1. Introduction

This Agreement is between you (“Insured”) and Anthola Brokers Pte. Ltd. (“we”, “us”, “our”) and our registered office is at 7500A Beach Road, #07-301 The Plaza, Singapore 199591.

About us

Anthola Brokers Pte. Ltd. is a licensed general insurance intermediary regulated by Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) under the business registration number of 202128777G. You may check our license status at the MAS website at: www.mas.gov.sg

As your insurance intermediary, we are committed to act in your best of interest and we are permitted to provide the following services to you

(i)    Recommending insurance cover to you

(ii)   Arranging insurance cover for you

(iii)  Providing insurance documentation to you

(iv)  Collecting insurance premiums from you

(v)   Assisting you in your insurance claims process

The intention of this contract is to establish the relationship with you and the services that we will provide with respect to the insurance contract that we have arranged, unless there is a more specific written agreement with you. The agreement with the insurance contract means your agreement to these terms of this arrangement. This agreement takes effect from the date it is received by you and supersedes any previous Agreement that may have been sent to you by us or on our behalf.

As an insurance broker, we do not offer advice on any legal, accounting or regulatory matters.

We draw your attention specifically to the following sections:

Insurance Placing – sets out the basis upon which we will act as your agent in relation to each insurance contract we arrange

on your behalf;

Duty of Disclosure – explains your important duty to provide complete information to us about the risks that you want insured;

Confidentiality and Data Protection – sets out how we collect, safeguard, use and disclose your information;

Client’s Money – sets out how we hold client money;

Remuneration – sets out how we are remunerated for the services rendered to you; and

Limitation of Liability – sets out how we limit our liability to you.

 

2. Our Services

Treating you fairly

We strive to always to treat you fairly. This means that we will always undertake to:

(i)    Assure you that fair treatment of customers are key to our company’s culture

(ii)   Recommend you products and services that meet your needs and taken into consideration of your circumstances

(iii)  Give you clear and precise information on the product before, during and after point of sale

(iv)  Put our primary duty to you in an uncompromised position

(v)   Deal with all complaints by your professionally and independently

(vi)  Be transparent in how we are paid when lawfully needed or as requested by you

Independent advice

We act as your agent and endeavor to be unbiased in advising you for all your insurance needs. The law of agency applies to us and there are duties which we are obliged to fulfill. However, there are situations when we may owe a duty of care to other parties which will compromise our ability to act in your best interest. Should such circumstances that we have a conflict of interest arise, we will inform you immediately and we will not take any further action until we have got your written consent to our course of action.

Insurance placing

We look to understand your insurance requirements based on your circumstances

Before commencing negotiations with insurers, we look to establish a proper understanding of your insurance requirements, by exercising due care and diligence in our dealings with you. We will advise on appropriate insurances available to meet your requirements and the relative merits of a single insurer or a multiple insurer placement. We seek to negotiate and secure competitive indications and quotations for insurance which provides a level of coverage, which, in our opinion, is suitable for you having considered the full range of options, to the extent practicable. Where we are unable to meet your requirements, we will advise you.

Our search for insurance to meet your requirements may mean that we may approach a single insurer;

The list of insurers we select from or deal with in relation to any insurance contract or product we offer or arrange is available to you on request.

Before we finalise any insurance placement for you, we will tell you and obtain your consent to:

(i)    the name(s) of the proposed insurer(s);

(ii)   the premium to be charged for the insurance;

(iii)  our relationship with the insurer(s); and

(iv)   all essential provisions in the proposed insurance contract, including restrictions and exclusions.

Provision of documentation

We will provide you with written confirmation once we have completed your insurance(s) placement. This will be the evidence of insurance we have arranged, and which may take the form of an insurer document (such as a formal policy document or certificate), cover note, or a broker insurance document which provides confirmation of the terms of the insurance contract we have arranged, and where applicable a schedule of insurer(s) with whom the risk has been placed. As fully described below, it is your responsibility to promptly check this and notify us if it does not meet your requirements.

Debit note

Our debit note (or equivalent document) will show the premium, any fees due to us and, where relevant, any insurance premium tax, duty or other charge which needs to be remitted to the appropriate authorities by insurers, or which is allowed by insurers to be deducted from the premium payable. If a tax, duty or other charge becomes payable as a result of the insurance contract and is in excess of the gross premium or allowed to be deducted by you from the premium payable, it is your responsibility to ensure that it is remitted to the appropriate authority(ies), unless otherwise stated in our debit note.

Midterm amendments and adjustments

Any amendments to the insurance contract must be requested in writing and, if accepted, will be confirmed by us with an addendum or endorsement.

