UNITY INSURANCE BROKERS PTY LTD
AFS Licence 243173
This Financial Services Guide (FSG) contains information about our services and charges, your rights as a client and other things you need to know in relation to insurance matters including how any complaints you may have will be dealt with.
We trust it will assist you in deciding whether to use our services.
If you ask us to act as your general insurance broker, we will do so on the terms set out in this Guide. Unless you tell us otherwise in writing, we assume that you agree with these terms. Any terms which are specific to our relationship with you, may be contained in a Letter of Engagement.
You might also receive some other documents after or at the time we advise you about your insurance needs including:
- Product Disclosure Statements – These contain information about the products we recommend to you;
- Confirmation notices – These confirm the details of transactions we have arranged on your behalf; and
- General Advice Warning – we provide general advice only not personal advice.
ABOUT US
We hold an Australian Financial Services Licence under the Corporations Act 2001 to provide financial product advice on, and deal in general insurance products.
We subscribe to the Insurance Brokers’ Code of Practice and we are a member of the National Insurance Brokers Association.
Unity Insurance Brokers is a Steadfast Group Limited (Steadfast) Network Broker. As a Steadfast Network Broker we have access to services including model operating and compliance tools, procedures, manuals and training, legal, technical, banking and recruitment advice, group insurance arrangements, product comparison and placement support, claims support and group purchasing arrangements. These broker services are funded by Steadfast, subsidised by Steadfast or available exclusively to Steadfast Network Brokers for a fee. You can obtain a copy of Steadfast’s FSG at www.steadfast.com.au.
RETAIL CLIENTS
Retail Clients are provided with additional protection from other clients under the Corporations Act 2001 (The Act). The Act defines Retail Clients as;
Individuals or a manufacturing business employing less than 100 people or any other business employing less than 20 people, and that are purchasing the following types of insurance cover:
- Motor vehicle, home building, contents, personal and domestic, sickness/accident/travel, consumer credit and other classes as prescribed by regulations.
Some information in this FSG relates to Retail Clients and it is important you understand if you are covered by this additional protection provided.
LACK OF INDEPENDANCE
We are not independent, impartial or unbiased because we or our representatives or associates may receive remuneration or other gifts or benefit from;
- the issuer of the product you buy (e.g. commission that we retain) or;
- other third parties for related services provided in connection with the personal advice service (e.g. premium funding, claims or loss adjusting or reinsurance services), which may reasonably be expected to influence the personal advice provided to you.
OUR SERVICES
We are committed to providing sound advice based upon your needs and our comprehensive market knowledge. We offer a range of services to assist you to protect your assets and your legal liabilities. These include:
- Reviewing and advising on your insurance needs
- Arranging and renewing insurance contracts
- Requesting premium funding quotes, if required
- Assisting with insurance claims
Typically we only provide General Advice to our Retail Clients which does not take into account your particular needs and requirements. You should consider the appropriateness of this advice to your circumstances before acting upon it. We will provide you with a general advice warning in such cases.
HOW WE WILL LOOK AFTER YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS
New Business
Contact us as soon as possible if you need cover for a risk or property that is not insured. For immediate cover, we can usually obtain an interim contract of insurance (generally valid for a month or less). We need details of the property or risk and all other information which you need to disclose to the insurer.
We will send you a proposal for completion. When complete, sign the proposal and return to us as soon as possible and before interim cover expires. Original insurance contract documents issued by the insurer should be kept in a safe place.
Renewals
We will give you at least 14 days notice of expiry of any insurance contract by offering to renew the insurance contract and will invoice you for the cost of renewal. For commercial insurances we will renew the insurance after we have considered whether it meets your needs.
Unless you tell us otherwise, we will automatically renew your insurances to ensure you continue to be covered. If there is a change to your circumstances, please notify us as soon as possible. This will allow us to assess the appropriateness of your insurances and whether you require further advice from us.
In some circumstances we may be able to arrange temporarily cover before payment is received, but we cannot guarantee this. We will notify you when renewal has been put into effect.
If you arranged or renewed insurance directly with an insurer or through another broker, we will not be responsible for notifying you of expiry or arranging renewal unless you ask us to do so.
Variations
You should carefully monitor and review that your insurance contract is adequate to cover your assets or business activities. If you want to vary any cover, (by increasing the sum insured or adding other property) please provide us with details of the changes you require and any other information you need to disclose to the insurer. We will arrange the variation with the insurer and provide you with written confirmation.
