Kudos Brokers Limited, The Old Gate House, 68 New North Road, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD1 5NE. This is an Important document and should be retained in a safe place for your records
Accepting our 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.
- The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
The FCA is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. It requires us to give you the information contained in this document which sets out how we will deal with you as a customer. Kudos Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our FCA registered number is 989461. Our permitted business is advising on and arranging general insurance contracts. We are also authorised to undertake certain consumer credit activities. You can check our registration on the financial services register by visiting their website www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.
- Whose products do we offer?
We offer a wide range of Commercial Insurance products from a range of Insurers. If you would like a list of insurers, please ask us. We also offer products from a single insurer, BD Elite; Family Plus Legal Expenses, Identity Protection, Motor Breakdown, Home Emergency and Guaranteed Hire Vehicle , our Claims Service for Private Car, Van and Motorcycle is also provided by BD Elite.
- Which service will we provide you with?
We can act both as agent of insurer, and on behalf of you, the customer. We have in place management controls to deal with any conflicts of interest that might arise. Unless we advise you otherwise, we are acting on your behalf. We may give advice and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your demands and needs for the products we offer. This will include the type of cover you seek together with costs, and a review of your circumstances. Before your insurance is concluded, you will be provided with a statement setting out your demands and needs which will confirm whether we have made a recommendation and details the reasons for it. Alternatively, if you require immediate insurance cover, we will give you this information orally but will provide you with the statement immediately after conclusion of the insurance contract. Policy documentation will be issued to you in a timely manner which will contain the full terms, conditions and exclusions of your policy. You should read this document carefully and ensure this is kept in a safe place.
- What will you have to pay us for our services?
We earn commission from policy sales which we will disclose to you on request. In addition to the premiums charged by insurers for new business, we may charge additional fees: * From £25 for new business and renewal transactions; and * From £15 for mid-term adjustments or cancellations to your policy. We earn revenue from premium finance arrangements.
- Information Provided by You.
You must take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the Insurer. This means that all the answers you give and comments you make as part of your insurance application, including at renewal and when an amendment to your policy is required, should be honest and accurate. If you deliberately or carelessly misinform the insurers, this could mean that part of or all of a claim may not be paid.
- Premiums and Payment Options
You must provide the premium due in cleared funds in accordance with the amounts and payment dates specified on the invoice. Failure to meet the payment date may lead to insurers cancelling your policy. For all products and providers, the following payment methods are available to pay your premium: * Cash and Cheques (payable to BlueFriars Brokers Ltd) * In full by Credit or Debit Card * Monthly Installment Plan provided by Close Premium Finance
- Renewals
We will take reasonable steps to send to you renewal terms in good time prior to the renewal date. The renewal terms will confirm whether or not renewal is being invited and will include a statement of any changes to the terms of the policy, revised costs and information regarding cancellation. You must ensure these documents are thoroughly checked by you prior to the renewal date, and if there are any changes in your circumstances or the information provided inform us immediately.
- Claims
In the event of a claim for a private car, van or motorcycle you should contact Kudos Brokers Limited claims line on
01204 567527. In the event of any other claim please contact our office on
01484 970500. You must notify us as soon as possible of a claim or circumstances which may give rise to a claim by contacting this number and providing your policy number, you will be informed of the procedures to follow to register your claim. We will provide you with every assistance in submitting a claim and seeking reimbursement. However, in the event that an insurer becomes insolvent or delays making settlement we do not accept liability for any unpaid amounts.
- Breakdown
In the event of a breakdown in the UK please call
01204 567480 and if you have the relevant cover for a breakdown in Europe please call
0333 202 30 72. Broker Direct will provide you with every assistance in your incident.
- How to cancel
You may have a statutory right to cancel a policy you take out through us within 14 days (Personal Lines customers only). Please refer to your policy documentation for further details. If you cancel within the statutory cancellation period (where this applies) you will receive a pro rata refund of premium from the insurer. Insurers are also entitled to make an administrative charge. If you wish to cancel outside the statutory cancellation period (where this applies) you may not receive a pro rata refund of premium. If our services are terminated by you other than at the expiry of the policy period or at renewal we will be entitled to retain any and all fees or brokerage payable (whether or not the same have been received by us) in relation to any policies placed by us prior to the date of termination. With effect from the date of termination and in the absence of express agreement to the contrary we will have no obligation to perform any further services for you. The responsibility for handling claims reported after the date of termination shall cease in the absence of any express agreement.
