Terms of Business
Terms of Business
Version 9.0 Effective from October 2024
These Terms of Business set out the general terms under which MDL Financial Consultants Limited (hereafter “MDL Financial Consultants” or “we” or “us” or “our” or the “firm”) will provide business services to you. It contains details of the regulatory and statutory obligations and the respective duties of both the firm and you in relation to such services. It is intended to be clear and transparent in outlining our relationship with you. Any material changes to this document will be communicated to all affected clients in good time.
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
MDL Financial Consultants Limited (C38705) 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
MDL Financial Consultants is subject to the Consumer Protection Code, Minimum Competency Code 2017, the Minimum Competency Regulations 2017 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
The services which the firm is authorised to provide are:
(i) Advising you in relation to the nature of each of the products set out below and advising you as to which product is suitable for your needs.
(ii) Identifying and selecting a suitable product producer.
(iii) Receiving and transmitting orders on your behalf for a product(s) to one or more product producers.
Fair and Personal Analysis
We offer advice on a fair and personal analysis basis in relation to Life Assurance, Critical/Serious Illness, Income Protection, Pensions and Savings and Investments. We can arrange to provide these products and services with the following product producers with whom we have a written appointment:
• Irish life Assurance plc
• New Ireland Assurance Company plc
• Zurich Life Assurance plc
• Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland DAC
• Standard Life International DAC
• Royal London Insurance DAC
• Phoenix Life Limited
This means that we will research the market and recommend the products that are most suitable to your needs and requirements. We will also recommend a suitable product producer (s) and on receipt of your instructions we will transmit orders on your behalf.
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 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 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.
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 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.
Life, Serious Illness, Pensions, Investments and Income Protection
We will provide assistance to you for any queries you may have in relation to your policy 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; particularly in relation to Income Protection (or Permanent Health Insurance) and serious illness policies.
Specifically on the subject of income protection (or permanent health insurance) policies it is our policy to 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
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.
Limited Analysis
We provide advice on a limited analysis basis in relation to deposits, collective investments and listed bonds and shares by way of referrals to stockbrokers. This means providing services based on a limited number of contracts and product producers available in the market. We can arrange to provide these products and services with the following product producers with whom we have a written appointment:
• BCP Asset Management DAC;
• Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland Limited;
• Independent Trustee Company Limited;
• J&E Davy Unlimited Company;
• Quest Retirement Solutions Limited;
• Quilter Cheviot Europe Limited.
Disclosure of Information
Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 (‘CICA’)
This duty of disclosure applies to consumers as defined above in the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017.
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’. The ‘average consumer’ per Directive No. 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005, is one that is reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect, taking into account social, cultural and linguistic factors.
You are not under any duty to volunteer information over and above what is required to answer the questions posed to you. The questions we require you to answer are material to the risk to be undertaken by the relevant insurer, or the calculation of the premium by the relevant insurer, or both.
You will be required to answer specific questions. Where you do not provide additional information (after being requested to do so) it can be presumed that the information previously provided remains unchanged.
It is important that you answer all questions honestly and with reasonable care. Failure to do so may result in an insurer cancelling the contract, rejecting a claim or limiting the amount paid in the event of a claim 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.
New Business
You may cancel a contract of insurance, by giving notice in writing to the insurer, within 14 working days after the date you were informed that the contract is concluded. This does not affect the notice periods already provided under European Union (Insurance and Reinsurance) Regulations 2015 or the European Communities (Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services) Regulations 2004 which is 30 days in respect of life policies, irrespective of whether the sale took place on a non-face to face basis.
The giving of notice of cancellation by you will have the effect of releasing you from any further obligation arising from the contract of insurance. The insurer cannot impose any costs on you other than the cost of the premium for the period of cover.
This right to cancel within the relevant cooling off period does not apply where, in respect of life insurance the contract is for a duration of six months or less.
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 CICA, in proportion to the breach involved.
Post-Contract Stage and Claims
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Where an insurer becomes aware that a consumer has made a fraudulent claim, they must notify the consumer advising that they are voiding 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.
Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulations
‘Sustainability Risk’ refers to 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. Financial Advisers, such as MDL Financial Consultants, have an option to consider the principal adverse impacts of investment decisions on sustainability factors in its advice processes.
