Policy document
Please read this document carefully. Please refer to your policy wording for full terms and conditions.
This document does not form part of the contract between you and your insurer.
Please read your policy carefully to ensure it meets your needs.
Who is the Insurer?
Accident, Sickness, Unemployment and major illness cover is underwritten by UK Insurance Limited. Life cover is provided by Direct Line Life Insurance Company Limited.
Features of the Tesco Loan Payment Protection Policy
This Tesco Personal Finance Loan Payment Protection policy can cover your monthly Tesco Personal Finance Loan repayments if you are unable to work for more than 14 days in a row as a result of Unemployment, accident or sickness.
In the event of a major illness that prevents you from returning to work until the original repayment date of your loan, a benefit payment of the outstanding loan balance will be paid.
In the event of your death during the period of cover, a benefit payment of the outstanding loan balance, as at the date of death, will be paid.
Are You Eligible?
On the commencement date you must:
- Be aged between 18-64;
- Be named on the loan agreement. Only the first named applicant can be insured on this agreement; and
- Be working in the UK, including self-employment for at least 16 hours per week, or where applicable, you are on statutory maternity or paternity leave.
What Are the Significant Exclusions and Limitations?
The cover is subject to exclusions, all of which are fully explained in section 5A and 5B titled 'What Are You Not Covered For' in the policy wording. However, listed below are the significant exclusions and limitations for your information;
| Type of cover | Significant Exclusions or Limitations Plus |
|---|---|
| Unemployment |
|
| Accident & Sickness |
|
| Major Illness |
|
| Life |
|
What is the Duration of the Policy?
Your cover will run in conjunction with your Tesco Personal Finance Loan. As this policy could run for several years, you may want to review your insurance needs periodically to ensure the policy is adequate.
Your Right to Cancel
If this cover does not meet your requirements, please return all your documents within 30 days of receipt. The insurer will return any premium paid in full provided no claims have been made on the policy during that time.
How Do You Make a Claim?
To notify the insurer in the first instance, telephone the helpline on 0845 309 8765.
How Do You Make a Complaint?
Should there ever be an occasion where you need to complain, please call the insurer on 0845 309 8765.
If you wish to write, then address your letter as follows, Customer Liaison Unit, UK Insurance Limited, The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds, LS1 4AZ. If the insurer is unable to resolve the differences or does not resolve the complaint to your satisfaction , you may refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Their address is: South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR, telephone 0845 080 1800.
Details About Our Regulator
UK Insurance Limited and Direct Line Life Insurance Company Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The Financial Services Authority website which includes a register of all regulated firms can be visited at www.fscs.org.uk (new window), or the Financial Services Authority can be contacted on 0845 606 1234.
Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, should UK Insurance Limited or Direct Line Life Insurance Company Limited be unable to meet their liabilities to policyholders, compensation may be available. Insurance contracts are covered for 100% of the first £2,000 and 90% of the remainder of the claim, without any upper limit. Information can be obtained on request, or by visiting the Financial Services Compensation Scheme website at www.fscs.org.uk (new window).
Statement of Demands and Needs
We have not provided you with a personal recommendation as to whether this policy is suitable for your specific needs.
Payment Protection Policy
Important - Please read this document carefully and keep it in a safe place. Make sure that you are eligible for the insurance cover. You should make sure you know what this insurance does and does not cover. If you are not completely satisfied, return this document and a covering letter stating your name, address and loan account details within 30 days following initial receipt to your lender. The lender will cancel the cover from the commencement date and refund the premium paid, provided no claim has been made.
This certificate shows, that provided you are eligible and have paid or agreed to pay the premium you are covered under an insurance scheme for loan protection issued by your insurers to the lender.
The information given to the insurer orally, in writing or otherwise and in the application forms the basis of the contract between you and the insurer. You must tell the insurer of any change to this information as soon as possible, as failure to do so could affect the cover provided.
Tesco Personal Finance Limited have arranged two levels of cover; Standard Cover and Total Cover to suit individual needs. Standard Cover and Total Cover customers may be eligible to claim under Accident, Sickness, Major Illness and Life cover detailed in Section 3 of the policy. In addition, Total cover customers will also be eligible to claim for the benefits outlined in Section 4 of the policy.
