Terms & Conditions

Terms of Business Agreement

About us

"We/us/our" means Boroughbridge Insurance Brokers Ltd an appointed representative of Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: Spectrum Building, 55 Blythswood Street, Glasgow, G2 7AT. Registered in Scotland. Company Number: SC108909

Accepting our Terms of Business

It is important that you read this agreement carefully as it contains details of our statutory and regulatory responsibilities and your contractual obligations. By asking us to quote for, arrange or handle your insurances, you are providing your informed agreement to these Terms of Business. This agreement replaces any terms of business agreement that we may have previously agreed with you. If you have a separate service level agreement in place with us, then the terms of that agreement must be read together with this agreement. In the event of a conflict, the terms of your service level agreement will take precedence over this agreement.

We may change the terms of this agreement from time to time. This may be : a) to reflect changes in our services or in market practice, b) to reflect legal or regulatory developments or c) to improve the clarity of this agreement. We will tell you if we have materially changed these terms for any of these reasons and, in any event we will inform you of such changes before your policy is due to renew.

Service & Capacity

We are an intermediary acting on your behalf. Our service includes advising you on your insurance needs, arranging insurance policies with insurers in order to meet those needs, provide associated risk management services and any other insurance related services. We will also help you to make changes to your insurance policy if required and will remind you when your policy is due for renewal as appropriate. Unless your policy states otherwise, or we agree, we will provide you with assistance in submitting a claim and with obtaining reimbursement from insurers. We are not licensed credit brokers but premium finance can be arranged by Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance. We offer a range of general insurance products and have access to a number of insurers with whom we place your insurance. We will give you details of these insurers when we discuss your individual requirements. For certain products we have negotiated an exclusive facility with the insurer. Where this is the case, we will give you details of those products where we have discussed with you your individual requirements, before you buy from us. Exclusive products/facilities will not be available to you through other intermediaries, either mid-term or at renewal. For some classes of insurance, where we have delegated authority from an insurer to issue policies, we may act as agent of the insurer. When this occurs, we will inform you, where we have discussed with you your individual requirements, before you purchase insurance from us.

Conflicts of Interest

We may arrange insurance for you through another company within the Gallagher group or via another of their trading names or brands. This may include a coverholder (such as Pen Underwriting Ltd or Vasek Ltd) which acts on behalf of one or more insurers. In arranging an insurance solution, we will ensure that our duty to you does not conflict with the duties that a Gallagher group company or trading division owes to the insurers that it represents.

Disclosing Information 

You have a duty to make a ‘fair presentation’ when taking out a policy or making a change to an existing policy. The duty of ‘fair presentation’ means you have to make any disclosures in a way that is clear & substantially correct. Failure to make a ‘fair presentation’ may result in your policy being voided or an insurer not being liable to pay all or part of your claim.

Awareness of policy terms

When a policy is issued you are strongly advised to read all documents carefully. The policy document, the schedule and any certificate of insurance is the basis of the insurance contract you have purchased. Please ask our advice if you are in any doubt over any of the terms or conditions as failure to comply with policy conditions may result in your cover being cancelled or suspended and/or claims being refused.

Remuneration

Payment for our services may be by way of:

a) a fee that we agree in advance with you and/or

b) brokerage/commission, which is a percentage of the total annual insurance premium paid by you and given to AJG by the insurers with whom we place your business; and/or

c) administration charges, in addition to any insurance premiums, for administration of your policy, including amending and cancelling any policy.

Payment for our services may be a combination of (a) (b) and (c). We do not intend to apply any commission value to the taxation element of any insurance premium.

Details of any fees/charges, whether applicable under (a), or (c), together with details of services to which these relate and the basis on which these are made, will be declared to you in advance of them being incurred so that you are able to make an informed decision. Where we are not able to provide an actual fee/charge, we will provide you with the basis of calculation of any fee/charge.

Upon request, we will be pleased to provide details of any income AJG are due or have received as a result of placing your business.

Unless we specifically agree otherwise, brokerage/commission and fees are earned when we arrange an insurance policy for you, or in the case of any other service when we commence providing that service to you.