Taking due account of the size, nature and scale of our activities when providing investment advice and insurance based investment advice we have decided not to consider such impacts separately from our overall risk framework. This decision has been made based on the information available to us from the product providers. We will actively monitor our position, and update our processes, as more information becomes available from the product providers. We will review this opinion annually.
It is important to note that the funds made available to our customers are provided by the product providers. They will monitor and report on the principal adverse impacts of its investment decisions on sustainability factors. You can also find information in relation to both sustainability risks and the principal adverse impacts of investment decisions on sustainability factors on the websites of the product providers.
Receipts
MDL Financial Consultants shall issue a receipt for each non-negotiable or negotiable instrument or payment received. This is required pursuant to Section 30 of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 or pursuant to the Consumer Protection Code 2012 (as amended). These are issued with your protection in mind and should be stored safely.
Statement of Charges
MDL Financial Consultants may receive commission and other payments from the product producers to whom orders are transmitted. Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for initial advice provided. We may also receive renewal indexation or trail commissions while your policy remains in force. All of these payments contribute to the overall cost of running our business and providing you with service on an ongoing basis.
Pursuant to provision 4.58A of the Central Bank of Ireland’s September 2019 Addendum to the Consumer Protection Code, we must make available in our offices and website (www.mdlfinancial.ie), 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.
MDL Financial Consultants may also charge you a fee for the service provided. If we arrange a product with you with a product producer with whom we do not hold an appointment in writing then we will charge you a fee for our services. This fee will reflect the average level of commissions payable by other product producers for similar type of products. If we do this, we will provide you with a written estimate of this in advance by providing any business service. Where it is not possible to provide the exact amount, we will provide you the method of calculation of the fee.
Where you choose to pay in full for our service by fee, we will notify you in writing in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged if different from fees outlined below. Where it is not possible to provide the exact amount, we will provide you the method of calculation of the fee.
If we receive commission from a product provider, this may/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.
Life, Pensions and Investments
You may elect to deal with us on a fee basis. The following hourly fees will apply:
Director €150 per hour
Senior Advisor €100 per hour
Support staff €50 per hour
Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency, our scale of fees for such cases range from a minimum of €50 per hour to a maximum of €150 per hour. We will notify you in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged.
If we receive commission from a product provider, this will be offset against the fee which we will charge you. Where the commission is greater than the fee due, the commission will become the amount payable to the intermediary unless an arrangement to the contrary is made.
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 circumstance change, your needs will change. We endeavor to meet with you on a regular basis to discuss your needs in line with your circumstances, however, you must advise us on any changes and request a review of the relevant policy so that we can ensure 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 may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and / or inappropriate investments.
Client Money
We do not hold money received in the course of providing investment services to our clients. Any money which we receive on your behalf will be forwarded to you or a named third party on your instructions. Any cheques or bank drafts should be made payable to a third-party provider as we are not authorised to hold client money.
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 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.
Complaints
Whilst we are happy to receive verbal complaints, it would be preferable that any complaints are 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.
MDL Financial Consultants 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.
We will ensure that this Privacy Notice is easily accessible. Please refer to our website www.mdlfinancial.ie. If this medium is not suitable we will ensure you can easily receive a copy by hard copy, or telephonic environment (pre-recorded). Please contact us at info@mdlfinancial.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.
Anti – Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism
MDL Financial Consultants reserves the right to request any information about a client which it reasonably believes it needs to know in order to comply with the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 (as amended).
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. at (01) 224 4955.
Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund
We are also members of the Brokers Ireland Compensation 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.
Governing Law and Jurisdiction
Our terms of business shall be governed by and construed in all respects according to the laws of the Republic of Ireland.
Vulnerable Clients
Where we have identified that a personal consumer is a vulnerable consumer, we must
ensure that the vulnerable consumer is provided with such reasonable arrangements and/or
assistance that may be necessary to facilitate him or her in his or her dealings with us.
Identification of a consumer’s vulnerability or otherwise will require the exercise of
judgement and common sense and should be based on a consumer’s ability to make a
particular decision at a point in time. We consider that identification of a vulnerability
should be an inherent part of the Knowing Your Consumer (KYC) process, during which we
should consider whether there is any evidence of consumer vulnerability. A full copy of our
vulnerable client policy is available on request.