Terms of Business – Membership and Insurance

Accepting our Terms of Business

By applying for Guild membership or by asking us to quote for, arrange or handle your insurances, you are providing your informed agreement to these Terms of Business. We draw your particular attention to:
The section headed ‘The processing of your personal data’, specifically the sub-section titled ‘Credit checks’

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 by writing to Guild House, 320 Burton Road, Derby, DE23 6AF or by telephoning 01332 224830.

The Financial Conduct Authority

The Guild of Professional Beauty Therapists Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our Financial Services Register number is 918721. You can check this information on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA’s website at register.fca.org.uk or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

Our service

Helping you to decide
We source and arrange products and provide information but do not offer advice or make personal recommendations when arranging your insurance. However, we may ask some questions to narrow down the selection of products on which we will provide details; you will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed.

The capacity in which we act for you
We act as an insurance intermediary, not an insurer. We will usually act on your behalf when arranging your insurances, when helping you make any changes to your policy, when you renew your insurance and in the event of a claim.

Scope of service including our product range and the range of insurers used
There are circumstances where we act as an agent of the insurer and where we receive payments from the insurer for work carried out on their behalf; such as binding cover and producing insurance documentation.

Our products are tailored for beauty therapists, holistic therapists, nail technicians, hairdressers, barbers and therapy lecturers. We are under a contractual obligation conduct insurance distribution exclusively with one insurer, Hiscox. Therefore we do not give a personal recommendation on the basis of a fair and personal analysis of the market.

Our products meet the demands and needs of a business in the beauty industry (e.g. beauty therapists, nail technicians, holistic therapists, hairdressers and barbers, therapy lecturers and students) wishing to insure against Public, Products and Professional Treatment liability risks. Sales are non-advised and no personal recommendation is made.

Whilst we endeavour to deal with insurers who demonstrate an adequate level of financial solvency. We will not in any circumstance guarantee the solvency of any insurer.

Hiscox Underwriting Ltd receives commission for this from Hiscox Insurance Company Limited. Hiscox Underwriting Limited do not charge a separate fee for arranging the insurance. You will not receive advice or a recommendation from Hiscox Underwriting Ltd.

Hiscox Underwriting Ltd, registered in England under No. 02372789, at 22 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4BQ is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Financial Services Register number is 308922.

Complaints and compensation
We aim to provide you with a high level of customer service at all times but, if you are not satisfied, please contact us:

Write to: The Guild of Professional Beauty Therapists Ltd. 320 Burton Road, Derby. DE23 6AF
Telephone: 01332 224830
By email: paul.archer@beautyguild.com

When dealing with your complaint, we will follow our complaint handling procedures; a summary of these procedures is available on request. If you are still not satisfied, you may be entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). For further information you can visit the FOS website www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

In certain circumstances, we may be required to refer your complaint to the Insurer. We will let you know if this occurs and the Insurer will then take control of handling your complaint. You are also able to refer to your policy wording if you wish to contact your Insurer directly.

Access to the FOS is available for complainants coming within one of the following categories at the time we receive their complaint:

• Consumers (private individuals acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft, or profession).
• Micro-enterprises (businesses employing fewer than 10 persons and with a turnover or annual balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million.
• Other small businesses (with an annual turnover of below £6.5m, and less than 50 employees or with an annual balance sheet total of below £5 million.
• Charities with an annual income of under £6.5 million.
• Trustees of a trust with a net asset value of under £5 million.
• Certain types of Guarantor.

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for our insurance mediation activities. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. If you are eligible to claim from the FSCS, compensation is available in relation to insurance advising and arranging as follows:
90% of the claim, without any upper limit;
100% of the claim without any upper limit for
compulsory classes of insurance (such as Third Party Motor or Employers Liability); and
‘pure protection’ contracts, professional indemnity insurance, and general insurance claims arising from the death or incapacity of the policyholder owing to injury, sickness or infirmity, all where the insurance intermediary has failed to pay money to an insurer, pay away money it has received from an insurer, or has failed to take steps to allow the insurer to effect the contract of insurance.

Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS on 0800 678 1100 (freephone) or 020 7741 4100 or www.fscs.org.uk.

Payment for our insurance services
We normally receive commission from insurers and product providers
Any commission we receive will be paid by the insurer or product provider from the insurance premium.

In good time before the conclusion of each insurance contract, or upon renewal, we will remind you of your right to be informed of the level of commission which we receive from underwriters and premium finance providers. You are entitled, at any time, to request information regarding any commission which we may have received as a result of placing your insurance business or arranging premium finance.

We do not charge any additional fees (payable by you) for handling your insurance or arranging premium finance unless we have agreed these with you in advance. Any fees we do charge will be fully disclosed to you and our standard fees are also set out below for your information:

• Mid-term amendments: £5 for each adjustment
• Issuing duplicate documentation: £10

You will receive a quotation which will tell you the total price to be paid, and which identifies any fees, taxes and charges and other services separately from the premium, before you incur liability to pay for the fee, or before the conclusion of the contract, whichever is sooner.

