The Financial Conduct Authority

The Financial Conduct Authority is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. Home Counties Insurance services Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our FCA Register number is 300805 and you can check our status at www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

Our permitted business includes advising, arranging, dealing in and assisting with the placing and administration of all types of General Insurance policies.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

We will treat all your personal information as private and confidential to us and anyone else involved in the normal course of arranging and administering your insurance, even when you are no longer a customer. 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. We may use information we hold about you to provide information to you about other products and services, which we feel may be appropriate to you. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 you have the right to see personal information about you that we hold in our records. If you have any queries please write to us at our usual office address.

Our Service

We are an independent insurance intermediary/broker, who acts on our customers’ behalf in arranging insurance. We will not provide you with any advice on the purchase of policies via our website and customers should make their own decision regarding the suitability of products offered.

Whose products we offer

In respect of products purchased via our website, these will be from David Oliver Associates T/A Sunworld Travel Insurance, who are another professional intermediary that specialise in web based insurance business, They will then, for each type of business, offer products from insurance providers for you to choose from, who will be clearly identified in the quotation.

The service we will provide you with

In respect of policies purchased through our website you will not receive advice or a recommendation from us and you will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed. Guidance on the circumstances in which any policy is likely to meet customer’s needs, will be confirmed in a demands & needs statement with the quotation.

What you will pay for our services

We usually receive a commission from David Oliver associates T/A SunWorld Travel Insurance, and in such a case, the commission will be paid to us either when they are in receipt of cleared funds from you (or the premium finance company, if one has been used) or, when the insurer has received cleared funds from them in respect of the premium due under your policy. The individual agreements they have with each insurance provider will determine which of the two methods above is used to make this transfer of commission.

What to do if you have a complaint

Our aim is to provide a first class service, however, if you wish to register a complaint, please contact us by writing to Complaints Manager, Home Counties Insurance services Ltd, Highway House, 4 Doolittle Yard, Ampthill, MK45 2NW or, by phone Telephone 01525 719955, by fax 01525 720033.

We will provide you with a copy of our full complaints procedure and respond to you promptly, and always within 5 working days. We will make a final response to you within eight weeks, In the event that your complaint relates to activities or services provided by another party, we will ensure that your complaint is appropriately forwarded in writing, and will track the progress of the complaint and responses of that party.

After our final response has been issued, or If this cannot be issued within eight weeks or if you still cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, for an independent assessment and opinion.

The FOS Consumer Helpline is on 0800 023 4567 (free for people phoning from a “fixed line” (for example, a landline at home) or 0300 123 9123 (free for mobile-phone users paying monthly charge for calls to No’s starting 01 or 020) and their address is:

Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London E14 9SR

A full copy of our complaints procedure is available on request.

Your Right to Cancel (Applicable to Consumers only)

You have a legal right to cancel your policy for any reason, subject to no claims having occurred, within 14 days of receiving the full terms & conditions. You will always be advised where this Right applies. A charge may apply for the period of cover provided and

If you wish to cancel a policy you must advise us in writing, prior to expiry of the 14-day cancellation period, to our usual office address.

Are we covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS is the UK’s statutory fund of last resort for customers of authorised financial services firms, like us. The FSCS can pay compensation if an authorised firm is unable or likely to be unable to pay claims against it, usually because it has gone out of business or is insolvent.

Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without an upper limit. For compulsory insurances (for example, motor insurance and employers’ liability insurance), insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, without an upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.

Payment Options

David Oliver Associates T/A SunWorld Travel Insurance will advise you of the payment methods available to you at the time of placing your order.

Please Note: Your policy cover will cease if you fail to keep up payments on an instalment agreement or premium finance facility related to it.

Language Used

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.

Applicable Law

This Terms of Business is subject to English Law and the jurisdiction of the English Courts

Information on how we treat Payments You make to Us

You will not make payments to us and you should check the David oliver Assocaites T/A SunWorld Travel Insurance terms of business to see how they treat payments that you make to them.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

WARNING – CONSUMERS

WHERE THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE CONTRACT IS FOR PRIVATE USE

Your duty to give information

When applying for or amending your insurance policy, we and / or your insurer will ask a number of questions to assess the risk prior to agreeing cover. It is your duty to ensure that you answer all questions raised by insurers or us honestly and reasonably. These questions are designed to enable us or the insurer to obtain a comprehensive picture of the nature of the risk to be insured, and only by asking such questions and receiving answers which are given honestly and with reasonable care, can we or the insurer be in a position to offer terms which are designed to meet your demands and needs.

The reason why this is vital and extremely important is that if you fail to tell us or the insurer something when asked, or, if you answer carelessly or act deliberately or recklessly in making misrepresentations when answering questions, your policy may leave you with no insurance protection; insurers may not pay a part or all of your claim and may cancel your policy. You may find it difficult to re-arrange cover because you did not tell an insurer everything when asked, and you will have to disclose this fact when you reapply for insurance. FAILURE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS HONESTLY AND REASONABLY, WHEN ASKED, MAY LEAVE YOU WITH NO COVER AND A CLAIM NOT PAID.