Terms Of Business
1. Introduction
Wexford Insurances Ltd (hereafter referred to as ‘The Company’) is a member of the Irish Brokers Association (IBA). The Company does not have any tied relationships with any institution that would compromise its ability to offer you professional advice and choice on general insurance (all non-life insurance). The Terms of Business sets out the basis on which The Company will provide business services to you as a client of The Company. We aim to supply our Terms of Business details to our clients in advance of transacting business. However in circumstances where a client may require immediate insurance cover or where the contract is a distance contract under the terms of European Communities (Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services Regulations 2004), The Company will advise the client that it is not possible to issue the Terms of Business in advance of cover and with the client’s verbal agreement, the business will be transacted and the Terms of Business posted to the client without delay. The information provided should be read carefully. Please do not hesitate to raise any queries you may have. We invite you to browse our website www.wexfordinsurance.com which provides more detailed information on our range of services.
We are able to place your business with leading Insurers and other Financial Institutions, (hereafter referred to as ‘Product Producers’) where relevant.
Please refer to Section 15 for more details on the services we provide.
2. Authorised Status
Wexford Insurances Ltd is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. As an Authorised Advisor, we are subject to the Central Bank’s Code of Conduct as per the Consumer Protection Code 2012, The Minimum Competency Code 2011 and Fitness and Probity standards for regulated entities which offer protection to consumers, details of which can be found on the Central Bank’s website, www.centralbank.ie. A copy of our Statement of Authorised Status is displayed in the public area of our office and is available on request.
The Company is authorised to provide the following services:
- Offer broad based advice (on the basis of a fair analysis of the market) in relation to all classes of non-life insurance (motor, property, liability, marine, etc.)
- Receive and transmit orders on your behalf for a product(s) to one or more of the Product Producers with whom the Company has agencies.
We make every effort to research suitable products available from Product Producers regardless of whether we hold an Agency Appointment from them. We do not offer products of direct and/or other Product Producers operating in the insurance market that do not provide us with information on their products. A list of the agencies we hold is available on request.
3. Remuneration Policy
Normally the Company is paid a commission by a Product Producer where it holds an agency appointment for any product that it arranges with the Product Producer on behalf of a client. Commission levels are available on request.
Also The Company reserves the right to apply a brokerage fee for all general insurance (non-life insurance) products that it arranges or amends with a Product Producer on behalf of a client. The amount of this fee will be specified to each client when the Company arranges or amends a general insurance product(s) with a Product Producer on behalf of a client. The brokerage fee is charged to cover the following:- Sourcing of the product, Administration costs, Risk Management advice, Claims handling, Standard advice on product placement.
The Company charges an administration fee where it gives advice which, either results in no product being placed or, the product being placed with a Product Producer with whom it has no agency appointment.
The administration fee scale is:
- Director …………………………………. €190.00 per hour
- Consultant ……………………………..€ 90.00 per hour
The rate of the administration fee is consistent with those recommended by our professional body, the IBA.
4. Handling Clients’ Money
The Company accepts payment in cash, credit/ debit card or negotiable instruments (e.g. cheque), in respect of all classes of insurance in the circumstances permitted under Section 25G of the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995.
This includes the renewal of a policy and/or amendment to an existing policy. Monies received from clients are retained in our Client Premium Account, which is a bank account solely for clients’ monies.
We are not authorised to accept cash, credit/debit card or negotiable instruments (e.g. cheque) in any other circumstances.
5. Payment of Premiums by Clients
Clients are required to pay the premium for a new policy, the renewal of an existing policy or an additional premium where an alteration has taken place to an existing policy, within the credit terms agreed with the Product Producer. The premium is payable immediately unless credit terms have been specifically arranged with us. Where credit terms are provided they are 7 days from the policy inception or renewal date or alteration date.
In some cases the Product Producer may require to receive payment prior to the policy risk being accepted and it is clearly stated to the client where payment is required on this basis.
The Company is able to arrange premium finance schemes operated by a bank or finance house if clients require longer credit terms, subject to meeting underwriting criteria. Please ensure you read and understand the terms and conditions of the premium finance scheme.
Also some Product Producers offer a direct debit system to facilitate the payment of a premium.
The Company issues a receipt for payments received. This is required under Section 30 of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995. A receipt is issued with your protection in mind and should be stored safely.
6. Non-Payment of Premiums by Clients
If a client fails to pay within the credit terms agreed when cover is arranged, The Company will advise the Product Producer involved and cover will be cancelled. In the event of cancellation the client may be liable to a cancellation charge. The amount of this charge could be the full premium cost or some lower amount. The Company will notify you of the amount of the cancellation charge.
7. Default and /or Cancellation
The Company will exercise its legal right to receive payments due to it from clients for business services provided. In particular, without limitation of the generality of the foregoing, The Company will seek reimbursement for all payments made to Product Producers on behalf of clients where we have acted in good faith in renewing a policy of insurance for the client.
Product Producers may withdraw benefits or cover in the event of a default of payments due under policies of insurance or other products arranged for you. We would refer you to policy documents for product terms for the details of such provisions.
