Dolmen Insurance Brokers Ltd. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland
Terms of Business
Effective date: 1st April 2021
These terms of business set out the basis on which Dolmen Insurance Brokers Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Dolmen”), will provide business services to you as a client of the firm. They also contain details of our regulatory and statutory obligations and the respective duties of both the firm and you in relation to such services. Dolmen is a member of our brokers association, Brokers Ireland.
Authorised Status
Dolmen is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Investment Intermediary under the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995, and is registered with the Central Bank of Ireland as an Insurance Intermediary under the Insurance Mediation Directive. Copies of our various authorisations are available on request. Our authorisations can be verified by contacting the Central Bank on 1890 777 777. We are subject to the Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Code, Minimum Competency Code, and Fitness & Probity Standards – these can be found on the Central Bank’s website www.centralbank.ie. Dolmen is also regulated by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission as a Credit Intermediary.Services Provided
We will offer broad based advice on a fair analysis basis in relation to all classes of life and non-life insurance policies. As a Credit Intermediary the firm can arrange personal loans e.g. premium finance. We will identify and select a suitable product producer and on receipt of your instructions we will transmit orders on your behalf to one or more product producers (a list of which is available on request). For certain classes of insurance, for example, where we have a specialist product line, we may select one or more preferred providers and arrange all such insurances with those providers. Dolmen does not hold shareholdings in any insurer and likewise no insurer has any shareholding in our firm. This firm does not have a ‘tied’ relationship with any institution that would compromise our ability to offer you broad based advice and choice. Dolmen has selected one preferred product provider, Irish Life Assurance plc., for life insurance plans (including life assurance, specified illness cover, income protection, unit linked savings, investments and pension plans), tracker bonds and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs). Analysis of the market will be limited to products provided by Irish Life Assurance plc.Remuneration and Fees – Life
For Life assurance, income protection, mortgage protection, pensions, investments, and savings policies, Dolmen is remunerated on a commission basis from Insurers, and where applicable, full details are included in the product information document distributed to you prior to a proposal being completed. Dolmen may also opt to charge a fee in certain circumstances. If this occurs, you will be fully appraised of the cost involved in advance of providing a service. Dolmen may receive additional commission based on volumes of business placed. We may also receive renewal or indexation commissions. All commissions received contribute to our costs associated with the provision of ongoing services to you and are not offset against fees chargeable unless specifically agreed with you in writing.Investment Products
While Dolmen Insurance Brokers Ltd. considers the approach taken by Irish Life Assurance plc in terms of them integrating sustainability risks into their product offering, as we have selected one preferred provider for investment products, analysis when choosing a suitable investment product for you will be limited to products provided by Irish Life Assurance plc. However, should you specifically seek a financial product which has sustainable investment as its sole / specific objective, and no such product is available from the range of products offered by Irish Life Assurance plc, Dolmen Insurance Brokers Ltd. will conduct analysis of the product offerings available from the other insurance undertakings, lenders and product producers with whom Dolmen Insurance Brokers Ltd. holds written appointments. When providing advice, Dolmen Insurance Brokers does consider the adverse impacts of investment decisions on sustainability. The firm will review this annually and make revisions when and if appropriate.Mortgages
Through the lenders or other undertakings with which we hold an agency, Dolmen Insurance Brokers can provide advice on and arrange mortgage products from the following range: fixed-rate loans, variable rate mortgages, capital & interest mortgages, interest-only mortgages and residential investment property. Dolmen Insurance Brokers provides mortgage advice on a limited analysis basis, i.e. providing services on the basis of a limited number of product providers with which we have an agency agreement. We hold a mortgage agency with Brokers Ireland Mortgage Service, through which we access to the lenders with which they hold agencies. We will need to collect sufficient information from you before we can offer any advice on housing loans. This is due to the fact that a key issue in relation to mortgage advice is affordability. Such information should be produced promptly upon our request.Remuneration – Mortgages
Dolmen Insurance Brokers will normally receive remuneration from product providers or lenders by way of commission payments for business placed. Details of mortgage commission will be included in a European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS) which will be provided to you as part of your formal loan offer from the selected lender. Typically, we may receive commission of 1% of the mortgage drawn down. You have the right to request information on commissions payable by different lenders. You may elect to remunerate us by way of a fee for services provided. Where this arises, we will agree a fee basis with you in advance of providing a service. A summary of the details of all arrangements for any fee, commission, other reward or remuneration paid or provided to us which we have agreed with product producers is available on our website www.dolmen-insurance.ie.Mortgage Fees
We reserve the right to charge a standard up-front commitment fee for arranging a residential mortgage. Details of this fee is outlined below:- Where the applicant is sale-agreed on a property or is switching from one lender to another and the loan amount is below €200,000 a fee of €500 is payable.
- Where the applicant does not have a property, generally where an Approval in Principle (AIP) is being sought (with no property) a fee of €500 is also payable irrespective of loan amount. This fee is refunded in full upon mortgage completion where the loan amount exceeds €200,000.
Conflict of Interests
It is the policy of Dolmen 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 before proceeding to provide any business service. If you have not been advised of any such conflict you are entitled to assume that none arises.Premium Handling
Dolmen will accept payments in various ways including, cash, cheque and debit card in respect of all classes of insurance in the circumstances permitted under Section 25G of the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995. Dolmen is not authorised to accept cash or negotiable instruments in any other circumstances. Premiums are due on / or before renewal / inception date. Under the Central Bank legislation very strict rules apply to the payment of premiums to Insurance companies. We will not be able to pay premiums to insurers which have not been received from clients. Therefore, to avoid policy cancellation, premiums must be paid immediately prior to cover incepting or renewal date, otherwise strictly within the credit terms. Where a discrepancy of €/£10 or less arises between the amount due and the amount actually received to cover your insurance premium and our fees, we shall be entitled to write off the amount of the discrepancy in our accounts.Cancellation / Cooling Off Period – Non-Life
A consumer (as defined by SI No. 853 of 2004) has the right to withdraw from an insurance policy (as defined under SI No. 853 of 2004) within 14 days of the start date of the policy without penalty and without giving any reason – this is known as the Cooling Off period. The right of withdrawal may be exercised by notice in writing to Dolmen, quoting your policy number. Should this right be exercised the Insurance Company may charge a pro rata premium for the period you are on cover. If the cover is motor insurance and you wish to avail of the cooling off period, the policy cannot be cancelled until you return the Certificate of Insurance and Windscreen Disc to us. The policy cannot be cancelled until the certificate of insurance and windscreen disk is received by Dolmen. You, the customer can cancel your policy by notice in writing at any time. Provided that all reasonable charges pertaining to costs incurred by Dolmen have been paid and provided that no incident giving rise to a claim has occurred in the current period of insurance, you will be entitled to a proportionate return of the premium for the un-expired period of insurance unless the policy is on a minimum and deposit basis, and if this is the case, no return will be allowed on the policy and this will be noted on your policy schedule. If you cancel during the first year (outside of the Cooling Off period) short term rates apply, please see policy terms and conditions. In the case of cancellation of motor insurance you must return the Certificate of Insurance and Windscreen Disc to Dolmen. Insurance companies normally reserve the right to cancel policies at any time by giving appropriate notice to your last known address. Please refer to your policy terms and conditions. In the event of a policy being cancelled during the period of insurance, any return due will be net of commission and fees.Failure to pay or default
We reserve the right to instigate cancellation proceedings in the event of the following:- Your non-payment of the premium due at inception, renewal or following a mid-term adjustment
- Your bank returns your cheque for any reason
- Non-disclosure of relevant information
- Insurer imposed cancellation
Complaints Procedure
The company has a written procedure in place for the effective consideration and handling of complaints. Any complaints should be addressed, preferably in writing to the Compliance Officer, Dolmen. Each complaint will be acknowledged by us within 5 working days of receipt, updates will be advised in intervals of not more than 20 working days, we will endeavour to resolve the complaint within 40 business days and findings will be furnished to you within 5 working days of completion of the investigation. In the event that you are not entirely satisfied with the firms handling of and response to your complaint, you have the right to complain to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman.Investor Compensation
Investor Compensation Company DAC Dolmen is a member of the Investor Compensation Company DAC Scheme established under the Investor Compensation Act, 1998. The legislation provided for the establishment of a compensation scheme and to the payment in certain circumstances, of compensation to certain clients of firms (known as eligible investors) covered by the Act. However, you should be aware that a right to compensation would only arise where client 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 client’s loss, which is recognised as being eligible for compensation, or €20,000. Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund Ltd As a member of Brokers Ireland, Dolmen is also a member of the Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund Ltd. Subject to the rules of the scheme the liabilities of its member firms up to a maximum of €100,000 per client (€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 Company DAC Scheme (established by law) has failed to adequately compensate any client of the member.Data Protection
Dolmen is a Data Controller and Data Processor as defined in the Data Protection Act 1988, 2003 and General Data Protection Regulation 2018. The data which you provide to us will be held on a computer database and/or paper files for the purpose of arranging transactions or services for you. We record client telephone calls for compliance and quality control. We would also like to keep you informed of various products and services which we can offer and which we think may be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receive such marketing information please let us know below. We may provide referrals to, and receive referrals from, other firms with which we have a formal business relationship and may share relevant information for the purposes of arranging any transactions for you. You have the right at any time to request a copy of any ‘personal data’ within the meaning of the legislation (as amended or re-enacted from time to time) that our office holds about you and to have any inaccuracies in that information corrected. Your data may be transferred to a country which falls outside of the EU Commission list of adequate countries, however, we are advised that your insurer has the necessary safeguards in place to ensure that all recipients are GDPR compliant. For full details of how your personal data is used and stored, please visit our website.Your consent
The need to retain data varies widely with the type of data. Some data can be immediately deleted and some must be retained until reasonable potential for future need no longer exists. Since this can be somewhat subjective, a retention policy is important to ensure that The Company’s guidelines on retention are consistently applied throughout the organisation. All data used as a basis of a contract will be kept for the term of said contract as outlined below.How long we hold your information
The length of time we hold your data depends on a number of factors, such as regulatory rules and the type of financial product we have provided to you.Those factors include:
This section sets guidelines for retaining the different types of company data.- The regulatory rules contained in laws and regulations or set by authorities like the Central Bank of Ireland, for example, in the Consumer Protection
- The type of financial product we have provided to For example, we may keep data relating to a mortgage product for a longer period compared to data regarding a single payment transaction.
- Whether you and us are in a legal or some other type of dispute with another person or each
- The type of data we hold about you.
- Whether you or a regulatory authority asks us to keep it for a valid
- Whether we use your data for long-term statistical modelling, provided that such modelling does not affect any decision we make about
- As a general rule, we keep your information for a specified period after the date on which a transaction has completed or you cease to be a