TERMS OF BUSINESS – EFFECTIVE FROM OCTOBER 2018
Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited T/A Heffernan Insurances
35 Morgan Street, Waterford City, Co. Waterford.
Phone: 051 871444  Fax: 051 87142   Email: insurance@heffernan.ie

These Terms of Business set out the basis on which Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited will provide services to you, our valued client. By proceeding with your policy through Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited you agree to adhere by the provisions set out in this Terms of Business document. Please ensure that you have both read and understood these terms. If there are any aspects you don’t understand or if you have any queries whatsoever, please contact us for clarification. This Terms of Business document supersedes with immediate effect any others which we have previously issued to you. In the absence of a signature, your instruction to place cover and your payment for said cover will be deemed as your acknowledgement of, and agreement to be bound by the provisions of these terms of business.

About Us
Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited of 35 Morgan Street, Waterford specialise in the provision of Life, Pensions, Investments and General Insurance services to consumers. Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited is a member of Brokers Ireland.

Authorised Status:
Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an insurance intermediary registered under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulations 2018. Our registration number is 2198. We are also authorised as an Investment Intermediary authorised under the Investments Intermediaries Act, 1995 .Heffernan Insurances is permitted to receive and transmit orders or units of shares in undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities within the meaning of the Regulations of 1989, units in a unit trust, other collective investment scheme instruments, or shares in a company which are listed on a stock exchange or bonds so listed or prize bonds, tracker bonds, insurance policies or Personal Retirement Savings within the meaning of the Pensions Act, 1990. 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:
Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited is subject to and complies with the following Central Bank of Ireland Codes of Conduct: Consumer Protection Code, Minimum Competency Code, Handbook of Prudential Requirements for Investment Intermediaries and Fitness & Probity Standards. These codes offer protection to consumers and can be found on www.centralbank.ie

Services:
Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited offer advice in relation to all aspects of life assurance products (Term Cover and Serious Illness Cover) and General Insurance. We also transmit orders on client’s behalf to any of the insurance undertakings or product producers from whom the Company hold letters of appointment. Heffernan Insurances is an impartial Insurance Broker. As an impartial Insurance Broker, we are in a position to place your business with a wide range of product producers. Depending on your instructions we can advise you in relation to the products of the Insurance Companies and Product Producers with whom we hold agency and we will work on your behalf to negotiate competitive renewal terms on your insurance cover. Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life & pensions and general insurance products. A full list of insurers, product producers and lending agencies with which we deal is available on request.

Insurance Intermediary Services:
We act as an Independent Broker which means that:
a) the principal regulated activities of the firm are provided on the basis of a fair and personal analysis of the market; and
b) you have the option to pay in full for our services by means of a fee.

Fair and Personal Analysis
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 & Pensions
Heffernan Insurances & Investments Ltd can provide advice on and arrange products from the following range: life cover, serious illness cover, income protection, savings, investments and pensions. 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 benefits and to check whether they are still suitable for 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. It is however, 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 exclusion that attach to that policy. We are remunerated by commission for the advice we provide on our insurance cases investment products.

We provide life assurance and pensions on a fair and personal analysis basis i.e. providing services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available in the market to enable us to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be adequate to meet your needs. We are remunerated by commission and other payments from product producers or lenders on the completion of business.

Insurance Based Investment Products
We are remunerated by commission for the advice we provide on our insurance cases investment products. We will provide periodic assessments of the suitability of the insurance based investment product which we have recommended to you.

Non-Life
As an Insurance Intermediary, Heffernan Insurances & Investments Ltd can provide advice on and arrange products from the following range: household, motor, commercial, public liability, employer’s liability, travel insurance, health insurance and personal accident. We will also offer assistance to you in relation to processing claims on policies taken out with us and in seeking renewal terms for your cover.

Receive & Transmit Orders
We can receive and transmit orders, on your behalf, for products from each insurance company or financial services provider (Product Producer) with whom we hold an agency. A list of our current product producers is available on request from our office. 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.

Commission
We are remunerated by commission paid to us by Product Producers on placing of your insurance business with them. This commission compensates us for the work involved in placing an order and finalizing the product with them on your behalf. The amount of commission earned will vary greatly depending on the product type and the product producer. A growing number of Product Producers pay no commission. Some Product Producers pay commission that is not related to the placement of individual policies with them but are based on other factors such as the volume of business introduced to them over time, Details of the commission earned by us on your policy will be disclosed to you at your request. The amount of any commission received by Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited will not be deducted from any fee payable.

Remuneration Policy
Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited are remunerated on a commission basis from insurers for orders transmitted, details of which are available on request. Heffernan Insurances & Investments Limited may also opt to charge a fee in certain circumstances.

Fees & Charges
Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited is remunerated by a Professional Fee paid directly by the client for work carried out on the client’s behalf. A Professional Fee may be charged by us for:

• The initial work and time spent in seeking the best terms, advice, product and product producer for your specific needs.
• The work carried out on the renewal of your policy, ensuring that the policy/policies recommended to you are suitable for your needs.
• Alterations, amendments and endorsements to your policy.
• Processing a policy cancellation or a policy suspension.
• Duplicate documentation requested by you.
• Insurance consultancy work, including risk management advice and surveys.
• Administration work on payment defaults, including Direct Debit defaults, bounced cheques etc.
• Claims handling assistance and general insurance advice.
• Any other activity detailed in this Terms of Business.
• Professional Fees – non-refundable Professional Fees remunerate us for time spent working on behalf of the client.

Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited will accept payments in cash, by credit / debit card, by bank draft and by cheque from clients in respect of all classes of Insurance in the circumstances permitted under Section 25G of the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995. Payments must represent premium in respect of either a renewal of a policy, which has been invited by an insurance undertaking or a product producer or a proposal accepted by an insurance undertaking or product producer. Where applicable fees are charged on a time spent / disbursement basis and our current standard hourly rates are €75-€150 for Advisors and €30-€50 for support staff. Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency. In the event of cancellation of a policy we do not return any commissions or fee that have been paid. Return premiums generated will be issued to client less the appropriate fee calculated on a percentage or pro rata basis in accordance with the arranged structure at inception with the underwriter concerned. Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited is not authorised to accept cash or negotiable instruments as payment for insurance policies in any other circumstances. In compliance with Central Bank legislation, Heffernan Insurances and Investments Limited cannot pay insurance premiums to Product Producers, where payment has not been received from clients. Insurance premiums must be paid by the policy inception date outlined on your invoice or the renewal date appearing on your renewal notice, as applicable.

Credit Finance
If you require credit terms, we may be able to arrange premium finance on your behalf. Alternatively, a monthly direct debit facility (if available) may be operated by the Insurance Company. We cannot accept instalments paid to our office.

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 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
It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information for Insurers when arranging an insurance policy and/or where a Statement of Fact or proposal form is completed on your behalf. Failure to disclose any material information to your insurers could invalidate your insurance cover; all/or part of the claim may not be paid.

Solvency of Insurers
In selecting an Insurer, a wide variety of factors are taken into account including the financial status of the Insurer in question. We do not guarantee nor make representations in regard to, and expressly disclaim responsibility for the financial security of Insurance Companies and Product Producers with which we place business.