In the event of a cancellation of a policy where the premium is on a minimum and deposit basis, no refund is payable in the event of a cancellation.
8. Premium Rebates to Clients
Premium rebates are transferred to clients within 5 business days after the rebate has been received from the Product Producer or, if applicable, being notified by them that a rebate is due. Brokerage fees are not applied to premium rebates.
9. Conflict Of Interest
It is The Company’s policy to avoid any conflict of interest when providing business services to its clients. However, where an unavoidable conflict arises we will advise clients of this in writing before we provide any business service. If you have not been advised of any such conflict you may assume that none arises.
10. Complaints
The Company has a written procedure in place for the effective consideration and handling of complaints.
This procedure ensures:
- All complaints are recorded.
- Written complaints are acknowledged in writing within 5 business days.
- A written update will be issued to you every 20 days by a nominated individual within our firm.
- A comprehensive response to your complaint will be issued within 8 weeks of receipt of your initial complaint.
In the event of failure to resolve your complaint you may raise the matter with the Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau, 3rd Floor Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, Tel No. 1890 88 20 90 or by Email to enquiries@financialombudsman.ie
- Our full complaints procedure is available on request.
Written complaints should be addressed to:
Ken Lawler, Director, Wexford Insurances Ltd.
Contact details are stated at Section 14.
You may also contact the Irish Brokers Association if you are dissatisfied with The Company’s handling of and response to your complaint.
Contact details are provided at Section 14.
11. Consumer Protection
The Investor Compensation Act 1998
The Company is a member of the investor compensation scheme established under the Investor Compensation Act, 1998. This legislation provides for the establishment of a compensation scheme and to the payment, in certain circumstances, of compensation to clients of firms covered by the Act. However, you should be aware that a right to compensation will only arise where money or investment instruments held by this firm on your behalf cannot be returned either for the time being or for the foreseeable future and where the client falls within the definition of eligible investor as contained in that Act.
In the event that a right to compensation is established, the amount payable is the lesser of 90 per cent of your loss which is recognised as being eligible for compensation or, €20,000.
In addition to the Compensation available under the Investor Compensation Act 1998, The Company is bonded through its membership of IBA for €250,000 with an inner limit of €100,000 per client. For your added protection, we hold Professional Indemnity Insurance with a limit of indemnity of €5,000,000.
12. Data Protection
We collect your personal details in order to provide the highest standard of service to you. We take great care with the information provided, taking steps to keep it secure and to ensure that it is only used for legitimate purposes.
To fulfil these obligations we may share information with our sister Company, Wexford Financial Services Ltd and other affiliated professionals.
The information and other data provided to our office may be used to advise you of products and services we may offer from time to time. We employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf, including analysing data, providing marketing assistance, providing customer care and telemarketing.
These companies have access to personal information needed to perform their functions.
We may record telephone conversations to offer you additional security, resolve complaints and improve our service standards.
You have the right at any time to request a copy of any personal data within the meaning of the Data Protection Act 1988 (as amended or re-enacted from time to time) that our office holds about you and to have any inaccuracies in that information corrected.
13. Disclosure of Information
It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information for Product Producers when arranging an insurance policy and/or where a Statement of Fact is completed on your behalf.
Failure to disclose any material information to your Product Producer could invalidate your insurance cover; all/or part of the claim may not be paid.
A ‘Material Fact’ in this instance is a fact that is so important that its disclosure would change the decision of a Product Producer, either with respect to writing coverage, settling a loss or determining a premium.
Usually, the misrepresentation of a material fact voids a policy. Please note that where a proposal form has been completed in respect of a policy, or where the policy is set up on a ‘Statement of Fact’ basis, we assume that the client has checked its accuracy including any sections not completed in the client’s own handwriting and that the client checks to make sure that the information provided is correct and true.
14. Contact Details
Our office is located at:
86 South Main Street, Wexford Town, Co. Wexford.
Tel No: 053 91 22466 Tel No: 0818 31 30 30 Fax No: 053 91 23920
Email: info@wexfordinsurance.com
Web: www.wexfordinsurance.com
Other Organisations
| The Central Bank of Ireland | Irish Brokers Association | Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau |
| P.O. Box 9138 | 87 Merrion Square | 3rd Floor Lincoln House |
| College Green | Dublin 2 | Lincoln Place |
| Dublin 2 | Tel: 01 661 3067 | Dublin 2 |
| Tel: 01 224 4000 | Email: info@iba.ie | Lo-Call: 1890 88 20 90 |
| Fax: 01 224 4500 | Fax: 01 662 0890 | |
| Email: conp@centralbank.ie | Email: enquiries@financialombudsman.ie |
15. Business Services
The services we provide include but are not limited to: Motor, Household, Travel, Crèche, Legal Expenses, Commercial Vehicle, all classes of Liability, Motor Fleet, Special Types, Haulage, Equestrian, Marine, Commercial Property, Farm, Shop, Professional Indemnity and Directors & Officers Insurance.
Wexford Insurances Ltd. Terms of Business (Rev. Nov 2011)
