Terms and Conditions


The purpose of this document is to set out the basis of the way in which we do business.

What follows is a summary of the principles and practices which govern the way we operate.

  • By asking us to quote for, arrange or handle your insurances, you are providing your informed agreement to these Terms of Business.
  • We are a Lloyd's broker, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"). We are bound by their rules which determine the manner in which we conduct business with clients and how we handle and control our clients' money. This can be checked on the FCA's Register by visiting the FCA's website www.fsa.gov.uk/register, or by contacting the FCA on 0845 6061234. Our FCA registered number is 310750.
  • We offer products from a range of (re)insurers and from the Lloyds market to authorised and registered intermediaries worldwide and when required direct to customers in line with their demands and needs.
  • We are committed to providing our clients with the highest quality standards when dealing with their affairs and aim to treat them fairly at all times.
  • Our business culture is founded on the principles of integrity, competence, clear and open communication to develop long term client relationships and more recently, in line with London Market initiatives, we use technology to enhance service delivery and maintain appropriate systems and controls.

If you are unsure about any aspect of these Terms of Business or have any questions regarding our relationship with you, please contact us immediately. This agreement supersedes and replaces any previous similar agreements and may only be varied by written agreement.

Our Service

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the scope of our services is to provide and make recommendations to you on appropriate policies, if necessary, after we have assessed your demands and needs, and to arrange and administer policies on your behalf. This will include the type of cover you seek together with the costs.

We will explain the main features of products and services we are offering including all important details of cover and benefits together with significant exclusions, conditions and other obligations.

Upon receipt of your instructions we will place (re)insurance with (re)insurers, and keep you informed of the progress of our negotiations and confirm the details of the placement to you. Producing brokers are responsible for compliance with their local tax requirements.

We will provide these Services in a professional and efficient manner. If we become aware of a potential conflict of interest between the different parties with whom we are transacting business, we will write to clients and seek their consent and instructions to ensure fair treatment.

Insurers

Following analysis of the market we use a limited number of insurers or a single insurer who is best suited to the requirements and in the best interests of our client. We can provide you with information on the insurers on request.

Whilst we are unable to guarantee the solvency of any insurer, we do assess those we do business with using public information including information produced by recognised rating agencies.

The final choice of insurer remains with you. If at any time the cover you require can only be provided by an insurer that is not on our list of approved insurers, we will advise you of such and obtain appropriate instructions from you.

Documentation

We will confirm in writing details of all covers effected including the identity of the insurer. It is essential that these documents are checked by you as soon as they are received. Any discrepancies between coverage as shown on our evidence of cover documents and that required should be brought to our attention immediately. Particular attention should be paid to any subjectivities, warranties and conditions imposed by insurers as failure to comply with them could invalidate the contract. We are always happy to clarify the cover provided.

Renewals

We will provide contract renewal terms in writing or notify you that renewal of a contract is not being invited. Attached to the renewal terms will be a statement of any changes to the terms and conditions and / or information required.

Disclosure of Information

Every Proposer / Insured and their Agents should be aware that at any time during the life of a contract of insurance and when seeking new insurance or renewing an existing Policy they have a duty to disclose any fact or information which might influence the Insurer in deciding whether or not to accept the risk, what the terms should be, or what premiums to charge. Failure to do so may render the insurance voidable from inception and enable the Insurer to repudiate liability.

Material information is information that would influence an insurer in deciding whether a risk is acceptable and, if so the premium, terms and conditions to be applied. Under English law, failure to disclose all such information or misrepresentation could result in the policy being rendered void, so that claims would not be paid. The position may differ where the policy is subject to the law of another country. Please contact us immediately if you are in any doubt as to whether or not information might be material or if you have any concerns that we might not be aware of all material information.

Remuneration

We receive remuneration for our services by way of commission or brokerage and / or a fee.

Subject to any regulatory requirements placed on us, brokerage and fees are earned for the policy period and we will be entitled to retain all fees and brokerage in respect of the full policy period in relation to policies placed by us.

We are committed to transparency in our relationship with you. K.M. Dastur & Company Limited may also act as a service provider to (re)insurers. In addition to fees (if applicable) from you and/ or brokerage, we may receive remuneration from (re)insurers for services we provide to them. We may also act as reinsurance broker to insurers with whom we have placed your insurance or reinsurance and the reinsurers may also remunerate us. Please contact us if you wish to know more.

Payment

Some (re)insurers include terms of settlement on certain contracts; others require the premium to be paid within certain strict guidelines. This is a condition of the policy and must be complied with to ensure payment schedules are met in full. Failure to meet deadlines can lead to a policy being cancelled and render the contract voidable.

Statement of Account

It is our practice to send a Statement of Account to our clients on a regular basis with details of debit and credit notes included. All balances must be settled within the terms of credit. In the event of any uncertainty with regard to any item, please notify us immediately to allow such matters to be resolved.

Handling Money

Generally insurers have appointed us on a "Risk Transfer" basis to act as their agents in collecting premiums and handling refunds due to clients. In these circumstances such monies are deemed to be held by the insurer(s) with whom the insurance contract is arranged. Money will only be held in a Client Bank Account on behalf of an insurer in accordance with a written agreement with the insurer.

