How we do business

 

Like most companies, we have a certain way of doing business. From how we interact with our clients, how and how much we charge for our services, and the sort of aftercare we like to put in place with you. The purpose of our terms of business is to outline the key aspects. By using any tools and information on this website, we assume you agree with these terms, and just to be sure, we’ll ask you to formally agree to these terms before we conduct any business together.

Terms of Business of FM Downes LTD

 

These Terms of Business (Version 6 Effective from April 2022) 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  

FM Downes Ltd (C153074) is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an insurance intermediary registered under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulations 2018; as a Mortgage Intermediary authorised under the Consumer Credit Act, 1995, and as a Mortgage Credit Intermediary under the European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016. 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.

Codes of Conduct  

FM Downes Ltd 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

Our Services 

Our business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life & pensions, mortgages and general insurance products. A full list of insurers, product providers and lending agencies with which we deal is available on request. Insurance / Mortgage Intermediary Services are provided on the following basis.

Life & Pensions & Life Wrapped Investments  

We provide life assurance and pensions on a fair and personal analysis basis. 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.  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.

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 PHI 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 explain clearly to you the restrictions, conditions and general exclusions that attach to that policy.

Non-Life Insurance Products

We provide advice on and arrange Household Insurance on a fair and personal analysis basis as above.  We provide Travel, Pet, Gadget, Wedding, Car Hire Excess and Motor Breakdown insurance advice on a limited analysis basis with Blue Insurance, Health Insurance advice on a limited analysis basis with Irish Life Health and Dental Insurance on a limited analysis basis with Decare Dental. The concept of limited analysis is providing services on the basis of a limited number of contracts within the market.

In some cases, we may be granted authority from an insurance undertaking to conduct tasks on their behalf, for which we will be remunerated. Where we place your business with this insurance undertaking under this authority you will be notified in advance of the placement. 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.

Mortgages  

Through the lenders or other undertakings with which we hold an agency, FM Downes Ltd. can provide advice on and arrange mortgage products from the following range: fixed-rate loans, variable rate mortgages, capital & interest mortgages, interest only mortgages, endowment mortgages, pension mortgages and residential investment property. We provide mortgage advice on a fair analysis basis. We will need to collect sufficient information from you before we can offer any advice on housing loans. This is due to the fact that a key issue in relation to mortgage advice is affordability. Your mortgage application cannot be assessed until all the requested information is received.

Statement of Charges 

We are remunerated by commission and other payments from product providers or lenders on the completion of business, these commissions can be viewed on our website. In certain circumstances, it will be necessary to charge a fee for services provided. If applicable, we will inform you of the amount of fee to be charged in advance. Where it is not possible to provide the exact amount, we will provide you the method of calculation of the fee.

Premium Collection: A charge is added to policies when the premium is collected by us and paid to the product  provider via our client premium account. This charge is .30 cent per week for payment through payroll deduction, €1.30 per month for payment by monthly direct debit or €15.60 per year where the premium is paid annually by  cheque or credit card. The weekly charge for household policies paid through payroll deduction is either 5% of the annual premium or as above.

Mortgages: We charge a fee of €250 for advising on a mortgage application, this fee is non-refundable. This is not in any way an indication of mortgage approval. Our fee will be notified to the lender who will include this fee into the calculation of the APRC (Annual Percentage Rate Charge). If we provide mortgage advice and obtain a Loan Offer for you and you subsequently do not proceed with your mortgage application through our firm, we will charge you a fee of .75% of the loan approval amount for our services. We may receive up to 1% of the loan amount for arranging mortgage finance. This commission is paid by the mortgage lender. The actual amount of commission will be disclosed at a later stage in the ESIS (European Standardised Information Sheet) which will be forwarded to you.  Information on the variation in levels of commission payable by the different creditors providing credit agreements being offered are available on our website.

Regular Reviews & Ongoing Suitability  

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 or failure to request a review, may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments.

Disclosure of Information 

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

We act as your representative to the companies we have agencies with, and 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 policies 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. Material information about medical history, non-smoker status, occupation category and any hazardous pursuits are central to underwriting decisions and it is imperative that all information you provide to the insurer is accurate and complete. You are under a duty to answer all questions posed by the insurer or ourselves on your behalf, honestly and with reasonable care. It is presumed, unless the contrary is shown, that you would know all questions in an application or at renewal is material to the risk undertaken by the insurer or the calculation of the premium by that insurer, or both. Any failure to disclose material information may invalidate a claim and render your policy void. You must inform and disclose any material information including any material changes that might take place between the time you complete an application form and the time your pay the first premium.

To assist us in providing you with a comprehensive service and to keep our records as up-to date as soon as possible, please notify us of any changes to your personal circumstances, e.g., name change, change of address, etc.

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. A full copy of our conflicts of interest policy is available on request.

Default on payments by clients 

We 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 providers 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.

Mortgage lenders may seek early repayment of a loan and interest if you default on your repayments. Your home is at risk if you do not maintain your agreed repayments.

Complaints  

Whilst we are happy to receive verbal feedback, any formal complaints are to be made in writing. 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). A full copy of our complaints procedure is available on request.

Data Protection  

We are subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018. FM Downes Ltd. 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. Our Privacy Notice is easily assessable on our website. If this medium is not suitable, we will ensure you can easily receive a copy by hard copy. Please contact us if you have any concerns about your personal data.

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.  on 01 2244955.

GOVERNING LAW AND BUSINESS SUCCESSION

These Terms of Business shall be governed by and construed in all respects according to the laws of the Republic of Ireland and will be deemed to cover any successors in business to FM Downes Ltd.