- What to do if you have a complaint
Our aim is always to provide our customers with a first-class service; however, we are aware that, occasionally, it is possible that we may fail to meet your expectations. If for any reason we have not met your expectations, let us know as soon as possible, by calling our main office telephone
01484 970500 or write to The Compliance Manager, Kudos Brokers Limited, The Old Gatehouse, 68 New North Road, Huddersfield, HD1 5NE or email info@kudosbrokers.co.uk
We will endeavor to resolve your concerns by the close of business of the next working day. However, if this is not possible, we will acknowledge your complaint in writing no later than five working days and will provide you with a copy of our complaints process for your reference. We will endeavor to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible, informing you of the position no later than 4 weeks and a final response no later than 8 weeks. If you are not happy with our response, or the position after a period of 8 weeks, you may be eligible to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) 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 02). Alternatively you can contact them at Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange Square, London, E14 9SR. www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk A full copy of our complaint’s procedure is available on request.
- Compensation arrangements
If we are unable to meet our obligations, you may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS. If we have advised or arranged insurance for you this will be covered for 90% of a claim, without any upper limit, however compulsory classes of insurance (such as motor insurance) is covered for 100% of a claim. Further information is available from the FSCS helpline
0800 678 1100 or
020 7741 4100 and www.fscs.org.uk. The FSCS is the UK’s statutory fund of last resort for customers of authorised financial services firms. Compensation is usually payable if an authorised firm is unable or unlikely to pay claims usually because it has ceased trading or become insolvent.
- Protecting your money
Kudos Brokers Limited will hold money that you pay to us in accordance with the regulator’s rules or under a risk transfer agreement with insurers. This will include holding your money in the following way: A non-statutory trust client bank account that allows us to use the money held in trust on behalf of one customer to pay another customers premium before we receive it from that customer and to pay premium refunds or claims before we receive payment from Insurance Companies. This is standard practice within the Insurance industry, and we cannot use your money for any other purpose. We do not pay any interest on premiums held by us in the course of arranging and administering your insurance, unless, in the case of consumer transactions we receive more than £25 per transaction, and then we will ask for your permission to retain the interest. Unless you tell us otherwise, you are consenting to us holding your money in this way. By holding your money in this way, means that in the event that this firm becomes insolvent your money remains protected. In arranging your insurance, we may employ the services of other intermediaries who are regulated by the FCA, and your premium may be passed these intermediaries for payment to insurers. These firms are also required to hold clients’ money in a separate trust account. We will also inform you if at any time we are required to pass your premium to firms that operate outside the UK where the protection may be different. Should you not wish us to pass premiums to a firm outside of the UK, please inform us.
- Limitation / Exclusion of Liability YOUR ATTENTION IS SPECIFICALLY DRAWN TO THIS CLAUSE WHICH LIMITS OR EXCLUDES OUR LIABILITY TO YOU
Our liability for losses suffered by you as a direct consequence of any negligent performance of our services shall be limited in all circumstances to £1,000,000 per claim. In respect of any other claim arising out of our performance or non-performance of the services hereunder our liability shall be limited to the amount of commission and fees which we have received for arranging your insurance cover during the 12 months prior to such claim arising. We shall not be liable to you for any pure economic loss, loss of profit or loss of business, in each case whether direct, indirect or consequential, or any claims for consequential compensation whatsoever (such as that listed above and howsoever caused) which arise out of or in connection with our services or this agreement. Nothing in this paragraph excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for loss caused by our fraud, willful misrepresentation or breach of regulatory obligations owed to you.
- Conflicts of Interest
Occasions can arise where we, or one of our other customers, will have some form of interest in business which we are transacting for you. If this happens, or we become aware that our interest or those of one of our customers interests conflicts with your interest, we will inform you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions. As an example, a conflict of interest may arise where we have authority to settle claims on behalf of the insurer.
