The following Terms of Business Agreement sets out the basis on which Oakroyd Partnership, referred to as ‘We’, ‘Us’, ‘Our’, will provide business services to you as a consumer or commercial client of the firm.

Please contact us immediately if there is anything in these terms of business which you do not understand or with which you disagree. We are happy to answer any questions and willing to explain these terms and the reasons for them.

Contact us

Telephone: 0203 475 3344
Email: info@oakroydpartnership.co.uk
Address: 61 Oakroyd Avenue, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, EN6 2EN

About us

We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our Firm Reference Number is 563185. 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. You can check these details online using the Financial Services Register at https://reaister.fca.ora.uk/ or by contacting the Financial Conduct Authority Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768.

Our service to you

Because of our wide range of providers we are able to discuss your needs and establish a product best suited to you. Depending on the product being arranged we will provide cover on basis of:
a. A fair analysis of the Insurance market,
b. A panel or limited number of Insurance providers
c. A sole provider with whom we place all policies arranged for that particular product or
d. Use another broker to help us place your cover
You will be notified accordingly.

Your duty of fair presentation

Consumers: You must take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer. This means that all the answers you give and statements you make as part of your insurance application, including at renewal and when an amendment to your policy is required, should be honest and accurate. If you deliberately or carelessly misinform the insurers, this could mean that part of or all of a claim may not be paid.

Non-consumer customers: Where we arrange insurance wholly or mainly for purposes related to your trade, business or profession, you have a duty under The Insurance Act 2015 to make a fair presentation of the risk. This means that you must disclose every material circumstance which you and/or your senior management and/or anyone responsible for arranging your insurance know or ought to know. Alternatively, you must disclose sufficient information which would put the insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries for the purpose of revealing those material circumstances. You are expected to carry out a reasonable search in order to make a fair presentation of the risk and will be deemed to know what should reasonably have been revealed by the presentation.

Your duty of fair presentation applies at the start of the policy, at renewal and when any variation of the policy is arranged. If you fail to make a fair presentation, the insurer may refuse to pay your claim or reduce the settlement amount, depending on the circumstances.

Cancellation

You have certain rights of cancellation in the early stages of a policy life and these are shown in the insurers’ policy details document. Policies vary between insurers but be aware that cancellation refunds are not given after a claim and are otherwise calculated on a short period scale weighted in favour of the insurers as their costs are similar whether a policy has run for one day or for one year. Also please note that we do not refund commission since this is earned for arranging the policy (unless you are replacing the policy through our agency with another insurer).

Protecting your information

We take your privacy extremely seriously and we will only use your personal details in line with our Privacy Notice. Please read our Privacy Notice carefully, which takes into account General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) requirements which is located on our website. Please contact us immediately if you have any queries. Where necessary, for example where we would like to use your data for some marketing purposes, we shall ask for your specific consent to do so. Your personal information includes all of the details you have given us to process your insurance policy (we will not ask for more information than is necessary). We may share your data with Third Parties for the provision and ongoing performance of your insurance policy. Your data may be transferred outside the UK. We will not sell, rent or trade your data under any circumstances. All of the personal information you supply to us will be handled strictly in accordance with the applicable Data Protection regulations and legislation.

How to claim

Please refer to your policy summary or your policy document if you need to notify a claim. You should contact us or the insurer direct as soon as you become aware of any incident which could give rise to a claim. If in doubt about whom you should contact, or if you require our assistance in relation to a claim or potential claim please contact us.

Our charges

We normally receive our income from insurers who pay us commission for arranging your insurance. In addition to this we may charge a fee of up to £250.00 to cover our administration. Charges for arranging commercial products will be declared to you on a case by case basis. A charge of up to £35.00 may be made in the event of a default, failure to pay, or recorded delivery letters. This charge may be made each and every time this occurs. An administration charge (normally £20.00) may be made in the event of a policy adjustment, or a request for a duplicate certificate of insurance.

Our earnings

You are entitled, at any time, to request information regarding any commission which we may have received as a result of placing your insurance business or arranging premium finance.

Block transfers

In respect of some classes of insurance we may operate block insurance arrangements in order to provide competitive terms. This is where we place all insurances of a certain type with one insurer who can provide particularly competitive terms for all our customers. On occasions it will be necessary for us to transfer such blocks from one insurer to another where this is beneficial for our clients. This Terms of Business Agreement constitutes both your acceptance that we may do this and your prior request for us so to do.

Tacit renewals

In the event that your renewal is being paid by instalments, we will notify you prior to renewal date of the premium and terms and conditions which will apply. Unless we hear from you on or prior to renewal date your policy will be renewed.

