Terms of Business

It is strongly recommended that you read this document thoroughly and if you don't understand it, we will be happy to explain any section to you. You should also read your policy carefully. The document, schedule and any certificate of Insurance is the basis of the cover you have purchased. If you do not understand the cover, terms, conditions or obligations of the policy, contact us immediately. Sample policy wordings are available on request.
Nothing included in this document effects your statutory rights.

General Information

We are Bridges Insurance Brokers Ltd. A family owned insurance brokerage that has been established since 1972 and previously known as 'Pharos'. We have traded as "Bridge Insurance Brokers" since 1989.
A generation of clients has entrusted us to look after their insurance interests; we still maintain our deep-rooted principles of honesty, consistency and value, for both our service and the products that we offer whilst embracing the very latest technology.

We will shortly have an interactive website (www.bridge-insurance.com) on which you will be able to obtain a quotation for your car insurance. Why not get on line and have a look! Household and commercial insurance policy quotations are also available via email.

For your protection, we are authorised by the Financial Services Authority and our registration number is 302411.
Our Service

When you require a quote for any 'regular' insurable interest, we will choose from a range of insurance companies that offer you the best value in terms of service, cover, and price. When it comes to your renewal, we will again look around for you if we believe that there are better policies on offer for the premium being asked.

We will offer you any advice or help that you require under your policy/s and can find insurance for the following: *

*Under 'normal' circumstances ask for details.
We can quote from multiple insurance companies for numerous types of insurable interests for example when we quote for motor insurance we can deal with no less than 14 companies offering over 70 schemes

Service Relationship.

It is required of you that both at the time of your first quotation and through out your time with us, that you are completely honest with us (to the best of your knowledge) when disclosing information relating in anyway to your insurance quote or policy. Failure to disclose any material information or the provision of any inaccurate information to your insurers could invalidate your insurance cover and could mean that part or all of your claim may not be paid.

To enable us to offer you the best possible service, we request that you return any correspondence received from us at Bridge Insurance, at the earliest convenient time possible.

As with the nature of brokers the policies issued by us are not our own and being independent means that you can be sure that we will quote you the best value policy that meets all of your requirements. *

If at anytime there is a disagreement between you and the insurer over any part of a policy, then we will fight the claim on your behalf if we believe that the insurer is being unfair with the course of action they choose to take.

* For 'everyday' risks. For more unusual risks it might be impossible to find a policy that meets all of your requirements.

Information on Cancellation and Costs/Payments
You may cancel your policy within 14 days for General Insurance contracts and get all of your money back if the policy is not what you expected (providing no claims have been made).
Normally no charges are added to the commission we receive from insurance companies following the sale to you of an insurance policy. There are two exceptions to this rule.
1. Where a policy is cancelled before it would normally expire, a 12.5% charge is levied against the return of premium from insurers.
2. Where the insurance policy does not include a commission incorporated in the premium we will calculate a charge similar to the standard commission for that product.
By request we will be happy to state the amount of commission that we will be making on the issue of your policy.

Payment can be made by a variety of means via
1. Direct debits (usually subject to an interest charge)
2. Cheque
3. Cash
And
4. Credit cards

Credit can also be arranged by request, sometimes direct through your insurer or when this facility is unavailable (or as an alternative) through our recommended finance houses: 'Finsure' or 'Amber Credit'. *

*Please ask for the terms and conditions; all finance is subject to status, terms and condition. Your money will be held in a statutory client trust account. This is a separate account to ensure that client and office money do not get mingled.

Withholding Documentation

We may decide to withhold certain documents such as your insurance policy documents or certificate, whilst we are waiting for the full payment of premium.
If these circumstances were to arise we will ensure that you receive full details of your insurance cover and we will provide you with any documents, that you are required to have by law.

The Data Protection Act 1998

Bridges Insurance Brokers Ltd are registered under the Data Protection Act. The act states that you are entitled by a request made in writing, to know 1 the type of data held about you, 2 the reason why it is held and 3 any third parties that it may be disclosed to.

In some cases we will be able to supply some information relating to the above data types over the phone. But some questions concerning the data that we hold will have to be asked of you (they will be simple for the data subject) before any disclosure is made.

The Act also states that we can request a fee for the disclosure of information up a maximum of £10. However in most cases it will prove unnecessary to ask for a sum of money in return for a disclosure of information.

Once the information has been disclosed we are not obliged to disclose the same information again until a reasonable time span has lapsed since the last disclosure. This 'time' span is at our discretion but as a rule three requests for a disclosure within one month for the same information, will be considered as being excessive. In these instances we may decline to disclose the information until a reasonable time span has lapsed.

Information must also be disclosed with or without your consent should it be necessary in detecting/solving a crime, or other legal reasons, which the Act stipulates.
Once you cease to be a client of ours' some of the information held about you will be kept in storage for 3 years after the policy has lapsed (this is for legal purposes).

Your personal information will only* be disclosed for the purpose of arranging your insurance and finance (where applicable). *A disclosure of information might also be made to other third parties, all of which will be hand selected by us to offer you a product or service that we believe, might be of interest. The third parties will always be registered under the Data Protection Act (1998) so you can be sure that your data will be safe with them and know that they will not abuse the privilege.

If however you do not wish to be contacted by a third party then there is a form contained within this 'new business pack'. The form has an 'opt out' box included so just tick the box, sign and send back to us if you do not wish to be contacted for any other reason than that relating directly to your policy. Should we not receive the form back we will assume that you would like to be contacted concerning other products or services.

