Terms & Conditions
Status – The Company identified (’The Company’) is an independent insurance intermediary. The Company has no direct, or indirect, holding in any insurer and no insurer has any direct, or indirect, holding in The Company. The Company is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The Company is permitted to arrange, advise on and help in the administration of general insurance contracts. You can check this on the FSA Register by visiting the FSA website http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.
Choice of Product – For the majority of the policies we sell we deal with a range of insurers. In some circumstances we offer the policies of a limited number of insurers or a single insurer; however, we are not contractually bound to do business in this way. Where we deal with a range of insurers or a limited number of insurers, we select a policy to meet your particular needs. The type of policies and a list of the insurers we deal with are available at www.taxiplaninsurance.co.uk or by written request.
Client Money – Client money is money of any currency that we receive and hold in the course of carrying on insurance mediation on behalf of our clients. We hold client money subject to a non-statutory trust. Client money balances in a non-statutory trust may be used to make advances of credit, this enables your premium obligation to be met from the pool of client money held by The Company on behalf of other clients before you pay the premium to The Company; all money is held by The Company as trustee and the bank is not entitled to combine the account with any other account or to exercise any right of set-off or counterclaim against money in that account for any sum owed to it on any other account of The Company. We will pay any monies due to you from claims or refunds or any other reason before 30 days from the date those monies are available to The Company. Client balances below £10 will be treated as minimums and will either be used to offset future commissions charged to you, or held for our account. Any interest earned on Retail clients’ money held by us and any investment returns will be retained by us for our own use and not paid to you unless you write to us requesting reconsideration should any such amount exceed £20.
Professional Indemnity – The Company conform to the FSA rules in respect of Professional Indemnity Insurance and maintains cover in accordance with those rules.
Method of Sale – You may arrange your insurance with The Company face-toface, over the phone or by post.
Disclosure of Information – It is your responsibility, as a matter of Law, to provide complete and accurate information to The Company/Insurers when you take out the policy, throughout the life of the policy and when you renew the policy. All statements included in proposal forms, statements of fact, claim forms and other documents must be full and accurate. Any matters or information which might influence the insurer as to the acceptability or otherwise of the proposal for insurance or the renewal of it must be disclosed at the earliest opportunity and certainly at each renewal. If you fail to disclose any material information to your Insurers then the insurance may not cover you properly or may not operate at all. If you are unsure about any matter you should contact us for assistance. You are advised to keep copies of all correspondence that you send to us for your own protection.
Awareness of Policy Terms – When a policy is issued you are strongly advised to read it carefully, as it is that document, the schedule and any certificate of insurance that is the basis of the cover you have purchased. If you are in doubt over any of the policy terms or conditions, please seek our advice promptly./p>
Renewals – Shortly before renewal, we will send you a letter setting out our renewal quotation. We will ask you at that time to contact us. If you are paying for your policy by monthly direct debit, you will need to contact us to establish payment terms for the coming year. This is to ensure that any policy that is no longer required will not be incepted, and you will not incurr unnecessary costs. For this reason your direct debit payments will not continue automatically, and you will need to pay a deposit in order to set up a new direct debit agreement for the coming year. Failure to contact The Company prior to your renewal date to confirm, whether or not you wish to proceed, or if contact between us has not been successful will result in your policy not being renewed automatically. We would do this for your protection. If you do not wish us to take no action, please contact us at least 7 days before your renewal date to confirm that you wish to renew. If we do not hear from you to the contrary, we will treat it that you no longer require the insurance cover, and your policy will expire as per the date advised on your insurance certificate.
Claims – We will make available to you free of charge Plan Assist’s Claims Service 24hrs a day, 365 days a year, for motor related claims. Through this service we will always be available to give you expert help and advice when you have a claim. Simply call 0870 787 1087 if you’re involved in an accident, if you suffer fire, windscreen or other damage to your vehicle or the theft of your vehicle. If you need to make a claim on any other insurance, please call the relevant department. They will take your details and guide you through the claims process.
Your Cancellation Rights – In the first period of insurance you have a right to cancel the cover within fourteen (14) days of the policy inception/renewal date. You will be entitled to a proportionate return of the premium paid. Any subsequent cancellation after fourteen (14) days of the policy inception/renewal date will be in accordance with the cancellation rights set out in your policy document. You do not have a right to cancel any 3 month or less, short term insurance policy except in accordance with any terms shown in the policy document. All cancellations will be subject to a deduction of The Company’s operational costs in accordance with the charges detailed below. The amount of premium to be refunded will be reduced by all unpaid premiums or instalments due. In circumstances where a claim has been made or an incident has arisen which may give rise to a claim the full annual premium may be payable to The Insurer. Further, if you exercise this right to cancel your motor insurance, any Driver’s Legal Protection you hold will also be cancelled.
