General Terms of Business Agreement (GTOBA)

1. Definitions

“Consumer” means anyone acting outside their trade or profession regarding the insurance cover requested or arranged.

“Company”, “we”, “us” or “our” means Platinum Insurance (Isle of Man) Limited.

“You” or “your” means you (or your appointed agent).

“Written Terms of Business” or “WTOB” means the Statement of Demands & Needs, the Quotation and these General Terms of Business collectively.

2. About us

Platinum Insurance is registered with the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority (the “Authority”) to carry on the business of Insurance Intermediary in or from the Isle of Man. We are independent of any insurance company. Our Firm Reference Number (FRN) is 75. You can check this registration by visiting the Authority’s website https://www.iomfsa.im/ or by telephoning the Authority on 01624 646000.

3. Contents

4.     Our Services

5.     Important Information (consumer customers only)

6.     The Duty of Fair Presentation (non-consumer customers only)

7.     Financial Crime

8.     Solvency of Insurers

9.     Terms of Payment

10.   How we hold your money

11.   Quotations

12.   Renewals

13.   Mid-term Transferred Business

14.   Notification of Incidents/Claims

15.   Cancellation

16.   Remuneration, Fees & Charges

17.   Complaints

18.   Confidentiality and Data Protection

19.   Communications/Documentation

20.   Termination of our authority to act on your behalf

21.   Third Party Rights

22.   General

4. Our Services

As an insurance intermediary, we generally act as your agent. We are subject to the law of agency, which imposes various duties on us. However, in certain circumstances, we may act for and owe duties of care to other parties, including the insurer.  We will advise you when these circumstances occur so you will know of any possible conflict of interest. We offer a wide range of insurance products and services, which may include:

• Offering you a single or range of products from which to choose a product that suits your insurance needs.
• Advising you on your insurance needs.
• Arranging suitable insurance cover with insurers to meet your requirements.
• Helping you with any subsequent changes to your insurance you have to make.
• Providing all reasonable assistance with any claim you have to make.

In finding an insurance solution that meets your demands and needs, we may either conduct a market analysis of potential insurers or only consider a specific product from a single insurer or products from the panel of insurers we work with. We may also place your insurance using alternative access to insurers and underwriters through Lloyd’s of London, managing general agents or other specialist intermediaries.

To enable you to make an informed decision, we will provide you with a written ‘Statement of Demands and Needs’ (‘SoDAN’) for each individual product we recommend. Each SoDAN will be communicated to you clearly and accurately in writing and include, as a minimum,

• Your insurance demands and needs,
• The insurer, the type of policy being recommended, and the period of coverage being offered,
• The factors we have considered in making our recommendation,
• The capacity in which we are providing our recommendation,
• The method of market selection we have used to identify the product we have recommended
• Any demands and needs that the recommended product does not meet,
• Any relevant product exclusions, excesses, limitations, and conditions; and
• The basis of our remuneration on this policy. 

We will also provide you with a quotation for each product we recommend that includes any fees payable in addition to the premium.

For each type of insurance offered, the SoDAN, the quotation and these General Terms of Business collectively represent the Written Terms of Business between us and you. You should read each of these documents carefully.

5. Important Information (consumer customers only)

It is your duty as a consumer to take reasonable care and not to make a misrepresentation to us or an insurer. A failure by you to comply with the insurer’s request to confirm or amend particulars previously given is capable of being a misrepresentation. You must ensure all statements you make on proposal forms, claim forms, and other documents are complete and accurate. We recommend that you keep a copy of all correspondence concerning the arrangement of your insurance.  An insurer has a remedy against a consumer regarding qualifying misrepresentations that breach the consumer’s duty of reasonable care where the insurer deems the misrepresentation deliberate, reckless, or careless.  

If in doubt about any point concerning your duty to take reasonable care and subsequent qualifying misrepresentations, be sure to contact us immediately. 

