Our Terms Of Business

TERMS OF BUSINESS

Date last revised: July 2024

The following terms set out the basis on The Alpha Healthcare Consultancy Ltd (‘Alpha Healthcare’/‘We’/‘Us’/‘Our’) will provide business services to you as a consumer or commercial client.

Please contact us immediately if there is anything in these terms which you do not understand or with which you disagree. We are happy to answer any questions and willing to explain these terms and the reasons for them.

YOU ARE DEEMED TO HAVE ACCEPTED THESE TERMS OF BUSINESS WHERE YOU USE (AND CONTINUE TO USE) OUR SERVICES AT ANY TIME. THESE ARE THE ONLY TERMS THAT APPLY TO OUR SERVICES TO YOU.

  1. Changes

1.1        We may revise these terms at any time, with or without notice to you. Where the change may impact you, we will notify you and the change will take effect 30 days after the date we tell you. Where the change does not impact you, or is otherwise non-material, we may not choose to notify you. You are advised to check these terms regularly as they will continue to apply to you if you continue to use our services following any such change(s).

1.2        You must contact us if you do not accept any material change(s) to these terms.

  1. About us

2.1        The Alpha Healthcare Consultancy Ltd of The Kudos Buildings, Unit 3, Harrison Close, Knowlhill, Milton Keynes, MK5 8PA is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”). FCA Registered Number 306317. We are permitted to arrange, advise on, deal as an agent of insurers and assist in claims handling with respect to non-investment insurance policies. You can check these details on the FCA’s Register by visiting the FCA’s website https://register.fca.org.uk/ or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

2.2        We provide customers with independent advice and are therefore able to compare and contrast the products of different insurers. Unless we tell you otherwise, which we may do in certain limited cases, we undertake a fair and personal analysis of the market applicable to your insurance products at policy inception and renewal.

2.3        Further, we will use our expertise to ensure that any policies recommended are suitable to the needs of our customers and only provide advice on matters in which we are knowledgeable.

  1. Your duty of disclosure

3.1        Your insurance is a legally binding contract based upon the information provided by you to insurers. You must give complete, up to date, and accurate information and respond truthfully to all questions asked, and promptly provide any information requested by us or your insurer. Any facts may influence the insurer’s decision to accept and pay a valid claim and must be disclosed, including any pre-existing medical conditions or previous claims you have made.  If you do not know whether any information should be disclosed, you should let us know and we will advise you accordingly.

3.2        The rules relating to the information you must provide to insurers differ based on whether you are a consumer or a non-consumer.  You are a consumer if you are not entering into the policy predominantly for purposes relating to your trade, business or profession.  If you are entering into the policy predominantly for purposes relating to your trade, business or profession, you are a non-consumer customer.

3.3        Consumers: You must take reasonable care not to withhold information or give (deliberately or otherwise) any information that is not complete, true and accurate when providing answers to the questions asked by insurers. Doing so may impact your insurance and may invalidate your claim (in whole or in part). Any dishonestly given answers, or deliberate or reckless refusal to provide accurate or complete answers, may affect your ability to get insurance in future. You are responsible for the information you provide.

3.4        Non-consumer customers: You have a duty to give a fair presentation of the risk. This means that you must disclose every material circumstance after an appropriate enquiry which you and/or your senior management and/or anyone responsible for arranging your insurance know or ought to know. You are expected to carry out a reasonable search to make a fair presentation of the risk and will be deemed to know what should reasonably have been revealed by the search.

3.5        A material circumstance is any fact or matter which might reasonably impact the insurer’s decision as to whether to insure you, or as to the terms (including the premium) on which they do so.

3.6        Your duty of fair presentation applies at all times. If you fail to make a fair presentation, the insurer may refuse to pay your claim or reduce the settlement amount, depending on the circumstances.

  1. Your personal data

4.1        We will only use your personal details in line with applicable data protection laws (including the Data Protection Act 2018) and our Privacy Notice (https://alphahealthcare.uk/privacy-notice) . Please contact us at our usual business address or via email (info@alphahealthcare.co.uk) if you have any queries relating to how your personal data is used at any time.

4.2        For data protection purposes, for consumer customers the data controller is either Alpha Healthcare Consultancy Limited or the relevant insurer. For non-consumer customers, the data controllers will be your employer and the relevant insurer; we are a data processor.

  1. How to cancel

5.1        Please contact us immediately if you wish to cancel any insurance policy we have arranged for you. You may have a right to cancel a policy within the first 14 days (or, in some cases, longer). Please refer to your policy summary or your policy document for further details.

5.2        If you cancel within this initial cooling off period (where this applies) you will receive a pro rata refund of premium from the insurer, provided no claim has been made. However, insurers may be entitled to make an administrative charge. In addition, we may charge an amount which reflects the administrative costs of arranging and cancelling the policy.

5.3        If you choose to cancel other than within an initial cancellation period you will not usually receive a pro-rata refund of premium from the Insurer. In addition, we may charge an amount that reflects the administrative costs of arranging and cancelling the policy.

  1. Fees and charges

6.1        We normally derive our income from commission paid to us by insurers. Where we agree with you that any other fees are payable by you in connection with our services, such fees are payable at inception and at each renewal (unless the contrary is agreed). Fees are as agreed, or otherwise set by us at a minimum per policy.