Full payment of premium and fees is due before cover commences, or as otherwise stated under terms of credit, or in the debit note, invoice or statement issued to you. Failure to pay the premium due will mean that your insurance policy might not commence or that it will be cancelled.

Insurers will not make any payment under this policy unless you have paid the premium.

We also draw your attention to the sections headed ‘Cancellation of insurances’ and ‘Ending your relationship with us’.

Cancellation of insurance
If you wish to cancel your insurance for any reason and you can make a request for cancellation by either letter, email or phone.

If you cancel within 14 days of inception and have not made a claim, we will give you a full refund of the premium This is known as the cooling off period.

After the first 14 days, you can cancel your policy at any time. You may not be entitled to a refund of your insurance premium. Please refer to your insurance policy documentation for full information on your cancellation rights.

We may cancel your insurance policy but would only do so by giving you 30 day’s written notice.

Cancellation of Guild Membership
No refund of Guild membership fees is payable once a membership application has been accepted and documents have been issued.

When cancelling your membership all certificates of membership and any badges and window stickers issued must be returned to the Guild at 320 Burton Road, Derby DE23 6AF.

Your responsibilities
You are responsible for providing complete and accurate information which insurers require in connection with any proposal for insurance cover. You have a duty to give a fair presentation of risk. You should disclose every material circumstance relevant to the risk being insured following a reasonable search within your business to identify and verify such information. This should include information which you and, where applicable, your senior management, persons responsible for arranging your insurance or other relevant third parties know or ought to know. It should include all information that would influence the judgement of the insurer or that would put the insurer on notice that it needs to make further enquiries.

Examples of material circumstances are:

• Special or unusual circumstances relating to the risk;
• Any particular concerns which led you to seek insurance cover for the risk; and
• Anything which those concerned with the class of insurance and field of activity in question would generally understand as being something that would be dealt with in a fair presentation of risks for this type of insurance.

The information must be presented in a way which would be reasonably clear and accessible to a prudent insurer. If you are unsure whether to disclose any information you should speak to us. You need to take into account the size & complexity of your business, and allow yourself sufficient time before your renewal date to consider and / or assess your insurance requirements.

Failure to provide a ‘fair representation’ may result in a number of remedies by the insurer. If the breach was deliberate or reckless the insurer can void the contract and keep the premium. If the breach was not deliberate or reckless the insurer can void the contract, proportionately reduce a claim settlement or amend the insurance policy terms and conditions then review the merits of a claim on this basis.

You should therefore always provide complete and accurate information to us when we ask you about the insurance risks your business faces before taking out a policy, at renewal and throughout the life of the policy. This also applies to your responses in relation to any assumptions you may agree to in the process of applying for insurance cover.

You must check all details on any proposal form, Statement of Facts and Policy Schedule. Please pay particular attention to any declaration you may be asked to sign. It is important that you read all insurance documents issued to you 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 or mean that claims may not be paid.

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 are unsure about any matter, please contact us for guidance.

The processing of your personal data
In your dealings with us you may provide us with information that may include data that is known as personal data. Where we process personal data, we comply with statutory data processing requirements as set out by the Data Protection Act 2018. The personal data we will collect will include information relating to your name, address, date of birth, contact details and ‘criminal offences.

We will process your personal data to allow us to provide you with our services as your insurance broker in quoting for, arranging and administering your insurances. Your personal data will also be used to manage future communications between ourselves. Where you have agreed, or in circumstances where to do so will be in our mutual interests, your personal data will be used to provide you with further information about our wider products and services. You can opt out from receiving such communications by e-mailing paul.archer@beautyguild.com.

In processing personal data for insurance purposes about health or criminal offences, we will only do so to enable us to provide our service to you and on the basis of it being in the public interest.

We will only use your data for the purpose for which it was collected. We will only grant access to or share your data within our firm or other firms associated with us with other authorised third parties and product and service providers such as insurers where we are entitled to do so by law under lawful data processing.

The Data Protection Act 2018 provides you with Access Rights that allow you to gain an understanding on the data being processed, who we share it with, for what purpose, why we need to retain it and retention periods, to object to the processing and to place restrictions on the processing, to request copies of your data and to request the deletion of your data.

If you require further information on how we process your data or you wish to exercise your rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer by emailing paul.archer@beautyguild.com, or by writing to us at 320 Burton Road, Derby, DE23 6AF. How we process your personal data is detailed further within our Privacy Policy.

Credit checks

We, and other firms involved in arranging your insurance (insurers or other intermediaries) may use public and personal data from a variety of sources including credit reference agencies and other organisations. The information is used to help tailor a price, to ascertain the most appropriate payment options for you and to help prevent fraud. Any credit reference search will appear on your credit report whether or not your application proceeds. If you have any questions about this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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.

Claims handling arrangements
You should take note of the required procedures in the event of a claim, which will be explained in the policy documentation. 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.

Jurisdiction
These terms and conditions are governed by and are to be interpreted in accordance with English law and in the event of any dispute arising in relation to these terms and conditions the English courts will have non-exclusive jurisdiction over such dispute.

Last Updated April 2023