Terms of Business Agreement

What this Document is
This document, Terms of Business, sets out the general terms under which the firm, Deanspoint Insurance Brokers Ltd t/a Abbey Murphy Insurance, hereafter referred to as Abbey Murphy Insurance, will provide business services to you and the respective duties and responsibilities of both the firm and you in relation to such services. Please ensure that you read these terms thoroughly and if you have any queries we will be happy to clarify them. If any material changes are made to these terms we will notify you. We are not tied to any insurer and no insurer holds any shareholding in our company.

The terms of this document are deemed accepted by you, by virtue of your engagement with us.

Authorisation with the Central Bank of Ireland
Deanspoint Insurance Brokers Ltd t/a Abbey Murphy Insurance (C57837) is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Insurance Intermediary registered under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulations 2018 and as an Investment Intermediary authorised under the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995. Copies of our regulatory authorisations are available on request. The Central Bank of Ireland holds registers of regulated firms. You may contact the Central Bank of Ireland on 1890 777 777 or alternatively visit their website at www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials. Abbey Murphy Insurance is also regulated by the National Consumer Agency as a Credit Intermediary.

Codes of Conduct
Abbey Murphy Insurance is subject to the Consumer Protection Code, Minimum Competency Code and Fitness & Probity Standards which offer protection to consumers. These Codes can be found on the Central Bank’s website www.centralbank.ie.

Abbey Murphy Insurance is a member of Brokers Ireland.

Our Services
Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life & pensions, health and general insurance products. We will identify and select a suitable product producer and on receipt of your instructions we will transmit orders on your behalf to one or more product producers. A full list of insurers and product producers with which we deal is available on request. We do not have a “tied” relationship with any product producer/insurer which would compromise our ability to offer you impartial advice and choice.

The principal regulated activities of the firm are provided on the basis of a fair and personal analysis of the market.

Fair and Personal Analysis
The concept of fair and personal analysis describes the extent of the choice of products and providers offered by an intermediary within a particular category of life assurance, general insurance, mortgages, and/ or a specialist area. The number of contracts and providers considered must be sufficiently large to enable an intermediary to recommend a product that would be adequate to meet a client’s needs.

The number of providers that constitutes ‘sufficiently large’ will vary depending on the number of providers operating in the market for a particular product or service and their relative importance in and share of that market. The extent of fair analysis must be such that could reasonably be expected of a professional conducting business, taking into account the accessibility of information and product placement to intermediaries and the cost of the search.

In order to ensure that the number of contracts and providers is sufficiently large to constitute a fair and personal analysis of the market, we will consider the following criteria:

• the needs of the customer,
• the size of the customer order,
• the number of providers in the market that deal with brokers,
  
• the market share of each of those providers,
  
• the number of relevant products available from each provider,
  
• the availability of information about the products,
  
• the quality of the product and service provided by the provider,
  
• cost, and
  
• any other relevant consideration.

Limited Analysis
On occasion we may offer products, with regulated insurers, on a Limited Analysis basis of the market. We offer health insurance on a Limited Analysis basis with Irish Life Health DAC. Where research is carried out on a Limited Analysis basis, we shall inform you accordingly.

General Insurance Products (Non-Life)
We can provide advice on and arrange products from the following range: household, motor, travel insurance, commercial property, farm, public liability, employer liability, professional indemnity insurance, fleet insurance, contractors all risks, transit, marine and more.

We provide general insurance on a fair and personal analysis basis (providing services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and products producers available in the market to enable the firm to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be suitable to meet your needs).

We will also offer assistance to you in relation to processing claims on policies taken out with us and in seeking renewal terms on your cover.

Life & Pension Products
We will provide assistance to you for any queries you may have in relation to the policies or in the event of a claim during the life of the policy and we will explain to you the various restrictions, conditions and exclusions attached to your policy. However, it is your responsibility to read the policy documents, literature and brochures to ensure that you understand the nature of the policy cover; particularly in relation to Permanent Health Insurance and Serious Illness policies.