The Company’s Right to Cancel Your Insurance – If you choose to pay by monthly direct debit or under our instalment scheme, you will be provided with our Important Notice – Terms Of Business Agreement
Consumer Credit Agreement or Instalment Agreement to sign. You are reminded that it is a term of both agreements that you authorise The Company, as your agent, to instruct the insurers to cancel your insurance, if any monthly direct debit or instalment payment, or any other amount due under those agreements, is in arrears and not paid by the due date.
Charges – The Company reserves the right to make charges for the arranging, amending and cancellation of any policy of insurance. These charges will always be clearly identified and shown separately. The Company makes a non-refundable charge (amount specified on the relevant documentation) for the issue of any policy, mid-term adjustment or renewal. Any cancellation or voidance will incur a 15% charge of the refunded premium allowed by the insurers. Administration fees in respect of any instalment arrangements will be identified separately on such arrangements. The Company also reserves the right to make a further charge should any payment default and these charges will be notified to you.
Monthly Payments by Direct Debit – Most annual policies can be paid for by direct debit. For full details of the terms and conditions and interest charges, please ask. Availability is subject to status. A deposit is required. If you choose to pay by direct debit, you will be provided with a Consumer Credit Agreement to sign and return to us. This agreement will set out the amount and number of your direct debit payments. Occasionally payments will be processed before you have confirmed that you wish to renew. Please do not treat our taking of this payment as renewal of your policy; it is simply a pre-renewal deposit. If your policy is not renewed, this payment will be refunded to you.
Documents – We reserve the right to retain certificates at this office until all payments due under the policy have been made and any cheques cleared through our bank account
Complaints – It is always our intention to provide a first class standard of service, however if you have a complaint, please contact the Manager of the department where you purchased the policy. We expect the majority of complaints will be quickly and satisfactorily resolved at this stage. If the matter is not resolved in the first instance the next step is to contact our Customer Care department in writing at Taxi Plan Insurance, 1 High Street, Purley, Surrey. CR8 2AF. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within 5 working days and give you our response to your complaint at this time if we can. If our investigation takes longer, we will provide you with a full written response within 20 working days, or explain the current position of your complaint and provide you with a timescale for a full response. If your complaint is one of the few that cannot be resolved by this stage, please write for the attention of our Mananging Director. If you remain dissatisfied with our response to your complaint, you may refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) within six months of our final response. The FOS will independently investigate your complaint without charge to you. Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR. Tel 0845 080 1800. Fax 020 7964 1001. E-mail: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk. Website: www.financialombudsman. org.uk. Please provide your policy details on all correspondence. If you have a complaint against your insurer, please refer to the policy booklet for details of your insurer’s complaints procedure.
Data Protection – It’s important for you to know that your personal details, and those of anyone else covered under your policy, are not disclosed to anyone else except in the circumstances described below. We will share information where the disclosure is required by law. As part of the process of providing you with a quote, arranging your insurance and putting your cover in place, your personal data will be shared with insurers. We may also use the information we have on record to tell you, by phone, letter or e-mail about insurance related or other goods and services which we think you may be interested in. These are likely to include financial services such as the provision of credit, loan and mortgage facilities, life assurance, savings and investment products, and ‘life-style’ products and services, such as payment protection and associated products, as well as products and services related to the insurance, protection, maintenance and repair of your personal goods and property. These may be products and services supplied by us or other selected third parties. Please let us know if you don’t want us to do this. Most of the insurers we deal with have a sharing of information agreement to prevent fraud. Whenever you arrange your insurance through us, your cover and premium will be agreed with your insurer on the basis that you agree to their passing on claims information to the Claims Underwriting Exchange. To help prevent fraudulent claims, your insurer exchanges information with other insurers through various databases. Also to help detect people who break the law by not having insurance, your insurer will supply details of your motor insurance to a database which can be accessed by the police or other insurers. If you would like a copy of your policy record, please request this in writing enclosing a cheque for £10 payable to Plan Insurance and send it to the Customer Assistance Team at the above address.
Motor Insurance Database (MID) – In accordance with the 4th European Union Directive (and any subsequent legislation), The Company will endeavour to assist Policyholders in complying with the legislation surrounding the notification of vehicles to the MID. The Company may charge for this assistance. It should be noted that the responsibility of notification of required vehicles remains with the Policyholder and The Company cannot accept responsibility for vehicles either incorrectly registered or not registered on the database whether notified to The Company or not.
Protection – 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 100% of the first £2000 and 90% of the remainder of the claim, without any upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS. Financial Services Compensation Scheme, 7th Floor Lloyds Chambers, Portsoken Street, London, E1 8BN. Tel 0207 892 7300. Note that this may not apply to commercial clients.
Terms Update – 29th November 2006