Contents
- Section 1 - Are you Eligible?
- Section 2 - Meaning Of Words and Phrases
- Section 3 - What Are you Covered For? (Applicable to Standard and Total customers)
- Section 4 - What Other Benefits Are Available? (Applicable to Total customers only)
- Section 5 - What Are you Not Covered For?
- Section 6 - How Do you Make A Claim?
- Section 7 - How Can you Change your Claim?
- Section 8 - Important Information
- Section 9 - Unemployment Helpline (Applicable to Total Customers only)- this service is provided as an additional benefit of the product and does not form part of your policy.
Section 1 - Are you Eligible?
On the commencement date you must:
- Be aged between 18-64;
- Be named on the loan agreement. Only the first named applicant can be insured on this agreement; and
- Be working in the UK, including self-employment for at least 16 hours per week, or where applicable, you are on statutory maternity or paternity leave.
If you are working but are absent from work at the commencement date due to accident or illness, your Accident and Sickness cover will not start until you have returned to work for a continuous period of at least one calendar month.
Section 2 - Meanings of Words and Phrases
These are listed in alphabetical order and have the following meanings whenever they appear in bold in the policy.
Agreement - The loan Agreement between you and the lender. The total amount insured must not exceed £25,000.
Carer - Being completely without work solely due to the need to care for an immediate family member (spouse, partner, parent, child) and being registered with your local Social Services Department as a carer (having undertaken a Community Care Assessment or Carers' Assessment that concludes an immediate family member requires care for at least 25 hours per week).
Commencement date - The date on which your loan is drawn down, or the date you sign the application for insurance, whichever is the later.
Doctor - A UK registered medical practitioner, practising in the UK, other than you or your relatives.
End Date - The earliest of the following dates:
- Your agreement ends;
- your cover is cancelled;
- All payments due to the lender under the agreement have been paid;
- The last payment becomes due under the original terms of the agreement;
- The date of your death;
- The date a judgement is entered in any court relating to your obligations under the agreement or your obligations stop or are assigned or transferred to someone else;
- The date the agreement is referred to the lender's Insolvency & Debt Recovery Department;
- The date you retire (you must tell the insurer if you retire before age 65);
- A major illness benefit is paid for you;or
- your 65th birthday
Insurer - UK Insurance Limited for Accident, Sickness, Major Illness, and Unemployment cover and Direct Line Life Insurance Company Limited for the Life insurance cover.
Lender - Tesco Personal Finance Limited.
Major Illness - A heart attack, cancer (excluding skin cancers other than melanoma), a stroke (otherwise known as cerebro-vascular accident lasting longer than 24 hours), coronary by-pass, kidney failure (requiring dialysis) or major organ transplant (receiving a heart, liver, lung, pancreas, kidney or bone marrow) which leaves you unable to carry out the duties of your normal occupation until the original repayment date of the loan.
Monthly Benefit - The monthly repayment due from you to the lender as stated in your agreement.
Normal Occupation - your paid occupation immediately before your accident, sickness or major illness, or similar occupation that you are able to perform or may reasonably become qualified to perform, based on your education, training and ability.
Off Sick - A period when you are unable to carry out the duties of your normal occupation due to an accident, sickness or major illness as certified by a doctor, which starts during the period of cover. You must be under the regular care and attention of a doctor.
Outstanding Balance - The amount you still owe to the lender under the agreement, less any discount for paying the agreement off early. The outstanding balance on the loan will not include any monthly benefit arrears, or associated interest and costs.
Period of Cover - The period from the commencement date to the End date.
Self-Employed - Actively working in a profession or business alone or in a partnership and paying Class 2 National Insurance under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and liable to pay income tax under Schedule D of the Income and Corporation Tax Act 1988, or a company director who is a controlling director.
Specialist - A doctor who holds, or has held, a consultant appointment in an NHS hospital in a speciality relevant to your condition.
Temporary Work - Work that is not permanent and is not governed by a contract of employment, fixed or otherwise, and is not self-employment. Also work that is seasonal or irregular.
