Equesure Equine Insurance
Terms of Business and Important Information

Who are we?
Equesure Equine Insurance (Equesure) is a trading name of Insurance Factory Limited. We are an insurance intermediary offering access to a range of personal insurance including; Horsebox, Horse Trailer, Rider and Equine Insurance. Insurance Factory Limited is part of the Markerstudy Group of Companies which includes Markerstudy Insurance Services Limited.

Who are we regulated by?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. Equesure is a trading name of Insurance Factory Limited who are authorised and regulated by the FCA (No. 306164) and registered in England and Wales number 0298244. Our registered office is: Markerstudy House, 45 Westerham Road, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 2QB. You can check this on the FCA register by visiting the FCA’s website www.fca.org.uk. 

Whose products do we offer?
We offer Horsebox, Horse Trailer, Rider and Equine Insurance products from our panel of insurers. Our panel membership is regularly reviewed.

• For Horsebox Insurance we can only offer products from Highway, Markerstudy Insurance Services Ltd, KGM, Peliwica underwritten by Amlin and ERS
• For Horse Trailer Insurance we can only offer products from Equine & Livestock Insurance and Peliwica
• For Rider Insurance we can only offer products from Equine & Livestock Insurance
• For Horse insurance we can only offer products from AIUA, BIBU, Peliwica and Equine & Livestock Insurance
• For Breakdown and Recovery insurance we can only offer products from ERS
• For Legal Expenses insurance we can only offer products from Arc Legal Assistance
• For Key Cover and Gadget Cover we can only offer products arranged by Supercover Insurance Limited.
• For Excess Protect we can only offer products arranged by Markerstudy Insurance Company Ltd.
• For iSmart technical support we can only offer products arranged by Fractalia UK.

Which service will we provide you with?
We will aim to provide you with a quotation based on the information you provide us with. We will ask questions to narrow down the selection of products that we will provide details on. You will not receive a recommendation from us and will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed. We act on behalf of you when providing a quote and arranging cover. When we issue policy documents, handle claims and collect premiums payments, we act on behalf of the insurer.

Misrepresentation
Please take reasonable care to answer all of the questions we ask you, either over the phone or online, honestly and to the best of your knowledge. If you do not your policy may be; cancelled, treated as if it never existed or your claim not fully paid. We would like to remind you, in reference to Horsebox policies, that it is an offence under the Road Traffic Act to make any false statements, or withhold any relevant information, to obtain a Certificate of Motor Insurance. Please note that under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act you are not required to disclose convictions regarded as ‘spent’.

Fees and Charges
When you take out a policy with us we charge you a fee as detailed in your premium breakdown and welcome letter. In addition the insurer pays us a percentage of the total annual premium. For any optional extras you choose to purchase, we receive a commission from the insurer, which is a percentage of the total annual premium. In addition, where cover for Legal Expenses is purchased, the provider will pay us a fee for each policy sold. If you have chosen to pay your insurance premium by instalments, we receive commission from the finance provider for introducing you to them.

What will you have to pay us for our services?
For our services we will make the following charges which are in addition to the charges made by your insurers..

*Please note, fees marked with an asterisk are non-refundable upon cancellation of the policy outside of the 14 day cooling off period.

Other Cancellation Costs
Practices vary between insurers with regard to premium refunds on cancellation, so please refer to your policy documentation to find out what premium, if any, is refundable. Generally no premium will be refunded if a claim has been made. In the event of cancellation of your main policy, any optional extras that have been purchased will be cancelled at the same time (whether or not they are included in your main policy or covered under a separate policy) and premiums may not be refundable.

Avoidance of Contract
Where we are instructed by your insurer to avoid the contract of insurance from inception we will retain the arrangement fee or £25 admin charge (whichever is greater) to cover our administration costs. Please also note the following costs you may incur from your insurer or credit provider.

• Premium refunds on cancellation: Practices vary between insurers so please refer to your policy documentation to find out what amount of premium, if any, is refundable in the event of cancellation. Generally no premium will be refunded if a claim has been made.
• Payment by instalments: Charges vary according to the chosen payment option so please refer to your credit agreement, or the payment details section of your documentation, for further details.

Refunds
The minimum amount we will refund is £10 and any refund below this amount will not be given. We will aim to process any applicable refund within thirty days from the date that the refund was confirmed. Refunds will be processed using the original payment method. If this payment method is rejected then refunds will be made via cheque.

