Our Terms Of Business Agreement (TOBA)

 

Penk Insurance Services Ltd – Terms Of Business Agreement

Who regulates us?
Penk Insurance Services Ltd of 49-53 Chatsworth Road, Brampton, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 2AL is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Our FSA authorisation number is 308744. Our permitted business is arranging general insurance contracts. You can check this on the FSA register by visiting the FSA website www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.

Which service will we provide you with?
In arranging insurance for our customers, we act as an independent intermediary. Our service includes advising you on your insurance needs, arranging your insurance cover with an appropriate insurer to meet with your requirements and helping you with any ongoing changes you have to make.

Whose products do we offer?
The products we offer will usually be from a fair analysis of the insurance market. Where this does not apply, for example where we choose to deal with a single insurance provider or a limited number of insurance providers on certain insurance policies, then this will be disclosed to you.

What is your duty of disclosure?
It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information to insurers when you take out your insurance policy, throughout the life of the policy and when you renew your policy. If any forms are completed on your behalf, it is your duty to check that the information declared is true and accurate before signing the document. If the application for insurance is in the form of a ‘Statement Of Fact’ that does not require a signature, you are required to check the information is true and accurate and contact us immediately should any corrections be necessary. You are reminded that it is an offence under the Road Traffic Act to make a false statement or to withhold any information to obtain a certificate of insurance. You are advised to keep copies of any correspondence you send to us or direct to your insurer.
Failure to disclose material information may invalidate your insurance and could mean that part, or all, of a claim may not be paid. If you are in any doubt whether information is material, you should disclose it.

What will you have to pay us for our services?
We generally receive our income from insurers who pay us commission for arranging your insurance. In addition to this we may charge an administration fee as follows:
Dependant upon the type of insurance being provided, a maximum fee of £50.00 for new business, renewal or mid term alteration (including Cancellation) may apply.
A fee of £10.00 for duplicate documents (ie. certificate, cover note, policy/schedule etc)
Where a return premium arises, for example where an insurance risk is reduced or a policy is cancelled, we repay commission on the amount to your insurer and this will be deducted from the amount due to you.
Our charges will be additional to those charged by the insurer.
You will receive a quotation that will tell you about any other fees relating to any particular insurance policy where applicable.

What are your cancellation rights?
We will disclose whether the policy being provided is ‘Retail’ or ‘Commercial’ at the point of sale.
A ‘Retail’ customer will be provided with a ‘Period Of Reflection’ and has the right to cancel a policy within 14 days commencing from either (a) the day of the conclusion of the contract or (b) the day on which you receive the contractual terms, conditions and information of the contract which ever is the later.
These cancellation rights do not apply to ‘Commercial’ customers and you will be subject to the insurers and our cancellation charges at all times.
It is important to note that the whole premium will become payable if a claim is reported on your policy and no cancellation refund will be given.
For further details of the chosen insurers cancellation rights, reference must be made to the insurers keyfacts, policy or similar documentation.

Premiums and financial arrangements
We may be prepared to offer you the payment of the premium by instalments and the following credit charges will apply:
£10.00 charge (deposit plus 1 consecutive monthly payment)
£30.00 charge (deposit plus 2 consecutive monthly payments)
£40.00 charge (deposit plus 3 consecutive monthly payments)
We reserve the right to make a charge of £5.00 per week (or part thereof) on any overdue payment/instalment.
Credit card transactions will be subject to a 2% processing charge. No charge will be made for debit card transactions.

A £30.00 charge will be payable by you to us on any cheque payment not honoured by your bank. Future payments may not be accepted by us should a cheque payment default occur.
It is important to note that the whole premium will become payable if a claim is reported on your policy and no cancellation refund will be given.
In order to be able to offer you credit facilities we are registered under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and our licence number is 246936.
All premiums quoted to you are inclusive of HM Government Insurance Premium Tax (IPT).

Protecting your money (Client money segregation : Non-statutory trust)
Premiums that we collect from you are held in a ‘Client Money Bank Account’ specifically used for the purpose of holding client premiums. By virtue of agreements 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 will remit the premiums to insurers, after deduction of our commission, in accordance with the terms of our agreements with insurers. We may agree to extend credit to other customers using money from the Client Money Bank Account. We will have in place, and maintain, systems and controls adequate to ensure that we are able to monitor and manage client money transactions and any credit risk arising from the operation of the trust arrangement. Your money will be protected at all times because of our requirements under the FSA rules.

Payment by insurer direct debit or by a third party finance provider
You may be able to spread the cost of your premium through your insurers own direct debit facility or we may be able to provide credit through a third party finance provider where appropriate. We will provide you with full information, including the credit charge, when we discuss the insurance payment options available. It is important to note that the whole premium will become payable if a claim is reported on your policy and no cancellation refund will be given.

Do we have any conflicting interests of ownership?
There is no ownership between ourselves and any insurer.

What governing law will apply?
This agreement shall be governed by the laws of England, Wales & Scotland and the parties agree herewith that any dispute arising out of it shall be subject to the (non) exclusive jurisdiction of the relevant court.

Other taxes and costs which may apply?
Other taxes and /or costs may exist in relation to the products and services offered by us which are not paid through, nor imposed, by us (ie where the policy is arranged via another broker or chain). These will be disclosed to you where appropriate.

What is our complaints procedure?
We take the FSA’s ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ principle seriously and it is our intention to provide you with a high level of customer service at all times.
Should you have any cause for complaints, please contact us in the first instance in order that the situation may be resolved to your satisfaction.
In the event that we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, we will acknowledge within 5 business working days advising you of the person who will be investigating the circumstances. In the event that it still remains outstanding after a further 20 days, we will write to you again advising you of the reasons for the delay and giving a timescale in which you will hear from us again.
If there is an occasion where you wish to register a complaint, please contact us immediately us either:
in writing to The Complaints Officer, Penk Insurance Services Ltd, 49-53 Chatsworth Road, Brampton, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 2AL
by phone on 01246 558844
If we cannot resolve your complaint within the required time scale, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service at South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR. Further information is also available at http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

Are we covered by the 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.
Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the first £2,000 and 90% of the remainder of the claim, without any upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS website at http://www.fscs.org.uk