Specifically on the subject of permanent health insurance policies we will explain to you; a) the meaning of disability as defined in the policy; b) the benefits available under the policy; c) the general exclusions that apply to the policy; and d) the reductions applied to the benefit where there are disability payments from other sources.

For a serious illness policy, we will advise you clearly on the restrictions, conditions and general exclusions that attach to that policy.

Sustainability Factors – Investment/IBIPs/Pension Advice
When providing advice, the firm does not consider the adverse impacts of investment decisions on sustainability. At this point, the firm does not intend to consider such impacts in the future.

Statement of Charges

Life & Pensions and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) – Fees
Abbey Murphy Insurance is generally remunerated by commission from insurers for the work involved in arranging a policy on your behalf in relation of Life Assurance, Pensions and Investments. We may receive override payments, renewal or trail commissions from insurers for as long as your policy remains in force. All amounts received contribute to your overall costs in providing you with a service on an ongoing basis.

Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency, our scale of fees for such cases range from a minimum of €50 per hour to a maximum of €150 per hour. We will notify you in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged.

General Insurance
Abbey Murphy Insurance is generally remunerated by commission from insurers on completion of business. Some product producers do not make any payment. Details of the commission arrangements are available on our website . An administration charge is also charged for the activity involved in the placing of a risk, the renewal of a policy and also any alterations which take place during, and at termination, of the policy. A scale of our charges is listed below. Additional fees may be payable for complex cases which require specialist skills or urgency. We will inform you of the amount of fee to be charged. Where it is not possible to provide the exact amount, we will provide you the method of calculation of the fee. All premiums include applicable Government Levy.

* This is a non-refundable administration charge.

Ongoing Suitability
Abbey Murphy Insurance’s services does not include ongoing suitability assessments. However, it is in your best interests that you review, on a regular basis, the products which we have arranged for you. As your circumstances change, your needs will change. You must advise us of those changes and request a review of the relevant policy so that we can ensure that you are provided with up to date advice and products best suited to your needs. Failure to contact us in relation to changes in your circumstances, may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments.

While our correspondence (letters/summary of cover/emails) will set out the key aspect of the cover provided by your policy, this in no way replaces the need for you to examine the insurer’s policy documentation to ensure that it meets with your requirements.

Disclosure of Information
Any failure to disclose material information may invalidate your claim and render your policy void.

Conflicts of Interest
It is the policy of our firm to avoid conflicts of interest in providing services to you. However, where an unavoidable conflict of interest arises we will advise you of this in writing before providing you with any service.

Default on Payments by Clients
Abbey Murphy Insurance will exercise our legal rights to receive payments due to us from clients (fees and insurance premiums) for services provided. In particular, without limitation to the generality of the foregoing, the firm will seek reimbursement for all payments made to insurers on behalf of clients where the firm has acted in good faith in renewing a policy of insurance for the client.

Product producers may withdraw benefits or cover in the event of default on payments due under policies of insurance or other products arranged for you. We would refer you to policy documents or product terms for the details of such provisions.

Complaints
It is always Our intention to provide you with a quality service. However should you have cause to complain, please send your complaint in writing. Please address any complaints to Michael Winters, Managing Director, Abbey Murphy Insurance, 3 New Street, Deanscurragh, Longford, N39 K3C9, Ireland. We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 business days and we will fully investigate it. We shall investigate the complaint as swiftly as possible, and the complainant will receive an update on the complaint at intervals of not greater than 20 business days starting from the date on which the complaint is made. On completion of our investigation, we will provide you with a written report of the outcome. In the event that you are still dissatisfied with our handling of or response to your complaint, you are entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO), 3rd Floor, Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2.

Communications by Telephone
It is the practice of Abbey Murphy Insurance to record incoming and outgoing calls for quality assurance, verification, training and monitoring purposes. Note: Instructions which may require an action must not be left on any messaging service as there is absolutely no guarantee that the message will be accessed.

Electronic Communications
Whilst we may communicate with you on a regular basis, with your agreement, by email, we are unable to give any assurances that an instruction placed to us by email will be actioned. It is your responsibility to check that your message has been received by us and that same has been actioned in accordance with your request. Note: We have anti-virus software in place, but you should also use your own anti virus software. We cannot accept responsibility for any transmitted viruses. It is therefore your responsibility to scan attachments (if any) for infection.

