Terms of Trade
QUS Pty Ltd ABN 92 122 665 310 (AFS Licence Number: 321877) acts as agent of the Insurer under a binding authority issued by the Insurer.
The Broker wishes to carry on a financial services business to provide general financial product advice for general insurance products, and deal in a financial product by applying for, acquiring, varying or disposing of an Insurance Product provided by QUS as Agent. The Broker agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions of Trade (‘Terms and conditions’).
Broker
The Broker holds an AFSL that authorises them to deal, arrange and advise in certain general insurance products and they will advise QUS immediately if the licence is varied, suspended or cancelled.
The Broker acts as agent for their clients and is not an agent of QUS nor do these Terms and Conditions create any form of binder, employment or partnership relationship.
Binding Cover
New business and Endorsement quotes:
Acceptance of any offer of cover (new business or endorsement) must be by written notice to QUS from the Broker which must be received by QUS prior to the time and date from which coverage is to apply.
Renewal
The Broker must confirm acceptance, by written notice to QUS, of any offer of renewal of an existing contract of insurance. Such notice must be received by QUS no later than 4pm EST on the day of expiry of the original contract of insurance.
Duty of Disclosure
The law requires an insured to tell QUS, as agent, everything known (or could reasonably be expected to be known in the circumstances) which is relevant to QUS’s decision to accept the risk. This duty applies prior to the insured entering into a contract of insurance and prior to each renewal, extension, variation or reinstatement of the contract of insurance. Each individual named as an insured has the same duty.
The insured does not need to advise QUS of anything which:
If you do not tell us
If the insured does not comply with the duty of disclosure, QUS, as agent, may reduce or refuse to pay a claim and/or cancel the contract of insurance. Once the contract of insurance has been entered into by the insured ongoing disclosure obligations may apply.
Payment of Premium
The Broker will remit premium to QUS on a net basis within 60 days of the policy inception. All collected premium is to be held in a trust account in accordance with statutory provisions.
Remuneration
QUS will pay the Broker commission on each base premium in accordance with the rates agreed between the Parties. For the avoidance of doubt, the base premium is exclusive of statutory charges and any Fire Services Levy. Any change to the Broker commission must be communicated by providing 30 days’ notice to the Broker.
Cancellation of the Insurance policy
QUS will have the right to cancel the contract of insurance if the premium is not paid in accordance with policy terms.
Any Interim Contracts of Insurance will be cancelled in accordance with sections 38 and 60(4) of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (‘ica’).
Subject to the terms of the insurance policy QUS maintains any other rights pursuant to the ICA to cancel the contract of insurance. QUS must notify the Broker of any intention to cancel or avoid a contract of insurance.
Administration / Policy Fee
In addition to the premium and statutory charges that are charged to the Insured, QUS may charge an administration / policy fee together with any statutory charge relating to that fee.
Claims
The Broker will provide all reasonable assistance to QUS and third party claims handlers in respect of all claims and agrees that any claim will only be met upon receipt of all outstanding premium and other contributions for that contract of insurance.
Marketing Material
Any marketing material for QUS’s products created or developed by the Broker must be approved by QUS. Also, the Broker will not change any marketing material provided by QUS without the prior written consent of QUS.
Indemnity
Both Parties indemnify the other for all claims, damages, judgments, losses, costs (party/party basis) and expenses to the extent that they arise out of or in connection with any breach by the other of its obligations under these Terms and Conditions. The indemnity survives the expiry or termination of these Terms and Conditions.
GST
Both Parties agree that they are Parties to a Recipient Created Tax Invoice (‘rcTi’) Agreement and declare that these Terms and Conditions apply to supplies to which a tax invoice relates. The Broker can issue tax invoices in relation to these supplies. QUS will not issue tax invoices in relation to these supplies. Both Parties are registered for GST and will notify the other if the registration ceases. Acceptance of this RCTI constitutes acceptance of these Terms and Conditions. All amounts payable under or relating to these Terms and Conditions are inclusive of GST. Both parties agree to comply with the Australian Taxation Office requirements for a valid RCTI, which may be varied from time to time
Dispute Resolution
The Parties will attempt in good faith to negotiate any dispute between them in connection with these Terms and Conditions. If the Parties cannot resolve the dispute by negotiation, they will agree to the appointment of a mediator whose decision will be binding.
Reserving policy
For risks with a Building sum insured up to $50m:
It is QUS policy to provide terms to any approved Broker that provides a full underwriting submission. Under no circumstances will we reserve terms to a single Broker.
For risks with a building sum insured greater than $50m:
It is QUS policy to provide terms only to the first approved Broker that provides a full underwriting submission. The only exception to this is if an approved Broker provides a valid letter of appointment (i.e. signed in the last 90 days).
Portfolio agreements:
From time to time QUS may enter into agreements with Brokers for whole of portfolio arrangements. Some of these agreements may include reserving on all risks within the portfolio regardless of the sum insured of each individual risk.
Termination and Variation
These Terms and Conditions may be varied by QUS without cause by providing Broker with 30 days’ notice. Further, these Terms and Conditions may be terminated without cause by either Party by providing 30 days’ written notice to the other. QUS reserves the right to rescind these Terms and Conditions immediately by providing written notice to the Broker, if the Broker commits an act of bankruptcy, breaches a material term or condition or engages in serious misconduct or fraudulent activity. As soon as practicable after any termination of these Terms and Conditions and in any event within 90 days, each Party must pay all money owed to the other if any, after taking into account any adjustments required and the Broker must return at its own expense, all documents and marketing materials supplied by QUS.
Letter of Appointment (LOA) policy & process
LOA’s should be signed by a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer or Committee Member of the strata entity. Strata managers that are appointed to act on behalf of the strata entity may also sign the LOA provided the LOA states they are appointed by/acting on behalf of the strata entity. Any letter not signed by one of the above is to be deemed insufficient and rejected.
The document should state:
Broker Agreements
All new Broker and new Authorised Representative of current Broker applications are assessed and either approved or rejected by the CEO. When considering applications the CEO will take into consideration:
The CEO may delay the approval process to allow the board of QUS to be consulted on an individual application.
Governing Law
These Terms and Conditions will be governed by the laws of Queensland and the Parties submit unconditionally to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Queensland.