Terms of Engagement

Master Builders Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd (MBIB) have been engaged to act on your behalf as an insurance broker. We will provide services as set out in these terms of engagement.

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, www.niba.com.au.

We usually act on your behalf and in your interests in all matters. Sometimes, it may be more appropriate for us to either arrange insurance or manage claims where we act as an agent of the insurer. If and when this situation arises, we will explain and highlight this to you.

We are authorised to advise you about and arrange general insurance products. If we are unable to advise you or act on your behalf due to a conflict of interest which cannot be managed, we will immediately notify you.

More information about our services is available from our Financial Services Guide (FSG) available on our website, www.mbib.com.au/about/governance/financial-services-guide/

Our Services

MBIB are more than just an insurance broker. We are your outsourced insurance expert and risk advisor. The close relationships that we develop with the key stakeholders of your business allow us to truly understand your requirements and to develop solutions that will meet and exceed your expectations.

We will provide you with the following services:

Help you identify and assess your risks and develop a proposal to submit to potential insurers
Advise and make recommendations as to your insurance requirements
Contact you with our recommendations
Prepare underwriting submissions
Seek insurance quotes (we will seek quotes from the broader general insurance market before making a recommendation)
Negotiate terms with any existing insurers and with alternative insurers.
Place the insurances agreed upon
Review policy wordings and obtain signed policies from insurers
Confirm the placement of the insurances to you
Calculate, invoice and collect the premiums
Adjust premiums on prior year policies
Review your insurance arrangements:
- when you inform us about material changes to your circumstances;
- at the time of any scheduled status reviews as agreed with you;
- upon renewal of your insurances.
Facilitate policy changes and/or cancellations as per your instructions
If required, assist you with any Insurance Premium Funding needs.
If required, assist you to manage any claims you may need to make:
- we will keep you informed in a timely manner regarding the progress of claims.
- when we receive an insurer’s response to a submitted claim, we will notify you of the outcome as soon as it is reasonably practical to do so.
- if a claim is either unreasonably denied or reduced by the insurer, we will act as claims advocates on your behalf to try to have the claim paid.
- we will advise you if the insurer seeks to negotiate a settlement of your claim.
- we will seek your instructions before agreeing to any settlement of your claim.
- if the insurer declines to pay a claim, we will explain the reasons for the insurer’s decision and outline what further steps can be taken, including steps to make a complaint.
- in the event you terminate our appointment as your insurance broker we will provide details of any claim(s) to your new insurance broker so that they may continue to negotiate settlement on your behalf.
Where we act under either an arranging or a claim’s authority from the insurer, which is relevant to you, as exercising that authority is a conflict of interest, we will contact you in a timely manner, and put in place adequate measures to manage the conflict.
We will take reasonable steps to contact you at least fourteen (14) days prior to your insurance cover expiry date to engage you on the next steps to be taken prior to the expiry of the policy. We will take appropriate, professional and timely steps to seek insurance cover terms and conditions and advise you of available options (if any) for your consideration.

Many commercial or business contracts contain clauses that relate to your liability (including indemnities or hold harmless clauses). These clauses may entitle your insurers to either reduce cover, or in some cases, refuse to indemnify you at all. Please inform us of any clauses of this nature before signing and accepting such contracts. We may recommend that you seek legal advice.

We can also advise on risk management strategies apart from insurance.

Important Relationships

MBIB are owned by the Master Builders Associations nationally, every cent that is made by MBIB is ploughed straight back into the building and construction industry, through training programs and advocacy of the industry.

Remuneration

In return for the services we provide, we will receive a commission usually between 0 and 26.5 per cent of the premium paid (excluding relevant taxes, charges and levies) which is paid to us by the insurer and a fee, payable by you.

Your Disclosure Obligations

It is important that you provide us with complete and accurate information about the risk to be insured otherwise the advice we give you may not be appropriate for your needs. We rely on you to provide complete and accurate information.

Before you enter into an insurance contract with an insurer, you have a duty under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) to disclose information to the insurer. This Duty of Disclosure applies until the insurer agrees to either insure you or renew your insurance. The Duty of Disclosure also applies before you extend, vary or reinstate your insurance.

At renewal, the insurer may either ask you to advise any changes to information you have previously disclosed or may give you a copy of the information you previously disclosed and ask you to advise them if there have been any changes. If you do not tell the insurer about a change, you will be taken to have told the insurer there is no change.

If you are applying for or renewing any other insurance, you must tell the insurer all information that is known to you that a reasonable person could be expected to know or that is relevant to the insurer’s decision to insure you and on what terms. You do not need to tell the insurer anything:

that reduces the risk it insures you for;
is common knowledge;
that the insurer knows or should know; or
which the insurer waived you duty to tell it about.

Non-disclosure

If you fail to comply with your Duty of Disclosure, the insurer may cancel your contract of insurance, or reduce the amount it will pay you if you make a claim, or both. If your failure to comply with the Duty of Disclosure, or you are fraudulent, the insurer may refuse to pay a claim and treat the contract of insurance as if it never existed.

If you are in doubt about whether or not a particular matter should be disclosed, please contact your Account Executive.

You must make sure you explain the Duty of Disclosure to any person you represent when we arrange any insurance cover for you. Alternatively, you may ask any person you represent to contact us, and we will explain their Duty of Disclosure to them directly.

If your circumstances change, our recommendations may no longer be appropriate. Please tell us about any changes in your circumstances so that we can confirm that your insurance continues to be suitable for your needs.

Continuity of Cover

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 will automatically arrange for the policy to be held covered (or renewed if necessary). If you do not require the cover, we ask that you tell us as soon as possible. A short-term premium may apply. Please tell us if you do not wish us to provide this service.

Cancellation

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 which is subject to the Marine Insurance Act 1909.

Premium funding

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

We can arrange premium funding on your behalf if you require it. We may receive a commission based on a percentage of the premium from the premium funder for doing so. We will tell you the basis and amount of any such payment before or at the time the premium funding is arranged.

Our Payment Terms

Invoices - we will invoice you for the premium, statutory charges (e.g. stamp duty and fire services levy) and any fees we charge for arranging your insurances. You must pay us within:

The timeframe set out on our invoice.
If a cover is cancelled before the expiry of the period of insurance, we reserve the right to refund to you only the net return premium we receive from the insurer and not refund any part of the brokerage and/or broker fee we receive for arranging the cover. A broker fee may be charged to process the cancellation.

If you do not pay the premium on time, the insurer may 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 pay by credit card, we may charge you a non-refundable credit card fee. This fee will be shown on your invoice and reimburses us for bank interest, extra charges/costs and time incurred by us when providing credit card facilities.