How to amend your policy
If you want to make a change to your policy, please telephone a member of our Customer Services team on 01480 2200895 and let us know of the change that you wish to make and the date that you wish the change to be effective from. If we, and your insurer, agree to the change we will also agree on the effective date of the change. No advance notice is required. We will let you know of any additional premium to be paid and any fee that may be payable for the adjustment (see section entitled ‘What will you have to pay us for our services?’ for details of any applicable fees).

How to report a claim
To report a claim, please call us on 01480 220089. You will be asked to provide various details, including the following:

• The date, time and location of the incident.
• Details of any other parties involved (if relevant).
• Details of any independent witnesses to the incident.
• Information about any emergency services that attended the incident (e.g. crime reference number).

You must not settle, reject, negotiate or agree to pay any claim without written permission from your insurer.

Cancellation process
To cancel your policy please contact Equesure either over the phone or by e-mail. You have the right to cancel your policy at any time during the policy term, however, calculations of any refunds or charges due will depend on the terms and conditions of the policy and will be detailed to you upon cancellation.

If we have given you a discount against your premium, at any time during the policy term, this will be deducted on a pro rata basis from any refund due to cancellation.

In the event of cancellation of your main policy, any optional extras that have been purchased will be cancelled at the same time (whether or not they are included in your main policy or covered under a separate policy) and premiums may not be refundable.

Payment by Instalments
If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, your monthly instalment plan will be financed by Close Brothers Premium Finance (CBPF). CBPF will send you a welcome pack which will include a credit agreement. In assessing your application CBPF will search the public information a credit reference agency holds about you. The credit reference agency will add details of the search to their records whether or not the application for credit proceeds. This and other information may be used to make credit decisions about you and to undertake checks for the prevention and detection of money laundering.

Our Complaint Handling Procedure
At Equesure we are dedicated to delivering a first class level or service to all customers. We welcome any comments on the services we provide - in the form of both compliments and complaints. We accept that things can occasionally go wrong and would encourage you to tell us about any concerns you have so that we can take steps to make sure the service you receive meets your expectations.

Need Help? If a dispute regarding your policy or claim does arise, the first step is to talk to a member of the Equesure team. This can be done either my telephoning us or dropping us a line by letter if you prefer.

Telephone: 01480 220089. Address: Complaints Officer, Equesure, Lancaster House, Meadow Lane, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 4ZB.

Response Time
Where we are unable to resolve your complaint by the end of the third business day after receipt, you can expect the following from us:
-Acknowledgement of your complaint in writing within 5 business days after receipt.
-We will aim to resolve your complaint within 4 weeks of receipt, unless the matter is very complicated, such as where other organisations need to be contacted. Where this is the case, we will let you know what action is being taken and tell you when we expect to provide you with a final response.
-Our goal is to ensure that you receive a final response letter within 8 weeks of receipt of your complaint. If we are still unable to provide you with a final response at this stage, we will write to you explaining why, and advise when you can expect a final response.

What is a final response?
This letter should clarify the final position in relation to your complaint and any actions agreed going forward.

The Financial Ombudsman Service - What you should know
You may initially go direct to the Financial Ombudsman Service with your complaint, but the Ombudsman will only review your complaint at this stage with our consent. However, we are still required to follow the procedure as stated above in the Response Time section. If more than 8 weeks from the date of your complaint has passed and you have not received a final response, you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. If you have received a final response but are dissatisfied, you have the right of referral to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of the date of the final response letter. You may refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service beyond this time limit if we have provided our consent in the final response letter. The Financial Ombudsman Service will let you know that they have received your complaint and what the next steps will be.

Contact details: The Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR. Telephone: 0300 123 9 123.

Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.

Email: Complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org

The Financial Ombudsman Service will consider your complaint impartially and we are bound by their decision.

If you are dissatisfied with the way your complaint has been handled, you can use the Online Dispute Resolution Platform (ODR) to submit your complaint for an independent assessment - http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr

Delivery of documents and your responsibility
Our standard practice is to e-mail your documents to you, however, documents can be issued by post if required. When you receive your e-mail from us it will contain secure PDF (Portable Document Format) attachments containing your Certificate of Insurance and Schedule, as well as either a Proposal Form or Statement of Information which contains the details you provided to Equesure at inception. It is your responsibility to access the documents at your earliest convenience and notify Equesure of any inaccuracies. Failure to correct any incorrect information may invalidate your insurance. Furthermore, your insurer may request proof of certain documents which can be returned electronically or through the post.

