1. Agreement
1.1 These Terms of Engagement govern all services that Allcover Financial Limited (Allcover) (we, our or us) provide to you (Terms).
1.2 You and your in these Terms includes you and anyone or any entity that you represent in your engagement with us.
1.3 These Terms may be varied by us at any time by written notice to you. If you do not agree with any such variation, you may terminate these Terms and our engagement in accordance with clause 8.0. By continuing to receive our Services, you are deemed to have accepted these Terms in their entirety, including any variations. If you do not accept these Terms, you must notify us immediately and we may cease providing you with our Services.
1.4 These Terms replace any other prior terms that you may have signed with us, and will apply to all Services that we provide to you going forward, unless expressly agreed otherwise.
2. Services
2.1 We offer a wide range of financial advisory and risk management services to both businesses and individuals as set out in this clause 2 (Services).
We may provide some or all of the following Services to you under these Terms:
- a review of your risk exposure and insurance needs: this includes reviewing your current risks, auditing your existing insurance portfolio and researching your insurance needs;
- advice about insurance products: this includes making recommendations for your consideration regarding cover, improvements or premium;
- arranging, amending and renewing of insurance contracts (Policies) on your behalf: this includes providing you with statements of advice, insurance schedules and advising you of policy expiry dates where applicable;
- assistance with insurance claims: this includes managing and administering your claim;
- providing insurance policy comparisons, together with any additional services that you request, and we agree, to provide to you from time to time.
2.2 We are not obliged to provide you with any Services beyond those that we agree to provide. Our Services provided to you may be limited to specific entities, risks or policies and may be limited in other respects by agreement with you.
2.3 As your Financial Adviser, we normally act as your representative in arranging insurance on your behalf. As part of the Services, we will make recommendations and suggestions to you regarding potential insurers and Policies based on your requirements however you acknowledge that the final choice of insurer and Policy will remain your responsibility and we accept no liability in respect of that choice.
2.4 You acknowledge that we may engage the services and assistance of third party brokers, consultants or others to assist us in arranging Policies or Services outside of our scope or legal authorisation for you (you will be advised of this as part of our process);
2.5 The documents relating to your Policy detail, the precise terms and conditions relating to the insurance(s) we have arranged for you and the information contained in them is important. You acknowledge that you are responsible for maintaining these documents and we recommend that you keep them in a safe place for as long as you might be entitled to claim under a Policy. Subject to any legal requirements, we will hold copies of Policy Schedules any related correspondence for at least seven years of the policy ceasing or you cancelling our services (see clause 9). After this period, we may destroy any of this documentation without further notice.
2.6 You can provide us with instructions by email or in writing using our contact details set out. We shall be entitled to rely on all written instructions without further enquiry, including email instructions, however, we accept no liability for any instructions received until we acknowledge receipt and acceptance of the instructions to you in writing.
3. Your Responsibilities
3.1 In order for us to be able to provide you with the Services, you: (a) must act at all times with utmost good faith towards your insurer or prospective insurer, which as a minimum requires you to act honestly toward your insurer and to not mislead or withhold information that is relevant to the insured risks;
(b) acknowledge that you have a duty of disclosure to your insurer and you must, on an ongoing basis, provide us with all material facts relating to the Policies that we arrange or seek to arrange on your behalf. Material facts are those that would influence an insurer when they are deciding whether to accept the risk, and the terms and conditions that will apply if they do so. Failure to provide full and accurate information may mean that your cover is reduced, cancelled, or if the non-disclosure is fraudulent, the insurer may be able to avoid (cancel) the contract from the very beginning. If you are in any doubt as to what facts are considered to be material you should disclose them to us.
3.2 You must provide accurate, complete and timely information to us. You are responsible for all information you provide in any proposal, claim form or other document. We are not responsible for checking the accuracy or completeness of any information you provide to us or any insurer. We will not be responsible for any consequence resulting from a failure by you to disclose all material facts to an insurer (including, without limitation, the possibility of your insurance policies being rendered void or limited).
3.3 If you want to vary any insurance e.g. by increasing the sum insured or adding other property, you must provide us with details of the changes you require and any other information you need to disclose to insurers. Any adjustment to the premium will be advised to you.
3.4 You must advise us (or your insurers) as soon as is reasonably practicable of an event or circumstance that may give rise to a claim or potential claim under your Policy/Policies. If you do not inform us (or your insurers) of such a claim or potential claim you may prejudice your rights under your Policy/Policies. You will be advised if you need to complete a claim form or produce documentation to support your claim.
3.5 After receiving your insurance documents, you must check them and advise us promptly of anything that does not meet your requirements. Any errors or issues should be notified to us immediately.
