Terms Of Business

P.M. Brennan Financial Brokers Ltd

2 Tower Road, Clondalkin Village, Dublin 22

Phone: 01 403 0700

Email: info@pmbrennan.ie

Terms of Business

Terms of Business – Version 17.1 effective from 1^st August 2021

These Terms of Business set out the general terms under which our firm 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.

Authorisation with the Central Bank of Ireland

P.M. Brennan Financial Brokers Ltd is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Insurance Intermediary registered under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulation 2018. Copies of our regulatory authorisations are available on request. Our Regulatory Number is 1655; 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.

Codes of Conduct

P.M. Brennan Financial Brokers Ltd is subject to and complies with 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

Our Services

As Insurance Brokers we offer advice on a fair and personal analysis basis in relation to all classes of general insurance policies. This means we will research the market and recommend the most appropriate products to match your needs. We will identify and select a suitable product producer (s) and on receipt of your instructions we will transmit orders on your behalf to one or more product producers (a list of which is available on request). The firm does not have a “tied” relationship with any institution for insurance products.

P.M. Brennan Financial Brokers Ltd acts as a Broker which means that:

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

b) You have the option to pay in full for our services by means of a fee.

Fair & Personal Analysis

The concept of fair & 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 be reasonably 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 & 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

Summary of products available:

We provide advice in relation to the following general insurance products: Household, Motor, Property Owners, Loss of Profits/ Additional Cost of Working, Money, Frozen Foods, Computers, Directors & Officers, Pension Trustees Liability, Book of Debts, Employment Practice Liability, Fidelity Guarantee, Legal Expenses, Public/Products Liability and Employer’s Liability, Professional Indemnity, Credit & Guarantee, Travel & Personal Accident, Engineering, Contractors All Risks, Marine, Environmental Impairment Liability. P.M. Brennan Financial Brokers Ltd provides general insurance on a fair analysis basis (providing services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available on the market to enable the firm to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be adequate to meet your needs).

Please contact us if you wish to discuss or obtain a quotation of any for these covers.

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.

To ensure continuity of cover, where you have an existing policy which is due to expire and where we have been unable to contact you, we may put continuing cover in force whilst awaiting your instruction. You will be liable for any premiums payable to the relevant insurer for the period of time between renewal and when we receive your instruction. You have the right not to avail of this service.

Remuneration Policy

P.M. Brennan Financial Brokers Ltd is remunerated by a combination of commission and fees for arranging or provision of advice regarding general insurance business. We are generally remunerated by Insurance Undertakings and Product Producers on a commission basis, the level of which is determined by the class of business being placed. Commission payable may range from 0% to 30% & full details are available on request (Some product producers do not pay a commission). All commission received contribute to the overall cost of providing ongoing services to our clients and are not offset against fees which we may charge you.

Fees are charged on the undernoted scale, and cover the sourcing of the product, administration costs, claims handling and standard advice on product placement. The fee chargeable will depend on the workload of the case involved, complexity, time spent sourcing markets, specialist skills involved and urgency. We will not charge brokerage in respect of any rebated premium unless agreed with you formally in advance. Brokerage of between €10 and €100 may be charged for any advice given or amendments made on your behalf irrespective of whether Insurers charge for the advice or amendment (e.g. issuing duplicate documentation) If the fee differs from that outlined below, we will confirm and agree it with you prior to any charge being applied. Brokerage may be shown in monetary (€) or percent (%) value

The service can be provided on a fee only basis if the client so desires, so that any commission received from the Insurance Undertaking will be offset against the fee which we will charge you. Where the commission is greater than the fee due the commission may become the amount payable to the firm unless an arrangement to the contrary is made. You need to contact us in advance to avail of this option.

Where we arrange separate finance agreements for you via a premium finance provider we will earn additional commission of between 1 to 3% of the annual premium, depending on the complexity of the case. The premium finance loan is in the form of a loan from the credit finance provider and there is an interest charge applied. By taking up the facility, the client enters into a contract with the credit finance provider and will be in debt to them in the event of default.

Scale of brokerage fees

	Travel	Motor	Household	Other Classes of Business
New Business & Renewal set up fee	€35.00 up to 50% of the premium	€60.00 Min up to 50% of premium	€60.00 Min up to 50% of premium	€100.00 up to 50% of premium
Policy amendments or adjustments	€25.00 up to 40% of the premium	€25.00 Min up to 40% of premium	€25.00 Min up to 40% of premium	€50.00 up to 40% of premium

Regular Reviews

It is in your best interest 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 of changes in your circumstances, or request a review, may result in you having insufficient insurance cover.

Consumers: Duty of Disclosure when completing documentation for new business/renewals and midterm adjustments

Section 14 (1) – (5) of the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act which is effective from 1^st September 2021 alters consumers duty of disclosure:

• You are required to answer all questions posed by us or the insurer honestly and with reasonable care – the test will be that of the ‘average consumer’. Average consumer as per Directive No. 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 is reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect, taking into account social, cultural and linguistic factors.

• Specific questions will be asked. Where you do not provide additional information (after being requested to do so) it can be presumed that the information previously provided remains unchanged.

An insurer may repudiate liability or limit the amount paid on foot of the contract of insurance, only if it establishes that non-disclosure of material information was an effective cause of the insurer entering into the relevant contract of insurance and on the terms on which it did.