UK - The United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Unemployment/Unemployed - A period when you are out of work or temporary work involuntarily and:
- You are actively seeking work;
- You are not in receipt of, or entitled to, any pay in lieu of notice; and
- You have throughout your claim been registered with the appropriate authority (the Department for Work and Pensions). If you have been entitled to make reduced National Insurance contributions in the past or you are aged over 60 and in receipt of pension credits then you do not need to be registered with the Department for Work and Pensions. For further details of how to make a claim please see section 5.
Please note - if you are seeking work in the EU for a period of up to 3 months, you must make arrangements with the Department for Work and Pensions to register as unemployed in the country you are going to. You must obtain a form E303/3 from The Pensions Service in Newcastle before leaving the UK.
War - Armed conflict between states, organisations, or domestic factions of opposing citizens of the same country, characterised by lethal violence between combatants or against civilians.
Work/working - Being in paid employment or self-employment, for at least 16 hours a week in the UK, or on statutory maternity or paternity leave.
You/your - The first named person on the loan agreement, have applied for the insurance and paid or agreed to pay the premium.
Section 3 - What Are You Covered For? (Applicable to Standard and Total customers)
Accident & Sickness Cover
If you are off sick for a continuous period of at least 14 days during the period of cover, the insurer will pay to the lender a sum equivalent to the monthly benefit divided by the number of days that are in the month you are unable to work, for each consecutive day that you are off sick. The payment will be made on a monthly basis. This entitlement will continue until the maximum of 12 monthly benefits per claim have been paid, or until the cover end date, whichever happens first.
For example if your monthly benefit is £300 and you are off sick for 20 days in November the payment you will receive will be worked out by dividing your monthly benefit by the number of days in the month and then multiplying by the number of the days in the month that you have been off sick, which in this example would mean you would be entitled to £200.
If you are off sick for 2 periods both resulting from the same cause, that are separated by 3 months or less, the insurer will treat this as 1 claim, but will not pay any monthly benefit for the time in between. Otherwise, if the cause is the same condition and the period of time between the 2 claims is more than 3 months you will not be able to make the second Accident and Sickness claim until, you have been back at work for 6 continuous months. If, however you are off sick for a different cause, you will not be able to make a second Accident and Sickness claim until, you have been back at work for at least 30 consecutive days between each claim.
After the maximum of 12 monthly benefits have been paid for any period of accident or sickness, further claims for accident or sickness must be preceded by:
- 6 consecutive months in work if the reason for claiming is as a result of the same cause; or
- 30 consecutive days in work if the reason for claiming is as a result of a new cause.
Unemployment Cover
If you are working and become unemployed for a continuous period of at least 14 days during the period of cover, the insurer will pay to the lender a sum equivalent to the monthly benefit divided by the number of days that are in the month that you are out of work, for each consecutive day that you are unemployed. The payment will be made on a monthly basis. This entitlement will continue until the maximum of 12 monthly benefits per claim have been paid, or until the cover end date, whichever happens first.
For example if your monthly benefit is £300 and you are unemployed for 20 days in November the payment you will receive will be worked out by dividing your monthly benefit by the number of days in the month and then multiplying by the number of the days in the month that you have been unemployed, which in this example would mean you would be entitled to £200.
If 2 periods of unemployment are separated by 3 months or less, the insurer will treat this as 1 claim, but will not pay any monthly benefit for the time in between. If the 2 periods of unemployment are separated by more than 3 months, you will not be able to make the second unemployment claim, until you have been back at work for 6 continuous months.
After the maximum of 12 monthly benefits have been paid for any period of unemployment further claims for unemployment must be preceded by 6 consecutive months in work.
If you are receiving unemployment benefit and want to start temporary work which will continue for less than 6 months, please tell the insurer before you start this work. The insurer will not pay any monthly benefit during the period of temporary work. However, when the temporary work finishes, your unemployment claim may continue in which case the insurer will treat this as one continuous claim (with any accumulated time that was put towards fulfilling the 14 day waiting period before a claim can commence, continuing once the temporary work has ended) until the cover end date or until the maximum of 12 monthly benefits have been paid, whichever happens first.
If your work ends due to the need for you to become a carer, you may claim under this section. You will however be required to provide evidence to substantiate your claim, which is detailed in Section 6 - "How Do you Make A Claim?"
