Information Provided By You
The information that you have supplied in connection with quotations obtained and policies arranged forms the basis on which your insurance cover and premiums are agreed. You must ensure that you are complying with your legal duty of disclosure of all material facts relating to the risk, and you must satisfy yourself as to the accuracy and completeness of the information you provide to insurers.
Failure to disclose material facts or any inaccuracies in your answers, either when you take out, amend, or renew your policy, may invalidate your policy, or result in a claim not being paid. If you are in any doubt as to whether or not a fact is material you should disclose it.
You are advised to carefully check your insurance documents once received. If any information is incorrect or missing, we must be notified at once.
Regulatory Status
Liability Compare is a trading name of VCIL Ltd, Centrepoint House, 2 Denmark Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4DA. VCIL Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority
Our principal place of business is Centrepoint House, 2 Denmark Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4DA.
The FSA is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. Our permitted business is dealing in and arranging contracts of general insurance. You can check this on the FSA’s Register by visiting the FSA website www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.
Are we covered by the financial services compensation scheme?
We are covered by the FSCS. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme in the unlikely event we cannot meet our obligations to you. This depends on the type of insurance, size of the business insured and the circumstances of the claim.
Further information about the compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS at www.fscs.co.uk
Complaints Procedure
Our aim is to provide you with a high level of service at all times. However, if something has gone wrong and you wish to make a complaint, please call us on 0800 035 7122 or write to our Audit & Compliance Manager at VCIL Ltd, 2 Denmark Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4DA.
We expect the majority of complaints will be quickly and satisfactorily resolved at this stage. If we are unable to resolve your complaint immediately, we will acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 business days. In our acknowledgement we will advise you of the name and job title of the person who will be dealing with your complaint.
Within four weeks of receiving your complaint we will send you either a final response; or a letter explaining why we are not yet in a position to resolve your complaint and advising you of when we will be contacting you again.
By the end of eight weeks after receipt of your original complaint letter we will send you a final response; or a letter explaining why we are still not in a position to issue a final response and advising you of when we expect to be able to do so.
If you are dissatisfied with our response to your complaint, you may be able to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Their address is: Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR. Telephone 020 7964 1000. Website www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
These procedures do not affect your right to take legal action if necessary.
If you have a complaint against your insurer, please refer to the policy booklet for details of your insurer’s complaint procedure.
Whose Products Do We Offer?
We deal with a limited panel of insurers, you can ask us for a list of all the insurers we deal with for each product. For optional extra cover such as legal expenses sold as a supplement to your main policy, we can only offer insurance from a single insurer.
We act as agents for the Insurer for the collection of premiums and 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.
Cancellation Of Your Policy
This section contains important notes about your rights of cancellation. You must read these notes carefully.
You can cancel your policy at any time by sending written notice to the address given below: VCIL Ltd, 2 Denmark Road, Guildford, Surry, GU1 4DA,
We can cancel your policy by sending you a seven-day notice in writing to your last known address.
If your policy is cancelled, we will refund your premium as follows:
If you or we cancel the policy within the 14-day withdrawal period, whether cover has commenced or not, we will refund the part of the premium you have not used subject to an administration fee of £30. In addition, if a discount was applied at inception, the discount will be reclaimed on a pro-rata basis and any charge made by the insurer. (Refer to your policy booklet/policy summary for details of the insurers cancellation charges).
If you or we cancel the policy at any other time, we will refund the part of the premium, you have not used less an administration fee of up to 25% of the refund, subject to a £50 minimum. We do not refund commission as this was earned for administering your policy. In addition, if a discount was applied at inception, the discount will be reclaimed on a pro-rata basis plus any charge made by the insurer. (Refer to your policy booklet/policy summary for details of the insurers cancellation charges).
We may not refund your premium, if you have made a claim, or if one has been made against you, during the period of insurance. If you are paying by instalments and have made a claim you may have to pay the balance of the full annual premium.
Motor Policies
We will only cancel a Motor Policy at your request, if you meet the legal requirement to return the certificate of motor insurance. If you have lost the certificate of motor insurance, you must send in a completed written declaration confirming that you wish to cancel and no longer have the certificate of motor insurance in your possession. Please note that we are unable to backdate cancellations.
