Terms of Business

By asking us to quote for, arrange or handle your insurances, you are providing your informed agreement to these Terms of Business. We draw your particular attention to the section headed ‘The processing of your personal data’, specifically the sub-section titled ‘Credit checks’;

For your own benefit and protection, you should read these terms carefully. If you are unsure about any aspect of our Terms of Business or have any questions regarding our relationship with you, please contact us at Beverley Meads Recreation Ground, Barnham Road, Copse Hill, London SW20 0ET

Export and General Insurance Services Ltd trading as Better Home Cover is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our Financial Services Register number is 310881. Our permitted business is introducing, advising, arranging, dealing as agent, assisting in the administration and performance of general insurance contracts and credit broking, debt administration and debt collecting in relation to insurance instalment facilities.

Our service - We source and arrange products and provide information but do not offer advice or make personal recommendations when arranging your insurance. However, we may ask some questions to narrow down the selection of products on which we will provide details; you will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed.

The capacity in which we act for you We act as an insurance intermediary, not an insurer. We will usually act on your behalf when arranging your insurances, when helping you make any changes to your policy, when you renew your insurance and in the event of a claim. If there are any circumstances where we act as an agent of the insurer, we will let you know the capacity in which we act before we finalise your insurance arrangements.

We will not in any circumstance guarantee the solvency of any insurer.

We normally receive commission from the insurer, product providers and, where applicable, finance providers.

• Any commission we receive will be paid by the insurer or product provider from the insurance premium.
• Any commission we receive from the premium finance provider will be paid from the finance repayment.

You will receive a quotation which will tell you the total price to be paid.

We also draw your attention to the section headed ‘Cancellation of insurances’.

We act as agents of the Insurer in collecting premiums and handling refunds due to clients and hold these funds on their behalf. Such monies are deemed to be held by the insurer(s) with which your insurance is arranged.

You should make any request for the cancellation of a policy to the contact details included within this Terms of Business, either by letter, email or phone.

If you are a consumer, you are responsible for answering any questions in relation to any application for insurance cover honestly and to the best of your knowledge, providing complete and accurate information which insurers will require. This also applies to your responses in relation to any assumptions you may agree to in the process of applying for insurance cover. This is particularly important before taking out a policy but also at renewal or if you make a mid-term amendment to your policy.

If you fail to disclose information, or misrepresent any fact which may influence the insurer’s decision to accept the risk or the terms offered, this could invalidate the policy and mean that claims may not be paid.

If you are a commercial customer you have a duty to give a fair presentation of risk to the insurer.

This means that you should disclose every material circumstance relevant to the risk being insured following a reasonable search within your business to identify and verify such information. This should include information which you and where applicable your senior management, persons responsible for arranging your insurance or other relevant third parties know or ought to know and should include all information that would influence the judgement of the insurer or that would put the insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries.

Examples of material circumstances are:

• Special or unusual circumstances relating to the risk;
• Any particular concerns which led you to seek insurance cover for the risk; and
• Anything which those concerned with the class of insurance and field of activity in question would generally understand as being something that would be dealt with in a fair presentation of risks for this type of insurance.

The information must be presented in a way which would be reasonably clear and accessible to a prudent insurer. If you are unsure whether to disclose any information you should speak to us. You need to take into account the size & complexity of your business, and allow yourself sufficient time before your renewal date to consider and / or assess your insurance requirements.

Failure to provide a ‘fair representation’ may result in a number of remedies by the insurer. If the breach was deliberate or reckless the insurer can void the contract and keep the premium. If the breach was not deliberate or reckless the insurer can void the contract, proportionately reduce a claim settlement or amend the insurance policy terms and conditions then review the merits of a claim on this basis.

You should therefore always provide complete and accurate information to us when we ask you about the insurance risks your business faces before taking out a policy, at renewal and throughout the life of the policy. This also applies to your responses in relation to any assumptions you may agree to in the process of applying for insurance cover.

It is important that you read all insurance documents issued to you and ensure that you are aware of the cover, limits and other terms that apply. Particular attention must be paid to any warranties and conditions as failure to comply with them could invalidate your policy or mean that claims may not be paid.

You must inform us immediately of any changes in circumstances which may affect the services provided by us or the cover provided by your policy. If you are unsure about any matter, please contact us for guidance.

In your dealings with us you may provide us with information that may include data that is known as personal data. Where we process personal data, we comply with statutory data processing requirements as set out by the Data Protection Act 2018. The personal data we will collect will include information relating to your name, address, date of birth (where arranging insurance premium finance) and contact details.

We will process your personal data to allow us to provide you with our services as your insurance broker in quoting for, arranging and administering your insurances and in arranging insurance premium finance where applicable. Your personal data will also be used to manage future communications between ourselves. Where you have agreed, or in circumstances where to do so will be in our mutual interests, your personal data will be used to provide you with further information about our wider products and services. You can opt out from receiving such communications by e-mailing happyhelpers@betterhomecover.com

In processing personal data for insurance purposes about health or criminal offences, we will only do so to enable us to provide our service to you and on the basis of it being in the public interest.

We will only use your data for the purpose for which it was collected. We will only grant access to or share your data within our firm, with other authorised third parties and product and service providers such as insurers and premium finance providers where we are entitled to do so by law under lawful data processing.

The Data Protection Act 2018 provides you with Access Rights that allow you to gain an understanding on the data being processed, who we share it with, for what purpose, why we need to retain it and retention periods, to object to the processing and to place restrictions on the processing, to request copies of your data and to request the deletion of your data.

If you require further information on how we process your data or you wish to exercise your rights, please contact us by emailing happyhelpers@betterhomecover.com or by writing to Better Home Cover, Beverley Meads Recreation Ground, Barnham Road, Copse Hill, London SW20 0ET or by telephoning 0800 862 0833 select option 5. How we process your personal data is detailed further within our Privacy Notice found here

We and other firms involved in arranging your insurance (insurers, other intermediaries or premium finance companies) may use public and personal data from a variety of sources including credit reference agencies and other organisations. The information is used to help tailor a price, to ascertain the most appropriate payment options for you and to help prevent fraud. Any credit reference search will appear on your credit report whether or not your application proceeds. If you have any questions about this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Occasions can arise where we, or one of our associated companies, clients or product providers, may have a potential conflict of interest with business being transacted for you. If this happens, and we become aware that 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.

You should take note of the required procedures in the event of a claim, which will be explained in the policy documentation. Generally, insurers require immediate notification of a claim or circumstances which might lead to a claim.