However in respect of any payment made to AJG this will only be recognised as payment for the service when AJG have reconciled your payment. AJG will be entitled to retain all fees and brokerage in respect of the full period of contract(s) of insurance arranged by us including in circumstances where your policy has been terminated and your insurers have returned pro- rated net premium. Consistent with long established market practice, we will deduct our brokerage and other commissions from the premium once received.

If you decide to terminate our appointment in relation to policies AJG have placed on your behalf and where, (i) the policy or policies have not expired, and (ii) premium is due on the policy or those policies, AJG are entitled to any brokerage/commission originally due on the policy or policies and you will ensure the broker subsequently appointed to administrate the policy or policies agrees and accepts to collect the brokerage/commission and remit to AJG in good time.

Remuneration is normally a commission payable to Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Ltd by the insurer and is based on a percentage of the premium. However, we may agree a separate service fee with you in lieu of the commission. If we do the value of the fee will be agreed before you purchase your insurance. 

Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Ltd may also receive an additional payments from the insurers as a profit share or profit commission, for instance, from insurers payable under a delegated underwriting authority or other facility or individual contract in recognition of overall profitability. Income may also be earned from arranging Premium Finance.

In addition, the following administration charges apply:

Annual Premium Under £500

New Business & Renewal Adminstration Fee: £50

Cancellation Administration Fee: £50

Mid-Term Adjustment Fee: £50

Annual Premium Over £500

New Business & Renewal Adminstration Fee: £65

Cancellation Administration Fee: £50

Mid-Term Adjustment Fee: £50

If you make a change or cancel your policy mid-term which results in a return premium, or are eligible for a retrospective rebate, we will retain any commission, fees, charges or profit payments to cover our administration costs. Refunds of premium may take up to 8 weeks to be returned. If Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Ltd arrange premium finance on your behalf, they normally receive commission which is based on a percentage of the premium being financed. You are entitled, at any time to request information regarding any commission/income which they may have received as a result of placing your insurance or arranging your premium finance.

Cancellation of Policy

Your insurance contract may include a cancellation clause. For more details, please refer to your insurer’s policy documents. If you wish to cancel a policy, please let us know. If your policy is cancelled, the insurer will determine any return premium in relation to the policies placed with us. Please see the section above “Our Remuneration” in relation to our rights to payment of commission and fees in the event of policy termination.

Claims helpline

If you have to make a claim on your policy or have been involved in an incident that may result in a claim you must notify us immediately. Telephone 0800 195 4905 for motor claims and 01625 400205 for non-motor claims.

Complaints

We value our relationship with you and we welcome feedback on the service you receive from us. Please tell us if you are dissatisfied with part of our service so that we can improve our products or services. Our aim is that you should benefit from a high quality service using our experience and breadth of insurance broking expertise. We always try to provide a high standard of service but if you ever have cause to complain, please do so by contacting your usual representative by whatever means is convenient to you. 

If you wish to deal with someone wholly independent of the branch or division that has been servicing your business, please contact: 

Address: 4th Floor
Complaints Team
Spectrum Building
55 Blythswood Street
Glasgow
G2 7AT

Email: commercialcomplaintsuk@ajg.com 

We will acknowledge written complaints promptly. Our complaints procedure is available on request. 

If you feel that we have not been able to resolve the matter to your satisfaction, after this process you may have the right (subject to eligibility) to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service; this address is: 

The Financial Ombudsman
Service Exchange Tower 
London
E14 9SR 

Telephone: 0800 0234 567 (from landline) 

Telephone: 0300 123 9 123 (from mobile) 

Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk 

Website: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk 

Whether or not you make a complaint to us and/or refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, your right to take legal action will not be affected.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”). You may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS if we cannot meet our financial obligations to you. This depends on the type of insurance contract that we have arranged for you, certain eligibility criteria and the circumstances of the claim.

Further details regarding the FSCS are available online at www.fscs.org.uk or by calling 0800 678 1100 (+44 20 7741 4100 from overseas). Separately, your insurer and/or you may be covered by a different compensation scheme.

