Privacy Policy

IAS is committed to keeping your information private. By ‘your information’ we mean any information about you that you or third parties provide to us. This notice describes who we are, why we need to collect your information and how we will use it. We will tell you who we share your information with and how we use it to improve the service we provide to our customers.

Company Information

IAS are Chartered Loss Adjusters and Insurance claim handling specialists who manage insurance claims for various Insurers, Insurance Companies and Mutuals.

Why we need your information

We need your information and that of others you named on your insurance policy to complete the processing of your claim. Your information comprises all the details we are provided with by your Insurance Company or Mutual, details that we collect directly from you and includes information we obtain about you from third parties. We will only collect the information we need so that we can provide you with the best possible and most efficient service.

IAS Privacy Principles

IAS is committed to safeguarding the privacy of your information.

  • We will only collect and use your information where we have lawful grounds and legitimate business reasons to do so.
  • We will be transparent in our dealings with you and will tell you about how we will collect and use your information.
  • If we have collected your information for a particular purpose we will not use it for anything else unless you have been informed and, where relevant, your permission obtained.
  • We will not ask for more information than we need for the purposes for which we are collecting it.
  • We will update our records when you inform us that your details have changed.
  • We will continue to review and assess the quality of our information.
  • We will implement and adhere to information retention policies relating to your information and will ensure that your information is securely disposed of at the end of the appropriate retention period.
    • All physical files will be kept for a minimum of 6 years, unless Subsidence claims, these are kept indefinitely, in case of re-occurrence.
    • All electronic data files are kept on an password encrypted secure server and retained indefinitely, if you wish for this data to be removed, please contact us 6 years after finalisation of your claim
  • We will observe the rights granted to you under applicable privacy and data protection laws and will ensure that queries relating to privacy issues are promptly and transparently dealt with.
  • We will train our staff on their privacy obligations.
  • We will ensure we have appropriate physical and technological security measures to protect your information regardless of where it’s held.

 How we will use your information and who we will share it with (including sensitive information)

During the course of our dealings with you we may need to use your information to:

  • Prevent and detect crime including anti money laundering and financial sanctions
  • To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations

In carrying out the handling of your claim we may

  • Use the information we hold in our system about you and that of others named on your policy, (for example joint policy holders)
  • Share the information with agencies that carry out certain activities on our behalf (for example disaster recovery companies, investigators, surveyors and suppliers)
  • Use and share your information with our approved suppliers where this is reasonably required to help deal with your claim. Where we engage these suppliers, they will be required to apply the same levels of protection, security and confidentiality we apply.
  • On all claims, your information will be provided to the Insurer who holds the relevant policy.

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 claim 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 and Anti-Money Laundering

Please take time to read the following as it contains important information relating to the details you have given or should give to us. You should show this notice to anyone whose data has been supplied to us in connection with your claim.

To prevent and detect fraud we may at any time: 

Share information with other organisations and public bodies including the police although we only do so in compliance with current data protection laws.

Check and/or file details with fraud prevention agencies and databases and if we are given false or inaccurate information and we identify fraud, we will record this. We and other organisations may also use and search these agencies and databases from the UK and other countries to:

  • Check your identity to prevent money laundering, unless you provide us with other satisfactory proof of identity.
  • 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 insurance claims

Financial Sanctions 

We may use information about you and that of others named on policy to ensure compliance with financial sanctions in effect in the UK and internationally. This will include the checking of your information against the HM Treasury list of financial sanctions targets as well as other publically available sanctions lists. Your information and that of others named on policy may be shared with HM Treasury and other international regulators where appropriate. You may also be contacted in order to provide further details in order to ensure compliance with Financial Sanctions requirements.

Access to your information

You have the right to see the information we hold about you. This is called Subject Access Request. If you would like a copy of your information, please write to:

IAS, 34 Brunel Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 9RT

Complaints Procedure

We are committed to providing an excellent service, but in the situation that a complaint arises we will in the first instance aim to resolve any telephone, e-mail or written complaint immediately or as promptly as possible.

Your complaint should be address to the office dealing with your claim, or to our central administration office:

IAS, 34 Brunel Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN38 9RT

E-mail: Claims@ias-uk.com                   Telephone: 01424 850999

We may be required to refer your complaint to your Insurance Company/Mutual, who may in some cases take over handling of your complaint, and respond to you directly in accordance with their own procedures. Otherwise, if we are unable to resolve your complaint within 3 working days following receipt, we will: 

  • Acknowledge the complaint in writing, providing you with contact details for the person responsible for dealing with the matter.
  • We will investigate the complaint and endeavor to send a final response within 4 weeks of receipt of the complaint. If we are unable to provide a final response within this time we will send an appropriate update.
  • We will endeavor to send a final response within 8 weeks of receipt of the complaint. If we are unable to provide a final response within this time frame, we will write and explain why and advise you when a final response can be expected.
  • If you are dissatisfied with the final response received, we will inform you Insurance Company/Mutual, in order that they can advise you as to further dispute resolution options open to you, which may include referral to the Financial Ombudsman Services (FOS) or Lloyd’ complaints department.
  • You can notify your Insurance Company/Mutual of your complaint at any time during the process.