This policy shall be avoided if after the commencement of this insurance there is any alteration in risk:
17.1.1 by removal;
17.1.2 by change of occupation or use of the property insured;
17.1.3 whereby the risk of damage of accident or liability is increased;
17.1.4 the business is wound up or carried on by a liquidator or receiver or permanently discontinued;
17.1.5 whereby your interest ceases except by will or operation of law; unless such alteration is admitted by us in writing.
17.2
Arbitration
If any difference arises as to the amount to be paid under this policy (liability being otherwise admitted) such difference shall be referred to an arbitrator to be appointed by the parties in accordance with the statutory provisions. Where any difference is by this condition to be referred to arbitration the making of an award shall be a condition precedent to any right of action against the insurer.
17.3
Cancellation
17.3.1 Our rights
We shall not be bound to accept any renewal of this policy and may at any time give
twenty one (21) days notice of cancellation by recorded delivery to your last known address. You shall be entitled to the return of a proportionate part of the premium paid in respect of the unexpired term of this policy provided that there have been:
a) no claims made under the policy for which we have made a payment; b) no claims made under the policy which are still under consideration; c) no incident likely to give rise to a claim but is yet to be reported to us; during the current period of insurance
This termination will be without prejudice to your or our rights or claims incurred prior to the expiration of such notice. If a claim has been submitted or there has been any incident likely to give rise to a claim during the current period of insurance no refund for the unexpired portion of the premium will be given.
17.3.2 Your rights
You may cancel this policy in the first year of insurance during the fourteen (14) days after
the contract has been concluded by giving notice in writing to your insurance adviser at the address shown in their correspondence or to QBE Insurance (Europe) Ltd. This right does not apply at the first or any subsequent renewal of the policy. Provided that there have been:
a) no claims made under the policy for which we have made a payment; b) no claims made under the policy which are still under consideration; c) no incident likely to give rise to a claim but is yet to be reported to us;
during this fourteen (14) day period we will give a refund for the proportionate part of the premium paid in respect of the unexpired term of this policy subject to a minimum premium of £50.
If a claim has been submitted or there has been any incident likely to give rise to a claim during the current period of insurance no refund for the unexpired portion of the premium will be given.
17.5
Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999
This insurance does not confer or create any right enforceable under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or any amending or subsequent legislation, by any person who is not named as the insured and both we and you may amend, cancel or lapse this insurance without giving notice to, or requiring the consent of, any other third party.
17.6
Contribution
If at the time of any loss damage or liability arising under this policy there shall be any other insurance covering such loss damage or liability or any part thereof we shall not be liable for more than its proportional share thereof.
17.7
Document management
We may hold documents relating to this insurance and any claims under it in electronic
form and may destroy the originals. An electronic copy of any such document will be admissible in evidence to the same extent as, and carry the same weight as, the original.
17.8
Law applicable to this policy
This policy will be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court, London.
17.9
Material inaccuracy
17.9.1 The information provided by or on behalf of you in connection with this insurance (whether at inception or otherwise) shall be materially accurate and not omit material information which is known by your board members or equivalent and/or your risk manager or ought to have been known by them following their reasonable enquiry.
17.9.2 Breach by fraud or dishonesty
If you or anyone acting on its behalf breaches this condition (whether at inception or otherwise) by fraud or dishonest act or omission, we may:
a) avoid this policy from inception; or
b) impose such terms, conditions and/or additional premium as we may in its sole discretion determine; and
any benefit which you had received under this policy which resulted from any such fraud or dishonest act or omission shall immediately be repaid to us.
17.9.3 Breach by non-disclosure, misrepresentation (other than fraudulent or dishonest)
If you or anyone acting on its behalf breaches this condition (other than by fraudulent or dishonest means), we may:
a) impose such terms and conditions (effective at inception or otherwise) as we would have imposed in the absence of such breach; and/or
b) charge such additional premium (effective at inception or otherwise) as we would have required in the absence of the breach; and
c) apply such applicable additional premium, amended terms and conditions or both to any notified claim or potential claim; and
d) we will promptly give you written notice of any applicable additional premium, amended terms and conditions or both.
