Introduction

These Terms of Business set out the basis on which we, Covridge Insurance, provide insurance broking and related services to you.

These terms supersede all prior proposals, discussions, or representations (oral or written) regarding our appointment as your agent for arranging and administering your insurance.

This Agreement applies to all business we conduct on your behalf unless we agree otherwise in writing.

We recommend that you read these terms carefully and we would like to draw your attention to the following sections: Your Duty of Disclosure, Sum(s) Insured, How We Handle Your Money, Limit of Liability.

Please read this document carefully and retain it for future reference. If there is anything you do not understand, or if you require this information in an alternative format, please contact us.

By instructing us to arrange or administer insurance, you agree to these Terms. Your acceptance of these Terms of Business does not affect any statutory or legal rights you may have as a consumer or client.

About us

Covridge Insurance is the trading name of Covridge (UK) Ltd, Registered in England and Wales No. 16961673. Registered Office: 13 Dennard Way, Farnborough, Orpington, Kent, BR6 7HS. Covridge (UK) Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of ACIS Ventures (UK) Ltd

We can be contacted via the following methods: Email: hello@covridge.com Tel: 07949 475126 (Mon to Fri – 09:00 to 17:00) Web: www.covridge.com

Who regulates us?

Covridge Insurance is the trading name of Covridge (UK) Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our FCA reference number is 1052890. You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the website: register.fca.org.uk or by contacting the Financial Conduct Authority Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768.

We are permitted to arrange; advise on; deal as an agent of insurers and clients; assist in claims handling in respect of non-investment insurance policies. We are also registered credit brokers limited to introducing premium finance agreements related to insurance.

Scope of our Services

We operate as an insurance broker and will act on your behalf in arranging your insurance requirements. We offer products from a wide range of insurance providers and sometimes use other distributors (such as managing general agents) to access products. Where practicable, we will present your risk to a reasonable number of insurance companies. This process is known as a ‘fair and personal analysis of the market’, this means we will usually consider a reasonable range of insurers suitable for your risk.

We may only approach a specific panel of insurers, or sometimes a single insurer. We will make this clear in our quotation.

The processes we have in place ensure that the characteristics of these products take account of our target customers’ demands and needs, including sourcing products from one or more of the product providers we deal with.

We may recommend additional insurance coverages as part of our services but will not guarantee that these are exhaustive. It is your responsibility to inform us of any specific coverage requirements or risks that you consider important so we can ensure your insurance adequately meets your needs.

We will give you details of these arrangements before you make any commitment on any product. This will include sufficient information such as the main features of the product’s cover, any unusual restrictions or exclusions, any significant conditions or obligations and the period of cover to enable you to make an informed decision about the policy, together with a quotation which will itemise any fees that are payable in addition to the premium. This documentation will also include a statement of your demands and needs which you should read carefully. We will make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your demands and needs or advise you if we are unable to place your insurance. In some circumstances we provide information only and do not therefore make a personal recommendation. The documentation we provide will make it clear whether the sale is provided on an advised or non-advised basis. We will also make clear in our documentation prior to conclusion of the contract areas where we are acting as agent for the customer, the insurer or both.

We will act in good faith, seek to avoid causing foreseeable harm, and support you in making informed decisions, in accordance with our obligations under the FCA’s Consumer Duty.

Receipt of Instructions

We will use reasonable efforts to act on your instructions; however, we are not liable for any loss or consequences arising from instructions that are missed, delayed, or not received outside our normal office hours (Mon–Fri, 09:00–17:00, excluding bank holidays). Any instructions outside of these hours will be actioned the next working day. We do not accept responsibility for instructions that fail to reach us due to postal, electronic, or telecommunications system errors.

We normally deal with requests to arrange or amend cover on the day instructions are received, or the next working day if a weekend or public holiday, however, some instructions cannot be processed immediately or without obtaining additional information. Arranging cover or changes to your policy will only take place when they have been agreed and we have confirmed them to you in writing. We will also advise you of any extra premiums you must pay or premiums we must return to you.

We may accept instructions from you by email or other electronic means, and you agree that we may rely on such instructions and communicate with you electronically unless you tell us otherwise. We recommend that you request a confirmation of receipt for all electronic instructions.