Completed proposal forms/statement of fact

Completed proposal forms or Statements of Facts will be provided to you. These are important documents as they form the basis of insurance contract between the insurer and you the consumer. You should review and confirm that the answers contained within are true and accurate.

Commercial Customers: Non-Consumer Disclosure of Information

It is essential that you should bring to our attention any material alteration in risk such as changes of address or use of premises. 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 you with insurance. If this is not possible, we will notify you in writing in advance of completing such services.

Premium Handling

PM Brennan Financial Brokers Ltd will accept payments in cash, by cheque, bank transfer, finance facility and by credit/debit card in respect of all classes of insurance in the circumstances permitted under Section 25G of the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995. There may be additional charge of up to 1.5% if premiums are paid by credit card. PM Brennan Financial Brokers Ltd is not authorised to accept cash or negotiable instruments in any other circumstances. Premiums are due on/or before renewal/inception date. Under the Central Bank legislation very strict rules apply in the payment of premiums to Insurance companies. We will not be able to pay premiums to insurers which have not been received from clients. Therefore, to avoid policy and cover cancellation, premiums must be paid strictly on or before renewal date or otherwise immediately prior to cover incepting.

Default on payments by clients

Our firm will exercise its legal rights to receive payments due to it from clients for services provided. In particular, without limitation of 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.

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

Policies

Any insurance arranged by PM Brennan Financial Brokers Ltd is subject to all the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy of the insurer selected. You must read the insurer’s policy which you have been given or which are available upon request from us in order to satisfy yourself that the cover offered by the policy meets with your requirements. By accepting these Terms of Business, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the information contained within the policy selected.

Complaints

Whilst we are happy to receive verbal complaints it would be preferable to receive complaints in writing. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and we will fully investigate it as swiftly as possible. 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 Ombudsman or the Pensions Ombudsman. A full copy of our complaints procedure is available on request.

Data Protection

P.M. Brennan Financial Brokers Ltd complies with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018. PM Brennan 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 which you provide to us will be held on a computer database and paper files for the purpose of arranging transactions on your behalf. 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.pmbrennan.ie, if this medium is not suitable we will ensure you can easily receive a copy by post or e-mail. Please contact us at info@pmbrennan.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.

New consumer responsibilities arising out of the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 which was implemented to protect consumers.

New Business & Renewal

• A consumer may cancel a contract of insurance, by giving notice in writing to the insurer, within 14 days after the date the consumer was informed that the contract is concluded. The insurer cannot impose any costs on the consumer other than the cost of the premium for the period of cover. (This does not affect notice periods already in place, i.e. 30 days in respect of life policies and 14 days in respect of general policies under respective pieces of legislation).

• The consumer is under a duty to pay their premium within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance.

• A court of competent jurisdiction can reduce the pay-out to the consumer where they are in breach of their duties under the Act, in proportion to the breach involved.

Post-Contract Stage and Claims

1. 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

   1. 5% of the claim settlement amount where the claim settlement amount is less than €40,000, or

   2. 10% of the claim settlement amount where the claim settlement amount is more than €40,000

2. An insurer may refuse a claim made by a consumer 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.

3. 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.

4. The consumer 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.

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

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

7. If the consumer makes a false or misleading claim in any material respect (and knows 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.

8. Where an insurer becomes aware that a consumer has made a fraudulent claim, they must notify the consumer advising that they are avoiding the contract of insurance. 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.

Marketing Consent

We would also like to keep you informed of insurance, investment and any other services provided by us or associated companies with which we have a formal business arrangement; which we think may be of interest to you. Discover more about investing in precious metals such as gold, silver, and others. Utilize the gold ira oxford to purchase gold and silver bullion or to investigate a gold or silver IRA. Please advise us by ticking relevant box in the Terms of Business acknowledgement letter if and how you wish to be contacted.

Client Instructions through Third Parties

Clients sometimes authorise third parties to give us instructions (usually by telephone, fax or e-mail) to alter their policies (such as a motor dealer instructing us to make a vehicle change) or to seek information on their policy (such as a Building Society seeking information on the building sum insured). It is our practice in such circumstances to accept such instruction and/or provide such information in good faith as a facility to our clients. However, in such circumstances we do not accept liability for any loss, damage or injury arising out of any error or incorrect instruction given or providing any information where the request for information is invalid. If you do not wish us to accept such instructions and/or provide information on your policy from and/or to any person other than as authorised under the Irish Data Protection Act 2018, please email info@pmbrennan.ie or correspond by post.

Electronic Communications of Insurer Documentation

We may provide you with a copy of your policy documentation (including endorsements and/or renewal papers) in an electronic communication (e-mail) depending on what form we receive it from the Insurers. If we do not hear from you advising us not to send the policy documentation by e-mail, we will understand that this implies acceptance by you for the use of this form of communication.

Termination

Either of us may terminate this Agreement by written notice at any time. Termination will not in any event affect accrued rights, existing commitments or any contractual provision intended to survive termination and will be without penalty or other additional payment save that you will pay:

• Any outstanding amounts due to us and/or to insurers with whom we have placed insurances on your behalf; and

• Any additional expenses necessarily incurred by us in settling or concluding outstanding obligations.

Compensation Scheme

We would remind you that it is not within our terms of authorization to accept cash or negotiable instruments except where an Insurer indemnity applies. 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.