6.2        You may ask us for details of the commission we earn for the placement of your policy. In some cases we may charge a fee instead of or as well as receiving commission.  Where a fee or charge is payable, you will be advised before you commit to it.

6.3        Alpha Healthcare does not handle client money. We never accept a cheque made out to us (unless it is a cheque in settlement of charges or disbursements for which we have sent you an invoice) or handle cash.

  1. Your Policy Documents

7.1        Your policy documents contain important information about what is and is not covered by your insurance. You must check your insurance covers what you need it to and let us know if you have any questions as soon as possible. You are not entitled to claim a refund on your premium if you cancel your policy on the basis that you subsequently discovered it was not suitable for you (through no fault on the part of the insurer).

7.2        You will normally receive your policy documents after arranging cover separately from your insurer. If your policy documents do not arrive please let us know immediately and we can arrange replacements.

  1. How to claim

Please refer to your policy summary or your policy document if you need to notify a claim. You should contact us or the insurer direct as soon as you become aware of any incident which could give rise to a claim. If in doubt about who to contact, or if you require our assistance in relation to a claim or potential claim please contact us.

  1. Complaints & disputes

9.1        If you have reason to make a complaint about our service at any time you should contact Jane Ellison, Head of Account Management at the above address. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 5 business days. You may be entitled to refer it subsequently to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

9.2        Further information is available at http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/. If you do decide to refer any matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS”) your legal rights will not be affected. We will provide a summary of our complaints handling procedures should you make a complaint which we cannot resolve informally and at any other time, upon your request.

9.3        If, after raising a complaint, you remain dissatisfied with our service and/or the outcome of your complaint and wish to make a claim against us, notwithstanding your right to refer the matter to FOS (which remains unaffected), you agree to engage with, and try to seek a resolution by arbitration where requested by us, before escalating the matter to Court. We will seek to agree the arbitrator with you; if the arbitrator cannot be agreed, then you will allow the President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators to appoint the arbitrator. The arbitrator’s fees will be payable as directed by the appointed arbitrator.

9.4        Any legal fees you incur in pursuing any dispute with us are payable by you unless and until the arbitrator and/or relevant Court (as the case may be) directs otherwise.

  1. Compensation arrangements

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”). You may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS if we cannot meet our financial obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Advising and arranging insurance is covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. The compensation scheme does not apply to consumer credit. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS on 0800 678 1100 or 020 7741 4100 or by visiting http://www.fscs.org.uk/

  1. Money laundering/Proceeds of crime

We are obliged to report to the National Crime Agency any suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing activity in relation to your policy. We cannot tell you where we make any such report.

  1. Disclaimers

12.1    You must (where necessary):

a) check that all sums insured and applicable policy limits are adequate for your needs;

b) comply with all requirements or conditions applicable to your cover;

c) notify us of any change of circumstances so that we can assess whether this may affect your cover (e.g. employees on long term sick on group risk policies);

d) promptly provide any additional information requested by us or your insurer at any time (e.g. this is to ensure your data is up to date and your policy can be underwritten correctly where claims may exceed any applicable free cover limits);

e) check that confirmation of your insurance arrives and follow up with us promptly if it does not arrive within a reasonable period of you being notified that it has been dispatched to you;

f) seek your own tax advice on the tax implications of any insurance schemes we may arrange through our services; and

g) seek your own employment advice on any employment matters that arise in connection with any insurance schemes (e.g. disputes over benefits received by an employee).

12.2     Whilst we seek to assist in establishing and maintaining insured values and indemnity limits we cannot accept responsibility for their accuracy. It is strongly recommended that the appropriate professional (for example Accountant, Medical Professional or other appropriate expert) be consulted to ensure that the sums insured and limits under the policy are suitable for your needs.

  1. Conflicts of interest & our liability to you

13.1     As insurance brokers, legally we act as your agent in advising you, arranging your insurance and assisting you in a claim. In certain circumstances we may act for and owe duties of care to insurers and/or other parties, but we are not the insurer’s agent. Where we become aware of any actual or potential conflict of interest, we will inform you of the situation, the options available to you and obtain your consent before we proceed.

13.2     Whilst we may assist you with any claim, we are not liable to you under any insurance claim that you may make; that is a matter for you and the relevant insurer and your policy wording. Our total aggregate liability to you under or in connection with our services is limited to the direct losses and additional costs and/or wasted expenditure that you incur in connection with our breach of these terms, or errors or negligence on our part when advising you and/or placing risks with the insurer(s). We are not liable to you for:

a) indirect or consequential losses;

b) losses of profits, savings, contracts or revenue (actual or anticipated);

c) any tax implications or employment issues arising from any insurance schemes we arrange;

d) any failure (on your part) to provide correct or up to date information (where requested or otherwise);

e) failure by any insurer to pay out under any claim (other than through negligence or errors on our part).

13.3     Where we are liable to you, our liability is limited to £2 million per claim.

13.4     Nothing in these terms limits or excludes or liability to you in any way that cannot be excluded or limited by applicable law.

  1. Insurer security

The insurers we use are required to have adequate capital resources. However, we cannot guarantee the solvency of any insurer we place business with. An insolvent insurer may be unable to pay claims or may be unable to pay them in full and you may have to pay a further premium to pay for alternative insurance cover.

  1. Law and jurisdiction

These Terms of Business are governed by English Law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.