Major Illness Cover
If you are working and are off sick as a result of a major illness and your Specialist confirms you will remain off sick until the original repayment date of the loan, the insurer will pay the lender the outstanding balance on your loan.
Life Cover
In the event of your death during the period of cover, the insurer will pay the lender the outstanding balance on the loan at that date.
Section 4 - What Other Benefits Are Available? (Applicable to Total Customers Only)
If you have Total Cover, in the event that an Accident, Sickness or unemployment claim is paid, you will also receive:-
- £100 of Tesco gift vouchers to spend online or in store for each month that your claim is paid. (Tesco terms and conditions apply to the use of Tesco gift vouchers).
- Up to 5 free Tesco.com shopping deliveries per month (grocery only and subject to normal Tesco.com delivery restrictions).
- Free advice from a back to work helpline. Further information on this service is available in section 9.
Section 5 - What Are You Not Covered For?
A. This policy does not cover any claim arising wholly or partly from:
- Normal pregnancy (including multiple pregnancy) or childbirth, including delivery by caesarean section or any other medically or surgically assisted delivery which does not cause medical complications. This exclusion does not apply to any complication of pregnancy, which is diagnosed by a doctor, or specialist in obstetrics;
- your wilful or deliberate actions during the period of cover including suicide within 12 months of the commencement date;
- Anything which occurs as a result of taking alcohol or drugs, (unless they are taken under the direction of a doctor and are not for the treatment of drug addiction);
- War; or
- Any medical operations or treatments not medically necessary, including cosmetic or beauty treatments.
B. This policy does not cover any period of unemployment:
- Which occurred before the commencement date;
- If you are informed, within the first 30 days immediately after the commencement date, that you are to lose your employment, or you knew it to be impending when you signed the agreement, whether or not you had received official notice;
- For any period for which you received, or are entitled to receive payment in lieu of notice. After this period you will have to be unemployed for 14 days in a row before you will be able to make a claim;
- If it results from your resignation, voluntary redundancy or early retirement or if you are self-employed and your business voluntarily ceases trading;
- If it results from your dismissal, which is caused by your own misconduct;
- If it results in the non-renewal of a fixed-term contract; However this exclusion will not apply if you are working on a regularly renewable contract and benefit will be paid if;
- You have been on a contract with the same employer for at least 12 months and had the contract renewed at least once;
- You have been under contract with the same employer for a period of 24 months;
- You were originally working on a permanent basis with the same employer but were transferred to a fixed-term contract by the employer without a break in work;
- You are working on a contract which is not regularly renewable but individually negotiated, and you have been with the same employer for at least 6 months and had your contract renewed at least twice, and your contract is terminated before it was due to expire. If this is the case, then otherwise subject to the terms of the policy, the insurer will restrict payments to the period up to the original contract expiry date;
- If you are self-employed and your business stops trading temporarily; or
- If you are in temporary work;
- However, if you are claiming under the Policy and you take any temporary work which lasts for less than 6 months, the claim will freeze while you are in temporary work. When the temporary work finishes, your claim will continue from the point it was at before you took the temporary work (with any accumulated time that was put towards fulfilling any waiting period thresholds, continuing once the temporary work has ended).
Repayment Holidays
If you claim for Accident, Sickness or Unemployment during a repayment holiday, no benefit will be paid for the duration of the repayment holiday period as there will be no repayments that require cover at that time and because you will not be paying any premium during this period. Life cover however will continue to be offered during the repayment holiday subject to the terms and conditions on this policy. Your 12 months cover will begin from the month you make your first repayment.
Section 6 - How Do you Make A Claim?
To notify your insurer of a claim in the first instance you (or your personal representatives for a Life claim) should telephone the Helpline number on 0845 309 8765, to request a claim form. The Helpline is open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Calls may be recorded. Hearing or Speech impaired customers can contact the insurer on Textphone 0800 051 30 30.
Please fill in the form fully and accurately, and where applicable arrange for your doctor, an official of the Department for Work and Pensions and your employers to fill in the appropriate sections, and return it to the address shown on the form.
In order to verify your claim, you will have to provide any proof that is reasonably requested (at your own expense, if any). If adequate proof is not received your claim may not be paid.
You (or your personal representative for a Life claim) may be asked for more information, for example:
Life claims -
- an original death certificate (in English) or an office copy Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration.
