Terms of Business

This document sets out the basis on which MMG Financial Services Ltd will provide business services to you and the respective duties and responsibilities of 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.

MMG Financial Services Ltd is a member of Brokers Ireland providing advisory and transactional services for your insurance requirements. This is an important document – please read it carefully and if you have any questions, please contact us. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary this document sets out the terms of our relationship with you (our client) for our provision to you of insurance broking services. These Terms of Business supersede any Terms of Business that may have been previously issued by us.

Authorisation with the Central Bank of Ireland

MMG Financial Services Ltd (C435456) 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.

Codes of Conduct

MMG Financial Services Ltd is subject to the Consumer Protection Code, Minimum Competency Code and Fitness and Probity Standards which offer protection to consumers. These codes can be found on the Central Bank website www.centralbank.ie.

Services Provided

MMG Financial Services Ltd is a member of Brokers Ireland.

Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life, Investment and pension products. A full list of insurers, product producers with which we deal is available on request.

We are authorised to advise you in relation to a wide range of Insurance and Investment Products. We research the products on your behalf with the Product Producers (Insurers) with whom we hold an agency.

We will identify and select suitable products on a fair analysis basis from the Product Producers (Insurers) and on receipt of your instructions, we will transmit orders on your behalf to one or more Product Producers (Insurers), a list of which is available on request. This process applies to all classes of insurance policies.

Fair and Personal Analysis

The concept of Fair and Personal describes the extent of 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 the needs of a client.

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 their share of the market. The extent of fair analysis must be such that could be reasonably expected of a professional conducting business, considering 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 who 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 and cost, and any other relevant consideration.

Investment Intermediary Services

We are renumerated by commission for our investment intermediary services.

We are remunerated by commission for the advice we provide on our insurance-based investment products.

Our Dealings with you

We prefer clients to give us instructions in writing in order to avoid possible misunderstandings or disputes. We will however accept oral instructions provided they are subsequently confirmed by letter. Any advice we give you will normally be in writing but if given orally it will be recorded on your file.

Once we have acted on your instructions, we will not normally give you any further advice. However, we will review your insurances periodically and may write to you suggesting a review meeting.

Proposal Forms

For certain classes of insurance, you may be required to complete a Proposal Form, Statement of Fact, Questionnaire, or similar document. We will provide guidance as required to assist.

Your Policy

You are responsible for reviewing the evidence of insurance cover to confirm that it accurately reflects the cover, conditions, limits and other terms that you require. Particular attention should be paid to any policy conditions and warranties and also the claims notification provisions, as failure to comply may invalidate your coverage. If there are any discrepancies, you should inform us immediately.

Remuneration and Charges

MMG Financial Services Ltd is remunerated by commission and/or a charge for arranging, or the provision of advice relating to Insurance. A summary of the details of all arrangements for any fee, commission other reward or remuneration paid or provided to us which have agreed with product providers is available on our website https://mmgfinancialservices.ie/

A charge may be made to cover the sourcing of the product, administration costs, claims handling, risk management advice if applicable and on-going service of your business. For pension, investment and savings this is typically 0.25% per year added to the product provider annual management charge.

Charges are expressed as a monetary amount or a percentage of the total amount payable. Where any risk or product falls outside our standard terms we will advise you accordingly in advance and an hourly rate will be charged instead.

Our current basic hourly rate is €250 for consultants and €100 for support staff.

In determining the rate and any additional charges, factors such as specialist skills, complexity, value, risk and urgency will be considered. You have the option to pay for our services in full by means of an agreed fee which would be greater than our normal charges as outlined in this document and in such event no commission would be taken by us from the Product Producer. Where charges differ from those outlined above, they will be advised to you in writing before the service is provided.

Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for initial advice provided.  We reserve the right to charge additional fees if the number of hours relating to on-going advice/assistance exceeds 5 hrs.

