Terms of Business-Effective from August 2018 West Coast Financial Advisors Ltd t/a Murray Financial Services
These Terms of Business set out the general terms under which West Coast Financial Advisors Ltd t/a Murray Financial Services 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.
Authorised Status
West Coast Financial Advisors Ltd t/a Murray Financial Services is regulated by the Central Bank Of Ireland as an insurance intermediary registered under the European Communities (Insurance Mediation) Regulations, 2005. Copies of our regulatory authorisations are available on request. The Central Bank holds registers of regulated firms. You may contact the Central Bank on 1890 777 777 or alternatively visit their website at www.Centralbank.ie to verify our credentials.
Codes of Conduct
West Coast Financial Advisors Ltd t/a Murray Financial Services 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
Murray Financial Services is a member of Brokers Ireland. As a member of Brokers Ireland we must be in a position to place insurance with at six insurers of the relevant form (life) and therefore can generally give consumers greater choice than agents and tied agents. Upon clients request we can also provide a referral of general insurance to Murray & Spelman Insurance & Finance Ltd.
Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life and pensions. A full list of insurers, product producers and lending agencies with which we deal is available on request.
Murray Financial Services is a Broker which means that the principal regulated activities of the firm are provided on the basis of a fair analysis of the market.
Fair Analysis
The concept of fair analysis is derived from the Insurance Mediation Directive. It 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 be reasonably 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 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 & Pensions
Murray Financial Services provides life assurance and pensions on a fair analysis basis i.e. providing services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available on the market to enable us to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be adequate to meet the your needs.
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; particularly in relation to PHI and serious illness policies.
Specifically on the subject of 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; 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.
Remuneration Policy
Murray Financial Services is in receipt of upfront and trail commission from all life companies on completion of business. Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for initial advice provided
In certain circumstances, it will be necessary to charge a fee for services provided. In other circumstances where fees are chargeable we will notify you in writing in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged if different from fees outlined below. Our hourly starting rate is minimum €500.00 to a maximum of €1,500.00 per hour. This fee is for all our services. This fee can be agreed verbally by client and Murray Financial Services. Clients will be notified in advance, in writing of the exact fee that will 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 firm unless an arrangement to the contrary is made.
Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency. We will give an estimate of this rate in advance of providing you with services. The Minimum fee payable is €500.00 per hour. The maximum fee will be €1,000.00 per hour.
Conflict of Interest Policy
It is the policy of Murray Financial Services to avoid any conflict of interest when providing business services to its clients. However, where an unavoidable conflict may arise we will advise you of this in writing before proceeding to provide any business service.
Default on payments by clients
Murray Financial Services will if necessary, exercise its legal rights to receive any payments due to it from clients for business services provided by it and, to be reimbursed for any value obtained by the firm on behalf of clients who subsequently default in any payment due to the firm.
Product producers may withdraw benefits or cover on default of any payments due under any products arranged for your benefit. Details of these provisions will be included in your product terms and conditions.
Complaints Procedure
Whilst Murray Financial Services are happy to receive verbal complaints, it would be preferable that any complaints are made in writing. Murray Financial Services will acknowledge all complaints with in 5 business days of notification 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). Our full complaints procedure is available on request.
All complaints should be made in writing and addressed to:
Adrian Murray
Murray Financial Services, Plaza Office Suites, Headford Road, Galway
Data Protection
West Coast Financial Advisors Ltd t/a Murray Financial Services complies with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018.
The data which you provide to us will be held on a computer database and paper files for the purpose of arranging transactions on your behalf. 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 and Data Protection Policy. We would also like to keep you informed of mortgage, insurance, investment and any other services provided by us or associated companies with which we have a formal business arrangement; which we think may be of interest to you. We would like to contact you by way of letter, email or telephone call. If you do not wish to receive such marketing information please tick the box in the Terms of Business acknowledgement letter attached.
We may receive referrals from such firms and may advise them of any transactions arranged for you.
Youu have the right at any time to request a copy of any ‘personal data’ within the meaning of the GDPR that our office holds about you and to have any inaccuracies in that information corrected. Please contact us at info@westcoastfinancialservices.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.
Duty of Disclosure
It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information to Financial Institutions.
Any failure to disclose material information may invalidate your claim and render your policy void.
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 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 of changes in your circumstances, or request a review, may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments.
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.
E.&O.E.