17.9.4 Within fourteen (14) days of receipt of such notice, you will give us written confirmation of: a) acceptance of and a promise to pay the applicable additional premium in accordance
with the terms of trade applying to this insurance; or b) your acceptance of the amended terms and conditions; or c) both as applicable.
17.9.5 If we can show to you reasonable satisfaction that we would have declined to enter into this insurance at inception or to accept the proposed amendment to this insurance during the period of insurance on any terms, we may avoid this policy from inception and, if no claims have been paid or accepted under this policy, we shall promptly return to you all
premiums received by us at the date of breach; and, if we have paid claims monies under this policy, you shall promptly repay all such claim monies to us.
17.10 Minimum standards of security
As regards damage to the property insured at the premises caused by or arising from or contributed to by the perils of theft or attempted theft, which occurs more than 30 days after the inception of this policy, it is agreed as a condition precedent to our liability under this insurance that you will operate the minimum standard of security as detailed below. Any alternative methods of securing the premises must be agreed in writing by us.
You must make sure these measures are put into full and effective operation when the premises are closed for business or unattended and all keys removed to a secure place.
Any door or window designated as a fire exit by any person who is legally responsible for fire safety at the premises under current fire legislation is excluded from these
requirements however any such doors or windows must be secured by a proprietary emergency escape mechanism.
a) All hinged final exit doors are secured as follows;
i) Timber doors – by a mortice deadlock certified as meeting BS3621 and where the frame, or if a double door, the receiving door, has a boxed striking plate ii) Aluminium or UPVC framed doors – by a cylinder operated mortice deadlock.
For double doors, the first closing section must have integral or surface mounted bolts which shoot into the frame at the top and the floor at the bottom of the door. The final closing section must have a cylinder operated mortise deadlock.
iii) Double leaf doors – by the first closing leaf having a multi-point security device operated by a central handle secured by a cylinder lock or, fitted at top and bottom of the leaf, flush or barrel bolts. The final closing leaf to be secured as i) or ii) above. Alternatively each leaf to be fastened to the other by means of a centrally positioned hardened steel padlock bar secured by a closed shackle padlock
b) All other hinged external doors and internal doors leading to areas of the premises not occupied by you, common areas, or to other premises, are secured by;
i) The means set out in a) above; or
ii) Secured internally by lockable bolts or key operated mortice rack bolts fitted at the top and bottom of the door
c) Any cellar trap door to be secured by means of a centrally positioned internal steel padlock bar secured by a padlock
d) All opening basement and ground floor windows or opening upper storey windows which can be reached by a person standing on adjacent or adjoining lower storey roofs or other structural features, are secured by a window lock or lockable
fastening device or are screwed permanently shut from the inside or are protected by solid steel bars weld mesh or expanded metal grilles securely fixed to brickwork surrounding the window
e) Opening roof lights are to be secured using a proprietary fastening device
f) Roller shutters – for electrically operated roller shutters, you must fit a key operated isolation switch to the electricity supply to the controls. Where this is not fitted then one of the measures for manually operated roller shutters must be installed. For manually operated roller shutters you must;
i) Fit key operated pinson or bullet locks; or
ii) Secure the chain of the door to the wall bracket by a good quality open shackle padlock; or
iii) Fit a bolt to the shutter door internally with the bolt engaging into the door runner and padlocked into position using a padlock conforming to BS EN 12320 Security Grade 4.
17.11 Observance
It is a condition precedent to our liability under this policy that the terms hereof so far as they relate to anything to be done or complied with by you are duly and faithfully observed and fulfilled by you and by any other person who may be entitled to be indemnified under this policy.
a) on the happening of any damage to enter any building where such damage has happened and to take and keep possession of the property insured and to deal with salvage in a reasonable manner and this policy shall be proof of leave and licence for such purpose but the property may not be abandoned to us;
b) at its option to either:
i) repair or replace the property or any part of the property for which it may be liable under this policy; or
ii) make payment in money to you in lieu of such repair or replacement or reinstatement effected as nearly as may be reasonably practicable shall be deemed a complete indemnity under this policy.