6. The Duty of Fair Presentation (non-consumer customers only)

It is your responsibility to provide a fair presentation of the insurance risk based on your conducting a reasonable search for information. This could require you to obtain information from senior managers within your organisation or other parties to which the insurance relates or who carry out outsourcing functions for your business.  You must disclose every material circumstance which you know or ought to know, or failing that, disclose sufficient information to inform your insurer that it needs to make further enquiries. You must ensure that any information you provide is correct to the best of your knowledge, and representations you make in expectation or belief must be made in good faith.  Failure to make a fair presentation of the risk may result in additional terms or warranties being applied from the policy’s inception or any claim payment being proportionately reduced.  In some cases, this could result in an insurer declaring your policy void and your premiums returned. Any deliberate or reckless breach of the duty of fair presentation could result in an insurer claiming your policy void with no refund of the premium.  

If you are in doubt about any point concerning material circumstances and reasonable search, contact us immediately. 

7. Financial Crime

Please be aware that current Isle of Man money laundering regulations require us to obtain adequate ‘Know Your Client’ information about you. We must also cross-check you against The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) HM Treasury consolidated list of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK as part of the information-gathering process. We are obliged to report any evidence or suspicion of financial crime to the relevant Isle of Man authorities at the first opportunity, and we are prohibited from disclosing any such report.  We will not permit our employees or other persons engaged by them to be either influenced or influence others regarding undue payments or privileges from or to insurers or clients. 

8. Solvency of Insurers

We cannot guarantee the solvency of any insurer we place business with. This means that you may still be liable for any premium due and unable to recover the premium paid, whether in whole or in part, should an insurer become insolvent. 

9. Terms of Payment

Our payment terms are as follows (unless specifically agreed by us in writing to the contrary):

• New policies: immediate payment on or before the inception date of the policy
• Alterations to existing policies: immediate payment on or before the effective date of the change
• Renewals: due in full before the renewal date.

If payment is not received from you per the above terms, we, or your insurer, may cancel or lapse the relevant policy/policies, which could mean that part or all of a claim may not be paid.  You may also be in breach of legally required insurance cover. 

If you pay your insurance premium using a finance provider, your details will be passed on to them. We will provide you with a breakdown of the monthly installment costs and a document outlining key features of their credit agreement with you, including any fees they apply and the cost of default charges.  You must take some time to read this document and contact us if you do not receive this. If you have any queries or questions, either about the service provided by the finance provider or their terms and conditions, you should, in the first instance, contact them. Where your policy is paid via the finance provider, and you choose to renew your cover, we will again continue to pass your details to them. If any direct debit or other payment due regarding any credit agreement you enter into to pay insurance premiums is not met when presented for payment or if you end the credit agreement, the finance provider will inform us of such events. In certain circumstances, we may be contractually obliged by the finance provider to notify your insurer to cancel the policy. Where we are not contractually obliged to do so by the finance provider, if you do not make other arrangements with us to pay the insurance premiums, you acknowledge and agree that we may, at any time after being informed of non-payment under the credit agreement, instruct on your behalf the relevant insurer to cancel the insurance and to collect any refund of premiums which may be made by the insurer and use this refund to offset the amount levied by the finance provider on us.  If this amount does not cover all our costs, we reserve the right to pursue any additional debt owed through due legal process. You will be responsible for paying any time risk charge and putting any alternative insurance and payment arrangements you need in place.  Upon receiving your strict acceptance to pay for insurance premiums through the finance provider, we will instruct them to proceed with your credit application. This process will involve the provider searching public information that a credit reference agency holds about you and any previous payment history with that provider. The credit reference agency will add details of your search and your application to their record about whether or not your application is successful. Please read carefully the pre-contractual explanations and the information regarding the cost of credit (including any representative examples). Together, they provide essential information about the credit facility available from the finance provider. Credit is available subject to status. 

10. How we hold your money

We handle all client money. Client money is money that we receive and hold on behalf of our clients during our dealings, such as premium payments, premium refunds, and claim payments. This money will be held by us either as an agent of the insurer or agent of the client, determined by the agreement we have in place with each insurer. Where money is held as the insurer’s agent, this means that when we have received your cleared premium, it is deemed to have been paid to the insurer. Our standard accounting practice is to take our commission upon receipt of your cleared funds before payment of the premium to the insurer.  

The Authority requires all client monies, including yours, to be held in a segregated client account, the purpose of which is to protect you in the event of our financial failure since, in such circumstances, our general creditors would not be able to make claims on client money as it will not form part of our assets. We hold all client monies with one or more approved banks, as defined by the Authority, in a segregated client bank account per the Authority client money rules. Under these arrangements, we assume responsibility for such monies and are permitted to, and may, to effect a transaction on your behalf, pass your money to another intermediary, including those resident outside the Isle of Man who would therefore be subject to different legal and regulatory regimes. In the event of a failure of the intermediary, this money may be treated differently from that which would apply if an intermediary in the Isle of Man held the money. Please inform us if you do not agree to this. 

Unless we receive your written instruction, we shall treat receipt of payment from you and any claim payment and refund of premium which fall due to you as being with your informed consent to pay those monies into the Client bank account. Any interest earned on Client Money will be retained for our own use rather than paid to you. 

11. Quotations

Unless otherwise agreed, any quotation given will generally remain valid for 30 days from the date it is provided to you.  We reserve the right to withdraw or amend a quotation in certain circumstances, for example, where the insurer has altered their premium/terms for the insurance since the quotation was given, where there has been a change in the original risk information/material circumstances disclosed or if a claim/incident has occurred since the terms were offered. 

12. Renewals

You will be provided with renewal terms in good time before the expiry of the policy or notified that renewal is not being invited. Unless you advise otherwise, renewals are requested because there have been no changes in the risk or cover required other than those specifically notified to us or your insurers (see ‘Important Information’ and ‘The Duty of Fair Presentation’ sections). 

You must check the information provided at renewal to confirm it remains accurate and complete. If any information is incorrect or circumstances have changed, you should contact us immediately so we can update your details. 

13. Mid-term Transferred Business

When we are appointed to service insurance policies other than at their inception or renewal and which were originally arranged via another party, we shall not be liable during the current insurance period for any loss arising from any errors, omissions or gaps in your insurance cover or advice not supplied by us.  Should you have any concerns regarding a policy which has been transferred to us, or if you require an immediate review of your insurance arrangements, you must notify us immediately.  Otherwise, we shall review your insurance arrangements and advise accordingly, as each policy falls due for renewal. 

14. Notification of Incidents/Claims

Your policy documentation will detail who to contact to make a claim. It is essential to notify immediately of all incidents that may result in a claim against your insurance policy. It would help if you did so whether you believe you are liable.  Any letter or claim received by you must be passed on immediately without acknowledgement.  Only by providing prompt notification of incidents can your insurance company take steps to protect your interests.  Claims payment will be made in favour of you. If you require a payment to be made to a third party, you must confirm the required payee name and details and briefly explain your request. Don’t hesitate to contact us for guidance on claiming under your policy. 

15. Cancellation

Your policy document will detail your rights to cancel your insurance once you have taken it out. Depending on the type of policy you have purchased, you may be entitled to cancel within 14 or 30 days of either the conclusion of the contract or receiving your policy documentation, whichever occurs later.  This is often referred to as a cooling-off period. Where you cancel a policy before renewal, you will be responsible for paying a charge to meet the cost of cover provided and administration expenses. Please see the ‘Remuneration, Fees & Charges’ section. To enable your insurer to process the cancellation, you must return certificates and official documents to our office within 30 days of your cancellation notice. 

16. Remuneration, Fees & Charges

In most cases, we are paid by commission from the insurer. Still, in some circumstances (for example, changes to the risk that required significant further advice and placement of additional coverage or substantial involvement in any large, complicated, or complex claims), we may charge you an administration fee instead of a commission or a combination of both, in which case this administration fee will be declared to you in writing at the time of incepting, amending or renewing your policy. Our administration fees will always be stated on all Pro Forma Invoices, Invoices and Receipts issued by us. 

We may occasionally receive additional remuneration from insurers, claims management providers, etc.  Where you choose to pay your premium in instalments, we may use a scheme operated by your insurer or a single Finance Provider.  Where we arrange premium finance on your behalf, we are reimbursed by commission for our assistance in putting this financing in place. We will advise you of any commission payable by the finance provider about a credit agreement where knowledge of the existence or amount of commission could affect our impartiality in recommending a particular product, or that may have a material impact on your transactional decision.  You are entitled at any time to request further information regarding the amount of any remuneration we may have received as a result of placing or renewing your insurance coverage. To the extent that it is impossible for an amount to be given, we will provide the basis for its calculation. 

Where a policy is cancelled before renewal, insurers charge to cover their costs, with the balance refunded to you, subject to no claim having been made. Full details will be available in your policy.  In the event of an adjustment giving rise to a return of premium, the amount may be refunded or held to credit. 

Your attention is specifically drawn to the following: Where you cancel your policy after the expiry of the cooling off period or request a mid-term adjustment resulting in a refund of premium, we reserve the right to charge you for our time and costs.  This will usually result in us reducing the amount refunded to you by the FULL amount of the commission and fees we would have received had you not cancelled.  However, any charge made will not exceed the cost of the commission and fees we would have earned.  For specific commercial insurance policies, insurers will only provide cover where the premium is due in full at the policy’s inception. No refund will be paid if the policy is cancelled before renewal. We will advise you if this affects you. Bank details may be retained for refunds and claim payments that BACS may make.  

17. Complaints

We intend to always provide you with the highest possible level of customer service. However, we recognise that things can go wrong occasionally, and if this occurs, we are committed to resolving matters promptly and fairly. Should you wish to complain, you may do so: 

• In writing to the Complaints Manager Justine Gaisford-Martin
• By telephone on 01624 693693
• By e-mail at justine@platinuminsurance.me
• In person by visiting our office (see above for address)

Should you not be satisfied with our final response, you may be entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (FOS), which the Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading manages. Information is available upon request or their webpage at  https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/statutory-boards/isle-of-man-office-of-fair-trading/. Further details will be supplied when we respond to your complaint.

18. Confidentiality and Data Protection

We are a data controller for the information you provide to us, including individual identification and financial details, policy history and special category data (such as medical or criminal history). Details of our legal basis for processing your information, along with details of any third-party recipient whom it may be necessary to share your personal data with in order to fulfil the contract, retention period for data held, security of your data, your rights under the General Data Protection Regulations including the right to complain can be found in our complete ‘Privacy Notice’. 

19. Communications/Documentation

We will issue all documentation to you in a timely manner. Documentation relating to your insurance will confirm the basis of the cover and provide details of the relevant insurers. It is therefore important that the documentation is kept in a safe place, as you may need to refer to it or need it to make a claim. A new policy/policy booklet is not necessarily provided each year, although a duplicate can be provided at any time upon request. You should always check the documentation to ensure all the details are correct, and if this is not the case, you should contact us immediately. If documents are issued by electronic means or via an internet portal, paper documents are available free of charge on request. 

20. Termination of our authority to act on your behalf

You or we may terminate our authority to act on your behalf by providing at least 14 days’ notice in writing (or such other period we agree). Termination is without prejudice to any transactions initiated by you, which will be completed according to these General Terms of Business unless we agree otherwise in writing.  You will remain liable to pay for any transactions or adjustments effective before termination, and we shall be entitled to retain any commission and/or fees payable concerning insurance cover placed by us before the date of written termination.   

21. Third Party Rights

Unless otherwise agreed between us in writing, no term of these General Terms of Business is enforceable under the Isle of Man’s Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 2001. 

22. General

If any provision of these General Terms of Business is found to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, the validity of the other provisions of these General Terms of Business and the remainder of the provision in question will not be affected. These General Terms of Business shall be governed by the laws of the Isle of Man, and the parties agree that any dispute arising out of it shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the relevant court.  These General 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 General Terms of Business constitute an offer by us to act on your behalf in arranging and administrating 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 based on these General Terms of Business by conduct upon you instructing us to arrange, renew or otherwise act for you in connection with insurance matters.