- Protecting your information
We take your privacy extremely seriously and we will only use your personal details in line with our Privacy Notice. Please read our Privacy Notice carefully (enclosed within your policy documents and on our website) and contact us immediately if you have any queries. Where necessary we shall ask for your specific consent to process your data. Your personal information includes all of the details you have given us to process your insurance policy (we will not ask for more information than is necessary). We may share your data with Third Parties for the provision and ongoing performance of your insurance policy. Your data may be transferred outside the UK. We will not sell, rent or trade your data under any circumstances. All the personal information you supply to us will be handed strictly in accordance with the applicable data protection regulations and legislation.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL OUR CALLS ARE RECORDED FOR TRAINING AND MONITORING PURPOSES- Governing Law
Unless we have agreed otherwise with you, all policies sold by us are governed by English law and subject to the jurisdiction of the English courts. All information about the contract will be provided in English unless requested otherwise.
- Third Party Rights
Unless otherwise agreed between us in writing, no term of this agreement is enforceable under the contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
- Money Laundering/Proceeds of Crime Act
We are obliged to report to the National Crime Agency any evidence or suspicion of money laundering at the first opportunity and we are prohibited from disclosing any such report. By accepting this Terms of Business Agreement, you are giving your consent to us to operate in this way.
- Financial Strength
We regularly assess the financial strength of the Insurance Companies and other intermediaries that we deal with. The process usually involves general observation of the financial ratings applied by independent rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s published with other readily available information within industry guides, newsletters and press releases. Whilst we take care to deal with companies that maintain reasonable solvency margins, we cannot guarantee their financial ability to pay claims.
Kudos Brokers Limited – Privacy Notice This privacy policy for the Kudos Brokers Ltd explains how we use any personal information we collect
What information do we collect about you? Personal information which you supply to us may be used to arrange insurance contracts.
How will we use the information about you? We collect information about you to arrange insurance on your behalf, manage your insurances, help with any claims and provide you with information on developments and new products in the Risk and Insurance Industry. Some, or all of, the information you supply to us in connection with your insurance proposal may be passed to insurance and other companies for underwriting, claims, premium collection and statutory requirements. Your data will be held in accordance with current data protection laws. Information collected to assist in the administration of an insurance contract will be held for no longer than necessary for regulatory and legal purposes. We will only use your personal information when the law allows us to. The main reasons are where we need to perform a contract we have entered into with you where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation or where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party). We may also use your information where it is needed in the public interest (or for official purposes).
How do we use information collected from our website? Information collected from the enquiry form on our website may be used on the basis of legitimate interest for arranging insurance contracts. If you have any queries or wish to opt out of group marketing, please write to us at the address shown. Kudos Brokers Limited will not share your information for marketing purposes with any third parties.
Access to your information and correction You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. If you would like a copy of some, or all of, your personal information, please contact us on the details below. We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. You may ask us to correct information you think is inaccurate.
Changes to our privacy policy We keep our privacy policy under regular review. This privacy policy was last updated 1st February 2023.
How to contact us Please contact us if you have any questions about our privacy policy or information we hold about you:-
By email: info@kudosbrokers.co.uk By phone: 01484 970 500 Or write to us at: Kudos Brokers Limited, The Old Gatehouse, 68 New North Road, Huddersfield, HD1 5NE Kudos Brokers Limited Important Information Summary – Commercial Insurance contracts Fair presentation of the risk – Insurance Act 2015, operative from 12 August 2016 Under the Insurance Act 2015, there is a statutory duty applicable to commercial clients to disclose important or relevant information known to them, or which ought to be known to them after a reasonable search has been conducted within the business. A fair presentation of all facts which could affect the Insurer’s assessment of the risk must be provided, and the Act places a responsibility on the Insured at the time of effecting a new Policy, every renewal and any variation to: – Be clear and accurate in giving information – Make enquiries of anyone within the company and any other relevant outside source to give material information (and keep adequate records of such enquiries) – Give full details of the risk to be insured Ensure all claims or incidents are reported – Notify any changes in the business, or planned – Advise of any unusual processes for the trade – Notify any adverse circumstances e.g. bankruptcy / liquidation / administration / Voluntary arrangement / Insolvency / Receivership / H&S / H&S at Work Act / Customs & Excise / Inland Revenue / CCJ’s / Disqualified from being a company director / Winding up Order or similar, criminal conviction (and the like) involving the business, its directors / partners/ managers/ trustees, or any other business in which they are or were involved – Notify all temporary breaches of a warranty during the policy year, even where subsequently rectified If you are unsure whether something needs to be notified, you should refer to E&P for advice.
