Radius Insurance Solutions Terms and Conditions of Business

Please read this ‘Terms of business’ carefully. It sets out the terms on which we agree to act for you, our client, and contains details of our regulatory and legal responsibilities. If you are unsure about any aspect of our ‘Terms of business’ or have any questions regarding our relationship with you, please contact us immediately. By doing business with us you agree to do so on the terms of this document, unless we both agree otherwise.

This document replaces any previous version of our terms of business that you may have had.

About us

Radius Insurance Solutions is a trading name of Joseph W Burley & Partners (UK)

Joseph W Burley & Partners (UK) is part of Radius Payments Solutions Ltd and for more information about our group please visit https://www.radius.com/

Radius Insurance Solutions, 5-8 Jessops Riverside, Brightside Lane, Sheffield S9 2RX. Registered in England and Wales No. 3668469 www.theburleygroup.com.

The Financial Conduct Authority

Radius Insurance Solutions is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The authorisation includes a number of trading names. Our Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) firm reference number is 300425. Our permitted business is introducing, advising, arranging, dealing as agent and assisting in the administration and performance of general insurance contracts and credit broking in relation to insurance instalment facilities. You can check our details and the details of any “Appointed Representative” we may have, on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA website, register.fca.org.uk/ or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

Our service to you

We act as an insurance intermediary and, as such, we act as the agent of you, 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 that you will be aware of any possible conflict of interest.

We will advise and make a personal 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 to your insurance policy, with the renewal of your policy and with any claim you need to make.

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.

The products we offer

In the majority of cases, we will carry out a “Fair Analysis” of the market to identify a suitable product. This means that we will compare products from a number 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 the inception of the policy.

For those wishing to pay by instalments, we usually only introduce clients to Premium Credit Limited. We may offer options to pay in instalments with other finance providers. We will advise you if competitive credit terms are available through your insurer. Alternatively, you have the option of sourcing your own credit agreement.

We will not and cannot, in any circumstances, guarantee the solvency of any Insurer.

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 us at the above address. 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 (FOS). For further information, you can visit FOS website www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk. Access to the FOS is available for complainants coming within one of the following categories at the time we receive their complaint:-

• Consumers (private individuals acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside that individual’s trade, business, craft, or profession)
• Micro-enterprises (businesses employing fewer than 10 persons and with a turnover or annual balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million
• Other small businesses (with an annual turnover of below £6.5m, and less than 50 employees or with an annual balance sheet total of below £5 million
• Charities with an annual income of under £6.5 million
• Trustees of a trust with a net asset value of under £5 million

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for our insurance mediation services. 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 for insurance mediation is available as follows: 90% of the claim, without any upper limit; or 100% of the claim without any upper limit for (1) compulsory classes of insurance (such as Third Party Motor or Employers Liability), and (2) ‘pure protection’ contracts, professional indemnity insurance, and general insurance claims arising from the death or incapacity of the policyholder owing to injury, sickness of infirmity, all where the insurance intermediary has failed to pay money to an insurer, pay away money it has received from an insurer, or has failed to take steps to allow the insurer to effect the contract of insurance. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS on 0800 678 1100 (Freephone), 020 774 14100 or www.fscs.org.uk

Payment for our services

Our remuneration is either by way of a commission paid to us by the insurer or we negotiate a fee with you in place of or in addition to the commission to reflect the work we do for you. We may also receive earnings in relation to our premium finance arrangements. In addition, we may also receive payments based upon volumes of business or profitability of an account placed with an Insurer.

In addition, we charge a “policy fee”, which is £25 per policy for premiums up to £1,000 or £85 per policy for premiums over £1,000 at the inception and/or renewal of your policy. The amount due will be clearly shown in our documentation issued in advance of inception/renewal.

In the event of mid-term adjustments on any non-fleet policies, we will charge a separate “policy fee” of £25.00 for premiums up to £1,000 or £50 per policy for premiums over £1,000 to cover the additional administration costs of processing the change. In the event of the policy cover being cancelled or reduced a fee of up to a maximum of 20% of the return premium is payable (we do not refund any of our fees or commission).

On request, we will be pleased to provide information about any earnings received by us in relation to insurances or premium finance arranged for you.

Limitations of liability

Our liability for losses suffered by you as a direct consequence of any negligent performance of our services shall be limited to:-

£15,000,000 – for those identified as “Consumers” by the FCA.

£5,000,000 for those identified as “Commercial Customers” by the FCA.

We consider the above noted limits to be adequate, however, if you wish us to consider higher limits, please let us know. If alternative limits are agreed, the agreed alternative limit will form part of this Terms of Business agreement. If there are any additional charges to amend the limits, these will be discussed with you prior to the amendment being put in place.

Terms of payment

Payment is due within 14 days of the effective date or transaction date, whichever is the earliest, unless we have made an alternative agreement with you in writing.

On certain occasions, insurers require payment prior to cover commencing and should this apply to any policy you have arranged through ourselves, we shall notify you of this before your insurance arrangements are concluded. In the event you do not pay the invoice when due, you will be required to pay interest from that point at Bank of England Base Rate plus eight percent on a daily basis from the date the invoice became payable until the invoice is paid.

If any premium is outstanding, we may cancel any insurance cover arranged and recover from you any amounts paid to (and not refunded by) insurers on your behalf.

We accept payment by cheque, debit/credit card and bank transfer. You may also be able to spread your payments through insurers’ instalment schemes or a credit scheme which we have arranged with a specialist finance company.

We will provide information about your payment options when we notify you of your premium options.

