Terms of Business

About Us

Abbey Insurance Brokers Limited trading as Open & Direct is a company registered in Northern Ireland under company registration number NI053754. Our registered office is 10 Governors Place, Carrickfergus, County Antrim, BT38 7BN. We are a wholly owned subsidiary of Prestige Insurance Holdings Limited who are ultimately owned by PIHL Holdings Limited. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, our Firm Reference Number is 434752. You can confirm this on the Financial Services Register at www.fca.org.uk or by contacting them on 0800 111 6768.

We are an insurance intermediary who act honestly, fairly and professionally in accordance with your best interest. We act on your behalf at all times except for the collection and refund of premiums when we act as an agent of the Insurer. Our services include collection of information about your demands and needs, providing information from the Insurer about policies that meet your demands and needs, arranging and managing cover with the Insurer, and making mid-term adjustments to your insurance. We do not offer advice or recommendations on choosing a policy or making changes, you will need to make your own choice about how to proceed and decide whether the product is suitable for your needs.

We offer Home Insurance from Prestige Underwriting Services Limited, Ageas Insurance Limited and Aviva Insurance Limited.

Where appropriate we may offer you carefully selected add-on products and services connected with your insurance, these are sold separately and are non-compulsory. Our add-on products are chosen from carefully selected single insurers: Home Emergency with AXA Assistance; Legal Expenses with Arc Legal Assistance; Key Cover with KeyCare.

When we arrange or renew your insurance, we will usually be paid commission based on a percentage of the premium by the Insurer. We may also charge a fee for arranging your insurance and for making other changes or adjustments. If you choose to pay your premium using premium finance, we will be paid commission by the finance provider based on a percentage of the loan taken for arranging and administering this. If you are introduced to us by another firm and take a policy with us, Open & Direct or your insurer may pay them a referral fee for this recommendation. Further detail on our fees and remuneration is noted below.

 

Disclosure

At all times you must take reasonable care to answer all questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge. If you don’t, your policy may be cancelled, treated as if it never existed, or your claim rejected or not fully paid. If you are unsure on how to answer any question, please contact us for guidance.

It is important that you read all insurance documents issued to you and ensure that the information shown is correct, that you are aware of the cover, limits and other terms that apply. Particular attention must be paid to any warranties and conditions as failure to comply with them could invalidate your policy.

You must inform us immediately of any changes which may affect the services provided by us or the cover provided by your policy

 

Fees and Remuneration

We reserve the right to make an administration charge of up to £30.00 for (but not limited to) arranging cover, mid-term changes, duplicate/replacement documents, confirmation of driving experience, missed or late payments, amendments to existing instalments and direct debits, administration of refunds and issuing cheques. Cancellation refunds may have a charge of up to £50.00 deducted. Any renewal fee(s) will be shown on your renewal notice and any fee(s) applied in respect of new business will be advised at quotation stage. If paying by Direct Debit please refer to your credit agreement for conditions and charges. For each transaction we conduct we will issue you with a receipt showing the amount of any monies paid.

If we cancel a policy due to non-payment, all monies paid up to cancellation will be forfeited. We reserve the right to recover any discounts allowed during the term of your policy after a mid-term adjustment or cancellation and offset such discounts against any refund due.

We offer a range of payment options including credit/debit card, Direct Debit and various instalment options. Your will be able to view full information about our payment options prior to purchasing your policy with us. Your policy may be cancelled if you fail to keep up payments on any instalment plan or finance arrangement. If you choose pay for your insurance by Direct Debit under a premium finance arrangement you will pay more than if you paid the premium in full as interest is charged.

 

Cancellation Rights

Consumers have the right to cancel without penalty within the first 14 days. This ‘cooling off’ period runs from the date your policy starts or you receive your policy documents, whichever is later. This right only exists where the duration of cover is greater than 30 days. If you cancel within this period you will only be charged for services received up to the date of cancellation, including any admin costs involved. If you wish to cancel, please notify us immediately via your preferred communications channel, this may be via telephone, email or in writing. If the cancellation request is received after the ‘cooling off’ period, you may incur a higher cancellation charge. After this 14 day period, Legal Expenses, Home Emergency and KeyCare premiums are non-refundable.

 

Complaints

If you have cause to complain we would ask that you either contact us via the contact option on our website or app, speak to a member of our team or write to us at Open & Direct Customer Complaints, 10 Governors Place, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim BT38 7BN. We will aim to resolve your complaint as quickly and informally as possible. Full details of our internal complaint handling process are available upon request.

If you are not satisfied with our final response, you may be entitled to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, without prejudice to your right to take legal proceedings, at Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR. Tel: 0800 023 4567. www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

 

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

We are covered by the FSCS and you may be entitled to compensation from this scheme should we be unable to meet our liabilities.

 

Handling Client & Insurer Money

We hold monies collected for onward transmission to insurers, together with return premiums and credits due to clients from insurers, either on your behalf or on behalf of your Insurer as their agent in a non-statutory trust client bank account held in accordance with FCA rules. The Deed of Trust permits us to use the account to make advances of credit to our clients in order to fund their premiums, subject to strict conditions. For the purpose of some transactions, client money may pass through other authorised intermediaries before the insurer receives it. Where we collect or hold money as an agent of the insurer we may also hold that money in the same bank account as monies held on behalf of clients. Any interest earned on monies held in such account(s) will be retained by us, except in cases where interest on individual client’s monies exceeds £20. In such cases we will seek your consent to retain such interest. In dealing with us you are giving your consent to us handling your money in this way.

 

Documents

We may withhold certain documents (such as your insurance certificate or proof of NCB) until all payments due under the policy have been made (including any monies owed after cancellation). Any agreed credit facilities will be subject to a written agreement, which will include authority for us to retain your documents until all payments have been received. By placing business with us, you agree that delivery of any certificate(s) of insurance to us shall constitute delivery to you in accordance with statute law. All communication and documentation provided in connection with your policy will be in English. This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Northern Ireland.

 

Privacy Notice and Data Protection

Our Data Protection policy is available on our website or in writing on request. This will explain how we may use and share any personal data that we obtain as well as explain your rights. You can find more details about data protection from the Information Commissioner’s Office at www.ico.org.uk.

 

Help and Support

We will seek offer you the highest standard of service throughout your time with us, but we understand that sometimes our customers can face additional challenges or feel vulnerable due to bereavement, health issues, changing personal circumstances or other life events and that means a little extra help might be required. Should you ever feel that extra support or additional guidance may be required, please get in touch so we can discuss any further assistance.