Our Role, Services
and Regulations
Welcome to the Landlord Insurance Centre. LIC is a Trading Name
of Townsend Insurance Services. We are an Independent Broker
who act as your agent in arranging and providing for your general
insurance needs. We use facilities provided by insurance companies
and Lloyds Syndicates alike. We are members of the Institute
of Insurance Brokers and are authorised and regulated by the
Financial Services Authority (FSA). FSA Registration No. 300262.
Our details can be checked on the FSA website at www.fsa.gov.uk
Our Charges and Renumeration
In return for our services we will receive brokerage (a percentage
of the premium) from the insurer for placing your business with
them.
We will in some cases receive commission where premium finance
has been arranged on your behalf to fund your premium.
We reserve the right to charge a fee in respect of the arrangement
and administration of your policy over the period of insurance.
The charges are as follows:
- Renewals : £10.00
- New Business: £10.00
- Cancellations: £15.00
- Duplicate Documents: £15.00
- Returned Cheques: £20.00
- Mid-Term Amendments: £15.00
All charges are in addition to the commission received from
the insurer.
Cancellations
If you decide not to accept a new policy or renewal, all documents
must be returned to the office within FOURTEEN days. A full
refund will be given to the insurer.
We reserve the right to charge a fee for the costs incurred
in arranging the cover and the subsequent cancellation within
the 14 day period.
After the 14 day period the insurer will cancel according to
their normal mid-term cancellation policy. A full refund will
not be available in this instance.
We charge £15.00 for all mid-term cancellations. We do
not refund any commission since this was earned in arranging
your policy for you. We do not refund instalment charges.
Quotations and Duties of Disclosure
Quotations are based on the information given by you at the
time of the quotation. If the information changes the quotation
and the terms could also change.
It is your responsibility to give insurers the correct information
at inception, renewal and during the current period of insurance.
FAILURE TO DO SO COULD LEAVE YOUR POLICY VOID. It is your responsibility
to check the information given on all proposal forms, claim
forms or any material document.
A material fact is one which could influence your insurers acceptance
or continued acceptance of the risk on normal terms.
An example would be an accident or penalty points on a Motor
policy or in the case of a Property policy:
- A change in the tenancy of a property owners policy
- A property being unoccupied in excess of 30 days
- A property of non standard construction, flat roof etc.
Rights to cancel
You have the right to cancel any contract of insurance we have
arranged by providing us with a written request one month in
advance unless otherwise agreed.
We also reserve this right to cancel should the contract not
be honoured through non payment or misleading information. (Refer
to cancellation clauses).
If a policy is terminated by you we reserve the right to retain
all fees and comissions earned in the arrangement and administration
of the policy.
Claims
We will assist you in the reporting and conduct of your claim.
All claims must be notified as soon as possible to the insurer
via one of their claims lines or to us so that we can inform
the insurer.All correspondence regarding a potential claim must
be passed to us or the insurers. Under no circumstances should
correspondence with third parties be enetered into.
A detailed claims procedure is given in every policy booklet
in addition to Help Lines. Read this fully.
FAILURE TO NOTIFY INCIDENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE POLICY TERMS
AND CONDITIONS COULD INVALIDATE YOUR INSURANCE COVER.
Premiums
In order to ensure that cover is affected premiums must be received
prior to renewal date or inception of the policy unless otherwise
agreed in writing.Failure to meet the payment date may result
in insurers cancelling your policy.
We are under no obligation to settle premiums to insurers, still
outstanding at the payment date, where the premium has not been
paid by you.
Client Money
After receipt of premiums we hold money in an Insurers Clients
Account in accordance with FSA rules on clients money.
Our Terms of Business with most of our insurers provide that
premium payments are considered as insurer money after payment
to Townsend Insurance Services.
Otherwise client money will generally be held in a non-statutory
trust account.
The aim of the trust is to protect the client in the event of
a failure of the firm, or the failure of the bank or a third
party with which the money be held.
In such circumstances the firms general creditors should not
be able to make claims on client money as it will not form part
of this firm's property. The fact that we hold money on trust
gives rise to Fiduciary Duties which will be owed to you until
the client money reaches the insurer.
Under the terms of the non-statutory trust account we are entitled
to use and may use client money held on behalf of one client
to pay another clients premium before the premium is received
from that other client.
However we are not entitled to use client money to fund brokerage
payments to Townsend Insurance Services before we receive the
relevant premium from the client.
We will, for certain clients, hold money in a statutory trust
account in accordance with FSA regulations.
Any interest earned on client money held by us will be retained
for our own use.
Client money while held by Townsend Insurance Services will
be, at all times, retained in a UK clearning bank authorised
and regulated by the FSA.
Professional Indemnity
As professional insurance brokers we carry professional indemnity
insurance in line with that specified and required by our regulators,
the financial services authority.
Data Protection
and Confidentiality
We are registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 and undertake
to comply with the Act in all our dealings with your personal
data.
Information you have disclosed will not be used other than in
the normal course of renewing, maintaining and arranging insurance
on your behalf, except if we are required to do so by regulatory
or legal reasons.
Complaints
It is our intention to provide you with a high level of customer
service at all times. However if you are unhappy in any way
please contact the Principal, Mr Gavin Fisher at the following
address:
3 Limpsfield Road
Sanderstead
Surrey
CR2 9LA
All complaints will be acknowledged in 5 working days.
If the matter is not resolved to your satisfaction you can contact
the Financial Ombudsmans Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh
Wall, London, E14 9SR.
Law/Jurisdiction
This contract will be governed by the laws of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland unless otherwise stated.
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