If at any stage you feel that the 'other' products and services being offered to you are of no interest then simply let us know and we will remove your name from the list. This will have no affect on your insurance policy with us.

Complaints

Bridge Insurance Brokers realise that our service may not always meet the high standards that you expect, so as such we welcome your complaints or grievances. We have in place a complaints handling system details of which can be found in your introduction pack.

Should you be unhappy with the conclusion of our investigation we have in place an the Financial Service Ombudsman, again details of which can be found within this pack.

Client Protection Information

Bridges Insurance Brokers Ltd are registered with the FSA. The FSA is a government insurance regulatory body, by reaching the standards required for membership it means that you can trust us to be consistently true and fair in our dealings with you the client.

The Clients Duty to Disclose Information

It is your responsibility to provide a complete and truthful disclosure of information that can be relied upon with utmost good faith to both your insurer and us. This duty is a requirement from the quotation stage and then at anytime during your policy period if any of the circumstances relating to your policy change. *

Please be aware that if you fail to disclose any material information to your insurers, this could invalidate your insurance cover and could mean that all or part of your claim may not be paid out.

*The good faith also applies to disclosures made verbally or in written form such as in proposal forms and claim forms if in doubt about what constitutes relevant information then please contact us.

Claims Handling

We at Bridge appreciate that when you need to make a claim it is normally a very distressing time and as such you need it to be settled with minimum fuss and delay.
So in the unfortunate event you find yourself in a position where by you need to make a claim against your insurance policy we will:

* Upon notification send you a claim form, you can notify us by phone, e-mail or write to us and it will be sent to you promptly (where appropriate).
* Send an accompanying letter with the claim form explaining how we will handle your claim.
* We will keep you informed of how your claim/s are progressing at regular intervals*.
*The length of interval will depend on the type of claim.

There are some circumstances in which claims can only be made by phone direct to the insurance company, if your insurance company has this facility in place, then it will be made clear in your policy documentation.

Your Role; when completing a claim form it is important that the information being disclosed is to the best of your knowledge true and fair, this will enable your claim to be dealt with more efficiently. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in your claim being rejected.

As an intermediary between you and the insurance company, we aim to be fair to both you our client and your insurer and offer as much help as we can if any problems arise at anytime, so do not hesitate to contact us with any query.

Claims in writing to:

Bridge Insurance Brokers
61 Northdown RoadCliftonville
Margate
Kent
CT9 2RJ

TEL: 01843 293614
E-mail: claims@bridgeinsurance.com
When requesting a claim form please include your policy details and address, in both letters and emails.

Complaints

We at Bridge insurance are committed to providing a fast, friendly and efficient service to all our clients, if however at any point during the duration of your policy with us you feel that our service or product has not been up to our usual high standards then we will be happy to deal with any complaints that you may have. We value all comments because by listening to you we can keep a consistently high standard of service.

By writing to us one of our friendly team will acknowledge your letter within 5 working days, and inform you of who will be dealing with the complaint (normally not the staff member that dealt with you on the first occasion).

You may also tell us of your concern by phone; we will then be able to respond positively and promptly wherever possible.
We will make a meaningful response to all such matters within a maximum period of 20 working days. We will send a final response in 8 weeks from the original complaint date. We will also send information on the Financial Ombudsman Service with the final response.

Complaints in writing to:
61 Northdown Road
Cliftonville, Margate
Kent
CT9 2RJ
Complaints by phone:
(01843) 293614
E-mail: Complaints@bridgeinsurance.com

If however we fail to resolve the complaint to a standard deemed satisfactory to you our client, then you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Complaints in writing to:
Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9SR

Complaints by phone: 0845 080 1800
E-mail: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Renewal Information

Renewals will be sent out 21 days in advance of the renewal date, you will need to contact us to confirm that you intend to renew your insurance. We will send you details of any changes to policy terms and premium; you have a right to request a new policy document.

The 14 day cooling off period

Under the Private Customer Code we have to provide you with certain information before you make your decision. If however we have not provided you with this information when you buy your insurance (and you have not told us you do not want it) we will allow you a cooling off period of 14 days from the time you receive the information. You may cancel your policy within this period and get all of your money back (as long as you have not made any claims).

Expiry

After your insurance cover has expired should you choose not to renew your policy with us you are entitled to request that some the personal data held concerning you be destroyed. This is excluding the data that we are obliged to keep by law after your policy has lapsed.

Other Products & Services

We value all of our clients, and as such occasionally we may wish to contact you in relation to other products or services that we can offer you, or if a trusted party has a product or service that we feel may be of interest.

Any third party that your information maybe disclosed to, will be registered under the Data Protection Act 1998. This therefore ensures that all your personal details will be handled with care and not disclosed by the third party to any other data users, unless given your permission.

If we do not receive the form back then we will assume that you would like to hear from a third party or us at Bridge occasionally in relation to other products or services.

However should you change your mind at any time then we will be happy to remove your name (this will not effect your statutory rights or your insurance with us in anyway).

However if you do not wish to receive any further contact other than that relating directly to your policy then please tick the box and sign below, and then return it to us at the address shown below.

Bridge Insurance Brokers
61 Northdown Road
Cliftonville, Margate
Kent
CT9 2RJ

Sign: _________________________ Print Name: _______________________

"Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority"