Terms of Business

Accepting our terms of business

This document details our services and our arrangements for dealing with Your insurance. Please read it carefully and retain a copy for Your records.

The English language will be used for all communications, the contractual terms and conditions, and any information we are required to supply to You, before and during the duration of the contract and this agreement shall be subject to English Law.

Issue of this Terms of Business Agreement indicates that we have designated you as a Commercial Customer ie. that your insurance requirements are in relation to a business enterprise.

The Financial Conduct Authority is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. Westminster Insurance Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for insurance distribution activities. Our Financial Services Register number is 439023. Check our status at https://register.fca.org.uk or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

This Agreement sets out the terms and conditions on which we agree to act for you and contains details of our respective responsibilities. By asking us to quote for, arrange or handle your insurance, you are providing your informed agreement to these Terms of Business. This document will supersede any Terms of Business previously in force. Please contact us immediately if there is anything in these Terms of Business which you do not understand or with which you disagree. References to "We" and "Us" means Westminster Insurance Ltd References to "you" means the insured and/or their appointed agent.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Insurance selection

You are responsible for deciding whether any of our products or services are suitable for your purposes. Please read the relevant policy terms and conditions carefully before buying any insurance policy.

The purchase of any insurance product(s) available through this website will be subject to these terms and conditions and the relevant policy terms and conditions.

If you need any advice before buying any insurance policy, please contact an independent financial adviser or insurance adviser.

Please note that Westminster Insurance provides quotes from a single insurer.

Accurate completion of self-certifying application

The insurance proposal, quotation, and issuance through the Westminster Insurance site, provides guidance and clear instructions, and is a self-certifying process regarding the insured's qualification to provide the services for which the insurance is sought. It is your responsibility to ensure that you read the questions and guidance carefully, and that the proposal form is completed honestly and accurately.

You must also review confirmation of cover/policy documents supplied by us to you to ensure that they accurately reflect your requirements. If we have provided your documents electronically you can ask us for a paper copy. Particular attention should be paid to policy conditions, claims conditions and/or warranties (if applicable) as failure to comply may reduce or invalidate your cover.

Should there be any discrepancies, you must notify us immediately. It is your responsibility to ensure that all sums insured, and policy limits are adequate.

Fair presentation

The insurance we provide is wholly or mainly for purposes related to the insured's trade, business, or profession and as such the business has a duty to make a fair presentation of the risk to the insurer. This entails disclosing to the insurer every 'material circumstance' which you know or ought to know. You should conduct a reasonable search to ascertain all material facts within your organisation, making enquiries of senior management and other relevant individuals where necessary.

This duty to make a fair presentation applies before your cover is placed, when it is renewed and any time that it is varied.

Your policy wording may also provide that this duty continues for the duration of the policy. A 'material circumstance' is if it would influence an insurer's judgment in determining whether to accept the risk, or the terms of the insurance (including premium). If you are in any doubt whether a circumstance is material, we recommend that it should be disclosed.

Failure to disclose a material circumstance may entitle the insurer to impose different terms on your cover or proportionately reduce the amount of any claim payable. In some circumstances the insurer will be entitled to avoid the policy from inception and in this event any claims under the policy would not be paid.

Payment of premiums

By completing the purchase of the insurance, you agree that you are buying a one-year policy and that the full premium is due, paid either by one annual payment, or by spreading the cost over monthly instalments.

Inform us of non-renewal

We will always contact you in good time before renewal to provide renewal terms. It is important that if you do not wish to renew that you inform us as soon as possible. There is 'Do Not Renew' option in the emails that we will send you. The Policy will be renewed automatically if you have not selected this option or contacted us to confirm that you no longer require such insurance.

Cancellation of your policy

Full details of cancellation rights; notice periods and premium implications can be found in your policy document and are shown below.

This policy has a cooling off period of fourteen (14) days which starts from either of the below dates, whichever comes later:

• a. the date you received this documentation; or
• b. the start of the period of insurance.

You can cancel this policy within the fourteen (14) day cooling off period by instructing Westminster Insurance Ltd or via the cancellation option in your online account. Provided you have not made a claim, you will be entitled to a refund of any premium paid, subject to a deduction of £15 of the policy fee which is retained to cover reasonable administrative costs. The policy will be cancelled with effect from the start date of the period of insurance and treated as if it never existed.

After the fourteen (14) day cooling off period you may cancel this policy at any time by instructing Westminster Insurance Ltd or via the cancellation option in your online account.

