South East Kent Insurance Services Ltd

Britannic House, 70 High Street, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 9RS

Terms of Business

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 ‘Processing of your personal data’ and specifically sub-section titled ‘Credit checks’.

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 Conduct Authority

South East Kent Insurance Services Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).  Our Financial Services Register number is 310346.

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 may check this on the Financial Services register by visiting the FCA website, www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768

Our service

Helping you to decide

We source and arrange products and provide information but do not offer advice or make personal recommendations when arranging your insurance. However, we may ask some questions to narrow down the selection of products on which we will provide details; you will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed.

The capacity in which we act for you

We act as an insurance intermediary, not an insurer.  We will usually act on your behalf when arranging your insurances, when helping you make any changes to your policy, when you renew your insurance and in the event of a claim.  If there are any circumstances where we act as an agent of the insurer, we will let you know the capacity in which we act before we finalise your insurance arrangements.

In relation to the general insurance products we offer policies from:

  • From a limited number of insurers (See our panel of insurers below)

We will ask you some questions to narrow down the selection of products that we will provide details on. You will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed. You will not receive advice or recommendation from us.

or

  • From a single insurer

We will provide you with information about the policy. You will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed. You will not receive advice or a recommendation from us.

We will make sure, as far as we are able, that the products or services we offer to match your

requirements:

            If it is practical, we will indentify needs by obtaining relevant information from you.

We will offer you products and services to meet your needs and requirements you have.

If we cannot match your requirements, we will explain the differences in this product or service we can offer you and give you enough information so that you can make an informed decision about your insurance.

Panel of insurers

ABC, Ageas, Collingwood, Covea, ERS, Highway, Liverpool Victoria, KGM, Markerstudy, NIG, Sabre, Tradex, Zenith and Zurich.

 

In certain circumstances we may use another intermediary or underwriting agency to help place your insurance. 

 

We will not in any circumstance guarantee the solvency of any insurer.

Ownership

South East Kent Insurance Services Ltd has no direct or indirect holding in any insurer and no insurer has any direct or indirect holding in South East Kent Insurance Services Ltd.

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:

In writing           Write to Mr F Ricks, South East Kent Insurance Services Ltd, 70, High Street, Ramsgate Kent. CT11 9RS

By phone          Telephone 01843 585666

By email            This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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. For further information you can visit FOS website www.finanancial-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 possession)
  • Businesses employing fewer than 10 persons and with a turnover or annual balance sheet total not exceeding £2 million
  • Charities with an annual income of under £1 million
  • Trustees of a trust with a net asset of under £1 million

  

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for our insurance mediation activities.  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 in relation to insurance advising and arranging as follows:

  • 90% of the claim, without any upper limit;
  • 100% of the claim without any upper limit for
  • compulsory classes of insurance (such as Third Party Motor or Employers Liability); and
  • ‘pure protection’ contracts, professional indemnity insurance, and general insurance claims arising from the death or incapacity of the policyholder owing to injury, sickness or 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) or 020 7741 4100 or www.fscs.org.uk.

Payment for our services

We normally receive commission from insurers, product providers and where applicable premium finance providers. 

  • Any commission we receive will be paid by the insurer or product provider from the insurance premium.
  • Any commission we receive from the premium finance provider will be paid from the finance repayment.

We do not charge any additional fees (payable by you) for handling your insurance or arranging premium finance unless we have agreed these with you in advance. Any fees we do charge are set out below:

 

Quotations  - No Charge

New Business  -  £100.00  

Policy Renewal  -  £25.00

Policy Adjustments  -  £25.00

Cancellation  -  No charge (Commissions are non refundable)

 

If the cancellation is made within the 14 day cooling off period, we will refund the full premium

returned by the insurers.

On request, we will be pleased to provide information about any commission received by us in the handling of your insurances.

 

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. 

 

We also draw your attention to the sections headed ‘Cancellation of insurances’ and ‘Ending your relationship with us’

How money is handled

We act as agents of the insurer in collecting premiums and handling refunds due to clients. Such monies are deemed to be held by the insurer(s) with which your insurance is arranged. 

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 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. 

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. The circumstances may include but are not limited to non payment of premium, failure to provide the requested documentation, deliberate failure to comply with terms set out within this Terms of Business or insurer’s documentation, deliberate misrepresentation or non disclosure or attempted fraud or use of threatening or abusive behaviour or language of our staff or suppliers. 