Payment by instalments using a finance company

We will be informed by the finance company if:-

• any direct debit or other payment due in respect of the credit agreement you enter into with them to pay insurance premiums is not met when presented for payment.
• you end the credit agreement with them.
• you do not enter into a credit agreement with them.

In the event of the above noted circumstances, if you do not make other arrangements to pay the insurance premiums, you acknowledge and agree that, at any time after being so informed, we may:

• instruct on your behalf the relevant insurer to cancel the insurance (or, if this occurs shortly after the start or renewal of the insurance, to notify the insurer that the policy has not been taken up) and to collect any refund of premiums which may be made by the insurer.

and

• if any money is owed to the finance company under your credit agreement, pay it to the finance company.

or

• if the finance company have debited us with the amount outstanding, use it to offset our costs.

You will be responsible for paying any time on risk charge and putting in place any alternative insurance and/or payment arrangements you need.

Handling money

Our financial arrangements with most insurance companies are on a ‘Risk Transfer’ basis. This means that we act as agent 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. If Risk Transfer does not apply, such monies will then be held by us in a Non-Statutory Trust account pending payment. The establishment of the Non-Statutory Trust account follows the rules, which the FCA introduced to protect money held by authorised intermediaries. However, you should be aware that, under the Non-Statutory Trust account rules, we are permitted to use such monies temporarily held to advance credit to clients generally.

A copy of the Deed of Trust is available on request or may be inspected at our premises during normal office hours. If you object to your money being held in a Non-Statutory Trust account, you should advise us immediately. Otherwise, your agreement to pay the premium together with your acceptance of these Terms of Business will constitute your informed consent to our holding your money in a Non-Statutory Trust account. Interest earned on monies held in such a Non-Statutory Trust account will be retained by us. For the purpose of some transactions, client money may pass through other authorised intermediaries before being paid to the insurer.

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. In the event of cancellation, charges for our services will apply in accordance with the “payment for our services” section. 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.

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. Valid reasons may include the non-payment of premium or fees, failure to provide requested documentation or information, deliberate failure to comply with terms set out within the Terms of Business or insurer’s documentation, or deliberate misrepresentation or non-disclosure or attempted fraud.

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

If you are a commercial customer your insurance is based upon the information provided to the insurance company. This means that you must make a ‘fair presentation of risk’ and disclose to insurers, before the setting up or renewal of your insurance policy is concluded, anything that might influence the judgement of an insurer in fixing the premium, setting the terms or determining whether they would take the risk.

If you are uncertain whether anything is material, you should disclose it. In order to identify what must be disclosed, you are obliged to carry out a reasonable search before presenting the risk to insurers. This includes (but is not limited to) consulting with all senior managers. A senior manager is anyone who plays a significant role in the making of decisions about how your activities are to be managed or organized. You must also consult with anyone who has particular knowledge about the risk to be insured.

If you deliberately or recklessly (i.e. without care) fail to comply with your obligations to present the risk fairly, insurers may avoid the policy. This means they can retain all premiums and treat the policy as if it never existed and refuse to make any claims payments. You could also be obliged to repay any claims payments that had already been made. If you fail to present the risk fairly, but your failure was neither deliberate nor reckless, insurers’ response will depend upon what would have happened if you had complied with your obligations:

If insurers would not have provided the policy, they may treat the policy as if it never existed, refuse to make any claims payments and demand the return of any claims payments already made. However, insurers would have to return any premium payments already made;

If insurers would have provided the policy but on different terms, the policy will remain in force but will be treated as if those different terms applied from the start of the policy. This could result in a claim not being met in part or in full;

If insurers would have provided the policy but charged a higher premium, insurers may reduce any payment in proportion to the difference between the premium charged and the premium that would have been charged if you had fairly presented the risk. This could result in a significant reduction to the amount of any payment under the policy. Insurers may instead choose to charge the additional premium required rather than reduce the claim.

All statements and facts disclosed on proposal forms, statement of facts, claim forms and other documents should be full, true and accurate and must be given after undertaking a reasonable search, including consulting with your senior management. Where forms are completed on your behalf you must check them for accuracy and completeness before signing them. You must always read the declaration and make sure you understand it before you sign.

If you are a consumer you are responsible for answering any questions in relation to any proposal for insurance cover honestly and to the best of your knowledge, providing complete and accurate information which insurers will require. This also applies to your responses in relation to any assumptions you may agree to in the process of applying for insurance cover. This is particularly important before taking out a policy but also at renewal or of if you make a mid-term amendment to your 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.

All customers

You must check all details on any Proposal Form or Statement of Fact 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 or mean that claims may not be paid.

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.

The processing of your personal data

All personal information about you will be treated as confidential. We undertake to comply with the General data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in all our dealings with your personal data. Your personal information will be kept secure. If you require more information on how we use your personal data, please refer to our privacy notice. https://www.burleyinsurance.co.uk/privacy-policy/

Credit checks

We, and other firms involved in arranging your insurance (insurers, other intermediaries or premium finance companies), may use public and personal data from a variety of sources including credit reference agencies and other organisations. The information is used to help tailor a price, to ascertain the most appropriate payment options for you and to help prevent fraud. Any credit reference search will appear on your credit report whether or not your application proceeds. If you have any questions about this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Conflicts of interest

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 inform you and we will detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.

Claims handling arrangements

You 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.

Law and jurisdiction

This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with laws of England and Wales. Each party agrees that any legal action or proceedings with respect to this agreement may be brought in the courts of England, and submits to jurisdiction of these courts.