
BUTCHER, ROBINSON & STAPLES INTERNATIONAL LIMITED.
(With Producing Agent)
1. The Scope of these Terms and Conditions
1.1 These Terms and Conditions shall apply to
both insurance and reinsurance
transactions, and references to "insurance
and Insurers shall be read as reinsurance and "Reinsurers" where
the subject-matter of our instructions is reinsurance.
2. Our Role
2.1 We are instructed by you to act as an
intermediary in effecting insurance in
accordance with your instructions: in that capacity, we act as your agents and owe no independent duties either to your client or to Insurers.
3. Your Insurance Requirements
3.1 You will be responsible for taking the
appropriate steps to seek such information
as is necessary about your client's
circumstances and objectives to enable us to identify the insurance
requirements and fulfil our obligations and responsibilities to you.
3.2 You
will be responsible for providing us with all necessary information which
we have requested and any other
information which we may not have requested but which you consider to be
relevant to enable us to fulfill our obligations to you.
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4. The Duty of Disclosure
4.1 In order to enable us to obtain valid
insurance on your behalf, it is your
obligation to provide us with sufficiently detailed, accurate and complete information to enable us to make full disclosure to the prospective Insurers of all circumstances which are material to the Proposed insurance. A "material circumstance in this context is a fact, which might influence the Insurers either whether to underwrite the risk at all or the terms (including premium) upon which they are prepared to underwrite the risk. If full disclosure of material circumstances is not made to Insurers, they may be entitled not only to decline any subsequent claim, but also to avoid the policy with effect from inception, enabling them to recover any claims, which have already been paid. If you have any doubt as to whether something is material, you should discuss it with us.
4.2 All answers or statement given on a
Proposal Form, Claim Form, or other
material document are your responsibility and you should always check with your client the accuracy of the information, which you provide to us. If there are other material circumstances (as defined above) which you think should be made known to prospective Insurers, but which have not been asked about on the Proposal Form, you should still advise us of such circumstances so that we may consider whether or not they should be disclosed, as failure to do so may still give insurers the right to decline any subsequent claim, or avoid the Policy with effect from inceptions even though they may not have raised questions about them on the Proposal Form.
4.3 This, duty of disclosure arises not
only when the insurance is first taken out, but
also on each subsequent renewal or amendment of it. It is, accordingly, your obligation to remind your client of their disclosure obligations and to advise us on these occasions of any material change of circumstances since inception or the last renewal or amendment of the policy.
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Where the terms of the insurance require Insurers to be notified of any increase or alteration in the nature of the risk, it is your obligation to provide such information to us so that insurers can be notified in accordance with the requirements of the insurance.
5. Quotations
5.1 When giving you a quotation, we will
have taken due care to ensure its accuracy
and, at the time of presenting it to you, we will have the reasonable belief that we can place the insurance at the quoted terms. However, there is no binding commitment on the part of the quoting Insurers to write the risk on those terms at that stage, and we cannot, therefore, be held responsible if, for whatever reason, the quoting Insurers decide to withdraw the quotation prior to our taking it up on your behalf.
6. Information about the Proposed
Insurance
6.1 We shall assume that you understand the
terms, scope and effect of the proposed
insurance unless you inform us to the contrary. We will expect you to explain to your client the key features of the insurance proposed, including the essential cover and benefits, any significant or unusual restrictions, exclusions, conditions, warranties or obligations and the period of the cover: this shall not be our responsibility, even in situations where we may have some direct contact with your client.
6.2 We are not qualified to advise you on
legal interpretation of the policy, and if
you or your client are uncertain as to the legal effect or meaning of any of the terms of the insurance or the consequences of the breach of any of them, you or your client must take advice from a lawyer appropriately qualified to give that advice.
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7. Placement of the Insurance
7.1 We will take all reasonable steps to
review the financial security, service
standards and stability of all Insurers recommended for use
on the assurances, but we do not guarantee the continuing financial viability
and solvency of any of the Insurers with whom the risk is placed.
7.2 Where we consider it to be appropriate,
we may request another more localised
or specialist insurance broker or intermediary to act as our sub-agent to assist us in the placing of the insurance.
7.3 The broker acts for the party seeking
insurance. Where a broker is
authorised in
addition to provide a service for, or bind
risks on behalf of, an insurer the concurrent duties are as contained in and
limited to the specific role, terms conditions and limitations contained within
Terms of Business Arrangements, Coverholders, Subscription or Agency Agreements
between broker and insurer and / or Reinsurer
which, notwithstanding, shall not conflict with the primary duty to the insured and / or reinsured.
8. Payment of Premium
8.1 In order for us to meet the premium
payment terms of Insurers, premiums and
any duties or fees must be settled to us by the payment date(s) specified in our Debit Note. In certain circumstances, Insurers will stipulate special premium payment terms or warranties which, if not met, will give Insurers the right to
cancel the insurance contract with effect from inception. We will advise you when these circumstances arise. It must be your responsibility to make appropriate arrangements with your client to ensure that you are placed in funds in sufficient time to comply with our payment requirements.
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8.2 For the avoidance of doubt me have no
obligation to fund any premiums, duties,
fees etc on your behalf; and have no responsibility for any loss which you or your client may suffer as a result of Insurers canceling the policy or taking any other prejudicial steps as a result of the late payment of such premiums, duties, fees etc if such delay is substantially attributable to you or your client.
9. Our Remuneration
9.1 We will be remunerated for arranging
the insurance in the form of commission
or brokerage paid to us by the Insurers underwriting the insurance. This will be disclosed if required
9.2 In addition to such brokerage or
commission, we may also be entitled to benefit
from:-
9.2.1 earnings
which we are able to generate due to the weight of account
placed with certain Insurers and its
underwriting performance, which
are not referable to any specific
customer; and
9.2.2 earnings
which we are able to generate through management of cash
balances held on behalf of Insurers
and clients which are not referable
to any specific customer.
10. Confidentiality
10.1
Any
information obtained from you by us will not be used or disclosed except
in the normal course of negotiating,
maintaining or renewing insurance for you,
unless we have your consent to do otherwise, or
disclosure is made by us
pursuant to regulatory and/or legal obligations which we have to disclose the Information.
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11. Documentation
11.1 Documents in our Possession which record
the contract of insurance which you
have asked us to place
(principally the slip and any policy wording) are, as a matter of law, your
documents and we will pass them to any other broker in accordance with your
instructions should you choose to terminate our appointment, subject to all
monies due to us having been paid. For the avoidance of doubt, the
ownership of working documents which we create in order to carry out your
instructions remain our property, and hence will not be transferred in the
event of any change of broker
12. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
12.1 As our services will be performed
substantially in London, these Terms and
Conditions shall be construed in accordance
with the Law of England and any
disputes between us shall be submitted to the
exclusive jurisdiction of the
Commercial Court in London.
Signed on behalf of the
Butcher Robinson & Staples International Limited
.. Dated
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Signed on behalf of
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.. Dated
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