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 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 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.

If you are a commercial customer you have a duty to give a fair presentation of risk to the insurer. This means that you should disclose every material circumstance relevant to the risk being insured following a reasonable search within your business to identify and verify such information. This should include information which you and where applicable your senior management, persons responsible for arranging your insurance or other relevant third parties know or ought to know and should include all information that would influence the judgement of the insurer or that would put the insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries.

Examples of material circumstances are:

  • Special or unusual circumstances relating to the risk;
  • Any particular concerns which led you to seek insurance cover for the risk; and
  • Anything which those concerned with the class of insurance and field of activity in question would generally understand as being something that would be dealt with in a fair presentation of risks for this type of insurance.

The information must be presented in a way which would be reasonably clear and accessible to a prudent insurer. If you are unsure whether to disclose any information you should speak to us. You need to take into account the size & complexity of your business, and allow yourself sufficient time before your renewal date to consider and / or assess your insurance requirements.

Failure to provide a ‘fair representation’ may result in a number of remedies by the insurer. If the breach was deliberate or reckless the insurer can void the contract and keep the premium. If the breach was not deliberate or reckless the insurer can void the contract, proportionately reduce a claim settlement or amend the insurance policy terms and conditions then review the merits of a claim on this basis.

You should therefore always provide complete and accurate information to us when we ask you about the insurance risks your business faces before taking out a policy, at renewal and throughout the life of the policy. This also applies to your responses in relation to any assumptions you may agree to in the process of applying for insurance cover.

Processing of your personal data

In your dealings with us you may provide us with information that may include data that is known as personal data. Where we process personal data, we comply with statutory data processing requirements as set out by the Data Protection Act 2018.  The personal data we will collect will include information relating to your name, address, date of birth contact details and health.

We will process your personal data to allow us to provide you with our services as your insurance broker in quoting for, arranging and administering your insurances and in arranging insurance premium finance where applicable. Your personal data will also be used to manage future communications between ourselves. Where you have agreed, or in circumstances where to do so will be in our mutual interests, your personal data will be used to provide you with further information about our wider products and services. You can opt out from receiving such communications by e-mailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In processing personal data for insurance purposes about health or criminal offences, we will only do so to enable us to provide our service to you and on the basis of it being in the public interest.

We will only use your data for the purpose for which it was collected. We will only grant access to or share your data within our firm, with other authorised third parties and product and service providers such as insurers where we are entitled to do so by law under lawful data processing.

The Data Protection Act 2018 provides you with Access Rights that allow you to gain an understanding on the data being processed, who we share it with, for what purpose, why we need to retain it and retention periods, to object to the processing and to place restrictions on the processing, to request copies of your data and to request the deletion of your data.

If you require further information on how we process your data or you wish to exercise your rights, please contact Mr F Ricks our data privacy manager by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or by writing to   70 High Street, Ramsgate, Kent CT11 9RS or by telephoning 01843 585666. How we process your personal data is detailed further within our Privacy Notice on this website www.sekis.co.uk

Links to external web sites

South East Kent Insurance Services Ltd includes links to external web sites. South East Kent Insurance Services Ltd is not responsible for any trading or other commercial activity you may undertake by means of external web sites. You acknowledge and agree that South East Kent Insurance Services Ltd accepts no responsibility for the content of these web sites. Further, links to external web sites do not amount to an endorsement by South East Kent Insurance Services Ltd of these web sites, or any materials present on such web sites.

Use of Cookies

Information placed by your PC on this site may be used for internal purposes. By requesting information through this site you are expressly consenting under all relevant data protection legislation to the use of your information in the manner set out above and to allow us to further develop this web site and our business services to you and the transport (if necessary), of your information worldwide.

If you would like further information on such use, or do not wish your information to be used in the manner outlined above, please contact us by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Terms of Business governing this web site may be updated from time to time. Please visit this web site regularly to ensure that you are aware of any changes.

The information on this site is principally directed at UK residents. Consequently the information on this site may not satisfy the laws of any other country.

The contents of this site and the terms and conditions are governed by English law and you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

Credit checks

We and other firms involved in arranging your insurance (insurers 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.

Conflict of interests

Occasions can arise where we, or one of our 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 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. 

TOBA 10/18

We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority: Firm Reference Number 310346. This can be checked on the FCA website at www.the-fca.org.uk. South East Kent Insurance Services Limited. Registered in England No 3238683.