25 June 2020
Clients experiencing financial difficulties
On the 18th May 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority introduced new measures for insurance and premium finance firms to help clients in financial difficulty. Should you be experiencing financial hardship, or if things change at work or home, we may be able to help by:
- Re-assessing your demands and needs
- Reviewing levels of cover
- Adding or removing optional covers such as legal expenses
- Adding or removing people on your policy
Where amendments to your insurance cover does not alleviate your payment difficulties, you should contact your finance provider directly as further support may be available, which could potentially include:
- The possibility of deferring payments (please refer to FAQ’s below)
- Reduced repayments, or rescheduled term
- Waiving missed or late payment fees
- Amending your repayment date without any cost
- Reducing interest payments
It is important that customers do not leave themselves uninsured, so we encourage you to contact us to discuss the options available if you are struggling to afford your payments during this uncertain time.
Please see our FAQ’s on Payment Deferrals
What is a payment deferral?
A payment deferral is an arrangement under which a firm permits a customer that pays their insurance premium in instalments to make no payments for a specified period
How do I apply for a payment deferral?
You should contact your insurer or finance provider direct
If I am granted payment deferral, will I be classed as being in arrears on my payments?
No, nor would the provider or any third party such as broker or debt collector be allowed to cancel the policy or collect payment during the deferral period
How long can I defer payments?
One to three months however, the provider can grant a longer extension should they wish
Will I have to pay a fee?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would not expect a customer to be liable to pay any charge or fee in connection with the granting of a payment deferral
Post and paper-based documents
We continue to handle all post (incoming and outgoing), and paper-based documents such as cheques, as quickly and efficiently as possible to ensure they are processed in a timely manner to safeguard policy cover. Should you have any concerns about instructions or cheques you have sent which may not have been processed, or documents you believe you are due from us, please contact us urgently.
23 March 2020
We have been carefully monitoring the situation with regards to COVID-19 and we have made the decision to close our offices following the recent guidance from the government. Whilst the offices are closed, the Longfields team will be working remotely and will be available via your Account Handlers direct email, mobile phone or our office email which is info@longfields.co.uk. Alternatively, please call the office (01473 784500 or 01206 39600) and leave a voicemail after the tone with you name and number and someone will be in touch with you very shortly.
This is a difficult time, but as you know – we do difficult things well; we are tackling this head on and have a robust infrastructure in place to ensure our specialist services are maintained. You can therefore rest assured that we are still here to support you during this challenging period.
Longfields team
