Terms of Business

We recommend that you carefully read these Terms that apply to our appointment by you and the services we provide. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the following sets out the terms of our relationship with you, our Client.

Company Details
C. Tarleton Hodgson & Son Ltd (trading as CTH Insurance)
Queen Victoria House
41-43 Victoria Street
Douglas
Isle of Man
IM1 2LF

Telephone: 01624 622985
Email: info@cth.co.im

C. Tarleton Hodgson & Son Limited (CTH Insurance) is registered with the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority as an insurance intermediary in respect of general business. Established in 1926, CTH is the oldest, and largest, independent broker in the Isle of Man. We have offices in Douglas and Ramsey.
 
Our Service
We offer a wide range of General Insurance products and have access to leading insurers in the marketplace. For some types of insurance, we deal predominantly with a single or limited number of insurers. These have been selected as offering value for money and a quality service.

We will explain the main features of the products and services we offer including details of the provider, of the cover and benefits, any restrictions or exclusions, any significant conditions or obligations and the period of cover. However, we will not provide advice on the adequacy of sums insured for buildings, contents, loss of profits and the like. Once your policy has been set up following your instructions, we will be happy to provide reviews at any time upon request.

Disclosure and Representation
It is important that you understand that any information provided by you to your insurers, or CTH Insurance is your responsibility and must be complete and accurate. It is particularly important to ensure that all statements and disclosures you make on proposal forms, claim forms and other documents are full and accurate. We recommend that you keep a copy of all correspondence relating to the arrangement of your insurance.

Any renewal or new business quotation will be made in reliance upon the information provided by you. Please note that you should take all reasonable care to ensure that the information you provide to your insurers and us is honest, as deliberate misrepresentations could invalidate your insurance cover and could mean that part or all of a claim may not be paid.

If you are in any doubt please contact us immediately on 01624 808080

Financial Crime
Please be aware that current Isle of Man Anti-Money Laundering and Prevention of Terrorist Financing legislation require us to obtain adequate “Know Your Customer” information about you. We are obliged to report any evidence or suspicion of financial crime at the first opportunity, and we are prohibited from disclosing any such report.

Claims
It is essential that you notify us immediately of all incidents, with as much detail as possible, which may result in a claim against your insurance policy.  You must do so regardless of your belief that you are liable or not. Any letter or claim received by you must be passed to us immediately. Only by providing prompt notification can your insurer take steps to fully protect your interests.

You should not admit liability or agree any course of action other than emergency measures taken to minimise the loss, until you have agreement from your insurer.

Please contact us for guidance on claiming under your insurance policy by calling us on 01624 808080.

Payment and Client Money
We accept payment by cash, cheque, bank transfer and credit/debit card (Mastercard and Visa). Cheques should be made payable to CTH. Bank Transfer payments should clearly show the CTH Insurance reference relating to the policy you are paying.

Our payment terms are as follows:

• 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: payment in full on or before the renewal date

You may also be able to spread your payments through an insurer’s instalment scheme or a premium credit facility.  We will give you full details of your payment options upon request.

If payment is not received from you in accordance with the above terms, we or your insurer may cancel or lapse the policy. This could mean that part or all of a claim may not be paid or that you are driving a motor vehicle without insurance.

When renewal is invited and if your policy is paid by monthly direct debit, we will issue a notice to you. To ensure that you are not left without cover, the absence of a response to this notice will be deemed as your consent to cover being automatically renewed.

If any direct debit or other payment due in respect of any credit agreement you enter into for the payment of insurance premiums is not met when presented for payment or if you end the credit agreement, we will be informed of such events by the credit provider. If you do not make arrangements with us to pay the outstanding insurance premiums, you acknowledge and agree that we may, at any time after being so informed, instruct the relevant insurer to cancel the insurance. We will collect any refund on the policy which may be made by the insurer and if money is owed under a credit agreement, pay it to the credit provider; or if we have already been debited with the outstanding amount, use it to offset our costs. You will be responsible for paying any time on risk charge and for arranging alternative insurance cover and the payment thereof.

Any payment we receive from you will be held by CTH Insurance in a Client Monies Bank Account. Payments we receive will be held on behalf of the insurer with whom we arrange your policy as their agent. This means that your premium will be deemed to be received by the insurer upon its receipt by us. We may pass the money you pay us to another intermediary. We will only do this where it is a necessary part of the process of arranging cover for you. Any interest earned on client money will be retained by CTH.

Cancellation/Refunds 
Your policy document will detail your rights to cancel your insurance cover once you have taken it out. Most insurance policies carry a charge if they are cancelled within the first year, please check your policy documentation or ask a member of staff for clarification.

