us in arranging and administering your insurances.
Subject to certain exceptions, you will be entitled to have
access to your personal and sensitive personal data. If at any
time you wish us, or any company associated with us, to cease
processing any of the personal data or sensitive personal data
we hold, or to cease contacting you about products and services,
please write to Joanne Lees, Branch Manager, Oakland Insurance,
16 Upper Main Street, Larne, Co Antrim, BT40 1SX.
Conflict of interests
Occasions can arise where we, or one of our associated
companies, clients or product providers, may have a potential
conflict of interest with business being transacted for you. If
this happens, and we become aware that a potential conflict
exists, we will write to you and obtain your consent before we
carry out your instructions and we will detail the steps we will
take to ensure fair treatment.
Claims handling arrangementsYou should take note of the
required procedures in the event of a claim, which will be
explained in the policy documentation. Generally, insurers
require immediate notification of a claim or circumstances which
might lead to a claim. We will employ due care and skill if we
act on your behalf in respect of a claim. |