Your Duty of Disclosure

Consumer Clients (An individual acting for purposes outside their trade, business or profession, who purchases insurance for personal, domestic or household needs): Under the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representation) Act 2012, it is your duty as a consumer to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to an insurer. A failure by you to comply with the insurer’s request to confirm or amend particulars previously given is capable of being a misrepresentation for the purpose of this Act. It is important that you ensure all statements you make on proposal forms, claim forms and other documents are full and accurate and we recommend that you keep a copy of all correspondence in relation to the arrangement of your insurance. Under the Act, an insurer has a remedy against a consumer in respect of qualifying misrepresentations in breach of the consumers’ duty of reasonable care where the insurer deems the misrepresentation to be either deliberate, reckless, or careless.

If in doubt about any point in relation to your duty to take reasonable care and subsequent qualifying misrepresentations, please contact us immediately.

Non-Consumer Clients (A client acting in the course of their trade, business or profession, including companies, partnerships, trusts, or individuals purchasing insurance for commercial or professional purposes): It is your responsibility to provide a fair presentation of the insurance risk based on you conducting a reasonable search for information. This could require you to obtain information from senior managers within your organisation or other parties to which the insurance relates or who carry out outsource functions for your business. You must disclose every material circumstance which you know or ought to know, or failing that, disclose sufficient information to put your insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries. You must ensure that any information you provide is correct to the best of your knowledge and representations that you make in expectation or belief must be made in good faith. If you fail to make a fair presentation of the risk this may result in additional terms or warranties being applied from inception of the policy or any claim payment being proportionately reduced. In some cases, this could result in your policy being declared void by an insurer and your premiums returned. Any deliberate or reckless breach of the duty of fair presentation could result in your policy being declared void by an insurer with no refund of premium.

If in doubt about any point in relation to material circumstances and reasonable search, please contact us immediately.

All Clients: If any of the information provided by you is not complete and accurate:

• your insurer may cancel your policy and treat it as if it never existed; or

• your insurer may refuse to pay any claim, or

• your insurer may not pay any claim in full, or

• your insurer may revise the premium and/or change the compulsory excess, or

• the extent of the cover may be affected.

Sums Insured

You are responsible for providing complete and accurate information in relation to all matters material to the insurance, including the value of any property, assets, turnover, or other figures used to determine the sums insured.

It is your responsibility to review that all sums insured shown on quotations, statement of facts, schedules and policy documentation are accurate and adequate before cover incepts and at each renewal. Where we advise that a sum insured may be inadequate and you instruct us to proceed without amendment, we shall not be liable for any resulting underinsurance or uninsured loss, provided such instruction is confirmed by you.

We shall not be liable for any loss arising from underinsurance, the application of average or the inadequacy of any sums insured, reinstatement values, or policy limits based solely on information you provide or confirm to us.

Please note that providing incorrect or incomplete sums insured may result in underinsurance, which can lead to reduced or refused claim payments.

Renewals

You will be provided with renewal terms in good time before expiry of the policy, or notified that renewal is not being invited. Unless you inform us of changes to your risk or cover requirements, renewals are invited on the basis that there have been no changes in the risk or cover required, other than those specifically notified to us or your insurers (see “Your Duty of Disclosure” section).

It is very important that you check the information provided at renewal to confirm it remains accurate and complete. If any of the information is incorrect or if your circumstances have changed, you should contact us immediately so we can update your details.

Documentation

We will issue policy documentation to you in a clear and timely manner and as soon as reasonably possible. Electronic documentation is equivalent to paper where applicable. In the event of any uncertainty please let us know immediately, and we will be happy to clarify the cover provided. You should read all policy documentation carefully to ensure that the details are correct, and that the cover provided meets with your requirements.

Any errors should be notified to us immediately. All policies contain conditions and exclusions, and some contain warranties and excesses. It is your responsibility to examine the document to familiarise yourself with these. If you fail to comply with all terms, it may result in your policy being cancelled or claims not being paid. If you are in doubt over any of the policy terms and conditions, please seek our advice promptly.

