1. Who are we?
Sorn Insurance is a trading style of Principal Insurance Limited, company registration number 07623634. A specialist insurance group, Principal’s registered office and postal address is Citygate 2 Cross Street, Sale, Cheshire, United Kingdom, M33 7JR .
2.Accepting our Terms of Business
By asking us to quote, arrange or administer your insurances, you are providing your informed agreement to these Terms of Business. We draw your particular attention to the section headed ‘Your responsibilities’, ‘Using your personal data’ and specifically the paragraph explaining how ‘sensitive personal data’ is used;
For your own benefit and protection, you should read these terms carefully. If you are unsure about any aspect of our Terms of Business or have any questions regarding our relationship with you, please contact us at the details above.
3. The Financial Conduct Authority
Principal Insurance Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our FCA Register number is 551900.
Our permitted business is introducing, advising, arranging, dealing as agent and assisting in the administration and performance of general insurance contracts.
You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA website, www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.
4. Our service
We source and arrange a large number of products. For most products offered we make personal recommendations when arranging your insurance. We do this by asking you a number of questions to assess your demands and needs. We will always make it clear to you whether the service we are providing is one where we are making a personal recommendation or a service where you are required to make your own informed decision. You will receive confirmation of the type of service you have received within your full insurance documentation and before you make the purchase. In arranging and administrating your insurance we act as an insurance intermediary. The insurance policies are underwritten by independent insurance companies. We will not in any circumstance guarantee the solvency of any insurer.
Where we can arrange an instalment facility to pay the insurance premium, we act as a credit broker, not a lender. We only offer instalments from a single provider, Close Brothers Premium Finance and we do not offer advice in relation to this.
5. Our product range and range of insurers
We arrange personal and commercial insurances through a range of insurers, but for certain products, we only arrange products from either a limited number of insurers or a single insurer. We will give you further information about this before we finalise your insurance arrangements; where we select products from a limited number of insurers you may ask us for a list of the insurers we deal with for these products.
If you ask us to arrange a contract of insurance for purposes relating to your trade, business or profession we will treat you as a commercial customer.
If we arrange insurance cover mainly for your trade, business or profession but the policy includes personal use you will also be treated as a commercial customer.
All our motor policies have legal cover included. The legal policy cannot be removed and there is no charge for this benefit.
6. What to do if you have a complaint
We aim to provide a high level of customer service at all times but, if you are not satisfied, please contact us at the details above. When dealing with your complaint, we will follow our complaints procedure; a summary of this procedure is available on request. If you remain dissatisfied, you can refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR, by phone 0800 023 4567, or by email to complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
If you purchased your policy online, your complaint can be submitted to the European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution at http://ec.europa.eu/odr for the purposes of identifying a suitable alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider. Although, we expect the provider to be the Financial Ombudsman Service.
7. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
We are covered by the FSCS. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of insurance and the circumstances of the claim. If you are eligible to claim from the FSCS, compensation is available as follows:
• Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit
• For compulsory classes of insurance (such as Third Party Motor or Employers Liability), insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim without any upper limit
Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS on 020 7741 4100 or www.fscs.org.uk.
8. What you will pay for our services
Personal Insurance / Commercial Insurance, including commercial van and specialist commercial policies
We usually receive commission from insurers or product providers. We also charge you non-refundable fees for arranging and administering your insurances; please refer to your policy documents for further information.
You have the right to request information regarding any commission we receive as a result of arranging and administering your insurance. Please send any such requests to the address above.
You will receive a quotation which will tell you the total price to be paid, and which identifies any fees, taxes and charges separately from the premium, before your insurance arrangements are concluded.
In the event of cancellation, we do not refund any commission or fees.
Any premium refunds due will be reduced by any service charge and any other sums owing in respect of the policy.
Before the conclusion of your insurance contract (or at renewal), we will remind you of your right to request information regarding any commission payments we may receive as a result of arranging and administrating your insurance.
We may also receive commissions from our finance provider where premiums are paid by way of an instalment arrangement.
9. Cancelling your policy
Your right to cancel – You have the right to cancel your policy within 14 days of the start date of your policy or the date you receive your policy documents, whichever is the later. This is also known as a ‘cooling off period’ for you to decide whether you wish to proceed. In the event of cancellation within your 14 day right to cancel period a cancellation fee for our services as shown in the relevant ‘cancellation within your 14 day right to cancel’ section will apply.
Cancellation outside of your 14 day right to cancel – you can cancel your policy at any time. A cancellation fee for our services as shown in the relevant ‘cancellation fee (outside of your 14 day right to cancel)’ will apply.
No refund is offered in the event of cancellation of any additional products outside of your 14 day right to cancel or at any time if a claim is made against your policy.
You can cancel your policy at any time by contacting us at the details above. In all instances, cancellation requests can only be made by the policyholder.
If you are paying your premium by way of instalments and have not paid all your instalments, any refund of insurer premium will be offset against any amount you owe and you will be responsible for any amount outstanding if applicable.
If you do not settle an outstanding balance owed to us promptly we will use any credit/debit card details you have authorised us to use to recover our fees and any time on cover charge your insurer applies.