POLICY TERMS & VALIDITY OF QUOTATIONS Insurance policies contain specific terms, general conditions, specific conditions, clauses, warranties and exclusions within the policy wording or schedule, all of which are of the utmost importance, as failure to adhere to these could allow Insurers to proportionately reduce or decline your claim. Where we issue a summary of the cover it is impossible to show these fully, though we may highlight points that we know are relevant to you. Nevertheless, it is essential that you are aware of the full policy/schedule wording and adhere to the content within as appropriate.
WARRANTIES / CONDITIONS/EXCLUSIONS Warranties or conditions precedent to liability are terms of the agreement between you and the Insurers and must be fully complied with otherwise the Insurers may have the right to cancel the policy from the date of breach and not pay any claims, or reduce a claim proportionately. Under the Insurance Act 2015, Insurers can still apply warranties to the policy but a breach by the Insured will not automatically terminate the policy; rather it will lead to suspension of liability. Whilst some breaches can never be remedied, where the breach is remedied, the insurance will automatically be reinstated. Furthermore, Insurers will not be able to avoid liability for non-compliance with a warranty or any other term of the contract (other than a term defining the risk as a whole) if the Insured can show that non-compliance could not have increased the risk of that loss occurring in the same circumstances. A requirement under the Insurance Act 2015 is to notify Insurers if you ever breach a warranty during the policy year, so you must inform us if that occurs, even when the breach has been rectified. Exclusions and exceptions modify or restrict the general cover promised by the insurer under a contract of insurance. They may reduce or remove from cover an entire risk, such as Terrorism, or a particular event that would otherwise fall within the cover.
THE INSURED It is essential that all companies and persons for whom insurance is required should be advised to insurers. Any company and persons not mentioned may not be insured. The full name may vary between different policies and will be shown on the policy schedule: you must ensure this is kept accurate at all times.
INSURABLE INTEREST In the law of insurance, the policyholder must have an interest in the subject matter to be insured under the policy, or such policy cover will be void and unenforceable in the event of a loss. Note that all motor vehicles must be owned or leased or hired by the policyholder unless insurers have been advised otherwise and agreed and accepted this.
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION Your policies only operate for risks arising within the business description applicable to the policy. Often it is not practicable to utilise one wording for all policies. Any inaccuracies or changes to your activities should be notified to us immediately.
AVERAGE or UNDERINURANCE Many policies are subject to “average”, whereby if your sum insured is not adequate then insurers will reduce your claims settlement by the same proportion as the underinsurance. In simple terms if a sum insured is £70,000 and the item valuation is £100,000 the Insurers will pay 70% of any loss. It is therefore, very important that you choose the right sums insured for your policies that meet your demands and needs. We would recommend that you appoint professional advisers to provide valuations in order to ensure that the figures insured are accurate, as underinsurance can lead to the application of average as detailed above. It may feel like an unnecessary expense but in the event of a claim it would be extremely useful.
SUMS INSURED / BASIS OF VALUATION Reinstatement A sum insured on a reinstatement basis should be adequate to replace the insured with “new” at the time reinstatement takes place, which could be long after the sum insured was set. So the Insured must make allowance for this and future inflation when arriving at the sum insured, or the figure is likely to be inadequate, unless the Policy is index linked (see below).
Day 1 Reinstatement With this method the Insured should provide the value of the item(s) to be insured on a reinstatement basis as at the first day of the insurance period, being the ‘declared value’, to which an agreed percentage increase is applied to allow for increases in value beyond the control of the Insured, e.g., inflation.