Mid-Term Transferred Business

When we are appointed to service insurance policies other than at their inception or renewal and which were originally arranged via another party, we are not liable for errors or omissions in policies originally arranged by another broker before our appointment. Should you have any concerns in respect of a policy, which has been transferred to us, or if you require an immediate review of your insurance arrangements, you must notify us immediately. Otherwise, we shall review your insurance arrangements and advise accordingly as each policy falls due for renewal.

Terms of Payment

Once your contract of insurance has been concluded, we will send you an invoice (also referred to as a debit note). We normally accept payment by cheque, debit or credit card or via the BACS system. We require full payment of the premium prior to cover being placed. You may be able to spread your payments by instalments as explained below.

You must pay the premium due in accordance with the amounts and payment dates specified in the invoice. Failure to meet the payment date may lead insurers to cancel your policy. No payment shall be deemed to have been received until we have received cleared funds. Where insurers have specified that the premium must be received by a certain date, failure to comply can result in automatic termination of your insurance contract.

Whilst we will always endeavour to maintain policy cover for customers, we cannot guarantee cover where payment of the account outside of the payment terms has occurred. Any extension to the account payment period needs to be agreed with us and confirmed in writing by us to you.

Arrangement of Premium Finance

We are also a credit broker in that we introduce those wishing to pay by instalments to firms that are able to lend money under a regulated credit agreement by way of business. Please note that our credit broking is limited to broking credit agreements for the purchase of insurance only.

If you choose to enter into a finance arrangement, your details will be passed to a third party lender to enable them to contact you and you should contact us immediately if you do not want your details passed to that party. A finance arrangement will be subject to interest charges and an arrangement fee that we will confirm to you when providing the full details. Importantly, the arrangement you will enter into will be with the finance company not us. It is an entirely separate contract irrespective of the insurance contract. In the event of your failure to meet the contractual obligations regarding payment the finance provider could approach the insurer to seek a termination of the insurance contract to recoup their outstanding finance arrears. You will be liable to pay their costs and charges if you do not keep up your repayments and cover is cancelled under your policy. This is because the agreement is between you, the policyholder and the finance company direct, not us.

It is important that you read the finance agreement that is sent to you before you agree to enter into such an agreement. If you are a consumer as defined under the Consumer Credit Act, you will have the benefit of a 14-day cooling off period.

For the purposes of arranging premium finance, Covridge (UK) Ltd acts as credit broker and in arranging premium finance, we are acting on behalf of, and owe a duty to the premium finance provider. This does not affect our duty to treat you fairly or provide information in your best interests. We do not charge any fees to you for introducing you to a credit provider.

Please note that your policy cover will cease if you fail to keep up payments on an instalment agreement or premium finance facility related to it.

Our Remuneration

We will receive our remuneration via a commission payment, which is a percentage of the total premium paid by you and given to us by the insurer with whom we place your insurance policy, which we will disclose to you upon request.

Any applicable insurance premium tax will be shown on the documentation we provide to you.

We may also earn income from arranging premium finance. Where you choose to pay your premium by instalments, we may use a scheme operated by your insurer, or we may use a single Finance Provider or a Finance Provider selected from a limited panel. Where we arrange premium finance on your behalf, we are paid commission for our assistance in putting this financing in place. We will advise you of any commission payable by the Finance Provider in relation to a credit agreement where knowledge of the existence or amount of commission could affect our impartiality in recommending a particular product or that may have a material impact on your transactional decision.

You are entitled at any time to request further information regarding the amount of any remuneration which we may have received as a result of placing or renewing your insurance cover. To the extent that this is not possible for an amount to be given, we will provide the basis for its calculation.

Please note that any commission we charge are fully earned at policy commencement and may not be refundable in the event of cancellation, avoidance or early termination of a policy.

Where a policy is cancelled before renewal, insurers charge to cover their costs, with the balance refunded to you, subject to no claim having been made. As set out in your policy documentation. In the event of an adjustment giving rise to a return of premium the amount will be refunded.

Your attention is specifically drawn to the following: Where you cancel your policy after the expiry of the cooling off period or where you request a mid-term adjustment which results in a refund of premium, we may retain an amount that reflects our administrative costs of arranging and cancelling the insurance, and we reserve the right to retain our brokerage fees in full. This will usually result in us reducing the amount refunded to you. Any charge made will be highlighted to you.

