About us. Oddie Dalton & Company Ltd is an independent insurance broker. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority which regulates the sale, advice and service standards of general insurance business to ensure clients are treated fairly. Our permitted business is advising, arranging and assisting in the administration and performance of general insurance contracts. We may also act as agents of insurers in which case we will advice you. Our FCA register number is 306267. You may check this information by visiting the FCA’s website www.fca.gov.uk/register or by telephoning the FCA on 0845 606 1234.
Our service. We offer a wide range of insurance products and have access to many of the leading insurers in the UK. We advise and arrange insurance cover to meet your requirements and help you with any changes you wish to make. We explain the main features of the products and services we offer, who the insurer is, important details of cover and benefits, significant conditions, exclusions or obligations that you must meet and the period of cover. We accept verbal instructions, however, we prefer instructions in writing.
Treating you fairly. We always aim to treat you fairly, this means we will always endeavour to:
Conduct our business with due skill, care and integrity
Never put ourselves in a position where our primary duty to you is compromised. If such a situation were to arise, then we would act in accordance with our Conflicts of Interest Policy, a copy of which is available to you on request
Deal with any complaint sympathetically and independently of the colleague to whom the complaint is directed; be transparent in the matter of our remuneration and
Respect your confidentiality.
This document. Please read this document carefully. It sets out the terms on which we agree to act for you, our client, and contains details of our regulatory and legal responsibilities. Please contact us immediately if there is anything in these Terms of Business which you do not understand. By doing business with us you agree to do so on the terms of this document, unless we both agree otherwise.
Consumer and commercial clients. A Consumer is defined as an individual who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business or profession. A commercial client is defined as someone who is not a Consumer. Some FCA rules may vary, dependent on whether you are a Consumer or commercial client.
Your obligations and duty of disclosure. When instructing us to place or to renew insurances your obligations will differ depending on whether you are classed as either a consumer or a commercial client. If you are a consumer you must use all reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation when providing information to insurers. If you are a commercial client you must make a fair presentation of the risk to insurers. This requires that you fully disclose in a clear and accessible manner any facts known, or which ought to be known, to you (a material fact) likely to influence an insurer’s decision in connection with the risk, having made a reasonable search of information available to you. This duty continues throughout the term of your insurance. All answers or statements given on a proposal form, claim form or other document relevant to your insurances will be your responsibility and you should always check the accuracy of the information you provide to us and/or insurers. Misrepresentation or nondisclosure of information provided to us and/or insurers may entitle insurers to decline claims and may lead to your policy being completely ‘invalidated’. You should seek our advice if you are in any doubt as to your obligations. When a policy is issued, you must check this carefully to confirm that this meets your needs. If you are in any doubt over any of the policy terms and conditions please seek our advice promptly.
Demands and needs. We will recommend a policy that we consider to be suitable to meet your needs. Any specific details of our recommendation are recorded in the covering letter or accompanying documents provided with your quotation or new business documents and/or following a renewal review.
Utmost good faith. An insurance contract is a contract of utmost good faith and is not subject to the Unfair Contract Terms Act. The effect of this is that, if you do not comply with policy conditions or act in good faith your insurers are entitled to void the contract from inception.
Confirmation of cover. We provide written confirmation that cover has been arranged. This will normally be sent to you within fourteen days of inception of cover. You agree to review all information upon receipt and advise Oddie Dalton immediately if the cover is not suitable for your needs. It is solely your responsibility to ensure that cover has been effected on the correct terms. A full policy wording will be forwarded as soon as is practicable.
Renewals. Once we have arranged a policy to which you have agreed, the placement of that policy will not automatically be reviewed at each renewal unless you request it and/or we deem it necessary. Whilst we will make every effort to contact you prior to renewal to obtain your instructions, if for whatever reason we are not in receipt of your instructions by your renewal date, in order to protect your position, we may at our absolute discretion renew your policy on the basis of our recommendation. Such renewal will be based on the information you have already provided to us and you should, therefore, advise us of any changes. However, we reserve the right not to renew your policy if we do not receive your instructions by the renewal date and we will not be held liable for any loss you may suffer if you fail to provide the necessary instructions in sufficient time before renewal.