17.13 Privacy and the Data Protection Act 1998
17.13.1 All personal information (including sensitive personal data such as health details or criminal convictions) provided in connection with this policy will be processed in
accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. You consent to all personal information so provided being used for the purposes and being disclosed to the parties set out below. 17.13.2 Where personal information is provided about another person, you are required to inform
that person of our identity, and why their personal information will be processed and disclosed. We are also required to obtain their written consent to the processing of their personal information in this way and provide, on request, such consent to us.
17.13.3 Personal information is used:
a) to administer the policy, including underwriting, renewal information, validation of claims history and claims handling;
b) for research, analysis, statistic creation, and customer profiling; c) for fraud prevention and debt recovery.
17.13.4 Personal information may be disclosed to: a) other members of the QBE Insurance Group;
b) other insurance entities interested in the risk written under this policy;
c) agents and service providers appointed by us to carry out activities in connection with the policy;
d) credit reference and fraud databases; e) law enforcement and other statutory bodies;
f) potential purchasers of the whole or part of the our business.
17.13.5 If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is suspected this fact will be recorded and the information will be available to other organisations that have access to the fraud databases.
17.13.6 Personal information may be transferred to third parties in countries outside the European Economic Area which may not have the same standards of protection for personal information as the United Kingdom. We will ensure that such transfers comply with the data protection law and the personal information is kept securely and protected from unauthorised access.
17.13.7 We maintain protections and procedures in the storage and disclosure of personal information to keep it secure and prevent unauthorised access to or loss of such information.
17.13.8 We may monitor and record all communications with you for compliance and training purposes.
17.13.9 Should you wish to see the information held, have any queries in relation to the way such information is used or discover any inaccuracies, you should write to the Data Protection Officer at QBE Insurance (Europe) Limited, Plantation Place, 30 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3BD.
17.14 Policy voidable
This policy shall be voidable in the event of misrepresentation, misdescription or non- disclosure of any material particular.
17.15 Premium adjustments following cover amendments
17.14.1 In the event of cancellation, adjustment of premium or notification of a change of circumstances the premium for this insurance will be re-calculated to reflect the material change to the risk. The amended annual premium will be compared to the annual premium charged at inception or most recent annual premium following previous amendment and any difference payable or refundable calculated. This difference will be adjusted, according to the terms of the policy, to represent the change of premium for the unexpired period of insurance.
17.14.2 Where the difference results in an additional charge or refund of premium of less than GBP20.00 any such charge or refund will be waived and not processed. If this difference results in an additional charge or refund of premium greater than GBP20.00 this sum will be charged or refunded via your intermediary.
17.16 Reasonable precautions
You will take:
17.16.1 all reasonable precautions to prevent occurrences which may give rise to damage;
17.16.2 all reasonable steps to comply with statutory requirements obligations and regulations imposed by any authority;
17.16.3 immediate steps to make good or remedy any defect or danger which becomes apparent or take such additional precautions as circumstances may require.
17.17 Representation
You will act on behalf of all other insured parties under this policy with respect to the
giving and receiving of any notices from us or our representatives including any notice of cancellation. The payment to you of any return premium that may be payable under this
policy will satisfy our obligations to return premium to any other insured party.
17.18 Sanction limitation and exclusion
We shall not provide cover nor be liable to pay any claim or provide any benefit hereunder
to the extent that the provision of such cover, payment of such claim or provision of such benefit would expose us or any member of our group to any sanction, prohibition or restriction under United Nations resolutions or the trade or economic sanctions, laws or regulations of any country.
17.19 Subrogation
17.19.1 Any claimant under this policy shall at our request and at the expense take and permit to be taken all necessary steps for enforcing rights against any other party in the name of the
insured before or after any payment we may make.
17.19.2 We shall be entitled to take over and conduct in your name the defence or settlement of any claim or to prosecute in your name at our own expense and for our own benefit any claim for indemnity or damages or otherwise.
17.20 Tracing office Database
17.20.1 Where we provide an indemnity under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regs. 1998, we are required by regulation to maintain a database of all the companies and subsidiary companies covered by such insurance. We support and will add details of all company names to the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office database.
17.20.2 Accordingly it is a condition of this insurance that you undertake to supply full details (as required by the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office) of the company and all subsidiary companies to us at inception of this policy and promptly thereafter following acquisition or disposal of any subsidiary company.