MMG Financial Services Ltd considers sustainability factors in respect of Investment/IBIPs/Pension Advice include:

Sustainability Factors- Investments/IBIPs/Pension Advice

We take due care so that our internal remuneration policy with respect to investment or insurance advice on insurance-based investment products (‘IBIPs’) promotes sound and effective risk management in relation to sustainability risks and does not encourage excessive risk‐taking with respect to sustainability risks.

When assessing products, we will consider the different approach taken by product providers in terms of them integrating sustainability risks into their product offering.  This will form part of our analysis for choosing a product provider.

Clawback

If we receive commission from a product provider [and off-set the commission against the fee which we would otherwise have charged you] but the commission is subsequently clawed-back by the provider because of early encashment by you or because of the transferring of the assets or business to another provider or in any circumstances consequent on your actions or omissions, we will charge a fee to you that is equal to [100% of] the clawed-back commission. That fee will be owing in simple contract upon the claw-back of the commission. 

Financial Services – Life Assurance, Investments and Pensions:

Life Assurance companies and some Product Producers provide products such as Life Assurance, Serious Illness Cover, Income Protection, Savings, Investments, Pensions and PRSA’s. Depending on your individual circumstances, we may provide you with advice relation to the nature of these products and which product(s) may be suitable to your needs.

You may, however, have particular areas of interest; in this case, we will be happy to give specific advice. We can give you a choice of different Life and Pension products from the Insurance Companies and Product Producers with whom we hold an appointment.

On your instruction we can receive and transmit orders for such products on your behalf to these Insurers and Product Producers. With your agreement we may review the policies you take out on a periodic basis to ensure that you are kept informed as to their benefit and to check whether they are still suitable for your needs. Most Pension, Savings and Investments Contracts involve some form of risk. Unless specifically stated in the Insurer’s or Product Producer’s Policy documentation, the value of a policy is not guaranteed and may fall as well as rise.

We will assist you with 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 policies.

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/Income Protection Insurance and Serious Illness. Specifically on the subject of Permanent Health/Income Protection Insurance policies it is our policy to explain to you:

1. the meaning of disability as defined in the policy
2. the benefits available under the policy
3. the general exclusions that apply to the policy
4. 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 which attach to that policy.

Sustainability Factors – Investment/IBIPs/Pension Advice

In accordance with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (‘SFDR’), we inform you that when providing advice on insurance-based investment products/Investments, we assess, in addition to relevant financial risks, relevant sustainability risks as far as this information is available in relation the products proposed/advised on.

When we say ‘sustainability risk’ here we mean an environmental, social or governance (ESG) event or condition that could cause an actual or a potential negative impact on the value of a product we recommend to you.

We give advice on products provided by those product providers that we hold written agency appointments with. You can see how each product provider approaches sustainability risks for their investment products in their product disclosures and on their websites.  When we give you advice, we use a range of information to help you make an informed decision.

MMG Financial Services Ltd does not currently take specific account of sustainability risks in its advice process. How we include sustainability factors in our advice process will develop over time. This is largely driven by the products and investment funds available from the product providers and how these products factor in sustainability risks.

Impact on Return

We have not assessed the likely impacts of sustainability risks on the returns of Investment/Pensions since we have not been able to identify any sustainability risks that are relevant. Currently there is limited data to or statistics which can accurately measure this.

The firm will review this approach on an annual basis.

Ongoing Suitability

Ongoing suitability assessments form part of the service to clients.  On an annual basis the firm will issue a client report outlining changes in the services or instruments involved and/or the circumstances of the client. To assist us in this process we use risk profile tools which have sustainability preferences included.

Regular Reviews

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 also change which may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments.  We would therefore advise that you contact us to ensure that you are provided with up-to-date advice and products best suited to your needs.

Conflicts of Interest

It is the policy of MMG Financial Services Ltd to avoid any conflict of interest when providing business services to our clients. However, where an unavoidable conflict arises you will be advised of this before any business service is provided.