Average clause. When setting the policy sums insured you must provide insurers with the correct values. If you do not insurers are entitled to reduce your claim in proportion to the underinsurance or in certain circumstances, void the contract from inception. Buildings must be insured at the reinstatement value, including an amount for removal of debris and architects fees. Contents must be insured at replacement value, stock and work in progress at cost price. Loss of income or loss of profit calculations should be set at the annual income or annual gross profit for the period of cover with an allowance for growth. If a different basis of valuation is required we will notify you.
Conditions and exclusions. A summary of the main policy conditions, exclusions and warranties will be provided prior to policy inception and at each policy renewal together with the relevant insurers’ policy wordings. If you do not or cannot comply with the policy conditions or wish to notify a change in your risk you must contact Oddie Dalton immediately. Please note that your failure to comply with the policy conditions or warranties may invalidate your insurance cover.
Tacit renewals (only applies to Consumer customers). This is where you, as policyholder, need take no action if you wish to maintain your insurance cover by having your policy renewed. We will contact you before your policy is due for renewal and provide you with renewal terms. If you do not wish to renew your policy you must inform us prior to the renewal date. Otherwise we will instruct insurers to renew your policy automatically on the renewal terms offered. By accepting these terms of business you are giving us your consent to deal with your renewals on a tacit renewal basis (where it applies)
Settlement terms. We will issue invoices for new and renewal premiums and mid-term adjustments after inception or renewal or on receipt of closing documentation from insurers or whichever market Oddie Dalton place the risk with on your behalf. We will remit premiums to insurers, or underwriting agents we use in accordance with the agreed terms of trade. You will be responsible for promptly paying all of our invoices for premiums, duties, fees and taxes incurred on your behalf. We have no responsibility for any loss you may suffer as a result of insurers cancelling the policy or taking any other prejudicial steps due to late payment of such sums, if such delay is attributable to you.
Claims. It is essential that claims or any circumstances which could give rise to a claim are notified to insurers immediately. Notification should include all material facts concerning the claim. The policy wordings describe the procedures and conditions attached to making a claim. Where agreed, we provide a claims handling service for as long as you remain a customer of ours. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for our services if you cease to be a customer or in our opinion the claim is complex, requiring additional resources or takes longer than one year to achieve a satisfactory settlement. If you cease to be a client we also reserve the right to cease dealing with any outstanding claims and transfer relevant files and papers to the insurance broker or agent you have appointed. If you make a claim and subsequently cancel your insurance policy during the same period of insurance in which the claim was made, insurers reserve the right to charge and retain the full annual premium.
Client money and non-client money. Client money is money of any currency that we receive and hold in the course of carrying on insurance mediation on behalf of our clients or which we treat as client money in accordance with the FCA’s client money rules. Client money can be held in one of the following ways:
- On behalf of insurers or underwriters if they agree that we should treat it as client money
- Subject to a statutory trust
- Subject to a non-statutory trust
Some insurers may agree that we will hold premium due to be paid to them or claims monies or return premium refunds due to be paid to you, on behalf of those insurers rather than on your behalf. This money is not “client money”. We will only do this where we have written agreement with those insurers to that effect. This arrangement (commonly called “Risk Transfer”) is, we believe, generally of benefit to you because you are protected to the extent that the premiums which we receive are treated at Law as being received by the insurer when they are received by us and claims monies and return premium refunds will only be treated as received by you when they are actually paid over to you. However, this does mean, for example, that we may still be required to pay the premium over to an insurer who becomes insolvent or in exceptional circumstances that an insurer might prevent us from paying claims monies to the intended payee after we have received them but before we have passed them on.
