This page sets out the terms upon which we agree to act for our clients and contains details of our regulatory and statutory responsibilities. It also sets out some of your responsibilities. Please contact us immediately if there is anything in these Terms of Business which you do not understand or with which you disagree.

ABOUT OUR COMPANY

Property Consultants & Management Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to transact general insurance business. Our FSA reference number is 315122. You can check this information on the FSA’s Register by visiting the FSA’s website at www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234. Our trading address is 109, Western Road, Hove, BN3 1FA.

OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

We only offer a Property Owners’ Insurance product . This product is intended to meet the demands and needs of property owners who wish to cover the main insurable risks relating to their buildings, landlord’s contents, loss of rent and property owners’ liability. We do not give advice or make recommendations in connection with this or any other insurance product. We will ask you questions in order to provide information on the product offered to you and then you need to make your own decision as to how to proceed. We are authorised to issue policy documentation and/or certificates on behalf of the insurer.

METHODS OF COMMUNICATION

We will normally communicate with you by post, telephone and, where available, fax or e-mail, in addition to any meetings we may have with you. Please let us know if you would prefer not to receive communications by any particular medium.

DISCLOSURE

You are responsible, on an ongoing basis, for providing us and/or your insurer with all material facts relating to the insurance covers we arrange on your behalf. Material facts are those which are likely to affect the assessment and acceptance of risks being insured. Failure to provide full and accurate information may mean that your cover is invalid. If you are in any doubt as to what facts are considered to be material then you should disclose them to us or your insurer. It is very important that information given in proposal forms, claim forms and declarations to insurers is correct. If a form or declaration is completed on your behalf, it is your responsibility to check that the answers given to all questions are true and complete. You are advised to keep copies of any correspondence you send to us or direct to your insurers.

FEES AND CHARGES

We earn a commission from placing your insurance. In the event of a policy being cancelled mid term, and not replaced by another policy, we will retain the commission earned on the original transaction. An administration fee for arranging and managing your insurance may be charged in addition to the insurer’s premium. We will tell you if an administration charge is payable when you take out or renew a policy with us.

INSURANCE PREMIUMS

We collect and hold insurance premiums as agent of the insurer. We accept payments by cheque or bank transfer.

SETTLEMENT TERMS

You are responsible for the prompt settlement of insurance premiums so that we can make the necessary payments to your insurer which is a minimum of 14 days. We have no obligation to fund any premiums on your behalf and cannot be held responsible for any loss which you may suffer as a result of a policy being cancelled or otherwise prejudiced due to the late payment of a premium where the delay is attributable to you.

CONFIDENTIALITY

All information provided by our clients is treated as confidential and only disclosed in the normal course of negotiating, arranging and administering your insurance. This may include disclosing information to agents and service providers such as loss adjusters and approved contractors. With a few exceptions, for example information requested by a court, a regulatory body, or information which is already in the public domain, we will not release information to any other party without your consent. We are registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 and undertake to comply with the Act in all our dealings with personal data.

QUOTATIONS

Unless stated otherwise in our documentation all quotations provided for new insurances are:

• valid only for a period of 30 days from the date of issue
• subject to satisfactory completion of the insurer’s Proposal Form or a signed and dated Statement of Facts.

You should be aware that quotations may change or be withdrawn if the information given to us or your insurers in proposal forms or declarations differs from that provided at the time the quotation was issued.

CHANGES TO YOUR COVER

We will normally deal with requests to increase or amend cover on the day your instructions are received, or the next working day if a weekend or public holiday. Sometimes changes cannot be processed without obtaining additional information. If additional information is required we will contact you as quickly as possible. We will confirm changes to your policy, once agreed, in writing. We will also advise you of any extra premiums you must pay or premiums we must return to you.

RECEIPT OF INSTRUCTIONS

We do not consider instructions to arrange or change cover sent to us by post, electronic mail or facsimile, or left on answering equipment, to have been received until they reach the relevant personnel in our offices. We do not accept responsibility for instructions which do not reach us due to failures in the postal, electronic or telecommunications systems.

DOCUMENTATION

Our aim is to produce documentation and correspondence in a clear and understandable format. In the event of any uncertainty we would ask you to let us know immediately: our staff are always happy to clarify the cover provided. You should check all policy documentation to ensure that the details are correct and 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. A breach of a policy condition may result in non-payment of a claim and breach of a warranty may invalidate the cover if it is not complied with precisely. We recommend that you keep policy documents for as long as a claim is possible under the policy.

MAKING A CLAIM

Contact us or Lucas Fettes in respect of claims and you should consult your policy documentation for contact details. Please ensure that you report all incidents that could give rise to a claim as soon as you become aware of them, either by contacting your insurer on their helpline or by telephoning our office. You will be advised if you need to complete a claim form or produce documentation to support your claim. In certain circumstances late notification may result in your claim being rejected. 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 third party property or injury to persons please pass copies of all correspondence, including solicitors’ letters, to us immediately and unanswered. Any attempt to negotiate or respond to the incident without prior reference to your insurers or us might prejudice your cover. If we are to act on behalf of an insurer in negotiating and settling a claim we will inform you of this at the point of the claim. You should be aware that a claim arising after renewal of the policy has been invited might affect the assessment and acceptance of renewal by your insurers.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

We act as your agent. We are subject to the law of agency which imposes certain duties on us. We also have proper regard for the interests of others, including the insurers for whom we also act. 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 carry out your instructions.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

We recognise the importance of service and set ourselves high standards. Should there be an occasion when we do not meet your expectations we are equally committed to dealing with any complaint in a thorough and professional manner. If you wish to register a complaint please contact us either - in writing, addressed to Mark Harrington, The Property Consultants & Management Ltd, 109, Western Road, Hove, BN3 1FA or telephone 01273 737155. If you cannot settle your complaint with us you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

COMPENSATION

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS 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. For compulsory classes of insurance, insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim without any upper limit. Further details about compensation scheme arrangements are available from the FSCS.

CANCELLATION OF POLICIES

When your policy ends or is cancelled, we will send you any documentation and information that you are entitled to on request.

LAW AND JURISDICTION

These Terms of Business are governed by and construed in accordance with English Law. In relation to any legal action or proceedings arising out of or in connection with these Terms of Business we both irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.