General Data Protection Regulations

We comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) EU 2016/679. For further information on how we process your personal data please refer to our Privacy Notice which can be viewed on our website under https://www.ajg.com/uk/privacy-policy/.

We both acknowledge and agree that in certain circumstances you will need to share the Personal Data of your employees in order that we can arrange the appropriate insurance programme for you. This information may include their name, address, date of birth, health information, details of criminal convictions and employment record. We will both ensure that we have all necessary legal bases in place to enable lawful transfer of the shared Personal Data to the other and other Permitted Recipients for the purposes of arranging insurance. Permitted Recipients includes you, us, any third parties engaged to perform obligations in connection with this agreement, and any other person agreed in writing between ourselves. You will give full information to any data subject whose personal data may be processed under this agreement of the nature such processing. This includes giving notice that, on the termination of this agreement, personal data relating to them may be retained by us or, as the case may be, transferred to one or more of the data recipients, Permitted Recipients, their successors and assigns. We both agree to process the Shared Personal Data only for the purposes of this agreement and not disclose or allow access to the Shared Personal Data to anyone other than the Permitted Recipients. To ensure that all Permitted Recipients are subject to written contractual obligations concerning the Shared Personal Data (including obligations of confidentiality) which are no less demanding than those imposed by this agreement. To ensure that it has in place appropriate technical and organisational measures, reviewed and approved by the other party, to protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data. We will process the Shared Personal data in accordance with the provisions of our Privacy Notice.

Protecting your money

The FCA rules are designed to protect you in the event that an insurance intermediary fails or is unable to transfer:

a. any premium money it has received from you to the insurer

b. any claims or return premium monies that it has received from the insurer to you.

Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Ltd are governed by strict rules pertaining to Client Money, set down by the FCA. Where they hold monies in a client bank account they may earn interest on monies held, which will be retained by them. Their agreement terms with different insurers vary as to whether they hold premiums as an agent of the insurer. When this is the case, this means that premiums are treated as being received by the insurer when received in their bank account and that any claims money or premium refund is treated as received by you when it is actually paid over to you.

When they do not act as agent of the insurer you will be advised, and they will your hold your money separate from their own money with an approved bank, segregated in a client bank account designated as subject to a non-statutory trust deed. They act as trustees of our clients’ monies and must meet certain legal and regulatory conditions. The trust allows them the flexibility to advance credit from the account to meet clients’ premiums obligations where the premium has not been received. It does not allow them to advance credit to the firm or take commission before receipt of your premium.

They usually deduct any commission earned upon receipt of your premium in their bank account.

They may transfer client money to another person, such as another broker, for the purpose of effecting a transaction on your behalf through that person. They remain responsible to you in respect of that money. This may include brokers and settlement agents outside of the UK. The legal and regulatory regime applying to a broker or settlement agent outside the UK may be different from that of the UK and in the event of a failure of the broker or settlement agent, this money may be treated in a different manner from that which would apply if the money were held by a broker or settlement agent in the UK. You may notify us if you do not wish your money to be passed to a person in a particular jurisdiction. These terms of business constitute your informed consent to these arrangements.

Money Laundering/Proceeds of Crime

We are obliged to report to the National Crime Agency any suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing activity & we are prohibited from disclosing any such reason.

Adequacy of Insurance Values

It is the responsibility of the insured to ensure that all sums insured & policy limits are adequate. It is strongly recommended that the appropriate professional (e.g. surveyor/accountant) be consulted to ensure that the sums insured & limits under the policy are suitable.

Insurer Security

The insurers we use are regulated & are required to have adequate capital resources. However, we cannot guarantee the solvency of any insurer we place business with. An insolvent insurer may be unable to pay claims or may be unable to pay them in full & you may have to pay a further premium to pay for alternative insurance cover.

Law & Jurisdiction

Insurance is only available to residents of the United Kingdom, Isle of Man & the Channel Islands. Any disputes will be subject to English Law & the courts of England & Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction.