TERMS OF BUSINESS This document is valid from January 01 st 2015 until further notice. Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd of 77 South Mall, Cork specialise in the provision of Mortgage Services, Life Assurance and General Insurance services to consumers. Authorised Status: Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Investment Intermediary under the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995; as a mortgage intermediary authorised under the Consumer Credit Act, 1995 and as an insurance intermediary registered under the European Communities (Insurance Mediation) Regulations, 2005. The Financial Regulator holds registers of regulated firms. You may contact the Financial Regulator on (01) 2246000 or alternatively visit their website on www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials. Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd is a member of the Irish Brokers Association (IBA). Regulatory Status: Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Our regulator number is 2470. Services: Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd offer advice in relation to all aspects of mortgage finance and also in relation to life assurance products (Term Cover, Serious Illness and Permanent Health Insurance) General Insurance, Pension and Investment Bonds. 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. A list of all such entities is contained elsewhere in these Terms of Business. We will offer advice on a fair analysis basis in relation to all classes of life insurance policies. On your behalf we will carry out a fair analysis of the market, taking account of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available in the market to enable us to make a professional recommendation to meet your insurance requirements. In respect of non life products we offer advice only in respect of products and services from Aviva Ireland Ltd and Allianz Insurance Ireland. Depending on your individual circumstances we will provide you with advice in relation to the nature of the product(s) and service(s) which will be best suitable for your needs. With your agreement, we may review the policies you take out on a periodic basis to ensure you are kept informed as to their benefit and to check whether they are still suitable for your needs. We will also 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. In respect of life insurance we are remunerated by way of commission from insurers.
Remuneration Policy: Protection, Specified Illness cover, Pension, Investments and Savings We may receive commission and other payments from the product producers from whom we hold appointments. We may also receive additional payments directly from financial institutions where we have transacted large volumes of business. You may choose to pay in full for our services by means of a fee. If we receive commission from a product provider, this will be offset against the fee which we will charge you. We may charge a fee for the service provided where we advise you on a non commission basis. These fees are due on receipt of any appropriate invoice. Details of non life or additional or soft commissions are available for inspection on request. Mortgage Business Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd is in receipt of mortgage commissions from lenders at a rate of up to 1% of the value of the amount borrowed. A list of lenders whom Independent Mortgage Centre hold agencies with is listed in this document. Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd may make sub-commission payments to Introducers of mortgage business to the company. All recipients of such sub-commission payments must be registered by the Central Bank as a Mortgage Intermediary. General Insurance We have agencies with Aviva General and Allianz for general insurance. Details of commission are available for inspection on request. We do not charge a fee for arranging non life insurance policies. See attached Schedule of Fees Charged 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 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. Conflict of interest: It is the policy of Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd to avoid a conflict of interest when providing services to clients. Where an unavoidable conflict arises we will advise you of this in writing before providing any business services. If you have not been made aware of any such conflict you may assume that none arises.
Complaints Procedure: Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd has in place a written procedure for the handling of complaints. This procedure ensures that all complaints are recorded and acknowledged within 5 business days. All complaints are fully investigated and the complainant updated at intervals of not greater than 20 business days. We will attempt to investigate and resolve a compliant within 40 business days. All complaints should be directed in writing to Mr Peter Barry, Complaints Officer, Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd, 77 South Mall, Cork. In the event that a client remains dissatisfied with the handling of and/or response to a complaint they may refer the matter to Financial Services Ombudsman, 3 RD Floor Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, Tel 1890 882 090 or Fax 01 662 0890, E-mail:. The office of the Pension Ombudsman, 36 Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2, Tel 01 647 1650, Fax 01 6769 577 and e-mail: Consumer Protection: Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd is a member of the Investor Compensation Scheme established under the Investor Compensation Act 1998.You should be aware that a right to compensation would only arise where money or investment instruments held by this company 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 the Act. In the event that a right to compensation is established, the amount payable is the lesser of 90% of the clients loss, which is recognised as being eligible for compensation or 20,000. Data Protection: The information you provide will remain confidential and may be used for the provision and administration of other financial products. Such information may be disclosed in confidence for these purposes to service providers appointed by Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd. This information will be processed and held on our computer and manual record systems. You may request in writing a copy of your details held by Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd by sending a written request to the Compliance Officer John Reynolds CFP, 77 South Mall, Cork. Investor Compensation Act, 1998: Independent Mortgage Centre is a member of the 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. A right to compensation will arise only: If the client is an eligible investor as defined in the Act If it transpires that Independent Mortgage Centre is not in a position to return client money or investment instruments owned or belonging to the clients of the company; and To the extent that the clients 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 Default Remedies: All premiums must be at inception of cover or on or before renewal date as applicable. Failure to pay premiums when due may result in the policy being cancelled by the insurer. Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd is not permitted to pay premiums to insurers that it has not received from the policy holder. Statutory Codes Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd is subject to and complies with the Consumer Protection Code, the Minimum Competency Code and the Fitness and Probity Standards. These Codes offer protection to consumers and can be found on the Central Bank of Ireland website www.centralbank.ie Your Money We do not hold money received in the course of providing investments services to our clients. Accordingly any money which we receive on your behalf will be forwarded to you or to a named third party on your instruction forthwith. Any cheques or bankers orders drawn by you in respect of amounts owed to third parties should be drawn in favour of the third party concerned. Receipts We will issue receipts for all forms of payments received. A Section 30 receipt will be issued for all insurance related transactions where a premium is involved as required by the Investment Intermediaries Act,1995. These receipts are issued with your protection in mind and should be retained safely. Issuance of a receipt does not constitute the inception of the policy in question.
Insurance Undertakings: The following are a list of insurance undertakings and product producers form which letters of appointments are held. Life Assurance Appointments Non Life Insurance Appointments Caledonian Life Aviva General Canada Life Allianz Zurich Life Friends First Aviva Life & Pensions Irish Life New Ireland Standard Life Liberty Asset Management CGU Life Phoenix Dolmen Stockbrokers Davy Select Lender Appointments Seniors Money Ireland Limited Seniors Finance Ireland Limited KBC Mortgage Bank Dublin City Council Allied Irish Banks Plc Haven Mortgages Limited Dilosk t/a ICS Galway County Council Irish Life & Permanent Plc Cork City Council Kilkenny County Council
Schedule of Fees Charged The Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd t/a IMC is remunerated by the way of commission payments received from Product Producers (details available on request). The Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd t/a IMC is the case of life assurance and protection products were the firm is not in receipt of commission, may charge an arrangement fee agreed with the client depending on the complexity of the transaction, time spent and nature and extent of the transaction. The Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd t/a IMC is the case of pension and investments products may charge an arrangement fee agreed with the client depending on the complexity of the transaction, time spent and nature and extent of the transaction, if the client wishes to have IMC remunerated in this manner. The Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd t/a IMC is the case of financial planning reports may charge a fee agreed with the client depending on the complexity of the report, time spent and nature and extent of the issues covered. Our fees are charged as follows. Advisor fees: 150.00 per hour Support Staff: 100.00 per hour Ongoing Servicing of file: 0.25%-0.50% of value of investment or pensions assets Ongoing Servicing of file: 3%-5% renewal commission (of premium) on protection plans The Independent Mortgage Centre Ltd charges a fee of 200 to process a mortgage application on behalf of a client All fees are agreed with the clients in advance.