We can cancel this policy by giving you 30 days written notice. We will only do this for a valid reason, for example, due to:

• a. non-payment of premium;
• b. changes in the risk which means that we can no longer provide you with insurance cover;
• c. your non-cooperation or failure to supply information or documentation we request; or
• d. threatening or abusive behaviour or the use of threatening or abusive language by you.

If this policy is cancelled after the fourteen (14) day cooling off period or following notice of cancellation by us, provided you have not made a claim, you will be entitled to a refund of any premium paid, subject to a deduction of a £35 policy fee and for any time for which you have been covered. This will be calculated on a pro rata basis based on the number of days covered.

If we pay any claim, in whole or in part, then no refund of premium will be allowed.

If we have agreed that you can pay us the premium by installments and we have not received an installment we may give notice of cancellation and cancel the policy. In this event, the period of insurance will equate to the period for which premium instalments have been paid to us. The cancellation and amended period of insurance will be confirmed in writing by us.

Claims

In the event of an incident occurring which could give rise to a claim under your policy, you should notify us as soon as possible in accordance with your policy conditions. Failure to do so could prejudice the insurer's position and lead to the claim being repudiated or not paid in full. When we receive notification of an incident that could give rise to a claim, we will respond promptly, explain how we will handle your claim and tell you what you need to do. We will give you reasonable guidance to help you make a claim under your policy.

Keep your contact details up to date

We will communicate with you using the email address and phone number you provided during the application process. We do not share your details with third parties and we do not send unwanted marketing material. Our communications are important and are in connection with your insurance policy. Therefore, it is important that you keep your contact details up to date. This can be done via your Client Account or by emailing us.

Respect our copyright

All data information text images and layout are the exclusive property of Westminster Insurance Ltd and must not be emailed, networked, shared, republished, reproduced, transferred or copied (other than for reasonable personal professional use e.g. audit trails or backups). All copyright intellectual and other property rights shall continue to be held by Westminster Insurance Ltd and no rights of any kind shall pass. Any attempt to damage the site or act in contravention of these Terms and Conditions may give rise to legal redress and Westminster Insurance Ltd reserves the right to seek damages from such perpetrator.

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Provide high level services

Westminster Insurance staff are a dedicated team who go above and beyond to offer its customers a good service. We will always aim to provide prompt responses to emails (usually same working day) and answer phone calls direct - no automated answering service. Staff will provide thorough factual information and guidance regarding the products, getting a quote, payment options and management of your policy, but will not offer opinions or advice on your insurance requirements.

Data protection

We are a data controller and our data protection officer is Gail O'Donovan

We act as Your agent and will collect data, including personal information and risk details, solely to enable us to obtain and provide insurance quotations, arrange and administer Your insurance. Data collected by us is contractual, and for Our legitimate business interests as an insurance broker and We will be unable to offer any quotation or insurance if You refuse to provide certain personal data, including health, financial and criminal records data which is collected under the lawful basis of public interest, where these would affect the provision of cover and/or performance of insurance contracts.

Your information will be held securely by us and shared with insurers, and anyone else involved in the normal course of arranging and administering Your insurance.

We will not give anyone else any personal information except on Your instructions or authority, or where We are required to do so by law, or by virtue of Our regulatory requirements. Information about You and Your insurances will be held while You are a client and for a minimum of three years, and usually up to seven years, after expiry of Your policies. Under the Data Protection Act data subjects have the right to see, and correct, personal information about them that We hold. Please write to our data protection officer at our usual office address if You wish to exercise Your rights or have a complaint about our use of Your data.

Complaints

We are committed to treating our customers fairly, however, we realise that there may be times when things go wrong. If this happens, please contact Westminster Insurance in the first instance.

The easiest way to complain is simply to give us a call.

Phone us on 01305 839939 or Email us at: complaints@westminster.global

Full details of our Complaints Process can be found here: https://uk.westminster.global/help/complaints

Compensation

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. Insurance advising and arranging is covered by the FSCS for 100% of your claim if it relates to compulsory insurance. For other cases, it is covered for 90% of the claim, with no upper limit.

Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS, via their website, www.fscs.org.uk or calling them on 0800 678 11.

Handling money - statutory trust

We receive premiums You pay to us as Agent of the Insurer. All insurance premiums You pay to us are protected in a Statutory Trust Client Account until we pay insurers. We do not pay any interest on premiums held by us in the course of arranging and administering Your insurance.