Client money segregation. In accordance with FCA rules, client money is held in a statutory trust account. The rules strictly forbid payments out of that account to insurers unless the money has been received from the client.
Costs and our remuneration. Our remuneration may be as a brokerage fee, as a commission (which is a percentage of the insurance premium paid by you to us in respect of your insurance and allowed by the insurer with whom the insurance is placed) or a combination of the two. Brokerage fees and commissions are earned for the policy period and we will be entitled to retain all brokerage fees and commission in respect of the full policy period in relation to policies placed by us. Anything which is not a commission is considered to be a brokerage fee. We will provide details of the costs of the insurance offered and not impose charges in addition to the premium required by the insurer without first disclosing the amount and purpose of the charge. We reserve the right to charge for policy amendments, claims handling or cancellations. You are entitled at any time to request information regarding any commission which we may have received from insurers as a result of placing your business insurance.
Where we introduce you to a premium finance company, we may also receive an introducer’s fee or other remuneration in relation to any administration we may do in connection with the financing arrangement.
Our brokerage fees. Our brokerage fees are payable in consideration of Oddie Dalton advising on and negotiating terms with insurance companies, underwriting agencies, specialist agencies or any other product provider or syndicate considered suitable by Oddie Dalton and in respect of the administration and claims facilities provided by Oddie Dalton. Brokerage fees are at the discretion of Oddie Dalton and the amounts charged will vary depending on the complexity, nature and circumstances of each risk, the insurance markets and underwriting facilities used and is payable to us in addition to commission earned for arranging and placing cover. Where premiums are adjustable in arrears by declaration, brokerage fees will be levied on a premium adjustment due. Details of policy charges will be provided on a covering letter and additionally in a debit note prior to inception or renewal of a contract. This is our statement of price.
Interest. Oddie Dalton retain interest on monies held in the client account.
Consumer Credit Licence. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of our current Consumer Credit Licence.
Complaints. If you wish to make a complaint against Oddie Dalton or your insurers the details should be sent to the individual dealing with the matter at Oddie Dalton on the address below, or by telephone. Within five working days, we will either deal with the complaint or advise you in writing of any further action that may be necessary and timescales within which the complaint shall be dealt with. If you are not satisfied a letter should be written to the managing director of Oddie Dalton, who will consider the complaint. You may contact your insurer direct at any time if the matter is not resolved satisfactorily. Complaints we cannot settle may be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service, subject to eligibility. If you make a valid claim against Oddie Dalton in respect of insurance we arrange for you and we cannot meet our liabilities in full, you may be entitled to redress from the Financial Services Compensation Services (FSCS), dependent upon the type of business and circumstance of the claim. Insurance arranging and advising is covered for 100% of the first £2,000 and then 90% of the remainder without any upper limit. For compulsory classes of insurance, insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim without any upper limit.
Liability for directors, officers or employees. You acknowledge and agree not to make any claim personally against any employee, director or officer arising out of the work and services provided under these Terms of Business. This clause does not in any way limit or affect our liability to you as set out below.
Limitation of liability. In the event of any breach of these terms and or in the event of any representation, statement or act or omission including negligence arising under or in connection with all contracts between us then the following provisions set out our entire financial liability (including any liability for the acts or omissions of our employees, agents and subcontractors) to you. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by the Company’s negligence, or for the Company's fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation or beach of any regulatory obligation. If you are categorised by the FCA as a "Consumer" (broadly, an individual acting for purposes outside your trade, business or profession), we will not be liable to you for any losses that you or anyone else may suffer that are not directly associated with either our negligence or failure to provide our services to you in accordance with our agreement. Our total liability to you for any reasons whatsoever in connection with the performance or contemplated performance of our services to you shall be limited to £2,000,000 (two million pounds). If you are not categorised as a consumer, then we shall not be liable to you for any indirect or consequential loss or damage; these may be losses that are not reasonably foreseeable (whether for loss of profit, loss of business, depletion of goodwill or otherwise), costs, expenses or other claims for consequential compensation whatsoever (howsoever caused) which arise out of or in connection with the services we provide to you. Our total liability in relation to that claim shall be limited to £1,000,000 (one million pounds). Should you feel this is not sufficient for you or your business we will be happy to discuss a higher limit of indemnity; if agreed, this will be set down in writing and form part of these Terms of Business
Third party rights. Nothing in these terms of business will give any person any right to enforce any term which that person would not have had but for the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
Amendment to terms. We may amend the terms of business agreement at any time by giving you fourteen days’ notice in writing.