3.6 You must pay the premium(s), any statutory charges, government levies, taxes, GST and fees when due as set out in agreed terms. We are not obliged to send reminders to you if your premium is not paid on time although we may do so.
3.7 You must notify us promptly of any change of address or contact details. We may send all communications to you at the last address that you notified to us formally.
4. Remuneration
4.1 Our remuneration is not our profit. It is the revenue from which we attend to our company affairs, pay salaries, rent, expenses, and taxes, and attend to all Services on your behalf. This remuneration is earned in various ways.
4.2 Unless we tell you otherwise, in accordance with normal market practice we will be remunerated by commission from the insurer when you enter into a Policy that we arrange (including when a Policy is renewed and, in some cases, when a Policy is varied).
4.3 The commission in most cases is a percentage of your insurance premium (excluding government charges, levies , taxes and insurers policy fees). Some insurers may pay us more than others and some may pay us more than one type of commission. The rate of commission can vary according to the type of insurance and cover provided, and the way the transaction is arranged.
4.4 In some cases we may also receive commissions or other remuneration from an insurer based upon volume or the profitability of insurance placed across a portfolio with that insurer over a period of time.
4.5 We may also:
(a) pay a fee to a party who has referred you to us and pay this fee out of the commission received from insurers and/or fees you pay to us;
(b) earn a fee if we have referred you to another party that performs work for you;
(c) receive non-financial benefits from insurers such as, for example, training grants, conference fees, equipment, social functions, gifts and gratuities.
5. Extent of our liability
5.1 If you are a “consumer” for the purposes of the Fair Trading Act 1986 and Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies the application of any provision, the exercise of any right or remedy, or the imposition of any liability that we may have under the Fair Trading Act 1986 or the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.
5.2 We make no representation or warranty concerning, and will not be responsible for, the solvency or ability of any insurer to pay claims.
5.3 If your insurances were arranged by another party prior to our appointment: We will not be responsible for the adequacy or appropriateness of such insurances for your needs, prior to our review and the implementation of any changes we recommend.
5.4 We will not be responsible for the actions of any insurer or its ability or willingness to pay claims, return premiums, or meet its other financial or legal obligations.
5.5 Subject to clause 5.1 and notwithstanding clause 5.4, in no event will we be liable for any indirect, special or consequential loss, or for any loss of business, loss of profit or loss of data, however arising.
6. Disclosure of Interest
6.1 We make every attempt to manage appropriately any situation in which there may be a conflict of interest. Should we become aware of a situation where a conflict of interest could arise, we will disclose it to you.
7. Complaints and Disputes
7.1 If you are not fully satisfied with our services please contact us in writing, addressed to “The Manager” and provide details of your complaint. Your complaint will be acknowledged in writing and we will endeavour to resolve any issues in a timely manner in accordance with our internal complaints process.
7.2 If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to refer your complaint to Financial Services Complaints Limited.
8. Termination
8.1 Either party may terminate these Terms of Engagement by giving written notice of cancellation to the other party, such notice to be effective on the date specified in it, which may be immediately.
8.2 You acknowledge that providing us with a cancellation of service notice under clause 8.1 will only terminate our provision of the Services to you and it will not terminate your Policies. We are not able cancel any of your Policies without specific written and signed instruction from a person/persons who is/are authorised as being named as policy owner/s in the Policy. This notification should include detail of the relevant Insurance company, Policy Reference and the Benefits being cancelled. You acknowledge that:
(a) We may not be able to cancel a Policy without the insurer’s approval; and
(b) some Policies contain a non-cancellation clause or cancellation penalties which, for the avoidance of doubt, you will be responsible for paying.
9. General
9.1 We will keep all information you provide to us about you confidential and only disclose it in the normal course of negotiating, arranging and administering your insurance, except where disclosure is required by law or where the information is already in the public domain.
9.2 We handle personal information we collect and hold about you in accordance with our privacy policy set out at (Privacy Policy). Our Privacy Policy forms part of these Terms.
9.3 Subject to your express consent in accordance with the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007, we may enter your details into our marketing database in order to send you email communications with regard to our business or the insurance industry. You may revoke such consent at any time, and we will remove you from our marketing database.
9.4 Any failure by us to enforce any right or obligation under these Terms will not in any way limit or waive our right to subsequently enforce such right or obligation.
9.5 If any part of these Terms becomes invalid or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever, the remaining terms will continue to apply, subject to any modifications as are necessary to continue to give effect to them.
9.6 These Terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the New Zealand Courts.
9.7 No cover or action by us shall be deemed to be taken or given until confirmed by us in writing.