Terms of Business

Use this information to decide if our services are right for you.
 

Introduction

The Civil Service Insurance Society (CSIS) is a company limited by guarantee, without shareholders or other owners. We are an independent specialist insurance intermediary acting on your behalf in arranging your insurance.
 

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

The FCA is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our permitted business is arranging and administering general insurance. Our FCA register number is 304151 and you can check this on the FCA’s Register by visiting the FCAs website www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 1116768.
 

Our services

You will not receive advice or recommendations from us.  We may ask some questions to narrow down the selection of products that we will provide details on. You will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed.

We will be acting as your agent for sourcing the policy. If we place you on risk we will be acting both as your agent and agent of the insurer when placing the business. Although we do not handle claims we can become involved in the negotiation on your behalf when requested to do so.
 

Premium Finance

If you choose to pay by monthly instalments for a new policy you will pay an initial deposit followed by 9 monthly instalments. (for renewals no deposits and 10 monthly instalments) You will be charged an annual percentage rate (APR) and we will set up a direct debit mandate using your bank details. Failure to complete the premium finance agreement or cancelling before the first payment is taken will result in your insurance policy being cancelled from inception and you will not be able to make any claims. Failure to make subsequent payments on the premium finance agreement when due may affect your ability to claim under your policy or reduce any claim settlement and your policy may be cancelled. If you make a change to your policy mid-term, you will be able to pay by credit/debit card or you may be able to add the cost on to your existing credit agreement. Civil Service Insurance Society use Premium Credit Ltd to provide finance. Civil Service Insurance Society is acting as the credit broker and receive a commission for introducing customers to Premium Credit Ltd.  Premium Credit Ltd may use a credit reference agency that leaves a record of the search or other information about you so that they can carry out a credit and anti-money laundering check. This record will be visible to third parties. Credit is subject to status. If the credit agreement is cancelled for any reason any premium refund will be paid to Premium Credit Ltd to offset the remaining balance of the loan including interest. If this refund does not cover all of the balance then Premium Credit may recover any outstanding monies from you.
 

Which products we offer

We offer Home, Car and Travel products from a limited number of insurers. The insurers that we use are:  
 
Home Insurance Providers              
Axa Insurance UK Plc
Broker Direct Plc (underwritten by Accredited Insurance Europe Ltd)
Covea Insurance Plc
Geo Underwriting Services Ltd – a trading style of Midas Underwriting Limited
Pen Underwriting Ltd
Zurich Insurance Company Ltd
            
Home Emergency
Sparta Insurance Services Group Ltd (underwritten by Alwyn Insurance Company Ltd)

Legal Expenses 
Sparta Insurance Services Group Ltd (underwritten by Alwyn Insurance Company Ltd)

Car Insurance Providers
Ageas Insurance Ltd
Aviva Insurance Ltd
Axa Insurance UK Plc
Broker Direct Plc (underwritten by Accredited Insurance Europe Ltd)
Covea Insurance Plc
Geo Underwriting Services Ltd – a trading style of Midas Underwriting Limited
Marmalade Ltd a trading name of Atlanta Insurance Intermediaries Ltd (underwritten by AGEAS insurance and Highway Insurance Company)
Zurich Insurance Company Ltd

Breakdown
RAC Motoring Services via Broker Direct Plc
Sparta Insurance Services Group Ltd (provided by AmTrust Europe Ltd) 

Uninsured Losses Recovery & Legal Expenses
BDElite Ltd (underwritten by Financial & legal Insurance Co Ltd) 

Travel Insurance Providers
JustTravelcover.com (underwritten by AIG Insurance, Chaucer Insurance Co DAC and Red Sands Insurance Group)
Euroins AD

Smart Luggage
Financial & Legal Insurance Company

GAP (Guaranteed Asset Protection) Insurance
Sparta Insurance Services Group Ltd (underwritten by Alwyn Insurance Company Ltd)


We act as an introducer to a single provider for the following products:

Short-term private car insurance 
Sparta Insurance Services an appointed representative of SafelyInsured

Caravan
Coast Insurance

Life
Zurich Assurance Ltd
 

Remuneration and fees

We receive commission from the insurer which is a percentage of the total annual premium on business managed by us. Insurers may charge fees, please see your policy document for details.
 