Average condition and underinsurance

Many insurance policies are subject to the Condition of Average.

That means, if the sum insured is less than it should be (you are underinsured), then the Condition of Average will reduce the net amount you will receive from any valid claim in direct proportion to the amount of underinsurance.

You should therefore ensure that the amount stated in the policy is the full value at risk, in accordance with the basis of indemnity as described in the policy.

Claims notifications

You must notify us as soon as possible of any loss, claim or circumstance which falls within the notification provisions of your insurance contract. Failure to notify insurer(s) promptly may entitle them to reject your claim. You should not admit liability or agree to any course of action, other than emergency measures carried out to minimise the loss, or in the interests of health and safety, until you have obtained agreement from your insurer.

Claims procedures

Unless otherwise instructed, we will act as your representative in negotiations with insurers and will endeavor to ensure prompt and equitable settlement of all valid claims.

You should be aware that we may perform a limited service for insurer(s) by relaying instructions, disseminating reports and collecting fees or other disbursements, for insurer(s)’ advisors (e.g. surveyors, adjusters and lawyers) where we consider this does not create a conflict of interest. If we consider a conflict of interest may arise, we will refrain from performing any (further) services for insurer(s), unless you otherwise agree in writing.

In the event that an insurer delay making settlement of a claim for any reason, we do not accept liability to pay such amounts, until and unless the insurer has paid the claim to us in cleared funds.

Selection and solvency of insurers

We will only arrange insurance with insurer(s) that are considered financially sound or for which you have given us specific written approval. Whilst we rely on established rating agencies and use all reasonable endeavours to monitor and review publicly available information on insurers, solvency of an insurer(s) cannot be and is not guaranteed.

Group companies and other intermediaries

Where we consider it appropriate we may engage the services of another intermediary (including other subsidiary and associated companies of Anthola Brokers Pte. Ltd.) to act as our agent and assist us in the placement of your insurance contract. For example, many countries require the use of local intermediaries to access local insurance markets. In such cases, we will provide specific instructions to such intermediaries so as to meet your insurance requirements. Please note that these intermediaries may be remunerated separately to us, such as by a fee (agreed by you or us) or by way of commission from insurers.

Choice of Insurers

If you have any concerns with any insurers chosen for your insurance requirements you must advise us as soon as possible.

 

3. Your Responsibilities

Provision of instructions, information and completion of any required form

To enable us to fulfil your instructions you must provide us with the information necessary regarding your insurance contract so that we can understand your requirements. Certain classes of insurance require the completion of a proposal form, questionnaire, or equivalent document. You must complete such documents accurately. Whilst we may give guidance regarding the completion of these documents, we cannot sign these documents for you.

Duty of disclosure

An insurance contract is of utmost good faith between both the insurer and insured. You owe a duty of disclosure to insurers and there are severe consequences if you breach this duty.

You must disclose to insurers any fact or circumstance which is known to you (or which ought to be known to you) and which is material to the risk. A fact or circumstance is deemed to be material if it would influence the judgement of a prudent insurer(s) in calculating the premium or determining whether he would accept the risk. If there is any doubt as to whether information is material, it must be disclosed to insurer(s).

This obligation applies before the insurance contract is concluded, during the insurance contract period, at renewal, and upon any extension or amendment to the insurance contract. In addition, this duty also applies to the claims process and to other situations where you are required to provide information to insurers. Should you fail to disclose any material fact or circumstance, insurers may void the insurance contract, enabling insurers not to pay any outstanding claims and to require repayment of all claims previously paid.

Please contact us immediately for assistance if you are unsure whether information may be material, or if it comes to your attention that you may not have disclosed full and accurate information.

Check documentation and acceptance of coverage

While we will endeavor to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the insurance coverage you desire, it is your responsibility to check the documentation we send you in relation to each insurance contract and satisfy yourself that it is entirely in accordance with your understanding and instructions. You should advise us promptly of any incorrect points or changes required. Otherwise, we will assume that the documentation and insurance contract satisfy your requirements.

We can only agree to bind an insurance contract on your behalf upon receipt of formal written instructions from you.

It is important that you keep your insurance documents safe.

Payment terms

In order for us to meet an insurer’s premium payment terms in accordance to industry guidelines and regulations i.e. Premiums Payment Framework (“PPF”) for all classes of general insurance (unless exempted), premiums must be settled to us by the payment date(s) specified in our debit note; failing which, your insurance cover may be automatically terminated and claims put on hold as stipulated per policy terms and conditions.

In certain circumstances, insurer(s) will stipulate special premium payment terms which, if not met, may also affect the validity of the insurance contract. We will advise you when these circumstances arise. We are not under any obligation to settle the premium by the payment date(s) to insurer(s) on your behalf until we have received cleared funds from you by the relevant due date.

