This Terms of Business comes into force on the date you receive it from us and will remain in force until you are provided with revised terms. Cofton Insurance Services Limited is an insurance intermediary acting on your behalf in arranging your general insurance. We provide the following services, the initial arrangement of cover, mid-term alterations and renewal processing. We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs. This will include the type of cover you seek together with the costs. We offer products from a range of insurers; the list of insurers and products we offer is available on request.

Cofton Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Our FSA Register number is 304327. Our permitted business is advising and arranging general insurance contracts. You can check this on the FSA's Register by visiting the FSA's website www.fsa.gov.uk/register/ or by contacting the FSA on
0845 6061234. The FSA is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. It requires us to give you certain information to decide if our services are right for you.

In the normal course of our business, we receive income as follows: Commission paid to us by insurance companies with whom we place business. All policy adjustments, alterations and cancellations will incur an administration fee of up to £25.00 this in addition to all other charges made by the insurer; Any charges for new business, adjustments or renewals will be advised to you in advance and confirmed in writing in our Statement of Price. If an adjustment results in a return premium, the commission that is being repaid to the insurer will be deducted from the final amount to yourself. We reserve the right to make charges/fees, details of which will be provided to you verbally and/or in writing before conclusion of the contract.

Your premium to us is held by us as an agent of the insurer.Any interest earned on client money held by us for retail customers will be retained by us for our own use, rather than paid to you.  In the event that an insurer does not provide us with Risk Transfer, we will hold money received from you in Statutory Trust Client Account.

We will be responsible for issuing invoices for all new, renewal premiums, and mid-term alterations as soon as practicable after inception or renewal of your policy. We will remit premiums to insurers in accordance with the agreed terms of business. You will be responsible for paying promptly all of our invoices for premiums to enable us to make the necessary payments to insurers. For the avoidance of doubt, we have no obligation to fund any premiums on your behalf. We also have no responsibility for any loss that you may suffer because of insurers cancelling the policy or taking any other prejudicial steps because of the late payment of such sums if such delay is attributable to you. In certain circumstances, insurers may impose a specific premium term, whereby they require payment of premium by a certain date. We must stress that breach of that term will entitle insurers to void the policy from inception of cover. You agree that the settlement of premiums in good time is your responsibility. We normally accept payment by cheque, debit card, or credit card.

It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information to insurers when you take out your insurance policy and when you renew your insurance. It is important that you ensure that all statements you make on the proposal form, claims forms, and any other documentation are full and accurate. Please note that if you fail to disclose any material information or change of circumstances to your insurers, this could invalidate your insurance cover and could mean that part or all of a claim may not be paid.  We strongly recommend that the information provided is checked thoroughly prior to submission and that you keep a record of all correspondence in relation to the arrangement of your insurance cover.

We will issue policy documentation in a timely manner. Your policy documentation will confirm the basis of the cover, give details of the insurers, and accompanied by a cover note/certificate/debit note/receipt. Prior to the conclusion of the contract you will be given a statement of demands and needs, which sets out and confirms the reason for making the recommendation. You will be provided, where possible, in writing in no less than 21 days for retail customers and for commercial customers 10 days before the expiry of the policy the renewal terms, or advised if renewal is not being offered. You will be given an explanation of any changes and if you are a retail customer, the right to request a new policy document.  We may keep certain documents, such as your insurance policy and/or certificates of insurance until we receive full payment of premium and/or policy fees. In these circumstances, we will ensure that you receive full details of your cover and any documents that you require by law.

A retail customer has the right to cancel a general insurance contract within 14 days of receiving the contractual terms and conditions. In the event of cancellation, insurers may return a pro rata premium to us based on the time on risk. We reserve the right to charge you half our commission for policies cancelled in this manner. Fees are not refunded. Cofton Insurance is unable to cancel your policy without written confirmation from yourself together with any documentation requested by the insurer.

You must notify us promptly of any claims. We will inform you what information is required and pass these details promptly on to the Insurer.

When we supply you with a quotation we will confirm how long this will be valid for on the terms we have quoted, give you a written quotation if you request one, including all the information you need to make an informed decision and give you a summary of the policy coverage.

We take all complaints seriously.  If you wish to register a complaint then please contact Gary Gittins either, in writing at the address shown on our letterhead, or by telephone on 0121 453 1945.  We will acknowledge your complaint in writing and tell you how we will handle it.  If we are unable to settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. A copy of the complaints procedure is available upon request. 

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS if we cannot meet our obligations.  This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the first £2,000 and 90% of the remainder of the claim, without any upper limit.  For compulsory classes of insurance, insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, without any upper limit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.

All personal information held by us in relation to you will be treated with the utmost confidence and, where appropriate, in accordance with data protection legislation, including the Data Protection Act 1998. You confirm that we may use and disclose information that we have about you in the normal course of arranging and administering your insurance.
Calls may be recorded or monitored for compliance and training purposes.

You or we may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time without notice period or penalty.  Notice of termination must be given in writing and will be without prejudice to the completion of any transactions already initiated.  Any business currently in progress will be completed unless we receive your instructions to the contrary.  Any
fees outstanding at the date of termination will be due within four weeks of the termination date.

This agreement shall be governed by the Laws of England, Wales or Scotland and the parties agree herewith that any dispute arising out of it shall be subject to the (non) exclusive jurisdiction of the relevant Court.