Accident, Sickness & Major Illness claims -
- a certificate from your doctor and employer saying that you are not working; you may also be required to be examined (at the insurer's expense) by a doctor of the insurer's choice.
You will also be asked to fill in a continuation claim form (at your own expense, if any) for each month that you continue to claim for Accident and Sickness or unemployment. You should send this to the insurer on a monthly basis unless otherwise stated. Your claim may be delayed if the insurer cannot verify it because you are late in sending the insurer your continuation claim form.
As soon as you go back to work you should tell your insurer, so that the correct final payment can be made and your claim closed.
Any claim supported by a false declaration or found to be fraudulent, unfounded or intentionally exaggerated will not be paid. If this happens or if you carry on claiming after you have returned to work your insurance will be cancelled, without the 3 months written notice, and action will be taken to recover any overpayments.
All monthly benefits will be paid to the lender.
The insurer will only pay one type of benefit (Accident, Sickness or Unemployment) at a time.
If you or your partner are receiving any State benefit, you should advise the appropriate authority if you are also claiming under this policy. In some circumstances, the amount of monthly benefit you receive under this policy may affect your entitlement to State benefit. Your local employment authority will be able to provide you with further information.
Section 7 - How Can You Change Your Claim?
If the insurer is paying an Accident or Sickness claim and you become unemployed or vice versa please tell the insurer as soon as possible. Depending on the situation the insurer may send you a new claim form, which will need to be completed by your doctor/employers and/or Department for Work and Pensions to ensure your claim is valid. The insurer will treat your Accident, Sickness and Unemployment claims as one continuous claim and payments will continue without a further waiting period up until the cover End Date or until the maximum number of monthly benefits have been paid, whichever happens first.
Section 8 - Important Information
your Right to Cancel
If this cover does not meet your requirements, please return all your documents and a covering letter stating your name, address and loan account details within 30 days following initial receipt to Tesco Personal Finance, PO Box 104010, George House, 4th Floor, 36 North Hanover Street, Glasgow G1 2YG. Your cover will be cancelled and any premium paid will be returned in full, provided no claims have been made on the policy during that time.
Complaints Procedure
Should there ever be an occasion where you need to complain, please call the insurer on 0845 309 8765, lines are open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday. Calls may be recorded. Hearing or Speech impaired customers can contact the insurer on Textphone 0800 051 3030.
If you wish to write, then address your letter to Customer Liaison Unit, UK Insurance Limited, The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds, LS1 4AZ.
If the insurer is unable to resolve the differences or does not resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Their address is:
South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SR, telephone 0845 080 1800.
If you do refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, this will not affect your right to take legal action.
A copy of the insurer’s complaints procedure leaflet is available on request.Choice of Law
The law applying to this insurance shall be the law of England and Wales unless there is a written agreement to the contrary.
Claims Investigations
In the event of a claim, any information, which you provide or have provided to the insurer, will be put on the Register of Claims through which insurers share information to prevent fraudulent claims. A list of participants and the name and address of the operators of the Register of Claims is available from the insurer.
Cost
The cost of this insurance is detailed in your agreement. The premium has been added to the amount you have borrowed and its cost is payable by monthly instalments over the duration of your loan. Interest will accordingly become payable on this premium over the full term of the loan, or until the loan is repaid.
Termination of Contract
If you cancel your policy after the first 30 days following the commencement date, you are required to give the insurer 30 days written notice. Once this notice is given you will be entitled to a refund of part of your insurance premium provided you have not made a successful claim.
Since the amount the insurer might have to pay in the event of a successful claim is greater at the beginning of the term than at the end the insurer does not calculate your refund on a pro rata basis. Instead the insurer uses a formula called the Rule of 78, which reflects the way the risk changes over the loan. Below is a table, which explains what proportion of premium you would receive as a refund for 2 example loan terms.
| 60 Month Loan | 84 Month Loan | |
|---|---|---|
| After 12 months | 57% | 68% |
| After 24 months | 31% | 46% |
| After 36 months | 13% | 29% |
| After 48 months | 2% | 16% |
| After 60 months | 0% | 6% |
All figures used above are rounded to nearest whole number.