Payment methods

Insurance premiums should be settled on an individual debit note or credit note basis. We will issue Statements of Account periodically, if there are monies due to be paid by you.

All payments should be made to us in the currency as indicated on the debit note or statement and wherever possible, by electronic transfer. Bank account details will be advised to you. Bank charges (if any) are to be borne by you.

Third Party

You may authorise a third party to instruct us regarding the purchase of your insurance. As the third party would be acting as your agent, we may wish to satisfy ourselves at the outset that they are authorised to act in this capacity, but we are under no obligation to do so.

We will act on all instructions received from your agent as if we are dealing with you directly and will continue doing so until you notify us in writing to the contrary. It is your responsibility to ensure that any instruction given to us by your agent are correct and to notify us of any limitations in respect of your agent’s authority.

We will not be responsible for:

(i)    checking that your agent has accurately passed on your instructions;

(ii)   any exposure arising from inaccurate information submitted by your agent to either us or an insurer; and

(iii)  checking that your agent has your continuing authority to instruct us on your behalf.

 

4. Complaints

We strive to do everything to ensure that you receive the best possible service. However, if you wish to make a complaint about our service, which you are unable to resolve to your satisfaction with the personnel we have assigned to manage your account, you may do so by directing your complaint to our Chief Executive Officer, either in writing to our registered address or to (+65) 6298-6222

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within 5 working days and give you our response to your complaint at this time if we can. An interim response will be given within 15 business days from the date of receipt of the first notification of the complaint. Lastly, a final response will be given within 30 business days from the date of receipt of the first notification of the complaint.

 

5. Confidentiality and Data Protection

We are committed to the fulfilment of the provisions in Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act 2012 and other obligations of confidentiality placed upon us as a licensed general insurance intermediary.

While providing our services to you, we may collect personal information such as your name, address, email address, telephone number, date of birth, gender, marital status, financial details and employment details. We may also need to collect further information about you such as criminal convictions or health information for particular insurance cover that you have requested.

All personal information will be held under secure conditions to preserve its confidentiality. We may have to disclose the information provided by you in the course of arranging, placing and administering your insurance cover. This may involve passing personal information to our affiliates, related corporations, insurer(s), other intermediaries, risk management assessors, uninsured loss recovery agencies, service providers, industry regulators, law enforcers, our auditors and other third parties involved directly or indirectly in your insurance cover.

In respect of any personal data of any other individuals, such as your dependents, which you may from time to time disclose to us, you must prior to disclosing such personal data to us obtain their consent and make them aware of how we may use and disclose personal information.

We may use personal information to:

• Provide various products and services requested by you;

• Administer, maintain, manage, renew and operate those products and services;

• Determine eligibility and process applications for products and services;

• Understand and assess ongoing needs;

• Carry out billing;

• Administer claims;

• Market products, services, offers or events that may be relevant to you,

• Do regular checks to comply with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing requirements;

• Comply with applicable laws, rules, regulations, guidelines, codes of practice, orders or requests by any court, regulatory authority,

law enforcement authority or other government official; and/or

 

6. Client’s Money

Client’s money is any money that we receive and hold while administering insurance on your behalf, in accordance with the industry regulations stipulated by MAS.

Insurance Broking Premiums account

We will maintain a separate account with a bank licensed with MAS with regards to Insurance Broking premiums received by clients. This will be known as the Insurance Broking Premiums Account. The account is strictly for the sole purpose of holding client’s money and is segregated from our own money.

Risk transfer

Where we have agreed in writing with an insurer to receive money as their agent, money received from you or from the insurer, will be the property of the insurer whilst we hold it. If you pay a premium to us it will be treated as having been received by the insurer, which means you cannot be asked to pay it again, even if we do not pay the premium to the insurer. Similarly, once we have received the premium, we would be unable to return it to you, for example in the event of the insurer becoming insolvent. Also, if the insurer pays claims money or a return premium to us for onward transmission to you and we do not pay you, then the insurer will still be liable to you.

Interest on client money

We may earn interest on monies held and may benefit from foreign exchange differentials. These cash amounts can include premiums and claims amounts due to insurers and/or clients. Any such interest and investment returns before the agreed credit period with the insurers shall belong to us and we are not required to account it to you.

