A GUIDE TO BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE.

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1 BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE A GUIDE TO BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE. Our competitive Buyer s Protection Insurance makes sure your customers are covered should the unexpected happen when they re buying a new home. Read this handy guide to find out more. This is not a consumer advertisement. It is intended for professional financial advisers only and should not be relied upon by private customers or any other persons.

2 2 BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE ADVISER GUIDE STAY AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION.

3 BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE ADVISER GUIDE 3 BENEFITS OF BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE FOR YOU, THE ADVISER Only sold by qualifying advisers. Buyer s Protection Insurance can help you provide your customers with a superior service and can give you the competitive edge over the competition. It s excellent value for money, providing up to 600 of cover for your customers. As a valuable lead generation and retention tool, you can help ensure your customer comes back to you should their house purchase fall through. Since its launch, Buyer s Protection Insurance has become increasingly popular and in many businesses now forms an integral part of the referral and sales process. There s no commission payable on the sale of this cover. ADDING VALUE TO YOUR BUSINESS Buyer s Protection Insurance is an excellent added value product that can increase both lead levels and appointment conversions when used to its full potential. Buyer s Protection Insurance is designed to: increase referrals increase appointments to sign ups lock the customer into the service increase mortgage applications from customers purchasing property elsewhere help secure instructions reduce cancellations. BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE AS A LEAD GENERATION TOOL One of the most effective ways to use Buyer s Protection Insurance is to build the product into your mortgage adviser referral process. Estate agency staff can introduce Buyer s Protection Insurance by providing the customer with the promotional leaflet, this could happen when: AND RETENTION TOOL! It s also a lock in tool that you can use to ensure your customer returns to you to arrange their subsequent mortgage application. At the appointment the adviser sells the benefits of Buyer s Protection Insurance: MA: The land search fee and valuation are the costs that are payable up front, whether the purchase proceeds or not. What I can do is offer you an insurance that will refund these costs up to a maximum of 600, in the event of the seller withdrawing, adverse survey or land charges search or a change in circumstances (redundancy/relocation/death). This is part of the mortgage broking service I offer and is available to you whether you buy a property through this adviser or not. SETTING YOURSELF ABOVE THE REST You have the option to either charge the customer or to cover the cost of Buyer s Protection Insurance yourself as part of the service you offer. With up to 600 worth of cover for your customer it really is great value for money, irrespective of who is paying for it. Especially when you consider the commission it could make for you from their business. This booklet provides you with product details, sales angles, questions and answers, customer lead generation and retention tools and outlines how the scheme will work for you and your customer. the customer registers to look for property with the estate agency the customer agrees to purchase a property through the estate agency.

4 4 BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE ADVISER GUIDE HOW BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE WORKS In order to be eligible to have Buyer s Protection Insurance cover the customer has to either: arrange their mortgage through you, or buy the associated life policy or any other mortgage related policy through you if the mortgage has already been arranged direct, but only when the valuation or land charges search has not already taken place. Buyer s Protection Insurance is designed to protect your customer against financial loss if their house purchase falls through due to gazumping, adverse valuation or land charges search or a change in your customer s circumstances, for example involuntary unemployment. In the event of your customer s house purchase falling through, your customer can claim for the following to be reimbursed, subject to them returning to you to arrange a subsequent mortgage or mortgage related policy. Up to 600 legal and/or survey fees incurred on a house purchase should it fall through. Lender arrangement fees are covered only if there s a free valuation on the mortgage scheme chosen.

5 BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE ADVISER GUIDE 5 INTRODUCTION TO BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE Customer Accepts Certificate Completed Top copy for Customer Certificate Distributed Bottom copy for you Middle copy send to Customer Retains Record only Load to system Sale Falls Through Bank Payment Customer calls for Claim Form Dispatch Form You Validate Claim* Customer Returns Claim Form with Invoices Validates Claim* Yes No Customer Arranges New Mortgage Voucher issued by You Validate Voucher* * Further procedures to deal with appeals and complaints sit above this process. Customer Returns Voucher and Invoices to Issue Cheque to Customer END OF PROCESS