Below is an example of how this formula would work in practice:-
If a loan is taken out over 60 months, where the original premium is £1250 and the insurance was cancelled after 24 months, you would be entitled to a refund of £383.20.
If the insurer cancels this policy early the insurer will provide you with 3 calendar months written notice. You will be entitled to a refund calculated on a pro rata basis depending on how many months of cover you would have had if the cover had not been terminated. The insurer will continue to pay monthly benefits under the terms of the policy for any valid claim that is being paid at the date of termination.
Business Language Used
The language used in this and all other documents relating to this policy is English. All future communications both verbal and written will be in English.
Assignment
You cannot transfer your rights or interest in this policy to any other person. If the insurer transfers their rights and interests in this policy to any other person your rights and interests under this policy will not be diminished and the level of service received under this policy will not be diminished.
The Insurers
Accident, Sickness, Major Illness and unemployment Insurance is underwritten and provided by UK Insurance Limited, Registered Office, The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds, LS1 4AZ. Registered in England No 1179980. The Life Insurance is underwritten and provided by Direct Line Life Insurance Company Limited, 6 Atlantic Quay, 55 Robertson Street, Glasgow, G2 8JB. Registered Office, 3 Edridge Rd, Croydon, Surrey, CR9 1AG. Registered in England No 2199286. Both companies are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
Details About Our Regulator
The Financial Services Authority website which includes a register of all regulated firms can be visited at www.fsa.gov.uk/register (new window), or the Financial Services Authority can be contacted on 0845 606 1234.UK Insurance Limited is entered in the FSA's register under number 202810, Direct Line Life Insurance Company Limited is entered under number 170956.
Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, should the company be unable to meet all its liabilities to policyholders, compensation may be available. Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the first £2,000 and 90% of the remainder of the claim, without any upper limit. For compulsory classes of insurance, insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, without any upper limit. Information can be obtained on request, or by visiting the Financial Services Compensation Scheme website at www.fscs.org.uk (new window).
Connected Companies
Tesco Personal Finance Limited, UK Insurance Limited and Direct Line Life Insurance Company Limited are connected companies as they are all members of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.
Section 9 - Unemployment Helpline
This service is provided as an additional benefit of the product and does not form part of your policy.
You can use this benefit from the moment you take out your policy. This is a free, independent and confidential advisory service. It provides confidential advice and assistance on Unemployment related issues. The advisors will give you practical guidance and extensive details of many sources that may help you to find new employment such as
- finding prospective employers
- interview techniques
- preparing CVs
- signing on procedures
- State benefits
- retraining opportunities
- disputes regarding redundancy including payment entitlement.
To take advantage of this valuable service, please call 01582 429 222 where the advisors will be pleased to assist you.
The Jobcare service is operated by PMA Limited.
We cannot accept responsibility for the unavailability, standard nor for any consequences resulting in the use of this service.
YOUR INFORMATION
Who we are
Your Payment Protection Insurance is arranged by Tesco Personal Finance (TPF) and underwritten by UK Insurance Limited (UKI). Life cover is underwritten by Direct Line Life Insurance Company Limited (DLL).
You are giving your information to UKI, DLL and TPF. UKI, DLL and TPF are members of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (The Group). In this Information statement 'we' 'us' and 'our' refers to UKI, DLL and TPF unless otherwise stated.
For information about our group of companies please visit www.rbs.com and click on 'About Us', or for similar enquiries please telephone 0131 556 8555 or Textphone 0845 900 5960.
Your electronic information
If you contact us electronically, we may collect your electronic identifier e.g. Internet Protocol (IP) address or telephone number supplied by your service provider.
How we use your information and who we share it with
We will use your information to manage your insurance policy, including underwriting and claims handling. This may include disclosing it to other insurers, third party underwriters and reinsurers.
Your information comprises of all the details we hold about you and your transactions and includes information obtained from third parties.
We may use and share your information with other members of the Group to help us and them:
- assess financial and insurance risks;
- recover debt;
- prevent and detect crime;
- understand our customers' requirements;
- develop and test products and services.
We do not disclose your information to anyone outside the Group except:
- Where we have your permission; or
- where we are required or permitted to do so by law; or
- to fraud prevention agencies and other companies that provide a service to us or you; or
- where we may transfer rights and obligations under this agreement.