Data Protection
We are subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018.

Abbey Murphy Insurance is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We wish to be transparent on how we process your data and show you that we are accountable with the GDPR in relation to not only processing your data but ensuring you understand your rights as a client.

The data will be processed only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given and as outlined in our Data Privacy Notice, this will be given to all our clients at the time of data collection.

We will ensure that this Privacy Notice is easily accessible. Please refer to our website www.abbeymurphy.ie if this medium is not suitable we will ensure you can easily receive a hard copy by post.

Please contact us at mwinters@abbeymurphy.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.

Appendix A – Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019

This section, and the duties and rights under same, applies only to policies governed by Irish Law, where the policyholder is a consumer as per definition set out below – it does not apply to any other policyholder.

1. Definition

The following definitions are set out in the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act, 2019:

“consumer”, in relation to a financial service, means—

(a)           (i) a natural person, not acting in the course of business,

(ii) a sole trader, partnership, trust club or charity (not being a body corporate), with an annual turnover in its previous financial year (within the meaning of section 288 of the Act of 2014) of €3 million or less, or

(iii) an incorporated body that—

(I) had an annual turnover in its previous financial year (within the meaning of section 288 of the Act of 2014) of €3 million or less, and

(II)is not a body corporate that is a member of a group of companies (within the meaning of section 8 of the Act of 2014) with a combined annual turnover (in the previous financial year (within the meaning of section 288 of the Act of 2014) of the group of companies), of greater than €3 million, that—

(A) is a customer of a financial service provider,

(B) is a person or body to whom a financial service provider has offered to provide a financial service, or

(C) has sought the provision of a financial service,

(b) a consumer who was, in relation to a credit agreement, a customer of the financial service provider in a case where a credit servicing firm undertakes credit servicing in respect of the credit agreement concerned,

(c) an actual or potential beneficiary of a financial service, or

(d) an employee or a former employee entitled to benefit from an income continuance plan;

“consumer”, in relation to a pension product, means an actual or potential beneficiary of an occupational pensions scheme, a trust RAC or a PRSA who believes they have suffered financial loss because of maladministration of the scheme, trust or PRSA, as the case may be;

2. New Business & Renewal

You may cancel a contract of insurance, by giving notice in writing to the insurer, within 14 working days after the date You were informed that the contract is concluded. This does not affect the notice periods already provided under European Union (Insurance and Reinsurance) Regulations 2015 ( S.I. No. 485 of 2015 ) or the European Communities (Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 853 of 2004 ) which is 30 days in respect of life policies, irrespective of whether the sale took place on a non-face to face basis, and 14 days in respect of general policies only on sales that took place on a non-face to face basis (distance sales). The giving of notice of cancellation by You will have the effect of releasing You from any further obligation arising from the contract of insurance. The insurer cannot impose any costs on You other than the cost of the premium for the period of cover. This right to cancel does not apply where, in respect of life assurance the contract is for a duration of six months or less, or in respect of general insurance, the duration of the contract is less than one month.

Insurers may also request an update on information You previously provided, which the insurer shall specifically describe and provide You with a written copy of the matter previously disclosed. You must respond honestly and with reasonable care to any such requests. Where the You continue to pay the premium, without response, it shall be presumed that the information previously provided has not altered. Renewal of the contract by insurers shall not be taken to remedy any previous breach of Your duty of disclosure arising under this Act

3. Payment of Premium

You are under a duty to pay Your premium within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance.

4. Alteration of Risk

Any clause in a contract of insurance that refers to a “material change” will be interpreted as being a change that takes the risk outside what was in the reasonable contemplation of the contracting parties when the contract was concluded.

5. Claims handling

You must notify the insurer of a claim within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance. If You become aware after a claim is made of information that would either support or prejudice the claim, You are under a duty to disclose it. (The insurer is under the same duty). If, in respect of the insurance contract the insurer is not obliged to pay the full claim settlement amount until any repair, replacement or reinstatement work has been completed and specified documents for the work have been furnished to the insurer, the claim settlement deferment amount cannot exceed:

(a) 5% of the claim settlement amount where the claim settlement amount is less than €40,000, or

(b) 10% of the claim settlement amount where the claim settlement amount is more than €40,000.