Windscreen and Breakdown add-on policies (Optional Extras)
The above policies can be cancelled at any time. However, unless they are cancelled within the 14-day withdrawal period, they will be subject to no return in premium.
You are always advised to discuss your options with us prior to deciding upon cancellation of your policy.
How To Make A Claim
In the event of an accident or incident occurring which may give rise to a claim under your policy, you should notify us as soon as possible using the telephone numbers on our claims page
Renewals
We will write to you in good time before the renewal date to explain what will happen and to let you know what the policy terms and new payments will be. Any renewal premium quoted will only apply provided no claim happens or is reported after the renewal quotation is issued, and provided you have informed us of any change that may affect your policy since inception or last renewal.
At renewal, for your convenience and protection we may automatically continue your insurance (including any additional policies such as legal protection, breakdown, personal accident) unless you ask us not to. We will write to you before renewal date to remind you of this and inform you of any changes to your policy.
However, we do not guarantee to renew your policy, and we won’t automatically renew your policy if your payment fails to be authorised.
Charges For Our Services
We make the following charges for administering your insurance:-
A fee of up to 35% may be applied for setting up your policy which is non-refundable, subject to a minimum of £30.00.
A fee of £30 plus 10% of the change in premium for administration of changes and amendments to your policy. Commission is retained from any refund.
A fee for all cancellations, calculated per cancellation statement above.
A fee of £25 for administering a duplicate document.
A fee of £25 for cheques returned as unpaid.
A fee of £20 to cover the cost of processing instalment arrangements.
A charge of 2.5% will be applied to credit card payments.
It is not economic or practical to issue refund cheques of small amounts. Accordingly, where a transaction would result in a refund to you from us of less than £5.00, this nominal amount will be retained by us an additional service charge.
If you do not pay in full for your time on cover or you fail to pay any part of your insurance, we may choose to use a debt collection agency to collect any monies owing. Any costs incurred will be added to the debt.
Statement of Price
We will provide you with a detailed statement of price when your policy is issued. Should you wish to have this prior to incepting your policy online please contact our offices and we will confirm your statement of price
Payment Arrangements (Including Instalments) and Deposits
If the card you (the policyholder) use for payment is in your name, the same card details you provide will be held securely by a third party and will be used for any premium transaction in connection with this policy, including renewal of the policy, unless you have asked us not to. By proceeding with this purchase, you signify your agreement to this process. In addition we will use this card to collect any outstanding amounts if any instalment payments are not made when due and your account is subsequently in arrears or any outstanding balance if your policy is cancelled and you have not paid sufficient to cover the cost of your insurance and any fees that are required.
Instalment funding is provided by Close Premium Finance.
We will always provide advance notice either in writing or over the telephone, before any transaction is processed, when you will have the opportunity to pay by an alternative method.
Please note that personal data provided by the Customer will be provided to Close Premium Finance Ltd. (Close), who will then be acting as data processor of such data on our behalf. Such data is only processed by Close in order to process your payment instruction and your personal data will not be provided to third parties other than the Financial Institutions for the chosen payment method. Close will provide you with details of their privacy policy, or you are invited to e-mail them for this at marketing@closepf.com.
Introducer Arrangements
A third party may have introduced you to us and for this the introducer may be paid a fee by us. We may also, with your consent, introduce you to other third parties, for which we may be paid a fee.
If, as a result of an accident that was not your fault, you require legal representation, Van Compare Direct will arrange for their recommended solicitors to act for you. The solicitors recommended by Van Compare Direct have been chosen as experts in this particular field. A fee is paid by the solicitors for being members of our legal services panel. We comply with the Solicitors’ Introduction and Referral Code as set down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and any solicitors to whom we may refer you are independent professionals from whom you will receive impartial and confidential advice.
Law And Language Applicable
The law to be applied to this policy will be stated on your Key Facts document. The language used and any communications relating to this policy will be English.
Last revision: 08/09/2010 Version: 3.1
