Terms of Business

These Terms of Business ("Terms") set out the basis on which Blackridge Insurance Services Ltd provides insurance broking services to its clients. Please read them carefully. By instructing us to act on your behalf, you accept these Terms.

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us before proceeding.

1. Who We Are

Blackridge Insurance Services Ltd is an Appointed Representative (FRN 1058451) of Acrisure Eleven Network Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") under firm reference number 314593. You can verify both registrations at any time on the Financial Services Register at register.fca.org.uk.

We are permitted to arrange, advise on and administer general insurance contracts as an insurance intermediary.

2. Services We Provide

As an Appointed Representative of an FCA-authorised and regulated principal, we provide the following services:

• Assessing your insurance requirements and providing advice on suitable cover
• Sourcing and presenting insurance quotations on your behalf
• Placing and arranging insurance policies with insurers
• Administering your insurance programme, including issuing documentation and certificates of insurance
• Processing mid-term adjustments and endorsements
• Providing assistance with claims notification and liaison with insurers during the claims process
• Providing renewal advice and managing the renewal of your policies

Our services are advisory in nature. We will make a personal recommendation to you based on our assessment of your needs and circumstances, unless we have agreed in writing to provide information only on a non-advised basis.

3. Scope of Service — Insurer Selection

We are an open market broker. We are not tied to any specific insurer and can, where appropriate, base our recommendation on a fair and personal analysis of the market.

In addition to whole-of-market access, we also hold access to specialist schemes with a small number of specialist insurers, negotiated specifically for the sectors we focus on — care and social care, contractors and trades, and property owners. Where we believe a specialist scheme offers better terms than the wider market for your risk, we will recommend it and explain why.

A list of the insurers and schemes we work with is available on request.

4. Remuneration

We are remunerated for our services primarily by way of commission paid to us by the insurer with whom your policy is placed. Commission is a percentage of the premium you pay and is included within the total premium quoted to you.

We may also receive:

• Profit commissions or volume-related bonuses from certain insurers, where our book of business with that insurer performs well
• A broker fee, disclosed to you separately and in advance, where we agree this is more appropriate than commission alone

We will always disclose the nature of our remuneration to you before you are bound by a contract of insurance. If you require details of the specific amount of commission we receive on a particular policy, please ask and we will provide this information in writing.

We do not accept inducements from insurers that could conflict with our duty to act in your best interests.

5. Your Responsibilities — Duty of Fair Presentation

Under the Insurance Act 2015, you have a duty to make a fair presentation of the risk to your insurer. This means you must:

• Disclose all material information that a prudent insurer would want to know when deciding whether and on what terms to offer cover
• Ensure that information provided is accurate and not misleading
• Carry out a reasonable search of information available to you before providing details to us

Material information includes, but is not limited to: the nature of your business activities, all premises and locations, your claims history over the past five years, any convictions or pending prosecutions, and any previous insurer declinatures or special conditions imposed.

You must also notify us promptly of any changes to your business, activities or circumstances that might affect the adequacy of your insurance cover during the policy period. Examples include: acquiring new premises, adding new business activities, significant changes to turnover or headcount, or material changes to the assets or operations insured.

6. Claims — Our Role

In the event of a claim or circumstance that may give rise to a claim, you should notify us as soon as reasonably practicable. We will pass your notification to the relevant insurer and assist you through the process.

Our role in claims is to:

• Notify the insurer or their appointed claims handler promptly on your behalf
• Liaise with the insurer and their representatives and keep you informed of progress
• Assist you in gathering and presenting information required by the insurer
• Represent your interests if a claim decision appears inconsistent with the policy wording or applicable law

We are not a claims handler or loss adjuster. The insurer retains the right to appoint their own loss adjusters and claims managers, and the ultimate decision on whether to accept or reject a claim rests with the insurer. Where a decision is made that we believe is wrong, we will challenge it on your behalf using our knowledge of the policy and the market.

You must co-operate fully with the insurer and their representatives during any claims investigation. Failure to do so may prejudice your claim.

