Address: Suite 1, 800 Old Princes Highway, Sutherland, NSW 2233
Email: info@southsidebrokers.com.au
Phone: 02 9542 5151

The Insurance Brokers Code of Practice

We subscribe to and are bound by the Insurance Brokers Code of Practice, a full copy of which is available from the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) website at www.niba.com.au.

Your Insurance Needs

We will ask you for information that we will rely upon to provide you with advice and manage your insurance needs. This information will be recorded, and our understanding of your insurance needs will be summarised in our offering and/or report provided to you. The services that we provide are summarised in Our Statement of Services below.

Our Financial Services Guide (FSG)

You can obtain a copy of our Financial Services Guide. Our FSG includes important information about:

• Our status as a licensed financial services provider
• Disclosure obligations on your part and ours
• Potential conflicts of interest that we have in our dealings with insurers and other service providers
• Professional indemnity insurance arrangements
• Internal and external complaints resolution procedures
• How we are remunerated; and
• Details of our privacy policy which provides information on how we handle any personal information provided to us

If You Need Special Assistance

We will take all reasonable steps to ensure our services are accessible to clients with special needs. Please let us know if you are experiencing any vulnerability when engaging in our services, for example relating to your age, disability, or mental or physical health conditions.

If you tell us or we identify that, due to your vulnerability, you need additional support or assistance, we will work with you as soon as possible to find a suitable way to provide our services to you. During this time, we will respect your right to privacy and self advocacy. If your circumstances mean that you need third-party support (such as a lawyer, interpreter, or friend), we will work with you to allow for this when providing our services.

In some cases, we will ask you for information about your personal objectives, details of your current financial situation, and any relevant information so that we can arrange insurance policies for you or give you advice about your insurance needs. If we do not ask for this information, or if you do not give us all the information we ask for, any advice you receive may not be appropriate to your needs, objectives, or financial situation. You should read any warnings contained in a Statement of Advice or other documentation carefully before making a decision.

Where we provide advice, that advice is current at the time it is given. At renewal we may review your insurance; however, in some cases we may automatically renew your insurance to ensure you continue to be covered. This renewal will not take into account any changes to your personal circumstances that you have not told us about.

It is important that you maintain continuity of cover. Accordingly, if a contract of insurance falls due and we are unable to contact you, we may automatically arrange for the policy to be held covered or renewed if necessary. If you do not require the cover, please tell us as soon as possible. A short-term premium may apply. Please advise us if you do not wish us to provide this service. If you arrange or renew insurance directly with an insurer or through another broker, we will not be responsible for notifying you of expiry or arranging further renewals unless you specifically ask us to do so.

We can only cancel a contract of insurance on the written instructions of a person authorised to represent each of the parties who are named as insureds. We cannot cancel any contract of insurance that is subject to the Marine Insurance Act 1909.

Unless we agree otherwise, our appointment as your insurance broker is effective until terminated by either party by written notification.

In return for the services we provide, we will charge a fee in lieu of commission. This fee will be agreed with you prior to placement and will often be calculated in line with the commission that would have been received for a similar placement, which is ordinarily between 5% and 30% of the premium paid (excluding relevant taxes, charges, and levies). However, the fee may vary depending upon the extent and complexity of your insurance program and will be subject to a minimum of $200 (excluding GST).

Premium funding products enable you to pay your premiums by instalments. Premium funders charge interest and take a power of attorney over your insurance policy as they have paid the premium to the insurer in advance, in full, at the beginning of the policy period.

We can arrange premium funding on your behalf if required. We may receive a commission from the premium funder (generally between 0% and 2% of the total funded premium). We will disclose the basis and amount of any such payment before or at the time the premium funding is arranged.

We will invoice you for the premium, statutory charges (such as stamp duty and other levies), and any fees we charge for arranging your insurances. You must pay us within fourteen (14) days of the invoice date or inception of the policy, whichever is later.

Unless otherwise agreed, all broker remuneration (including fees and premium funding commissions) is considered to have been fully earned by us at the commencement of the insurance period. In the event of any mid-term cancellation or amendment, premium refunds will be calculated and returned excluding broker fees and premium funding commissions.

If you do not pay premiums when due, the insurer may cancel the contract of insurance and you may not be insured. The insurer may also charge a short-term penalty premium for the time on risk.

If you pay by credit card, a non-refundable credit card fee may apply. Any such fee will be shown on your invoice.

We can provide you with the following services:

• Help you identify and assess your risks and develop proposals to submit
  to insurers
• Advise and make recommendations as to your insurance requirements
• Prepare underwriting submissions
• Seek insurance quotations from a broad range of markets
• Negotiate terms with incumbent and alternative insurers where appropriate
  
• Place the insurances agreed upon
•  Review policy wordings and obtain policy documentation
• Confirm placement and renewal of insurances
• Calculate, invoice, and collect premiums
• Review insurance arrangements when:
  • You inform us of material changes
  • At agreed review times
  • At renewal
• Facilitate policy changes and cancellations
• Assist with insurance premium funding if required
• Assist with insurance claims, including acting as claims advocate where a claim is reduced or declined

We will take reasonable steps to contact you at least fourteen (14) days prior to policy expiry to discuss renewal options.

It is important that you provide us with complete and accurate information about the risk to be insured. Failure to do so may result in advice that is inappropriate or insurance cover being affected.

You must answer insurer questions honestly, accurately, and to the best of your knowledge. If another person answers on your behalf, their answers will be treated as yours.

If you fail to comply with this duty, the insurer may cancel your policy or reduce or refuse to pay a claim in accordance with the law.

Sean Rock

Director – Southside Insurance Brokers
Email: info@southsidebrokers.com.au
Phone: 02 9542 5151