We may transfer your information to other countries on the basis that anyone to whom we pass it provides an adequate level of protection. However, such information may be accessed by law enforcement agencies and other authorities to prevent and detect crime and comply with legal obligations.
From time to time we may change the way we use your information. Where we believe you may not reasonably expect such a change we shall write to you. If you do not object to the change within 60 days, you consent to that change.
Sensitive Information
Some of the personal information we ask you for may be sensitive personal data, as defined by the Data Protection Act 1998 (such as information about health or criminal convictions) We will not use such sensitive personal data about you or others except for the specific purpose for which you provide it and to provide the services described in your policy documents.
You will have been asked to agree to this when you called but please ensure that you only provide us with sensitive information about other people with their agreement.
Dealing with other people
It is our policy to deal with your spouse or partner who calls us on your behalf, provided they are named on the policy. If you would like someone else to deal with your policy on your behalf on a regular basis please let us know. In some exceptional cases we may also deal with other people who call on your behalf, with your consent. If at any time you would prefer us to deal only with you, please let us know.
Fraud prevention agencies
If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified or suspected, details may be passed to fraud prevention agencies.
Law enforcement agencies may access and use this information.
We and other organisations may also access and use this information to prevent fraud and money laundering, for example when:
- Checking applications for, and managing credit and other facilities and recovering debt;
- Checking insurance proposals and claims;
- Checking details of job applicants and employees.
We, and other organisations that may access and use information recorded by fraud prevention agencies, may do so from other countries.
We can provide the names and addresses of the agencies we use if you would like a copy of your information held by them. Please contact us at the address below. The agencies may charge a fee.
If you would like a copy of the information we hold about you, please write to: The Data Protection Officer, Regulatory Risk Department, Churchill Court, Westmoreland Road, Bromley BR1 1DP quoting your reference. A fee may be payable.
Call monitoring and recording
We may monitor and record telephone calls in order to improve our service and to prevent and detect fraud.
Further information
If you would like a copy of the information we hold about you, please contact the Data Protection Officer, Regulatory Risk (Compliance) Department, Mailpoint 38, Churchill Court, Westmoreland Road, Bromley, Kent BR1 1DP, quoting reference PPI. A fee may be payable.
If you would like to obtain information held about you by Tesco Personal Finance Limited, please write to the Data Protection Officer.
Security
Any personal data saved is held safely on our mainframe computer, with security systems preventing unauthorised access and we always ensure it is treated confidentially.
Cookies
Please note that we use "Cookies" on the Site. A cookie is a software application that tracks our users' navigation of the Site and stores that information on their hard drives. This allows us to understand our users' habits and preferences which enables us to customise our services for our users to provide an enhanced user experience. We may, for example, use cookies to store registration information so that you do not have to provide it to us on subsequent visits.
Further Security
We take security very seriously and we use one of the strongest available security systems to protect your communications with us. Whenever you fill in a form, such as a request for a quote, it is automatically protected using something called a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) between your computer and ours. SSL works in the following ways:
It prevents impersonation - you can tell that you are using a genuine SSL site by the padlock symbol at the bottom of the screen. Clicking on either the padlock or the image opposite will reveal our Registration Certificate that is issued by Verisign, a leading Internet security company.
It encrypts data - as soon as your computer has recognised our computer they encrypt all information that is passed between them. Data encryption means that no one else can read or change your information as it travels over the Internet.
It prevents scrambling - SSL uses a Message Authentication Code (MAC) to prevent anyone tampering with our Internet site. Your computer will always check this code before it takes a message from us. This means that if anyone tried to interfere with a message, your computer would not recognise the code and would alert you.
Browser issues
There are two minor problems with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Neither problem has any effect on the actual security in force, but may make it appear to you as if it is not fully secure.
Internet Explorer 4 - the padlock symbol does not always appear at the bottom when it should. A full description of this error, number Q154621, is at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q154/6/21.asp (new window).
Internet Explorer 5 - if you click on the padlock symbol to view the security certificate the following message may be displayed: "This certificate has failed to verify for all of its intended purposes". The other details of the certificate shown are correct. A full description of this error, number Q233479, is at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q233/4/79.asp (new window).