Customer Terms of Business Agreement

Rubber Ring Financial Services Limited (Cobac House, 14-16 Charlotte Street, Manchester, M1 4FL) are an insurance intermediary and not an insurer, registered number 12075495. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN 912930. This can be checked on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA’s website http://www.fca.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FCA consumer helpline on 0800 111 6768.

You will not receive advice or a personal recommendation from us. We will ask sufficient questions to establish your demands and needs. Any quotation we give you will be consistent with those demands and we will identify the lowest price product(s) that meet those needs. You will then need to decide how to proceed and whether you consider if the product is suitable for you.

We may run offers from time to time and any discounts will apply to new policies holders only unless otherwise stated or agreed by us. Free insurance policies are only available once per individual per household, taking out multiple policies will void your insurance cover.

We are remunerated by commission from your premium and paid to us by your insurer. We may also charge you a fee. Where we receive no commission we will agree a specific fee with you before you agree to buy.

We may receive other income based on the profitability or volume of our accounts from an insurer. You have the right to ask us about our earning at any time.

Because the commission rates paid by insurers are variable and do not always reflect the level of work carried out by us, we also make individual service charges over and above the charges made by your insurers to cover the administration of your insurance policy. Such charges are non-refundable and are as detailed below:

New Policy or Renewal Arrangement: £10.00

Where a transaction results in a premium refund being due, that refund will be reduced by any service charge and any other sums owing in respect of the policy. If you have paid by credit or debit card, any refunds will only be made back to that card.

Cancelling a policy may work out expensive for you – please speak to us first. In some cases, there may be very little refund and in fact you may have to carry on paying your instalments. Our charges and those of the insurers are not refundable.

Cancellation within the “cooling off” period

All consumers have the statutory right to cancel within 14 days of inception, renewal or upon receipt of the policy documentation, whichever is the later provided there have been no claims. You will only be charged for the period of cover you have had by the insurer plus any administration fee they may charge. If you cancel your insurance prior to the commencement date of the insurance, a full refund of any monies paid will be provided. This does not apply to short-term insurance products of 30 days or less.

Cancellation after the “cooling off” period

After 14 days any right to cancel will be in accordance with the terms of your policy. Some polices do not contain any refund at all after 14 days and this will be indicated in the policy document.

You are responsible for paying premiums by the due date. If you fail to pay your premium by the due date, your insurance policy may be cancelled by the insurer.

All Customers – You must take reasonable care to provide complete and accurate answers to the questions we ask you when you take out, make changes to or renew your policy. If you are in doubt, please contact us. Insurance is based on the information that you give to the insurer and if this information is wrong or incomplete, claims may not be paid in full or at all, your policy may be cancelled, have special terms imposed, policy voided, and the premium may not be returned.

Commercial Customers only – If you are purchasing Insurance for purposes related to your trade, business or profession: In addition to the above, you must disclose all facts material to the insurance you wish to take out. The facts you need to reveal are all those which the insurer needs to estimate your risk and set the premium and terms. You must disclose this information in a way that is clear and substantially correct.

You must also inform us of any changes to your policy details during the life of your policy, including at renewal. Please read carefully all policy documents sent to you and inform us immediately of any incorrect information shown. If you have difficulty in understanding anything, please let us know and we will assist you. For your protection, insurers maintain databases to prevent fraud and the information you give us may be subject to checks.

When your policy becomes due for renewal, we will send you an email containing the renewal quotation. Your policy will be set to auto-renew. Renewals are invited on the basis that there have been no changes in the risk. We will remind you at renewal of what information you have given us and ask you to confirm that it remains correct. It is very important that you check this information carefully and confirm to us that it remains accurate and complete. If the information is incorrect or if anything has changed, you must let us know immediately as it could invalidate your policy or result in a claim not being paid. We recommend that you keep a record (including copies of emails) of all information supplied to us for future reference and if you are in any doubt, please contact us.

Your policy will be set to auto renew, and payment will be taken via your initial method of payment. Should you wish to opt-out of auto-renewals this can be amended in your policy dashboard in My Account. By opting-out your policy with us will lapse on your renewal date and thereafter you will no longer be covered by us. You should ensure you have alternative cover in place.

We hold your premium payment under risk transfer as agent of the insurers and we do this by paying it into an insurer premium trust account until it is passed to the insurers. This is to protect your money and means that whilst your money is in the account, it cannot be used for any purpose other than paying the insurers or any brokers through whom we may have arranged your insurance.  We will retain any interest earned on the account.

We are covered by the FSCS. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim and further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.

Please read the Privacy Notice that accompanies this document. It contains important information about how we protect and use your information.

We do our best to provide you with the highest levels of customer service at all times, however, should you wish to make a complaint you should do so with our Customer Services Manager. You can do this in writing to Andrew Hagger, Rubber Ring Financial Services Limited, Cobac House, 14-16 Charlotte Street, Manchester, M1 4FL, by email to andy.hagger@rubber-ring.co.uk or by telephone on 0161 533 0803 detailing the nature of the complaint. 

Most complaints are resolved by close of business on the third working day after receipt. For more complex issues, an acknowledgement will be sent confirming who is dealing with the complaint and when we will expect to respond to you in full. Within 8 weeks of the date we receive a complaint we will provide you with our final decision.

If you remain dissatisfied you can refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR, telephone 0800 023 4567 or fax 020 7964 1001. Email complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.or.uk. Web www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

The laws of England and Wales govern this agreement and any dispute is subject to the English courts.