Where you cancel a policy before renewal, insurers will apply a charge to cover their costs, with the balance refunded to you, subject to no claim having been made.  However, it is common for insurers to not to allow any return of premium. We will advise you if this affects your policy. To enable an insurer to process the cancellation, you will need to put your request the cancellation in writing and return any certificates or other official documents held to our offices within 30 days of your notice to cancel.

Brokerage and fees (see Remuneration) are earned on a minimum and deposit basis for the policy period. This entitles CTH to retain all brokerage or fees in relation to policies placed through us, even if the policy is cancelled during the period of cover. Any charge made will not exceed the cost of the commission or fees we would have earned.

In the event of an adjustment or cancellation giving rise to a return of premium, the amount may be refunded or held in credit by us.

Security of Insurers
Whilst we will monitor the financial strength of the insurer with whom we place business, we cannot guarantee the solvency of any such insurer. This means that you may still be liable for any premium due and may not be able to recover any premium paid, in full or part, should an insurer become insolvent. The claims paying ability of any insolvent insurer would also be adversely affected. The final decision regarding the suitability of any insurer or market used for your requirements rests with you. Should you have any concerns regarding the insurers offered, please contact a member of staff to discuss them with you.

Remuneration

CTH Insurance are remunerated by the insurance company directly, as a percentage of the insurance premium (known as brokerage or commission) or an agreed fee or a combination of both. You may request details of the amount of remuneration we receive as a result of any insurance business you place with us.

Documentation

We will issue all documentation to you in a timely manner, although certain documents will be retained by us until we have received all outstanding monies or documents from you. All documents of title in respect of protection products will be forwarded to you as soon as possible after being received and recorded by us.  

Your insurance documentation will confirm the basis of cover and provide details of the insurer. It is important that all documentation be kept in a safe place as you may need to refer to it or need it to make a claim.

It is imperative that you read and understand the contents of all documentation relating to your insurance cover. You must ensure that all details contained therein are correct and advise us immediately of any errors or omissions.

Should you require any assistance to explain or clarify any of the information provided or receive the information in a different format that may be easier for you to deal with, then please do not hesitate to contact our insurance advisers who will be able to go through this with you.

Having read such documents, should you have any issues or queries please contact a member of staff for clarification.

No liability whatsoever can be accepted by CTH arising from a failure to read and understand the policy documentation.

Client Information

All personal information is treated by us as confidential even when you are no longer a customer. It is held in a secure environment and is processed in accordance with relevant legislation. We will not use or disclose personal information without your consent, other than in the normal course of arranging and administering your insurances or where we are compelled to so by law (including regulators or law enforcement agencies). In such circumstances, personal information held by us will be disclosed on a confidential basis and in accordance with current Data Protection Regulations.

You have the right of access to see personal information about you that is held in our records. For full information on how we store your data please contact our office or see our Privacy Notice which is on our website at www.cth.co.im

Motor Insurance clients should be aware that insurers do pass information to the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and theft Register, which is run by the Association of British Insurers. The aim is to help them verify information and eliminate fraudulent claims. When we deal with a request for motor insurance from you, insurers may search the register.

Your motor insurer’s details will also be added to the Motor Insurance Database, which is run by the Motor Insurance Information Centre. This pan-European database has been set up to help identify uninsured motorists and may be searched by the police to help confirm who is insured to drive. In the event of an accident, the database may also be searched by insurers to identify relevant information. This may be relevant to other persons you allow to drive your vehicle and you should make them aware of this statement.

Complaints

It is our intention to provide you with the highest level of service at all times. 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 Managing Director

• By telephone on 01624 622985
• By email to info@cth.co.im
• In person by visiting our office

Should you not be satisfied with our final response, you may be entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman.

Financial Services Ombudsman
Thie Slieau Whallian
Foxdale Road
St John's 
Isle of Man
IM4 3AS

E-mail: ombudsman@iomoft.gov.im
Telephone: 01624 686500

General
If any of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, the validity of the provisions of these Terms and the remainder of the provision in question will not be affected.

These Terms shall be governed by Manx Law and the parties agree herewith that any dispute arising out of it shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Isle of Man. These Terms supersede all proposals, prior discussions and representations (whether verbal or written) between us relating to our appointment to act as your agent in connection with the arranging and administration of your insurance. 

These Terms constitute an offer by us to act on your behalf in the arranging and administration of your insurance. In the absence of any specific acceptance by you (whether verbal or written) you are deemed to accept our offer to act for you on the basis of these Terms, by conduct, upon your instructing us to arrange, renew or otherwise act for you in connection with insurance matters.