Protecting your money

Prior to your premium being forwarded to the insurer (or forwarded to you in the event of a premium refund) we generally hold your money as an agent of the insurer with which we arrange your insurance. Where we hold premium as the agent of the insurer it is regarded as received by the insurer. If we are not acting as an agent of the insurer when we receive your premium, we shall hold it as client money in trust for you within a client bank account with an approved bank. Our client bank account(s) may contain other clients’ money and money we hold as an agent of insurers. In line with strict FCA rules, our client bank account(s) is/are rigorously monitored in order to segregate and safeguard client money. We reserve the right to retain interest earned on our client bank accounts.

We may transfer your premiums to the insurer through another party, such as a broker or underwriting agent for the purposes of effecting a transaction.

By accepting this Terms of Business Agreement, you are giving your consent for us to treat your money in this way. Please notify us immediately if you have any objection or query.

Complaints

It is our intention to provide a high level of service at all times however, if you have reason to make a complaint about our service you should contact us immediately using the contact details on the first page of this document. You may be entitled to refer the matter subsequently to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service by telephone on 08000 234 567 and further information is available at http://www.financial-ombudsman.orq.uk/. If you do decide to refer any matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service your legal rights will not be affected. We will provide a summary of our complaints handling procedures should you make a complaint which we cannot resolve informally and at any other time, upon your request.

Compensation arrangements

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. 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 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. For compulsory classes of insurance, insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, also without any upper limit. The compensation scheme does not apply to consumer credit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS on 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100 or by visiting http://www.fscs.orq.uk/.

Money laundering/Proceeds of crime

We are obliged to report to the National Crime Agency any suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing activity and we are prohibited from disclosing any such report.

Adequacy of insurance values

It is the responsibility of the insured to ensure that all sums insured and policy limits are adequate. Whilst we seek to assist in establishing and maintaining insured values and indemnity limits we cannot accept responsibility for their accuracy. It is strongly recommended that the appropriate Professional (e.g. Surveyor/Accountant) be consulted to ensure that the sums insured and limits under the policy are suitable.

Conflicts of interest

As insurance brokers we generally act as your agent in advising you, arranging your insurance and assisting you in the event of a claim. In certain circumstances we may act for and owe duties of care to insurers and/or other parties. Where we become aware of any actual or potential conflict of interest, we will inform you of the situation, the options available to you and obtain your consent before we proceed.

Insurer security

The insurers we use are regulated and are required to have adequate capital resources. However, we cannot guarantee the solvency of any insurer we place business with. An insolvent insurer may be unable to pay claims or may be unable to pay them in full and you may have to pay a further premium to pay for alternative insurance cover.

Termination

You or we may terminate authority to act in connection with your insurance arrangements at any time. Notice of termination must be given in writing and will be without prejudice to the completion of any transactions already commenced. Any business currently in progress will be completed unless we receive instructions to the contrary. Any premiums or fees outstanding will become payable immediately. In circumstances where we feel we cannot continue providing services to you, we will give you a minimum of 7 days’ notice.

Law and jurisdiction

These Terms of Business shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Data Protection/Fair Obtaining Notice

This notice explains how we may use the details you provide us with. You should show this Data Protection Notice to anyone covered or proposed to be covered under your policy/prospective policy.

By proceeding with your application for motor insurance and providing us with the information we request in that connection, you authorise us to use your data, including sensitive personal data, in accordance with this Data Protection Notice and to pass the data to suppliers, insurers and third parties for the purposes set out in this Data Protection Notice. You also confirm you have gained the consent of any named drivers for their data to be used as set out below.

How your data will be used

Your data will be used for insurance underwriting purposes i.e. to examine the potential risk in relation to your prospective policy and for anti-fraud purposes i.e. to detect and prevent fraudulent claims and/or activities.

Your Driving Licence Number (“DLN”) and that of any named driver will be checked against the DVLA database to confirm the licence status, driving entitlement and relevant restrictions and any endorsements/convictions. Searches may be carried out prior to the date of the insurance policy and at any point throughout the duration of your insurance policy including at the mid-term adjustment and renewal stage.

‘No Claims Discount’ details may be checked against a No Claims Discount database to obtain information in relation to your ‘No Claims Discount’ entitlement. Such searches may be carried out against the DLN, name, date of birth, Vehicle Registration Mark and or postcode of you and any named drivers.

A search of the DLN against the DVLA and NCD databases should not show a footprint against your (or another relevant person’s) driving licence.

How your data will be processed

Your personal data will not be used for marketing. It will only be shared within organisations involved with the administration of your insurance policy or as otherwise set out in this Data Protection Notice. We may pass details of your ‘No Claims Discount’ to certain organisations to be recorded on a NCD database. This will occur if information requires updating or correcting at any stage, and also at the renewal stage of your policy and upon or after the cancellation of your policy prior to the expiry date.
For further information about disclosing your Driving Licence Number, see: http://www.mvlicence.orq.uk/
For details relating to information held about you by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (“DVLA”) please visit www.dvla.aov.uk

Version – October 2023