An insurer may refuse a claim made by You under a contract of insurance where there is a change in the risk insured, including as described in an “Alteration of Risk” clause, and the circumstances have so changed that it has effectively changed the risk to one which the insurer has not agreed to cover. You must cooperate with the insurer in an investigation of insured events including responding to reasonable requests for information in an honest and reasonably careful manner and must notify the insurer of the occurrence of an insured event in a reasonable time. If You make a false or misleading claim in any material respect (and know it to be false or misleading or consciously disregards whether it is) the insurer is entitled to refuse to pay and to terminate the contract.

Where an insurer becomes aware that a consumer has made a fraudulent claim, they may notify the consumer advising that they are voiding the contract of insurance, and it will be treated as being terminated from the date of the submission of the fraudulent claim. The insurer may refuse all liability in respect of any claim made after the date of the fraudulent act, and the insurer is under no obligation to return any of the premiums paid under the contract. A court of competent jurisdiction can reduce the pay-out to You if You are in breach of Your duties under the Act, in proportion to the breach involved.

Post-Contract Stage and Claims
An insurer may refuse a claim made by you under a contract of insurance where there is a change in the risk insured, including as described in an “alteration of risk” clause, and the circumstances have so changed that it has effectively changed the risk to one which the insurer has not agreed to cover.

Any clause in a contract of insurance that refers to a “material change” will be interpreted as being a change that takes the risk outside what was in the reasonable contemplation of the both you and the insurer when the contract was concluded.

You must notify the insurer of a claim within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance.

You must cooperate with the insurer in an investigation of insured events including responding to reasonable requests for information in an honest and reasonably careful manner and must notify the insurer of the occurrence of an insured event in a reasonable time.

If you become aware after a claim is made of information that would either support or prejudice the claim, you are under a duty to disclose it. (The insurer is under the same duty).

If you make a false or misleading claim in any material respect (and know it to be false or misleading or consciously disregards whether it is) the insurer is entitled to refuse to pay and to terminate the contract.

Where an insurer becomes aware that a consumer has made a fraudulent claim, they may notify the consumer advising that they are voiding the contract of insurance, and it will be treated as being terminated from the date of the submission of the fraudulent claim. The insurer may refuse all liability in respect of any claim made after the date of the fraudulent act, and the insurer is under no obligation to return any of the premiums paid under the contract.

Compensation Scheme
We are members of the Investor Compensation Scheme operated by the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. See below for details.

Investor Compensation Scheme
The Investor Compensation Act, 1998 provides for the establishment of a compensation scheme and the payment, in certain circumstances, of compensation to certain clients (known as eligible investors) of authorised investment firms, as defined in that Act.

The Investor Compensation Company Ltd. (ICCL) was established under the 1998 Act to operate such a compensation scheme and our firm is a member of this scheme.

Compensation may be payable where money or investment instruments owed or belonging to clients and held, administered or managed by the firm cannot be returned to those clients for the time being and where there is no reasonably foreseeable opportunity of the firm being able to do so.

A right to compensation will arise only:

• If the client is an eligible investor as defined in the Act; and
• If it transpires that the firm is not in a position to return client money or investment instruments owned or belonging to the clients of the firm; and
  
• To the extent that the client’s loss is recognised for the purposes of the Act.
  
• Where an entitlement to compensation is established, the compensation payable will be the lesser of:
• 90% of the amount of the client’s loss which is recognised for the purposes of the Investor Compensation Act, 1998; or
• Compensation of up to €20,000.

For further information, contact the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. at (01) 224 4955.

Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund
We are also members of the Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund. Subject to the rules of the scheme the liabilities of its members firms up to a maximum of €100,000 per client (or €250,000 in the aggregate) may be discharged by the fund on its behalf if the member firm is unable to do so, where the above detailed Investor Compensation Scheme has failed to adequately compensate any client of the member. Further details are available on request.