For certain commercial insurance policies, insurers will only provide cover where the premium is due in full on inception of the policy this policy is normally called a minimum deposit premium. This means that no refund will be paid if the policy is cancelled before renewal. We will advise you if this affects you. Bank details may be retained for the purposes of refunds and claims payments that may be made by BACS.

How We Handle Your Money

We hold client money in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s Client Assets Sourcebook (CASS). These rules are designed to protect your money in the event of our insolvency by ensuring it is kept separate from our own funds.

Any premium you pay to us, or any refund due to you, is held in a specifically designated client bank account and not mixed with our own money.

Depending on the insurer involved and the nature of the transaction, money we receive may be held in one of two ways:

Risk Transfer Agreement (RTA): Where we have a Risk Transfer Agreement with an insurer, we hold money as the insurer’s agent. This means that any premium you pay to us is treated as having been received by the insurer immediately. In this situation, the insurer bears the risk if our firm were to become insolvent. This also applies to any premium refunds we receive from insurers before they are paid to you.

Client Money (CASS): Where we do not have a Risk Transfer Agreement with an insurer, we hold money as your agent. In this case, any premiums you pay to us and any refunds we receive on your behalf remain your property while we hold them. These funds are held in a client bank account under a non-statutory trust in accordance with FCA rules, which protects your money in the event of our insolvency.

The client bank account operates under a non-statutory trust. This allows us, where permitted by FCA rules, to use money held on behalf of one client to pay another client’s premium or to make refunds or claims payments before we have received the corresponding funds. This is standard practice in the insurance industry. We do not use client money for any other purpose.

We are not permitted to withdraw our commission from the client account until the relevant premium has been received from the client. Any interest earned on the client bank account is retained by us.

In some circumstances, FCA rules allow us to hold insurer money and client money together in the same non-statutory trust account. As money held in this way is protected, we will not normally distinguish to you on which basis your money is held. We can confirm this on request.

Premiums may be passed to another intermediary, such as a Managing General Agent, in order to place or administer your insurance. Such intermediaries are also required to hold client money in accordance with FCA rules.

Claims

Many insurers provide a 24-hour Helpline in respect of claims, these details are within your policy documentation. Please ensure that you report all incidents that could give rise to a claim immediately once you become aware of them by contacting your insurer or by telephoning our office. Late notification could result in your claim being rejected. You will be advised if you need to complete a claim form or produce documentation to support your claim. Failure to notify insurers or us promptly may affect your entitlement to claim payments.

If the claim involves damage to your property, please do not dispose of damaged items and/or authorise repair work (except in an emergency or to prevent further damage) until your insurers or we advise that you can. If your claim involves damage to other people’s property or bodily injury please pass copies of all correspondence, including solicitors’ letters to us immediately unanswered. Any attempt to negotiate or respond to the incident without prior reference to your insurers or us might prejudice your cover. You should be aware that a claim arising after renewal of the policy has been invited might affect the renewal terms or premium quoted by your insurers.

As part of our services and whilst we are your appointed broker we will assist you with any claim you need to make.

Insurer Solvency

We do not guarantee the solvency of any insurer we place business with. We do not accept liability for any loss you may incur arising directly or indirectly from the financial failure or insolvency of any insurer.

You may have a liability for the premium, whether in full or pro-rata where a participating insurer becomes insolvent. This is rare but can occur in subscription placements.

More competitive quotations may be achievable from unrated insurers. However, we have a duty of care to clients when choosing the insurance capacity to cover the risk. We will only obtain quotes from unrated insurers following a specific request by you.

Right of Cancellation

If you are a Consumer Client you have the right to cancel your policy within 14 days from the policy start date or its renewal or from the date at which you receive your policy documentation, either from your insurer or from us. You will be informed if you have such a cancellation right in separate documentation.

If you decide to cancel your policy within this timeframe and you have not made a claim on the policy, you may be entitled to receive a refund of any premium paid less any reasonable costs incurred by the insurer in providing the cover. The terms of your policy may permit insurers to retain the premium in full or to charge short period premiums in the event of cancellation before your policy expires.

