Howden Disclosure Statement

This disclosure statement relates to the following related companies, all of which are part of Howden Group Holdings Limited (UK): -

  • Howden Broking Limited;
  • Howden Commercial and Affinity Limited;
  • Howden Corporate Limited;
  • Howden Waikato Limited; and
  • Sherpa Limited.

collectively referred to in this statement as “Howden”.
 

Licensing Information

Howden Commercial and Affinity Limited (FSP 33521), Howden Broking Limited (FSP 1001677), Howden Corporate Limited (FSP 39628) and Howden Waikato Limited (FSP 22881) are all Financial Advice Providers (FAP) licensed and regulated by the Financial Markets Authority to provide financial advice.

Insurance Underwriters (NZ) Limited (IUNZ) (FSP 442446) and Prosper Insurance Limited (FSP728971), also related companies of Howden, are authorised bodies acting under the full licence of Howden Commercial and Affinity Limited.

Sherpa Limited (FSP 650789), a related company of Howden, is an authorised body acting under the full licence of Howden Broking Limited (FSP 1001677).

Nature and scope of advice

Howden and our financial advisers provide financial advice relating to contracts of insurance, whether it is commercial and domestic insurance products, or life insurance products.

Howden is not an insurer. Howden provides financial advice in relation to insurance products that are provided by insurers.

Click here to see the list of insurers we use.

Depending on the advice you require, we may approach other insurers, however we will advise you if this occurs.
We will usually act on your behalf and in your interests in all matters, however, where we have negotiated facilities such as binding or agency agreements, we may act as an agent of the insurer and not for you. We will tell you when we act under a binder or agency to arrange your insurance, advise you about your insurance needs or manage claims on behalf of the insurer.

Our related companies, IUNZ, SALT NZ and DUAL NZ, operate separately from Howden as underwriting agencies for insurer clients. We have a conflicts of interest policy and processes to ensure that the services provided by IUNZ, SALT NZ and DUAL NZ are separate and distinct from the insurance services Howden provides to you.

In certain circumstances, and where appropriate to a client’s insurance requirements, Howden New Zealand may arrange or place insurance with IUNZ, SALT NZ or DUAL NZ. Any such arrangements are undertaken on arm’s-length terms and consistent with standard commercial practices.

Howden New Zealand is required to act in the best interests of its clients under New Zealand law. IUNZ, SALT NZ and DUAL NZ act for insurers in their capacity as underwriting agencies and do not act on behalf of clients.

We have established conflicts of interest frameworks and controls to maintain a clear and appropriate separation between the underwriting activities of these entities and the insurance services provided by Howden New Zealand. This includes governance oversight, information barriers where relevant, and documented placement decision-making.

Fees or expenses

Howden may be paid:

  • Fees only
  • Commission only, or
  • Both fees and commission
Conflicts of interest and commissions

Howden may receive a commission from the insurers through which we place business. The commission is paid to us by the Insurer (product provider) based on each insurance policy that you purchase. The commission only applies to the company premium and natural disaster premium portion of the total premium and excludes any fire and emergency levies, EQ levies or other government charges. We will provide more specific details of these commissions once we have talked to you and understand your needs.

To ensure that we and our advisers prioritise your interests above our own, we follow an advice process that ensures recommendations are made based on your individual requirements, goals, and circumstances. We have a conflicts of interest policy and procedure, including training and monitoring, to ensure we are aware of and manage any conflicts of interest. The company, staff and our advisers must comply with this policy and procedure. Where relevant, we will only provide advice in circumstances where we are able to appropriately manage a conflict of interest. 

Howden may also receive a commission and/or pay a commission to referral partners who refer clients to Howden (or vice versa). 

Howden may offer to arrange premium funding to assist you to spread the cost of your insurance premiums. When Howden assists to arrange premium funding, we act as agent for the premium funder in facilitating and administrating the premium funding arrangement. We do not act as your credit provider or finance broker and do not provide any advice to this effect. Howden may receive a commission for these services provided to the premium funder.

Complaints handling and dispute resolution

If you are not satisfied with our service or the financial advice you have received, please let us know as soon as possible. A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction where you expect a response or resolution.

You may raise your complaint in any of the following ways:

How we handle complaints

When we receive your complaint, we will:

  • Acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two business days.
  • Consider your complaint fairly and objectively and may contact you to request further information.
  • We aim to resolve complaints within 20 working days of receiving them. If we need more time to investigate your complaint, we will keep you informed and let you know when you can expect a response.
  • Contact you by phone, email, or letter to advise you of our decision and any proposed resolution.
External dispute resolution

If we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, or if it has not been resolved within two months, you may refer the complaint to our external dispute resolution scheme.

We are a member of Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL), an independent and free dispute resolution service.

You can contact FSCL at:
 

FSCL will review the complaint independently and may help resolve the matter if we have not been able to do so.

Duties

Howden and our advisers have duties under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 relating to the way that we give advice.

We are required to:

  • give priority to your interests;
  • exercise care, diligence, and skill;
  • meet standards of competence, knowledge and skill set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services;
  • meet standards of ethical behaviour, conduct and client care set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services.
Contact details

A written copy of this information is available upon request.

Download

Download the Howden Disclosure Statement here

Howden Disclosure StatementPDF/161.02 KB