Claims
We will receive your claims notifications, assist and advise you regarding the scope of cover and pass the information to the insurer. If a loss adjustor is appointed we shall, with your permission, pass on your contact details and co-ordinate meetings. In the case of a major loss, we can attend the initial meeting with the loss adjustor if you wish us to. We will promptly forward to you all claims documentation, insurance settlement cheques and other information. If you terminate us as your insurance broker while claims are outstanding, we will
- Negotiate settlement on your behalf subject to a claim service fee (to be agreed) or,
- Provide details of the claim(s) to your new insurance broker.
FEES FOR OUR SERVICES
You are entitled to know how and what we will charge for our services and what other benefits we receive.
Our remuneration
- We are paid commission by the relevant insurers when we arrange insurances on your behalf. As a general rule, the insurer will pay us an amount based on a percentage of the base premium. The rate ranges from 0 to 35% depending on the product.
- For most policies, we charge a broker fee, the value of which will depend on the product arranged and the time we spend placing the business.
Fees and commission are our main source of income and cover the cost of providing services to you. Our charges include GST. Some of our charges may be tax deductible. If we hold your money in trust pending payment to the insurer, we also receive the interest earned.
We will provide you with specific information about the basis and amount you will be charged before or at the time we arrange your insurance.
Refunds
If Insurance is cancelled before the expiry of the period of insurance, we will refund you only the net premium that we receive from the insurer. We will not refund any brokerage received for arranging the insurance cover. At our discretion we may retain premium refunds that do not exceed $50 in value.
Conflicts of Interest
As a business we have relationships with and receive income from various third parties as detailed in this FSG. For Clients receiving Personal Advice, details of relationships that impact the advice will be included in any SOA or invoice documentation we send you. All material conflicts that impact our advice, that are not mentioned in this FSG, will be disclosed to you.
RELATED COMPANIES
Should you arrange premium funding through Main Premium Funding you should be aware that some of the directors of Unity Insurance Brokers are also directors of Main Premium Funding.
HOW ARE OUR ADVISERS PAID
Our advisers are paid in two ways – salary, and a bonus or incentives which are based on a number of factors including achievement of company goals.
If a person has referred you to us, we may elect to pay them up to 100% of our remuneration and this amount will be disclosed in our Statement of Advice. This will not increase the amount you pay us.
TERMS OF PAYMENT
Invoices
We will invoice you for the premium, statutory charges (eg stamp duty, GST, etc) and any fees we charge for arranging your insurances. You must pay us upon receipt of the invoice or, in the case of a renewal, before the expiry date of the contract of insurance.
If you do not pay the premium on time, we are obliged to advise the insurer. The insurer has the right to cancel the contract of insurance and you will not be insured. The insurer may also charge a short term penalty premium for the time on risk.
Credit Card Fees
If you elect to pay your account by credit card our bank will charge you a credit card fee, which will vary depending upon which type of credit card you wish to use. This is a bank fee and is not charged by Unity Insurance Brokers. The fee will be advised at time of payment when using our bank’s DEFT payment system.
Premium funding
Premium funding products enable you to pay your premiums by instalments. Premium funders do charge interest. We can arrange for a quote on your behalf if you require it. We may receive a commission based on a percentage of the premium from the premium funder if you enter into a funding agreement.
PRIVACY
We are committed to protecting your privacy. We use the information you provide to advise about and assist with your insurance needs. We only provide your information to the insurance companies with whom you choose to deal (and their representatives). We do not trade, rent or sell your information.
You can check the information we hold about you at any time. You can view our Privacy Policy on our Web Site, or ask us for a copy.
COMPLAINTS AND DISPUTES
If you are not fully satisfied with our services, please telephone our complaints officer. We will acknowledge your complaint in writing and endeavour to resolve the matter within 20 days.
If you are still not satisfied, we subscribe to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) which handles complaints against brokers relating to a variety of small business and domestic processes. You can refer your complaint to AFCA who will conciliate with a view to seeking a solution that is acceptable to both parties.
Further details about AFCA can be attained at www.afca.org.au.
We maintain Professional Indemnity Insurance protection that complies with s912B of the Incorporations Act. This insurance includes cover for claims relating to the conduct of employees & representatives who no longer work for us, but did so at the time of the relevant conduct.
ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OF DISCLOSURE NOTICES
Where possible we prefer to provide all correspondence and disclosure notices to you electronically, via email or links to our website. If you provided us with your email address we will typically use that address for all correspondence and disclosure notices.
If you do not wish to receive correspondence electronically, please let us know and we will update our records.
Please retain this document for your reference and any future dealings with us.
| Unity Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd trustee for Unity Brokers Trust trading as Unity Insurance Brokers API Insurance Services ABN 78 611 079 527 |
PO Box 100, OSBORNE PARK WA 6917 Ph. (08) 9202 2100 Email: info@uib.com.au Web: www.uib.com.au |
FSG – Version 1910