Withheld documents
IMPORTANT: we may keep certain documents such as proof of no claim discount while we are awaiting payment of outstanding premium or administration charges. We will ensure that you have the documents you are required to have by law.

Automatic Renewal and Continuous Payments
We will endeavour to invite your renewal, giving you the premium and the terms and conditions for renewal, within 21 days prior to your renewal date.

When you pay a deposit or in full by card we will set up a continuous payment authority (CPA). This will allow us to take payments automatically when they are due, including for renewals and amendments or charges or where a payment can’t be collected by a direct debit agreement. This means you don’t have to provide new details for each payment and ensures your insurance continues uninterrupted. We will contact the policyholder to inform of any payments that are due to be taken or if there are insufficient funds in the account to collect the payment. If a payment cannot be taken then the policy may be cancelled.

To make the process of renewal easier we may automatically renew a policy and take payment by the same payment method as the previous year, unless you request otherwise. If you were paying by monthly instalments, your finance company will issue a new agreement and will continue to collect direct debits from your account; should the direct debit fail we may debit payment from the card which the original deposit was debited from to ensure continuity of cover. If you paid in full we will collect the renewal premium from the same card. We will always write to you before we automatically renew any policy and give you the opportunity to contact us to cancel the renewal.

If your policy is not eligible for automatic renewal we will write to you prior to your renewal date to remind you that your renewal is due and to advise you how much the new premium will be. You will need to contact us to arrange renewal.

If you do not receive your renewal documents by 14 days before your renewal date you should telephone Equesure on 01480 220089.

Fraud prevention & detection
In order to prevent and detect fraud we may at any time:

• Share information about you with other organisations and public bodies including the Police
• Check and/or file your details with fraud prevention agencies and databases, and if you give us false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we will record this.

We and other organisations may also search these agencies and databases to:

• Help make decisions about the provision and administration of insurance, credit and related services for you and members of your household;
• Trace debtors or beneficiaries, recover debt, prevent fraud and to manage your account or insurance policies;
• Check your identity to prevent money laundering, unless you furnish us with other satisfactory proof of identity;
• Undertake credit searches and additional fraud searches.

Data protection
We are governed by the Data Protection legislation applicable in the United Kingdom. For the purposes of Data Protection Legislation, Insurance Factory Limited is the data controller.

We believe in keeping your information safe and secure. Full details of what data we collect and how we use it can be found in our privacy policy which you can access via www.equesure.co.uk/Privacy or by requesting a copy from our Data Protection Officer (contact details below). Please also see your insurance policy document.

Where you have given us your consent to do so, we will send you information about products and services of ours or other third parties which may be of interest to you via telephone, letter or email (as you have indicated). You have a right at any time to stop us from contacting you for marketing purposes or giving your information to other third parties. If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes then please contact us by emailing enquiries@equesure.co.uk.

Under Data Protection Legislation you have certain rights, these include for example, a right to understand what data we hold on you and a right to ask us to amend that data if it is incorrect. If you would like to exercise any of your rights please contact our Data Protection Officer (contact details below).

If you have any questions about how we use your data, or to exercise any of your data rights please contact our Data Protection Officer at: Data Protection Officer, Insurance Factory Ltd, 45 Westerham Road, Bessels Green, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 2QB. Please make sure you provide your name, address, policy number and other relevant information to allow us to respond to your query.

You understand that all personal data you supply must be accurate.

At the request of many of our customers and to make managing your insurance more convenient, it is our policy to deal with your spouse or partner who calls us on your behalf, provided they are named on the policy. If you would like someone else to be able to deal with your policy for you on a regular basis please let us know. In some exceptional circumstances we may also deal with other people who call us on your behalf. If at any time you would prefer us to deal only with you, please call to let us know.

Call Recording
For mutual protection, to allow us to continually look at improving our customer service and for training purposes, monitoring and policy or claims administration. All calls may be recorded including outbound calls made by us to yourself of someone acting on your behalf.

Feedback
If you would like to provide us with feedback regarding any aspect of our products, positive or negative, details can be submitted via our website at https://www.equesure.co.uk/contact-us/

Law applicable to the policy
You and we are free to choose the law applicable to this contract but in the absence of agreement to the contrary of the law of the country in which you are resident at the time of the contract will apply. If you are not resident in the United Kingdom, the law which will apply will be the law of England and Wales.

Useful Contacts
If you need to speak to us about any aspect of your policy, please use the details listed below.

All Enquiries            - 01480 220089 (equesure@lancasterinsurance.co.uk)

Breakdown Claims    - 01277 720718