Law and jurisdiction. These terms of business shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
Force majeure. Neither party shall be in breach of this agreement nor liable for delay in performing, or failure to perform, any of its obligations under this agreement if such delay or failure results from events, circumstances or causes beyond its reasonable control. In the event of a force majeure the affected party shall notify the other as soon as reasonably practicable.
Assignment. This agreement cannot be assigned or otherwise transferred by either party without the prior written consent of the other party, and such consent shall not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
Money laundering / proceeds of crime. We are obliged to report to the Serious Organised Crime Agency any suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing activity and we are prohibited from disclosing any such report.
Privacy notice and data protection. We act as Data Controller for personal data you supply in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulations and any relevant national law. We will collect, hold and process data when necessary for the performance of your contract, for our legitimate interests as an insurance intermediary and in compliance with any legal obligations. We will only hold your personal data for as long as required by law. Calls may be recorded for training and quality purposes. Any recordings may be supplied to 3rd parties if required to investigate a claim, complaint or suspected fraud. To deliver our services we may use third party processors (e.g. underwriters, debt recovery firms, credit reference agencies and fraud prevention agencies). You have the right to access personal information held about you by us, to restrict processing of inaccurate information, request that we correct any inaccuracies in the information held about you and to request the erasure of your data in certain circumstances. Our full Privacy Policy is available on our website http://www.oddiedalton.co.uk/business-insurance/privacy-policy.htm or in writing on request. You can find more details about data protection from the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk.
Solvency of insurers. Whilst we make every effort to ensure that cover is placed with financially strong companies we do not guarantee the solvency of any insurer we place business with. If a participating insurer becomes insolvent you may still be liable for the premium, whether in full or pro-rata. We shall not be responsible for any losses that you may incur as a result of any solvency difficulties experienced by insurers.
Waiver. Your rights and our rights under these Terms of Business may be waived if specifically agreed in writing by you and us but not otherwise.
Duration. This Agreement shall commence from the date that you appoint us to act as your intermediary or you instruct us to arrange insurances on your behalf, whichever of these dates is the earlier. This Agreement shall then continue until cancelled in accordance with the termination clause below.
Termination. Our services may be terminated for any reason either by you or us giving one months notice in writing to each other. In the event that our services are terminated by you, other than at the expiry of the relevant policy period or at renewal, we will be entitled to retain all fees and commission payable, whether or not the same has been received by us, including for the avoidance of doubt, any sum due in respect of any premium or outstanding instalments or any premium payable in respect of any subsequent annual period forming part of an insurance agreed for a period in excess of one year, placed by us prior to the date of termination. However, in respect of Consumer clients, insurers give you the right to cancel the contract within 14 days of the day of the conclusion of the contract or the day in which you receive contractual terms and conditions and information in a durable form.
General. If any provision of these terms of business is found to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, the validity of the other provisions of these terms of business and the remainder of the provision in question will not be affected. These terms of business supersede all proposals, prior discussions and representations (whether oral or written) between us relating to our appointment as your agent in connection with the arranging and administration of your insurance. These terms of business constitute an offer by us to act on your behalf in the arranging and administration of your insurance. In the absence of any specific acceptance communicated to us by you (whether verbal or written) you are deemed to accept our offer to act for you on the basis of these terms of business, by conduct, upon your instructing us to arrange, renew or otherwise act for you in connection with insurance matters.