6 6 BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE ADVISER GUIDE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. CUSTOMER QUESTION: WHY DO I NEED THIS COVER? Your answer: In the early stages of a home purchase a valuer will carry out a valuation and a solicitor will do some initial enquiries. These costs will be lost if the transaction falls through. Buyer s Protection Insurance provides cover for those costs in three situations. This insurance covers gazumping. This is when your vendor decides to withdraw from the purchase and accepts an offer from another potential buyer. The insurance also covers you withdrawing from the purchase if you receive an adverse valuation or land charges search. This must devalue the price by at least 5% or, in the case of an adverse survey, involve remedial work that is 5% or more of the purchase price. Finally you re covered if your personal circumstances change due to the death of you or a member of your immediate family, redundancy or relocation and you withdraw from the purchase. CUSTOMER QUESTION: WHAT IS NOT COVERED? Your answer: If you decided to withdraw from the purchase out of choice, or if your vendor withdraws due to an unreasonable delay on your part. Unreasonable delay would be any delay caused by your actions whether preventable or not, leading to the vendor being unable to complete the sale within a realistic period of time. This includes the breakdown of your chain, illness or bereavement other than from the loss of an immediate family member. Please see the policy wording for a full list of the limitations and exclusions. CUSTOMER QUESTION: WHAT EXPENSES CAN I CLAIM FOR? Your answer: The policy covers up to 600 of certain pre-sale costs. This includes valuation and legal fees. Lender arrangement fees are covered only if there s a free valuation on the mortgage scheme chosen. CUSTOMER QUESTION: HOW IS THE CLAIM PAID? Your answer: On acceptance of your claim, you ll receive a voucher for the amount of your valuation and fees (subject to the policy limit). You ll be able to redeem this voucher when you return to your adviser to arrange another mortgage. You ll be asked to pay for the new valuation and fees, but we will send you a payment once we have received your validated voucher. CUSTOMER QUESTION: WHY DO I HAVE TO RETURN TO THE SAME ADVISER? Your answer: This scheme is only sold by qualifying advisers in England and Wales. Because of this they can validate your claim without a lengthy process and therefore keep the price of the policy down. CUSTOMER QUESTION: DO I HAVE TO ARRANGE ANOTHER MORTGAGE? Your answer: Yes. We can only redeem the voucher against the costs of arranging a new mortgage. If you withdraw from the market for longer than six months the certificate is no longer valid. CUSTOMER QUESTION: HOW LONG IS THE COVER FOR? Your answer: The policy provides protection for up to three months. However the voucher you receive is valid for six months after it s issued. We find that most people find another property within that time and benefit from the policy. Important: When selling the benefits please also ensure you make the customer aware of the exclusions. For more details see the policy wording.

7 BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE ADVISER GUIDE 7 CUSTOMER QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENS IF FOR SOME REASON I CAN T RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL ADVISER? Your answer: If you can t return to the original adviser, please inform our claims department on and we will arrange for an adviser to contact you. CUSTOMER QUESTION: IS MY CERTIFICATE VALID FOR MY REARRANGED MORTGAGE? Your answer: No, but your adviser can arrange new insurance to cover your new house purchase. You can take out a new policy as many times as you need. CUSTOMER QUESTION: WHAT IF I LOSE MY CERTIFICATE? Your answer: Both your adviser and our claims departments have copies of the certificate. Please contact either of them for your certificate number. CUSTOMER QUESTION: I AM UNHAPPY OR I HAVE A COMPLAINT, WHO DO I CONTACT? Your answer: If you re dissatisfied with any aspect of the cover please contact your adviser or our claims department. If the matter is still unresolved please write to the, Insurance Limited, The Podium, Centre City House, 5 Hill Street, B5 4US. Any complaints we can t resolve will be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service. CUSTOMER QUESTION: CAN I USE BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE FOR A REMORTGAGE? Your answer: No. This cover is not suitable for remortgages as there s no risk of gazumping and the other conditions of eligibility to claim can t be fulfilled. CUSTOMER QUESTION: I WANT TO BUY A PROPERTY OUTSIDE ENGLAND OR WALES. CAN I TAKE OUT BUYER S PROTECTION INSURANCE? Your answer: Buyer s Protection Insurance is not appropriate if you re purchasing a property anywhere outside England and Wales including Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

8 Insurance Limited Registered in England and Wales Number Registered office: One Coleman Street, London EC2R 5AA Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. CW2291 Q /16