Indemnity This principle seeks to place the insured in the same position as before the loss, as the sum insured is set at a lower level after deductions to take account of age and depreciation.
Index Linking Some insurers offer an index linking facility, which means the sum insured would increase over the insurance period in accordance with a stated inflation index, e.g., the Retail Price Index. At renewal the inflated sum insured is consolidated as the base sum insured for the coming year unless alternative sums insured are nominated.
CLAIMS MADE BASIS An Insurance policy underwritten on a “claims made” basis will only cover claims reported or notified during the period of insurance. Professional Indemnity policies are always written on a “claims made” basis but some liability covers may also be on this basis (this would be clearly shown on our quote) for example, a professional negligence claim made against an architect resulting from designs carried out 5 years before but only just reported as the defect manifested itself, would claim on his current policy of insurance as this was the time when he was notified of the claim and hence when the claim was made.
CLAIMS OCCURRING BASIS This is the normal basis of cover for most policies. An insurance policy underwritten on a claims occurring basis will cover incidents or claims that actually occur or emanate during the period of insurance. e.g., an employer’s liability accident in 2015 which was notified in 2022 would fall to be dealt with by the Employers Liability insurers in the year the incident happened (2015). To ensure cover, it is therefore necessary to maintain cover continuously and if changes of Insurers occur during the years, details of the policies should be retained to deal with historical claims for industrial illnesses etc., which often manifest themselves years after actual employment has ceased. We would therefore recommend that you retain copies of employer’s liability insurance certificates indefinitely.
CHANGES IN RISK You have a duty under your contracts of insurance to notify Insurers of any changes in your circumstances, the risk or property insured whether the change increases or, in your opinion, reduces the Insurers exposure. This duty is ongoing and does not just apply at renewal. Examples of changes which should be notified are:- – Changes in ownership or control of the company – Changes in processes or types of machinery used – New markets (especially North America) or products – Contract conditions which increase your Liability to others – New premises or storage facilities – Un-occupancy or change of tenant at any premises – Disconnection or reduced effectiveness of any fire or theft protections – Increased asset / values (e.g. buildings, machinery sums insured) This list is by no means exhaustive and if there is any doubt, our advice should be sought: preferably prior to the event.
TERRORISM Terrorism cover is excluded from commercial material damage policies. Cover can be purchased separately.
BUSINESS INTERRUPTION We are making special mention of this type of cover as it is one of the areas that may be difficult for some clients to understand: it can also be referred to as Loss of Profits insurance. The objective is to maintain the company’s gross profit (as defined by the policy) following a material damage claim. The business interruption element of a claim can often exceed the actual material damage payment, which is why it is important to think carefully about the different aspects of cover. Following a loss, it will be difficult for the business to operate because there will be a continuing need for cash to pay for fixed costs such as rent, rates, payroll, heating, lighting, motor expenses etc., at a time when the business is receiving nil or reduced income. There are different levels of coverage and extensions available, the relevance of which are dependent on the nature of the business. Consideration should also be given to the maximum time it would take to get the business up and running again and trading at the pre-loss levels. Account needs to be taken of the most serious delays which may be experienced such as site clearance, planning matters, tenders, rebuild time, ease of replacing stock, availability/sourcing of machinery and time to build up production and replace lost customers. As you will see, there are many variables to think about when choosing the correct level of cover, hence the reason why this should be discussed with your Account Handler at Kudos Brokers Ltd. The above is a summary of some basic information which should help you in relation to insurance terminology. This is only a brief overview of some aspects of insurance and if you have any queries or wish to discuss matters further, please do not hesitate to make contact with your Account Handler at Kudos Brokers Limited, The Old Gatehouse, 68 New North Road, Huddersfield, HD1 5NE
www.kudosbrokers.co.uk Kudos Brokers Limited are an Authorised Representative of BlueFriars Brokers Limited. BlueFriars Brokers Limited is an authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under FRN 604987 and registered at Lloyds under CSN BFB1605. Kudos Brokers Limited FCA registered number is 980519.