Payment to third parties

We may transfer client money to another person, such as another broker or settlement agent, for the purpose of effecting a transaction on your behalf. Where we act as agent of an insurer for the purposes of holding or receiving claim payments or returning premiums, we will remit them to such parties as the insurer directs us to pay. We may otherwise only pay client money to you or your duly authorised representative if we have your specific instruction or consent. Where an intermediary or settlement agent is outside Singapore, the legal and regulatory regime applying to the intermediary or settlement agent will be different from that applicable in Singapore and, in the event of a failure of the intermediary or settlement agent, the client money may be treated differently than if the client money was held by a broker or settlement agent in Singapore.

 

7. Remuneration

We obtain our remuneration either by way of brokerage (also known as commission), a percentage of the premiums charged by the insurer for the insurance contract arranged by us, or a fee which is agreed in advance with you for the services provided by us, or with your agreement a combination of both.

The remuneration is earned upon the inception of the insurance contract and, in the event that the insurance is cancelled or is terminated after inception, or if our appointment is terminated for any reason, we reserve the right to recover the remuneration we have earned.

In addition to brokerage or fee, we may be remunerated, by the payment of profit commissions, profit sharing, service fees and consultancy fees by insurers in respect of a specified portfolio of business.

If we introduce you to another intermediary to access an insurance product for you, we may receive a proportion of the brokerage received by the other intermediary and payable by insurers to them, out of the premium which you pay.

We are committed to ensuring that our remuneration and payments we may make to third parties are transparent and so, at your request, we will fully disclose our remuneration, including any income additional to the brokerage or fee.

 

8. Termination

Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time by providing 30 days’ written notice. In the event that our services are terminated by you, we will be entitled to receive any remuneration earned or payable at that date, including any set-off or otherwise.

Remuneration earned or payable to us at that date shall include brokerage due or to become due on further instalments of premium and any further instalments of fees which were to become payable when the insurance contract incepts.

This Agreement will terminate immediately, upon notification by the other party, if a party:

• commits a material breach of this Agreement; or

• ceases to trade or threatens to cease to trade; or

• becomes insolvent or is subject to any administration, receivership, winding up or similar procedure; or

• is the subject of a bankruptcy petition, application or order; or

• dies or, by reason of illness or incapacity (whether mental or physical) is incapable of managing their own affairs; or

• is or becomes the subject of Sanctions, either directly or through residency.

 

9. Limitations of Liability

The following provisions of this section set out our entire financial liability (including any liability for the acts or omissions of our employees, agents and sub-contractors) to you in respect of all losses, claims or liabilities arising under or in connection with this Agreement (including in respect of any indemnities), whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise.

(i)   All warranties, conditions and other terms implied by law are, to the fullest extent permitted by law,

excluded from this Agreement;

(ii)  Nothing in this Agreement excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or

for fraudulent misrepresentation;

(iii) Nothing in this Agreement excludes or restricts our duty or liability to you as an insurance intermediary under the

applicable regulatory regime;

(iv) Subject to clauses i), ii),and iii) above, our total liability to you arising in connection with the performance or contemplated

performance of the Agreement shall in the aggregate be limited to SGD 1 million in respect of any policy brokered by us under the Agreement, and

(v)  Subject to clauses i), ii) and iii) above, we shall not be liable to you for loss of profit, loss of anticipated savings, loss of business,

loss of opportunity, depletion of goodwill, additional operational and administrative costs and expenses, the cost of procuring replacement goods or services, any punitive or exemplary damages or any other indirect or consequential loss or damage.

 

10. Financials Industry Dispute Resolution Centre (FIDReC)

We are a member company of the Financial Industry Dispute Resolution Centre (FIDReC), which is an independent and impartial institution set up to resolve disputes between financial institutions (FIs) and retail consumers. The jurisdiction of FIDRec extends to claims up to S$100,000. FIDReC’s services are available to complainants who are individuals or sole proprietors. Further information can be found on FIDRec website at http://www.fidrec.com.sg.

 

11. Policy Owners’ Protection Scheme

The Policy Owners’ Protection Scheme protects policy owners in the event a life or general insurer which is a PPF Scheme member fails. The PPF Scheme provides 100% protection for the guaranteed benefits of your life insurance policies up to the applicable caps. No caps are applicable for general insurance policies. The Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (“SDIC”) administers the Policy Owners’ Protection Scheme in Singapore. If your PPF Scheme member fails, SDIC will provide details on the status of your policies. You don’t need to file any special claims to be entitled to SDIC coverage. SDIC will make announcements through TV, newspapers and at the premises of the affected insurer. The list of PPF Scheme members and type of insurance products protected are posted on SDIC’s website at www.sdic.org.sg.

 

12. Jurisdiction and Choice of Law

Anthola Brokers Pte. Ltd. undertakes its activities as a licensed insurance intermediary in accordance with the laws of Singapore. Any disputes will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Singapore and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Singapore.