In other cases we will hold premiums and refunds in a Non-Statutory Trust account pending payment, in accordance with the rules provided by FCA to protect client money held by authorised intermediaries. We are permitted to use such monies to advance credit to clients generally. A copy of the Deed of Trust is available on request. Your agreement to pay premium together with your acceptance of these Terms of Business will constitute consent to our holding money in a Non¬ Statutory Trust Account.

We shall retain any interest and earnings received on Trust Monies from any designated investments that may be set up as permitted under FCA rules. Under the terms of the Trust Account(s) we are responsible for meeting any trust fund shortfalls.

We will pay premiums directly to insurers and receive premium refunds and/ or claim payments directly from insurers or their representatives except where we have engaged the services of another intermediary in which case settlements may then be transferred between us and the other intermediary. Should such an intermediary be located outside of the United Kingdom, payments will be made to and from their jurisdiction and will be subject to a legal and regulatory regime different from that of the United Kingdom. In the event of a failure of the intermediary, the Client Money may be treated differently from the treatment which would have applied if it were held by an intermediary in the United Kingdom. You may notify us if you do not wish your money to be held in a particular jurisdiction.

Cancellation of insurances and refunds

Certain Insurance contracts may include a cancellation clause. The terms of the policy may allow insurers to retain the premium in full or in part in the event of cancellation before the contract expires. Once our remuneration has been earned, in the event that the insurance is cancelled after inception, our fees or brokerage will not usually be returnable.

Claims

In the event of a claim please contact the Claims Department, at our normal address, with the date and location of the incident together with details of the loss. It is important that you notify us promptly of any incident which might give rise to a claim against Insurers so that we can inform them. We will assist you in submitting a claim and seeking to obtain an appropriate settlement.

Where we handle claims on your behalf we will do so fairly and promptly. Once insurers have agreed a claim, and payment of the claim has been collected by us, we will arrange settlement. In the event of a large claim, on your instruction, we will attempt to agree a payment of the claim on account with insurers in advance of final settlement.

Subject to the actual policy terms the insured must not incur expenditure for the account of the Insurers except to minimise the loss or when advised in writing of Insurers' authority to act on their behalf.

Confidentiality

All information provided by our clients is considered to be confidential and is only disclosed in the normal course of negotiation and maintenance of insurance transactions undertaken on their behalf. We will not release information to any other party without the prior consent of the client except in exceptional circumstance: for example, information requested by a court of competent jurisdiction, a regulatory body or information which is already in the public domain. Any personal data will be held in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and its amendments. Please contact the Head of Compliance for further information.

Intellectual Property

We shall retain all title, copyright, patents and other intellectual property rights to all K.M. Dastur & Company Limited developed computer programmes and their output and to all K.M. Dastur & Company Limited developed methodologies and documents used in the performance of the Services.

Third Party Rights

A person who is not a party to these terms of business has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce or to enjoy the benefit of any term of these terms of business.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These terms of business shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law and any dispute arising out of or in connection with it shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

We contribute to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on your legal status, the type of business and the circumstances of the claim.

Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available at www.fscs.org.uk.

EU Directives

We will advise you of any changes that may occur under EU Directives relating to insurance, statement of price and information about cancellation.

Complaints

Should you have need to express dissatisfaction with the service we provide, we would ask you to address your comments to:

The Head of Compliance
K.M. Dastur & Company Limited
Forum House
15-18 Lime Street
London
EC3M 7AN

or

Telephone: +44(0) 20 7002 0900

The Head of Compliance will take responsibility for investigating the complaint although he may nominate an experienced individual (co-ordinator) to carry out the work. If you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Further information will be provided should this become appropriate.

We will acknowledge your complaint within (5) working days of receipt and will advise you fully of our complaints handling procedure.

Financial Crime

In line with global initiatives to prevent financial crime (including Bribery & Corruption) within financial services, a new client is required to complete a new client application form at the commencement of our relationship, as part of our due diligence process. During our relationship with you, we may also ask you to verify certain information or instructions relating to transactions in certain circumstances for monitoring or audit purposes at certain times.

This agreement is based on the understanding that you have and maintain tile appropriate licences and status to transact business with us and that you have systems and controls in place to comply with international financial sanctions.

Termination

These terms of business shall continue until completion of the Service or until replaced by new terms of business.

This agreement may be terminated in writing by either party at any time by mutual agreement or

  • by either party on the expiry of 30 days' written notice;
  • by either party with immediate effect if it has reason to suspect fraud, or the administration of the account is such as to prejudice the interest of policyholders, or either party commits a material breach of this Agreement;
  • the other shall become insolvent, or enter into receivership, liquidation, provisional liquidation or a voluntary arrangement with its creditors;
  • if required to have FCA, EU authorisation or any other local country or state registration or approval, either of us ceases to comply with these arrangements.

At termination we shall have no further obligation to perform any of the Services and all sums payable by you shall become due and payable. We will retain appropriate documents relating to the Services we have carried out for at least three years after expiry of the policy.