Terms of Business

Square Circle Brokers Limited

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

The FCA is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. We recommend that you carefully read these Terms as they describe some important rights and safeguards you have under the FCA’s regulatory regime and are also the terms that will apply to our appointment by you.

Who are we regulated by?

Square Circle Brokers Ltd are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and you can check this at www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 1116768, our FCA number is 517304.

Our Service

We are an Insurance Intermediary and as such we act as the agent of our client. However, in certain circumstances we may act for and owe duties of care to other parties. We will advise you when these circumstances occur so you will be aware of any possible conflict of interest.

We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your insurance needs. If we are unable to make a recommendation or offer advice or where your requirements cannot be fully met we will provide you with enough information to enable you to make an informed purchasing decision.

We will assist you in effecting any changes that you need to make your insurance policy, with the renewal of your insurance policy and with any claim you need to make.

Whose products we offer

In the majority of cases we will carry out a “fair analysis” of the market in order to identify a suitable product. This means that we will compare products from a sufficiently large range of insurance providers in terms of cover, price, quality of service and other relevant features in order to select appropriate policies for you. If this is not the case we will advise you of the breadth of our marketing prior to inception of the policy.

Information on Costs

We receive commission from insurers which is a percentage of the premium paid by you and allowed by Insurers. In addition to the premiums charged by insurers, we may charge a professional fee to cover the placing and on-going handling of your insurance. We may make the following standard charges to cover the administration of your insurance:

·         Arranging new policies up to £50.00

·         Mid-term adjustments up to £50.00

·         Renewals up to £50.00

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. Please note that these Fees may be in addition to Fees levied by your Insurance Provider.

Fees in Lieu of Commission

This paragraph applies where we have, as an alternative to commission, agreed to charge Fees in Lieu (“FIL”). Where we have agreed to charge a FIL the services which we shall perform shall be set out in a Report and the fee identified separately on the invoice. Any commission which we receive which is directly connected with the insurances placed by us on your behalf will be retained by us and off set against the FIL and any other amounts from time to time due and payable by you under this Agreement. Unless otherwise agreed by us the FIL will cover the period set out in the Report. The FIL is calculated by reference to the full term of insurance policy or policies arranged for you. Unless we agree otherwise no refund of any FIL or other remuneration shall be payable in the event that (for whatever reason) the actual period of insurance is less than the full term or you terminate this Agreement before the expiry of any policy arranged by us on your behalf. In the event that we are obliged to refund any commission which has been retained by us and off set against the FIL then we reserve the right to charge you for the amount of commission refunded.

Disclosure of Earnings

You are entitled at any time, to request information about our 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. 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 our client’s best interest at all times.

Payment Terms

We normally accept payment by cheque or BACS. We require full payment of the premium as specified in our debit note. Failure to meet the payment date may lead to insurers cancelling your policy and reject any claims thereunder.

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 are the Agent of Insurers for the collection of certain premiums and hold your money on a risk transfer basis. In arranging your insurance we may employ the services of other intermediaries who are Authorised and 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.

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/or Fee and any charge made by insurers. Where the premium is being paid by instalments we will claim our full commission and/or Fee along with any charge made by the insurers in the calculation of any outstanding monies.

Cancellations due to premium instalment default

If any credit agreement payment 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.

Insurer Solvency

Whilst we take every 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.

Treating Customers Fairly

We set high standards for ourselves and it is our intention to treat customers fairly at all times.  We have appointed Jane Brown to oversee TCF within this firm.  If it any time you feel that you have not been treated fairly please contact us in order that the matter may be addressed.

Prevention of Bribery

It is our intention to meet the requirements of the Bribery Act 2010. We have appointed Jane Brown with overall responsibility for the prevention of bribery within Square Circle Brokers. If, at any time, you feel that we have not acted in a way that meets the requirements of the Bribery Act 2010 you should contact us immediately. A copy of our statement on the prevention of bribery is available upon request.

Your legal duty to disclose information:

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 it.  It is important that all statements you make on proposal forms, claim forms and other documents are full and accurate. It is very important that you check carefully any form that we may help you complete or information we pass on for accuracy, as you could be held responsible for any errors. Failure to disclose any material information to your insurers could invalidate your insurance cover and mean that part or all of a claim may not be paid. Please note that any renewal of insurance will be made in reliance upon the information provided by you in connection with your previous insurance policy – we will assume that such information remains correct unless you tell us otherwise.

Disclosure of Material Facts (Commercial Customers):

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 any material information to your insurers could invalidate your insurance cover and mean that part or all of a claim may not be paid. If you are in doubt as to whether information is material, you should disclose it.

Claims/Notifications of Incidents

If you wish to report a claim or potential claim, please call the number shown on the headed paper (or business card) that accompanies this document. Your insurance documents will also provide details on how to make a claim and whom to contact.

It is essential that you notify us immediately of all incidents or allegations that may result in a claim against your insurance policy. You must do so whether you believe you are liable or not. Failure to do so may result in your insurer refusing to accept a claim. Any communication,

making allegations which could give rise to a claim which is received by you from any third party must be passed to us immediately, without acknowledgment. Only by providing prompt notification of incidents can your insurance company take steps to protect your interests.

Complaints

We aim to provide a high standard of service to you at all times. However, sometimes things can go wrong and if this occurs we are committed to resolving matters promptly and fairly. You can complain to us using any of the following methods:

·         In writing (including email), to Phillip Bailey at the address shown on the letter (or business card) that accompanies this document, and/or;

·         By telephone, using the numbers shown on the letter document (or business card) that accompanies this document, and/or;

·         In person, at the address shown on the letter (or business card) that accompanies this document.

In all cases please quote your policy number or other reference we have given you. If you cannot settle your complaint with us you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Alternatively, other out of court complaint and redress procedures may be available. A summary of our complaints handling procedure for customers is available on request. Please note that you must give us the opportunity to resolve your complaint before it may be taken to the Financial Ombudsman. 

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 about the compensation scheme is available from the FSCS at www.fscs.org.uk.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

All personal information about you will be treated as private and confidential. We will only use and disclose information we have about you in the normal course of arranging and administering your insurance. We may pass information about you to premium finance companies and credit reference agencies for the purpose of arranging payments via instalments and may also pass to them details of your payment record with us. We will not disclose any information to any other parties without your consent, unless required to do so by the FCA, it is in the public interest, or we have to by law. We may, however, use the information we hold to provide you with information about other products and services which we feel may be appropriate to you. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you have a right to see personal information about you that we hold in our records. If you have any queries in this regard please write to us.

If you do not wish to receive marketing information from us please let us know.

Claims and Underwriting Exchange Register and Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud Register

Insurers pass information to the Claims and Underwriting exchange register operated by Database Services Limited and the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud 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.

Governing Law