7. Cancellation Rights — Cooling-Off Period

If you are a consumer (an individual acting outside the course of your business), you have the right to cancel your insurance policy within 14 days of the date the policy was concluded or the date you received your policy documents, whichever is later (the "cooling-off period").

If you are a business customer, the standard 14-day statutory cooling-off period may not apply. Any cancellation rights will be set out in your policy documentation.

To exercise a cancellation right, please notify us in writing by email to info@blackridgeinsurance.co.uk or by post to our registered address. Where a policy is cancelled within the cooling-off period, you may be entitled to a refund of premium, subject to any deduction for the period during which cover was in force and any non-refundable charges imposed by the insurer.

Cancellation outside the cooling-off period is subject to the terms of the individual policy. Short-period rates may apply, and in some cases the full annual premium may be retained by the insurer.

8. Complaints Procedure

We aim to provide an excellent standard of service. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service, please contact us in the first instance so that we can attempt to resolve your complaint promptly.

Step 1 — Contact us directly

Please put your complaint in writing and send it to:

We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to provide a final response within 8 weeks. If we are unable to resolve your complaint within 8 weeks, we will write to you explaining why and advising you of your further options.

Step 2 — Financial Ombudsman Service

If you remain dissatisfied after receiving our final response, or if 8 weeks have elapsed without a final response, you may be entitled to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS):

The FOS is an independent body that adjudicates on complaints between consumers and financial businesses. The FOS service is free to eligible complainants. Eligibility is based on factors including your status as a consumer or small business. Please refer to the FOS website for current eligibility criteria.

Referring a complaint to the FOS does not affect your right to bring legal proceedings.

9. Limitation of Liability

We will exercise reasonable care and skill in the provision of our services. Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes our liability to you for:

• Death or personal injury caused by our negligence
• Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation
• Any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited

Subject to the above, our total aggregate liability to you arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the services we provide (whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise) shall not exceed the greater of:

• The total fees or commission received by us from you in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim; or
• Such higher amount as is recoverable from our professional indemnity insurance in relation to that specific claim

We are not liable for any loss arising from the insolvency or default of an insurer with whom your policy has been placed. You should be aware that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) may provide protection in certain circumstances if an insurer is unable to meet its liabilities. Please see fscs.org.uk for details.

The services we provide to you as an Appointed Representative are also covered by the FSCS. You may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS (subject to applicable limits) if we cannot meet our obligations to you. Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. For compulsory classes of insurance, insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, also without any upper limit. Further information is available from the FSCS on 0800 678 1100 or fscs.org.uk.

We are not liable for any failure or delay in performance of our obligations arising from causes beyond our reasonable control.

10. Data Protection

We process personal data about you and your employees in connection with the services we provide. We act as data controller in respect of this processing. Full details of how we collect, use and protect personal data — including your rights under UK GDPR and how to exercise them — are set out in our Privacy Policy.

By instructing us to act on your behalf, you confirm that you have authority to provide us with personal data about any individuals whose information is relevant to your insurance programme, and that you have informed those individuals of our use of their data as described in our Privacy Policy.

11. Client Money

We do not hold client money ourselves. As an Appointed Representative, all premiums and return premiums are handled by our principal, Acrisure Eleven Network Limited, in accordance with the FCA's Client Money rules (CASS). Acrisure Eleven Network Limited holds client money in a designated client money account, separate from its own funds, until it is remitted to the insurer. In the event of insolvency, client money held in this account would be protected from the claims of Acrisure Eleven Network Limited's general creditors.

12. Conflict of Interest

We maintain a Conflicts of Interest Policy to identify and manage any conflicts that arise in the course of our business. Where we become aware of a conflict that may materially affect our ability to act in your best interests, we will notify you and seek your informed consent before proceeding, or decline to act where this is not possible.

13. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them (including non-contractual disputes and claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.

The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with these Terms or their subject matter.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Business from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes before they take effect. The version of these Terms in force at the time you instruct us in relation to a particular transaction will govern that transaction.

The current version of these Terms is always available on our website at blackridgeinsurance.co.uk/terms.

15. Contact

For any questions about these Terms, please contact us: