Terms and Conditions

Terms of Business Agreement – Express Insurance Services Ltd

Who regulates us?
Express Insurance Services Limited (FSA register number 311354) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Express Insurance Services Limited (EISL) is part of the Kwik-Fit Group.  We are authorised to arrange general insurance.

You can check this on the FSA's Register at www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by calling them on 0845 606 1234.

How to contact us:
By phone:
0800 912 0529

Online:
www.expressinsurance.co.uk

By post:
Express Insurance Services,
22 Old Walsall Road,
Hamstead,
Birmingham
B42 1DT

For the servicing and administration of your policy, you will deal with us directly.  If you make a claim on your policy, you may deal directly with the insurance company (s) or ULR Norwich Ltd who adminster some claims on our behalf.

Which companies do we deal with?
We select car, motorcycle and van insurance products from a limited range of insurers.  We only deal with certain insurers for other products.  A full list of insurers is available on request.

Which service will we provide you with?
You will not receive advice or a recommendation from us.  We will ask some questions to narrow down the selection of products that we will provide details on.  You will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed.  Please ask if you want a list of all the insurers we deal with.

We will not in any circumstances act as an insurer nor guarantee or warrant the solvency of any insurer.

What will you have to pay for our services?
Our fees are in addition to any charge made by the insurer, and are listed below:

Schedule of Fees
Action Charges
Permanent change to policy Up to £75
Change of address/registration £25
Duplicate insurance certificate £15
Cancellation within first 14 days £40
Cancellation after first 14 days £50
Temporary change to policy £50
New policy administration fee £100
Renewal administration fee £100
Change to finance agreement £25

Premiums generally include a commission which is paid to us by your insurer for arranging your insurance.  Occasionally a policy is arranged with no commission, in such cases we may make a charge in lieu of commission to set up / adjust or renew your policy.  These charges will be in addition to our standard charges detailed above.  Where this occurs we will detail these charges to you.

If you pay your insurance by instalments, an interest charge and finance arrangement fee of £25 will apply.  We will tell you your payments and the interest rate in writing.

Cooling off period & your right to cancel
You have the right to cancel your policy at any time.  If your policy is cancelled within 14 days of receiving your documents, (as long as your vehicle has not been written off as a result of a claim under your insurance), your insurer will either make a proportionate charge or their minimum charge. Details of the charges can be found in your policy wording. EISL will also charge £40.00 to cover the administration of your policy.

If your policy is cancelled after the 14 day period, your insurers will charge in accordance with their scale which will be shown in their policy wording.  We will charge £50.00 to cover our administration costs.  The full premium will be charged if there has been a claim on your policy.

If your policy is cancelled (for any reason) and you have any additional products, these will also be cancelled.

For full details on how to cancel your policy please call us on 0800 197 7089.

Renewals
If you are paying for your insurance by instalment plan, we will normally renew all your motor policies unless you have asked us not to.  We may, at our discretion, choose not to automatically renew if you have an unpaid balance or have had any difficulty in making your payments.

If you have a payment due after we send the renewal invitation letter to you, and this is not paid, your policy(s) may not be automatically renewed.  In this case, you will need to contact us to discuss the renewal of your policy.

We will write to you before the renewal date to explain what will happen and to let you know what the policy terms and new payments will be.

Any renewal premium quoted only applies provided no claim happens or is reported after the renewal quotation is issued.

Renewal is invited as long as the insurer has been told of any change that may affect the risk since original application or last renewal, including, but not limited to: change of address; change of use; change of occupation for any driver; any convictions, fixed penalty offences, pending prosecutions, serious illness and / or disability of any known drivers; change of or additional drivers (particularly those under 25 years of age); any modifications or engine conversions to the insured car.

What to do if you have a complaint?
If you wish to register a complaint, please contact us:

  • ...by phone on 0800 197 7089
  • ...in writing to Express Insurance Services, 22 Old Walsall Road, Hampstead, Birmingham B42 1DT
  • ... by email to the Customer Relations Department at customerrelations@kfis.co.uk

If we cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Your insurer(s) are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) which means that you may be entitled to compensation if they are unable to meet their obligations to you.  Further information about this is available from the FSCS.

Your Payment
For the total price of your insurance, please see your welcome letter.  We always show your total premium(s) including Insurance Premium Tax.  We are not aware of any other taxes payable on your insurance policy(s).  We will not pay you the amount of any interest that we earn from investing your money before paying it to your insurer.

When insurance monies are paid to us, we act as agent of the insurer/policy provider when holding this money before paying it onto them (premiums) or you (claims).  Where you have selected to pay by a payment plan, the annual premium will be paid to your Insurer by EISL and is funded by Close Premium Finance.  Failure to make instalment payments may ultimately lead to the cancellation of your policy(s).  By allowing us to arrange your insurance, you agree to any amounts you may owe us, or our debt recovery agency, being deducted from any premium refund due to you.

Your Duty of Disclosure
It is an offence to make false statements or withhold information to get motor insurance.  If you don't tell us about all material facts, your insurance could be invalid and not give protection in the event of a claim.  In particular you should tell us about all accidents and claims (whether your fault or not and whether you claimed or not).  If you are in any doubt about whether to tell us about something, please ask us about it.

You have a duty to tell us about any changes to your circumstances.  In particular you must call us before you change your vehicle or if you move address.  For other examples of changes you should tell us about, please see your policy document.

Note: You should keep a record (including copies of letters) of any information supplied to us.

Important Information - Driving Other Vehicles
No guarantee of Driving Other Cars cover can be given. You should check your Certificate of Motor Insurance when you receive it, to see if you have this cover.  Please do not assume that it is included.

Claims & uninsured losses
If your vehicle is involved in an incident, or you wish to make a claim, please call 0800 197 7089.  EISL or our claim administrators will, where appropriate, authorise solicitors to act on your behalf in connection with your uninsured loss claim, and will conduct that claim on your behalf.

Data Protection Act
The information you give to us, including sensitive personal information such as convictions, is passed to the insurer(s) of your policy(s).

What Your Insurer Does With Your Information

  • They use this information for underwriting purposes, to service your policy, and for statistical and administration purposes.  Insurers may also carry out a credit reference check whenever you make a change to your policy or when you renew it.  They may share your information with other organisations such as their reinsurers (for reinsurance purposes) and claims handling companies (for the supply of claims services).  These organisations may not use your information for purposes other than those stated.
  • Your insurer may use third party organisations to carry out audits on their behalf.  This will only happen if a confidentiality agreement is in place between your insurer and the organisation.  Your insurer may pass your personal data to other companies for processing on their behalf.  Some of these companies may be based outside Europe in countries which may not have laws to protect your personal data, but in all cases they will make sure that it is kept securely and only used for the purposes for which you have given it.  Details of the companies and countries involved can be given to you on request.
  • Insurers pass information to and use various databases to help check the information given and also to prevent and find fraud.  This includes but is not limited to; the Claims and Underwriting Exchange Register, the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register, Insurance Hunter, Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System, and the Motor Insurance Database.  For more about this, please see your Statement of Insurance or your policy document.

What We Do With Your Information

  • We use your information to service your policy, and for statistical and administration purposes.
  • We may allow our auditors, finance providers and the FSA access to your information as part of an audit process or in order for them to facilitate their rights or obligations.
  • If there is an unpaid balance on your account, we will pass your details to a debt collection agency for them to collect this amount on our behalf.
  • We will allow any named driver, or your spouse/partner to make changes to your policy on your behalf.  As part of this process we will confirm your details with them.  If you do not wish this, please call us on 0800 197 7089, and we will note our records.  Please note, only you can cancel your insurance policy or change your address.  No-one else can do this on your behalf, but we will allow your spouse/partner or any named driver to cancel your policy if they are setting up a new one through us immediately on your behalf, eg with a different insurance company.
  • We may record and monitor calls for the protection of both you and us, and to maintain our high standards.
  • To tell you about our other products and special offers which could save you money, we will contact you in the future (including by e-mail if you give your e-mail address), and may share your contact details with other carefully selected companies as well as other companies within the Kwik-Fit Group.  If you don't want this, please call us on 0800 197 7089.