Terms and Conditions

Castleacre Insurance Services Ltd is an independent insurance intermediary registered in the UK and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Our primary responsibility is to you, our client. We aim to deliver the highest standards of service that you expect from an agent who enjoys your trust and confidence. In exchange, we are remunerated via commission or fees, which we will always disclose. We do not accept ‘volume overriders’.

The following sets out the basis upon which we will act as your agent. If you do not wish our relationship to be governed in such a manner, you need to advise us before we arrange any insurance on your behalf. Unless we hear from you, we will assume that you agree to these terms.

1. WHOSE POLICIES DO WE OFFER

We research the whole market and offer policies from a wide range of insurers who we feel are competitive and understand the nature of your particular requirements. If required we will provide you with a list of insurers from whom we offer policies.

2. SERVICES WE PROVIDE TO YOU

Establishing your Demands & Needs
In good time before negotiations with the insurers commence, we will ask what your requirements are. We will help where necessary in compiling this information, and in its submission to the insurers.

You are responsible for answering any questions in relation to any proposal for insurance cover honestly and to the best of your knowledge. This also applies to your responses in relation to any assumptions you may agree to in the process for applying for insurance cover. This is important before taking out a policy but also at renewal or if you make a mid-term amendment to your policy.

It is your duty to make sure that your property is insured at the correct value. Underinsurance can be countered by making sure that your property and possessions are regularly valued. (If you need assistance we have contacts with professional valuers). In the event of a claim and insurers discover underinsurance, you may have your claim recovery reduced by the same percentage that you are underinsured.

Liaison between you and the insurer
We obtain competitive quotations for insurance, which, in our opinion, are as appropriate as possible. We will advise you of the relevant terms quoted by the insurers. We will then make a personal recommendation based on your demands and needs and a fair analysis of the market. We will disclose our commission in the quote.

We will take prompt steps to carry out your instructions and endeavour to arrange the required insurance before the intended date of inception, renewal or extension. We will confirm to you prior to such date that the cover is in place and of any subjectivities

Documentation
We will send you a cover note or a confirmation letter, which provides a summary of the main terms of the insurance and identifies the insurers with whom it has been placed. Please check this immediately and advise us if there is any difference from your requirements.

If the policy can be issued in a timely fashion after completion, we will not send you a cover note unless you specifically ask for one.

We will also send you details of the premium charged for the insurance showing the full premium, any rebate due to you and the relevant tax.

Premiums

Premiums must be settled to us by the inception of the policy.

Cancellation

Insurers can cancel the policy and charge premium due if you do not pay promptly.

Amendments

If you require any amendments to the terms of the insurance, please contact us as soon as possible specifying the required changes with supporting documents if necessary.

Use of Sub-agents

We may sometimes consider it beneficial to instruct, on your behalf, specialist insurance brokers to assist in the placement, for instance when accessing Lloyd’s, but in all cases, we remain responsible to you for the completion of your instructions.

3. CLAIMS PROCEDURES

Claims should be notified either directly to Castleacre or, if you prefer, directly to your insurers. Details will be explained in your policy documentation.

We will work closely with you to ensure that you receive as full and reasonable a recovery within the terms of the contract in as speedy a timeframe as possible.

4. REMUNERATION

Our principal remuneration for arranging your insurance will either be via commission paid to us by the insurer or a fee agreed with you. We will collect this commission or fee and declare this to you when we send your quotation. We reserve the right to charge you an additional administration fee which will be disclosed at quotation and renewal.

In addition, you should be aware that as a result of arranging the insurance, we may receive additional income from the following sources:

• Interest earned on monies passing through our insurance broker accounts.
• Income derived from arranging premium finance.
• Expense allowances from insurers for managing and administering binding authorities, including claims, which may arise thereunder.

We do not receive or solicit volume overriders as we consider that this creates a conflict of interest.

In the event that a contract is cancelled after the cooling-off period we reserve the right to keep our commission.

5. HOW WE HANDLE YOUR MONEY

We act as agents of the insurer in collecting premium and handling refunds. We hold monies paid to us on your behalf before paying to insurers and monies paid to us by insurers for return premiums due to you or for claims payments due to you. All such client monies are held in a separate trust account, set up in accordance with the FCA rules.

Any interest earned on monies in this account accrues to the benefit of Castleacre Insurance Services Ltd.

6. WHO REGULATES US

Castleacre Insurance Services Ltd, Castleacre House, 26 High Street, Hadleigh, Suffolk IP7 5AP, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our FCA registered number is 308705.

Our permitted business is arranging general insurance contracts.

You can check this on the FCA’s Register by visiting the FCA’s website: https://www.fca.org.uk/ or by contacting the FCA consumer helpline on 0800 111 6768.

7. OWNERSHIP

There is no shareholding between any insurer and Castleacre Insurance Services Ltd.

We are registered in England under the Companies Act 2006 No. 05114821 at Castleacre House, 26 High Street, Hadleigh, Suffolk IP7 5AP.

8. COMPLAINTS

We aim to provide a high level of customer service at all times but, if you are not satisfied, please contact us using the details at the end of this Terms of Business.

When dealing with your complaint we will follow our Complaint Handling Procedures, a summary of these procedures are available upon request. If you are still not satisfied, you may be able to refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). For further information, you can visit the FOS website:www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk Access to FOS is for complainants coming within one of the following:

• A consumer (any natural person who is acting wholly or mainly for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession)
• A ‘micro-enterprise’ employing fewer than 10 persons (i.e. 9 or less) with a turnover or annual balance sheet that does not exceed €2 million
• A ‘small business’ (other than a micro-enterprise) with an annual turnover of below £6.5m, and less than 50 employees or with an annual balance sheet total of below £5 million
• A charity with an annual income of less than £6.5 million
• A trustee of a trust with a net asset value of less than £5million

Making a complaint against us is in addition to and does not replace your right to seek legal redress against us.

English Law shall govern any disputes.

9. THE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPENSATION SCHEME (FSCS)

We are covered by the FSCS for our insurance mediation activities.

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.

The maximum level of compensation for claims is 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. For compulsory insurance (such as third-party motor liability), the claim is protected 100%.

Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS website: www.fscs.org.uk or on 0800 678 1100 (Freephone) or 020 7741 4100.

10. THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

In your dealings with us you will provide us with personal data. We will only use your data for the purpose of which it is collected. As your insurance broker, this will be quoting, arranging and administering your insurances and arranging premium finance where applicable.

We comply with the statutory requirements as set out in the Data Protection Act 2018.

We will only grant access to or share your data with our firm, with other authorised third parties and product and service providers such as insurers where we are entitled to do so under lawful data processing.

If you require further information on how we process your data or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us using the details at the end of the Terms of Business. How we process your data is detailed further in our Privacy Policy.

11. CREDIT CHECKS

We and other firms involve in arranging your insurance (insurers, other intermediaries and finance companies) may use public and personal data from a variety of sources including credit reference agencies and other organisations. This information is used to tailor a price, and appropriate payment options and to prevent fraud. Any credit reference search will appear on your credit report.

12. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Occasions may arise where we, or one of our clients or product providers, may have a potential conflict of interest. If this happens, and we are aware a potential conflict exists, we will write to you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions and we will detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.

13. COMBATTING FINANCIAL CRIME

We are obliged to conduct reasonable due diligence to protect you and us against the risk of financial crime. We may request evidence to assist us in verifying your identity and any payment details you provide to ensure transactions we conduct on your behalf are legitimate.

We shall not provide any services, provide any benefits, or make any payments to any client that is the subject of any trade and economic sanctions or embargoes, or provide services to any client located, organised in or resident in a country or territory that is subject to comprehensive country sanctions. If sanctions apply, we are obliged to report to the relevant authorities.

14. OUR LIABILITY TO YOU

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, our liability to you is limited to £5,000,000 per claim.

CONTACT DETAILS:

Castleacre Insurance Services Ltd
Castleacre House
26 High Street
Hadleigh
Suffolk IP7 5AP
Tel. 01787 211155

www.castleacreinsurance.com

TOBA (UK) v. 01/04/2025