Terms of Business
The terms of business set out the basis on which Aquabroker Ltd will provide business services to you as a client of the firm. It sets out details of our regulatory and statutory obligations and the respective duties of both the firm and you in relation to such services.
Authorised Status
Aquabroker Ltd is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland under the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 (as amended),the Consumer Credit Act ,1995 and the European Communities Insurance Mediation Regulations, 2005. Copies of our various authorisations are available on request. Alternatively the Central Bank of Ireland holds registers of regulated firms which can be viewed on their website www.centralbank.ie
Aquabroker Ltd acts as an independent intermediary and underwriter and deals exclusively with marine or marine related insurance.
We will also offer assistance to you in relation to processing claims, on policies taken out through our firm. This assistance is provided either directly with our staff and/or with the assistance of an appointed Loss Assessor.
The company is not “tied” to any insurer or underwriter that would compromise our ability to offer you independent advice and choice
Aquabroker is a member of the Irish Brokers Association (IBA).
Conflict of Interest
It is the policy of our firm to avoid any conflict of interest when providing business services to our clients. However, where an unavoidable conflict may arise we will advise you of this in writing before providing any business service. If you have not been advised of any such conflict you may assume that none has arisen.
Complaints
Aquabroker Ltd has a written complaints procedure in place for the effective handling of all complaints. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within 5 working days. All complaints will be fully investigated and the outcome of the investigation will be communicated to the person who raised the complaint.
A comprehensive response to your complaint will be issued within 8 weeks of receipt of your initial complaint. In the event that you remain dissatisfied with the firms handling and response to your complaint you may refer your complaint to the Financial Services Bureau Lo Call 1890882090 or enquiries@financial ombudsman.ie
Consumer Protection and Investor Compensation Company Limited
Aquabroker Limited is a member of the Investor Compensation Scheme established under Section 38 of 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 Aquabroker Ltd 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.
As a member of IBA, Aquabroker Ltd is also a member of the IBA Compensation Fund Ltd. 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.
Clients Instructions
Instructions should always be in writing.
In many cases the company will accept instructions verbally. All verbal instructions must be followed up by you in writing within seven days of the verbal instructions been given. In the event of the company not receiving written instructions then the verbal instructions recorded by Aquabroker staff will be deemed to be correct. In some cases the company will only accept written instructions. You will be advised by staff if and when this situation arises.
Some examples of when written instructions must be given are as follows,
(a) Cancellation of a policy
(b) Deleting a partner and/or partners from the policy.
It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information for Insurers 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 insurers could invalidate your insurance cover or all or part of the claim may not be paid.
Premium Handling & Receipts
The company does not operate credit accounts (unless we have specifically written to you to confirm that we have set up a credit account for you) and therefore if you receive a renewal notice from us you must pay by the due date if you wish your cover for the policy due for renewal to remain in force. If the premium due relates to an alteration to an existing policy you must pay within ten days of invoice date to ensure that the cover remains in force in respect of the alteration.
Reminder letters and/or phone calls in respect of renewal of policies are not necessarily sent. The onus is on the client to renew the policy prior to renewal to ensure continuation of cover.
In the event of a premium being due to an insurance company prior to payment being received by Aquabroker the insurance company must be notified that the client has defaulted and the policy lapses from renewal date. If the premium is subsequently paid cover can only be reinstated from the date of receipt of payment.
Aquabroker Ltd will accept payments in cash, by cheque and by credit/debit card or lodgements to our bank account in respect of all classes of insurance in the circumstances permitted under Section 25G of the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995. A receipt will be issued for each payment received. This is required pursuant to Section 30 of the “Investment Intermediaries Act 1995”. These are issued with your protection in mind and should be filed safely.
Credit Card payments are subject to a handling charge of €7.50 for payments up to €500 and a charge of €20.00 for payments over €500.00. Laser card payments do not attract any handling charge.
Credit Finance
If you require Credit Finance, we may be able to arrange premium finance on your behalf with Close Premium Finance Ltd, Alexandra House, The Sweepstakes, Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4 or LoCall 1890928281.If a finance arrangement goes into default, Close Brothers Premium Finance Ltd will charge €40.00 late payment fee for each instalment which defaults.
Remuneration
Some, but not all insurers/underwriters pay varying levels of commission to Aquabroker. A commission is paid by an insurer/underwriter for placing the business with the particular insurer/underwriter.
Aquabroker also charges fees. These fees are for the implementation and management of the policy which includes claims handling, urgency, specialist skills, and complexity and time, disbursements, personnel required. In most classes of policies the fee is fixed and ranges from €25.00 to €75.00 for each transaction and is shown separately on invoices.
On the more complex cases it can be based on the hourly rates which are €200 senior management, €125 junior associates and €65 all other staff. If your business is likely to fall into this category we will advise you at the outset.
On settlement of your account, we will forward to you all documents showing ownership of your policy. Where a series of transactions are involved , we will normally hold each document until the series is complete and then forward them to you.
The Placing of Clients’ Business
Aquabroker places business with local and international product producers (insurance companies and underwriting intermediaries). Whereas we make reasonable effort to satisfy ourselves as to the solvency of any product producer we are not in a position to absolutely guarantee the solvency of ANY product producer. If you wish to obtain further information on any Product Producer, please contact us and we will supply you with details of that firm’s financial regulator with whom you can take the matter up.
Data Protection
We operate to the highest standards of client confidentiality and meet statutory requirements under the Data Protection Acts 1998 and 2003. Our staff and support service providers will only use your personal information to offer advice on suitable products, or as otherwise required by law. We may occasionally contact you with information about pertinent products and services. You have the right to ask us not to send this marketing information to you at any time.