If any payment or premium remains unpaid we may instruct a debt recovery agent to recover the outstanding amount on our behalf.
If your policy is cancelled and a claim is made against your policy you must pay the reminder of your premium, this includes any instalment payments outstanding on your finance agreement.
The terms of your policy may allow insurers to retain the premium in full or to charge short-period premiums in the event of cancellation before the policy expires please see your policy wording for further details.
10. Your responsibilities
You are responsible for providing complete and accurate information which insurers require in connection with any proposal for insurance cover. This is particularly important before taking out a policy and at renewal, but it also applies throughout the life of a policy. In order to provide you with an accurate quotation and correct policy documents, we will ask you a series of questions, it is important that you answer these questions honestly and to the best of your knowledge, failure to do so could influence the insurer’s decision to accept the risk or the terms offered, this could invalidate the policy and means that claims may not be paid or paid in full. You must check all details on any proposal form or Statement of Facts.
Commercial customers: If the insurance is arranged wholly or mainly for purposes relating to your trade, business or profession you have a duty of fair presentation of all material circumstances. This means that you must disclose every material circumstance which you know or ought to know. This duty applies throughout the life of the policy, and when you renew your insurance. Material circumstances are any circumstances and facts which may influence the insurer’s decision to accept the policy and/or what terms are applied. Failure to disclose a material circumstance or fact may invalidate your insurance and may mean that your claim may not be paid or paid in full.
It is important that you read all insurance documents issued to you particularly any proposal forms and Statements of Facts and ensure 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 in circumstances which may affect the services provided by us or the cover provided by your policy. If you find there is an error in any of your documentation, you must speak to us immediately so we can amend your details. If you are unsure about any matter, please contact us for guidance.
11. Handling money
We hold your premium payment under risk transfer as agent of the insurers and we do this by paying it into an insurer premium trust account until it is passed to the insurers. This is to protect your money and means that whilst your money is in the account, it cannot be used for any purpose other than paying the insurers or insurance intermediaries through whom we may have arranged your insurance. We will retain any interest earned on the account.
We will retain your debit/credit card details for the purposes of automatic renewals and to pay or refund premiums that may become due upon changes to the policy. If you do not want us to use your debit/credit card details for these purposes please contact us.
12. No Claims Bonus
If you have informed us that you are entitled to No Claims Bonus but this is not validated with the relevant proof, your policy may be subject to an additional premium, it may be cancelled or be made null and void from the inception date of your policy.
13. Fraudulent and False Claims
If you knowingly make a claim that is false or fraudulent in anyway, your policy will become void and no payment will be made against the claim.
14. Dealing with others on your behalf
If you wish for a partner/spouse to contact us in connection with your insurance policy, subject to answering security questions, we will deal with a person whom we reasonably believe will be acting on your behalf, relating to your policy or claim.
15. Renewing your policy
For your protection prior to your renewal date, we will send you a renewal invitation which will detail the premium due and the details we hold regarding your policy. It’s important you check your details to ensure the information we have is accurate and you inform us of any changes in your circumstances.
To ensure that the policy continues to meet your needs we may offer an alternative insurer at renewal, however if you would like to remain with your previous insurer please contact us to let us know. If you are happy with the quote and insurer offered there may be nothing further for you to arrange and your card or designated bank/building society may be automatically debited for your renewal. Further details of whether or not your policy will be automatically renewed will be confirmed on your renewal invitation.
If you do not wish us to renew your policy automatically, please inform us at least 7 days prior to your renewal date. If we do not hear from you, we will take this as your authority to accept the renewal terms and will accept the policy offered on your behalf. You can contact us at any time to opt out of this benefit at the above details. Please note, automatic renewal of your insurance will only apply if you opted to pay your premium via direct debit the previous year. Please note, if we confirm your policy will not be automatically renewed, cover will cease on your renewal date unless you contact us beforehand to make a payment.
16. Credit checks
We and other companies involved in arranging your insurance, such as insurance companies, other insurance intermediaries and finance companies may use public and personal data from a range of sources including credit reference agencies. The information is used to ensure that we obtain our best deal and to ascertain the most appropriate payment options for you and to protect you from fraud. This search will appear on your credit report, whether or not your application proceeds but will not affect your credit rating. If you have any questions about this or any other matter, please contact us at the details above.
17. Conflict of interests
Occasions can arise where we, or one of our associated companies, clients or product providers, may have a potential conflict of interest with business being transacted for you. If this happens, and we become aware that a potential conflict exists, we will write to you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions and we will detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.
18. Claims
Claim enquiries are handled by Plantec Assist. Please also see your policy documents for the procedure to follow in the event of a claim. Generally, insurers require immediate notification of a claim or circumstances which might lead to a claim. We will employ due care and skill if we act on your behalf in respect of a claim.
If you are paying your premium by way of instalments any outstanding amount on your finance agreement will become immediately payable in the event of a claim.
Privacy Policy
Principal Insurance is committed to ensuring that your privacy and personal information is protected. This Policy tells you what information we collect, why we collect it, what we do with it and your rights in relation to your information. You should also show this Policy to anyone included in your insurance policy.
* Last updated July 2019