To begin: Head over to Settings > General
BrokerCentral allows you to customise a variety of settings to better suit your brokerage's needs. This guide walks you through each configurable setting, explaining what it does and how to update it where appropriate.
1. Advisory Basis
Description: Choose whether your brokerage operates on an Advised Service or Non-Advised Service basis. In an advised service, you provide clients with insurance recommendations based on their needs. In a non-advised service, clients select products independently.
How to Update: Select either Advised Service or Non-Advised Service by clicking the corresponding radio button.
2. Authorisation Status
Description: Indicate if your brokerage is Directly Authorised by the FCA or operates as an Appointed Representative. This affects your regulatory requirements and reporting.
How to Update: Choose either Directly Authorised or Appointed Representative by selecting the relevant option.
3. Upload Logo
Description: Customise your brokerage branding by uploading a company logo.
How to Update: Click Upload Logo, then choose an image file. The recommended size is at least 300x300 pixels for best results.
Your logo will be displayed throughout the platform and also used on documents such as invoices and remittance notes.
4. Legal and Trading Names
Legal Name: The official company name, which should match your registered name.
Trading Name: The name under which your brokerage does business.
How to Update: Use the dropdown to select the Legal Name and type in the Trading Name as needed.
5. Company Registration Number
Description: Enter your company's registration number as recorded with the appropriate authority.
How to Update: Type the registration number directly into the provided field.
Helpful Tip:
You can find your UK company number on the Companies House Register
6. FCA Firm Reference Number (FRN)
Description: The FCA reference number that verifies your brokerage's authorisation status.
How to Update: Enter your FRN and click Find on FCA Register to verify the number.
Helpful Tip:
You can find your firm's FRN number on the FCA Register
7. Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) Default Setting
Description: Enable or disable the setting to have IPT default to zero for new policies.
How to Update: Tick the checkbox for IPT is zero set by default if applicable.
8. Primary Company Address
Description: The official address of your brokerage. This can include address lines, locality, county, postcode, and country.
How to Update: Use the address lookup tool to auto-fill details or manually enter each field as needed.
9. Appointed Representative (AR) Principal Details
Description: If you operate as an Appointed Representative, provide details about your principal firm.
How to Update: Enter the Legal Name, Company Registration Number, FRN, and address fields manually if not using the lookup tool.
10. Contact Information
Phone, Email, and Web Address: Keep these details up to date to ensure accurate communication channels.
How to Update: Edit the Phone, Email, and Web Address fields as needed.
11. Renewal Window (Days)
Description: Set how many days in advance you’d like to send a renewal reminder before a policy expires.
How to Update: Enter the number of days in the Renewal Window field.
12. Global Standard Broker Fee
Description: A standard broker fee that will apply to all policies unless specified otherwise.
How to Update: Enter the fee amount in the provided field. The fee is displayed in GBP (£).
13. Proposal Reference Number Format
Description: Customise the format of proposal or policy reference numbers using tags such as
{y}for the year,{m}for the month,{rand:n}for a random number, etc.How to Update: Adjust the format in the Proposal Reference Number Format field using the available tags.
14. Limit Address Search Radius
Description: Restrict address search results to a specified radius around your brokerage’s address.
How to Update: Enable the checkbox to limit address searches and set the radius in miles.
15. Companies House Autocomplete
Description: Enable or disable the feature that autocompletes company details using data from Companies House.
How to Update: Toggle the switch to enable or disable Companies House integration.
How to Save Your Settings
After making changes, click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page to apply updates. This ensures that your settings remain consistent across the platform.
These settings allow you to tailor BrokerCentral to fit your brokerage’s specific needs, from compliance requirements to branding. Making sure your settings are up-to-date ensures your brokerage runs smoothly and in accordance with regulatory requirements.