We recommend that you check your policy documentation for further information or please contact us if you require clarification. Please note that our commission is fully earned from the date your policy commences and may not be refundable in the event of cancellation, avoidance or early termination of a policy. To exercise your cancellation right you should contact us at our normal address or your insurers at the address shown on your policy.

Limit of Liability

Our liability to you for losses suffered by you as a direct consequence of any negligent performance of the services we provide shall not exceed £2,000,000 in connection with any one event or connected events other than injury or the death of any person or where prohibited by law, where no cap on liability will apply. Covridge (UK) Ltd will not be liable to you in any circumstances for any special, indirect or consequential loss. Nothing in this clause limits your statutory rights as a consumer.

Complaints

It is our intention to always provide you with a high level of customer service. However, we recognise that things can go wrong occasionally and if this occurs, we are committed to resolving matters promptly and fairly.

In the first instance you should contact us in writing via the following methods: Email: complaints@covridge.com or Complaints Manager, Covridge Insurance, 13 Dennard Way, Farnborough, Orpington, Kent, BR6 7HS.

We will supply you with a copy of our complaint procedure upon receipt of a complaint or at any time upon request.

If you remain dissatisfied with the way we resolve a complaint, you may have the right to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge. You must refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within six months of the date of our final response.

Their contact details are:

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR.

Telephone Number: 0800 023 4567 Email: complaint.info@financial.ombudsman.org.uk

Further information can be found on the Financial Ombudsman Service website. FOS Website: www.fos.org.uk/

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and you may be entitled to compensation from the scheme depending on the type of business and circumstances of the claim if we cannot meet our obligations. Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. For compulsory classes of insurance this increases to 100% of the claim, without any upper limit.

Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS, whose website is at www.fscs.org.uk. Alternatively, you can contact the FSCS helpline on 0800 678 1110.

Data Protection & Privacy (UK GDPR)

Covridge (UK) Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 when processing personal data.

We collect and process personal data in order to arrange, administer and advise on insurance and related financial services. This may include, but is not limited to, information relating to your identity, contact details, financial information, insurance history, claims history and, where necessary, special category data such as health information or criminal convictions (for example, where required for underwriting or claims handling).

We process your personal data under one or more of the following lawful bases:

1. Performance of a contract or steps taken at your request prior to entering into a contract;

2. Compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation, including FCA requirements;

3. Legitimate interests, where processing is necessary for the conduct of our business and does not override your rights and freedoms;

4. Consent, where required (for example, for certain types of marketing communications).

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw this at any time.

We may share your personal data with third parties in the normal course of arranging, placing and administering your insurance. This may include insurers, reinsurers, managing general agents, premium finance providers, claims handlers, loss adjusters, professional advisers, IT service providers and regulators. All third parties are required to handle your data securely and in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

We will retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including to meet legal, regulatory, accounting and reporting requirements. Please note that regulatory obligations may require us to retain certain records for a minimum period even after your relationship with us has ended.

You have rights under data protection law, including the right to access your personal data, to request its rectification or erasure, to restrict or object to its processing, and, in certain circumstances, to request data portability. Please note that some rights are subject to legal or regulatory limitations and may not apply in all circumstances.

If you have any concerns about how we handle your personal data, please contact us in the first instance. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator. Further information about data protection can be found at the ICO’s website.

Confidentiality and Use of Personal Data

Unless required by law or public interest, all information provided by you to us is confidential and will only be disclosed in the normal course of negotiating, arranging and administering your insurance. This may include but not limited to disclosing information to insurers, professional advisers and service providers such as loss adjusters and approved contractors.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, the validity of the other provisions of these Terms and the remainder of the provision in question will not be affected.

Third Party Rights

Unless otherwise agreed between us in writing, no term of these Terms of Business is enforceable under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

Regulatory & Statutory Rights

Nothing in this agreement excludes or limits our liability for negligence, breach of duty or breach of our obligations under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 or the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be governed by the laws of England and the parties agree that any dispute arising out of it shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the relevant court.

TERMS OF BUSINESS AGREEMENT

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