Default on payments by clients

Our firm will exercise its legal rights to receive payments due to it from clients (fees and insurance premiums) 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.

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.

Premium Handling

MMG Financial Services Ltd does not operate a client premium account and as such all payments to policies will be transmitted / made payable from you by Cheque, Bankers Draft, Direct Debit to the Product Producer in question.

We will accept payments to ourselves by Cheque / Bankers Draft or Electronic means from you only when charging for our services on a fee basis. We are not authorised to accept negotiable instruments in any other circumstances.

Premiums are due at inception or renewal date of a policy. The terms of the legislation relating to Financial Regulation impose very strict rules in respect of the payment of premiums to Product Producers (Insurers). Premiums which have not been received from clients cannot be paid by us. Therefore, to avoid policy cancellation, premiums must be paid strictly within agreed credit terms or otherwise immediately prior to inception of cover or at policy renewal date.

Some Insurers may include, as a condition of insurance, a settlement due date or, in some cases, a warranty under the terms of which the premiums must be paid to them by certain date/dates. We inform our clients of any such requirements and the relevant date/dates in good time to enable the payment terms to be met.

Failure to comply with the exact terms of a warranty may mean the Insurer’s obligations under the policy will be automatically terminated retrospectively to the intended cover inception date or from another date.

Failure to pay or default

We reserve the right to instigate cancellation of a policy in the event of the following: 

• non-payment of the premium due at inception, renewal or following a
• mid-term adjustment
• your bank returns your cheque
• Our firm will exercise its legal rights to receive any payments due to it from clients for business services provided.

Disclosure of Information

It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information for Product Producers (Insurers) when arranging an insurance policy and/or where a Statement of Fact is prepared or completed on your behalf. Failure to disclose any material information to the Product Producer (Insurer) could invalidate your policy cover or a claim may not be paid.

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

Applicable to insurance brokers but will apply to life products with term renewal option, delete as applicable:

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’. 

Before renewal of the contract of insurance, specific questions will be asked. Again, you will be required to answer honestly and with reasonable care.  Where you do not provide additional information (after being requested to do so) it can be presumed that the information previously provided remains unchanged. 

Failure to answer all questions honestly and with reasonable care can result in the Insurer being able to rely on proportionate remedies for misrepresentation, which include but are not limited to the insurer voiding the contract of insurance. If a policy is cancelled by an insurer for any reason including payment default, you may encounter difficulty in purchasing insurance in the future.

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.

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.

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.

Cancellation of a Contract of Insurance

If you have taken out a life insurance contract, you may cancel the contract by giving notice in writing to us within 30 days after the date you were informed the contract is on cover. 

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 both you and the insurer when the contract was concluded.

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. 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 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.

Claims

Your policy document will set out in detail what you should do in the circumstances of an accident or loss or event occurring which may give rise to a claim, and it is important that you comply with these requirements. We will offer you assistance in the processing of your claim, but you are free to appoint other parties (at your expense) to act on your behalf.

Complaints Procedure

Whilst we are happy to receive verbal complaints, it would be preferable that any complaints are made, in writing. Any complaint should be addressed in writing to

Martina McGreevy, MMG Financial Services Ltd, Unit 1.5 Oriel Hub, Finnabair Industrial Estate, Dundalk, Co Louth.

This will be acknowledged within 5 working days of receipt, 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

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.

A full copy of our complaint’s procedure is available on request.

Compensation Schemes/Client Protection

Investor Compensation Company Ltd (ICCL) 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 Clients’ Compensation and Membership Benefits Scheme (BIC)

We are also members of the Brokers Ireland Clients’ Compensation and Membership 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 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.

Data Protection

MMG Financial Services Ltd is subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection 2018.

MMG Financial Services 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 Privacy Notice; this has been provided to you. We will ensure that this Privacy Notice is easily accessible on our website also www.mmgfinancialservices.ie.

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