Settlement terms and client money

You will be responsible for paying promptly all of our requests for premiums to enable us to make the necessary payments to insurers. We act as agents for the insurer for the collection of premiums and payment refunds of premiums. This means that premiums are treated as being received by the insurer when received in our bank account and that any premium refund is treated as received by you when it is actually paid over to you. There are occasions where such transactions are restricted (for example, to receiving premiums only) and we will tell you if this is the case. We hold premiums and refunds of premiums separate from our own money in a designated insurer premium account.

We will remit premiums to insurers in accordance with the agreed terms of business agreements. It is not our practice to rebate to customers interest, if any, earned on premiums prior to our remitting them to insurers.

For the avoidance of doubt, we have no obligation to fund any premiums on your behalf and have no responsibility for any loss which you may suffer as a result of insurers cancelling the policy or taking any other prejudicial steps as a result of the late payment of such sums if such delay is attributable to you. We accept payment by cheque, selected credit cards or monthly instalments (full details are available on request).
 

Renewals

We will contact you in good time before your renewal date with details of the Insurers renewal terms. If you pay by direct debit and your insurer is happy to renew your policy, we will automatically renew your policy, and your monthly payments will continue to be collected.       

Should you wish to stop your insurance automatically renewing, please contact us at any time to cancel this facility. You can do this by telephone, post or email.  Your insurance will then expire on the renewal date and you will no longer be covered unless you contact us to renew your policy.

There will also be times when we find an alternative insurer who meets you needs at renewal.  If this is the case we will provide you with details of the renewal terms from your existing insurer and also the alternative.  For your protection we will automatically renew you with the existing insurer unless you contact us to take up the new insurer. You can opt out of auto renewal at any time during the term of the contract by contacting us on 01622 766960.
 

Customer protection and care

CSIS works to agreed service standards to deliver a first class insurance service to all of our clients; a copy is available upon request.
 

Cancellation

You have a legal right to cancel your policy within 14 days of its receipt. Please refer to your policy document for full details.
 

Security

We do not guarantee the solvency of any insurer with which we place business.
 

Your duty of disclosure

It is important that you understand that any information, statements or answers made by you to us or your insurer are your responsibility and must be correct. You must take reasonable care not to make misinterpretations when answering insurers’ questions. If you are careless in answering the insurers’ questions or deliberately make a misrepresentation, this may render the insurance void from inception (the start of the contract) and enable the insurer to repudiate liability (entitle the insurer not to pay your claims). The requirement for correct information not only applies at commencement and renewal of your policy but also at any time during the period of insurance.

You are advised to keep copies of documentation sent to or received from us for your own protection. If you are in doubt about the disclosure of claims information we recommend that you verify the details with your previous insurer. Occasionally we will ask you to provide official documentation to support your disclosure to us or your insurer at inception of the policy. Please ask us if you are in doubt on any aspect.
 

Issue of documentation

We may retain certain documents such as your insurance policy and/or certificates of insurance until we receive full payment of premiums or completed direct debit application. In these circumstances we will ensure that you receive full details of your cover and any documents that you require by law.
 

Claims

We will pass all correspondence promptly to the appropriate Insurers and assist with resolution when required.
 

Confidentiality

We have always made it a priority to protect your personal data and privileged information. We do not sell or trade your information or your personal data to other companies.

Your information will be shared with the insurers, Underwriters and other companies for the purpose of arranging and administering your insurance. Your information may be disclosed to regulatory bodies for monitoring or enforcing insurance rules and regulations. When your insurance is due to expire we will contact you by telephone, letter and/or by email to remind you to renew the policy. We also ask for your permission to add you to our marketing list so that we can send you details of special offers and new product information from us and our associated companies. We always provide you with the means to opt out of receiving this material.

If you would like further information on how we use your personal data please view our privacy policy.
 

Fraud prevention

Insurers pass information to the Claims and Underwriting Exchange register, run by Insurance Database Services Ltd (IDS Ltd).

The aim is to help insurers to check the information provided and also to prevent fraudulent claims. When your request for insurance is dealt with, the register may be searched. When you provide information about an incident (such as fire, water damage or theft) this may be passed to the register.
 

Language and governing law

The English language will be used for all purposes. Policies and these Terms of Business will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the Laws of England and Wales and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
 

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) which means that you may be entitled to compensation if we cannot meet our obligations to you. Further information is available at www.fscs.org.uk or by contacting the FSCS directly on 0800 6781100.  

Civil Service Insurance Society, 1st Floor Gail House, Lower Stone Street, Maidstone, Kent ME15 6NB

T: 01622 766960
W: www.csis.co.uk
E:  insurance(at)csis.co.uk