TERMS OF BUSINESS
Effective Date: January 2025
LABrokers Limited trading as LABrokers is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland
Newcastle, Greystones, Co. Wicklow.
Phone: 01 281 0577
(Please telephone us during our office hours – Monday to Friday 9am to 1pm and 2pm till 5pm )
Data Protection Statement
LABrokers Ltd trading as LABrokers. These Terms of Business set out the general terms under which our firm will 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:
LABrokers Limited trading as LABrokers.ie (C38864) is registered to undertake insurance mediation under the European Communities (Insurance Mediation) Regulations 2005. Persons in the management structure of the firm is John Geraghty
The Central Bank of Ireland holds registers of regulated firms. You may contact the Central Bank of Ireland, PO Box 559, New Wapping Street, Dublin 1, on 1890 777 777 or alternatively visit their website on www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials.
Services:
LABrokers Limited trading as LABrokers.ie is an ‘execution only’ broker (this means we do not offer you any advice, recommendation or direction) providing services in relation to Life Assurance products (Term Cover, Mortgage Protection) and PRSAs.
Execution only.
LABrokers offers an ‘execution only’ service. This means we do not and cannot offer you any advice, direction or a recommendation. We cannot ascertain if the product you are choosing is suitable for your needs.
You the consumer has specified both the product and the product producer by name and you have not received any assistance from LABrokers the regulated entity in the choice of that product. LABrokers notifies you, the consumer, that we the regulated entity does not have the information necessary to determine the suitability of the particular product for the consumer.
For a sale to be made on an ‘execution only’ basis, the consumer must have specified the product, the product provider and must not have received any advice from us. If all three of these requirements are not met then, notwithstanding the classification given by the firm to the sale, the sale cannot be deemed to be effected on an execution only basis and we cannot accept your business nor should you place the business with us.
We do not provide tax, legal, financial or investment advice. In accepting our terms of business you understand and accept that you have waived your rights to the completion of a Financial Review and you acknowledge that we have not given you any advice in relation to the transaction and wish to proceed with this transaction on an execution only basis.
If you are taking out an investment or a Standard PRSA pension product you understand that investments can fall as well as rise in value.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS
LABrokers Limited trading as LABrokers is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. We can arrange for you to purchase products on our website but cannot provide specific advice on your circumstances.
For Life Assurance we arrange term assurance and mortgage protection with Aviva Life and Pensions, Royal London, Zurich Life, Irish Life, New Ireland, Standard Life.
For Standard PRSAs we only arrange policies on an execution only basis with Zurich Life. Clients who took out a Standard PRSA policy through us with Aviva and Irish Life in the past can top up their PRSAs but we are not open to new business with these insurers.
We do not offer any other life insurance products.
We hope the following will assist you in understanding the services we provide.
CODES OF CONDUCT
The firm 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
LABrokers Ltd is a member of Brokers Ireland.
Our principal business is discounting the monthly or annual premium of the mortgage protection and life assurance products you choose from what we offer on our website. We also offer a Zurich Standard PRSA that you may choose, where we offer a lower charging structure We do this by taking lower commission. We do not offer any other products and we do not offer you any advice or direction. Our mortgage protection and life insurance is provided by Aviva, Irish Life, New Ireland, Royal London, Zurich. Our Standard PRSA is a Zurich Standard PRSA. We will not offer clients any advice now or in the future on any of the products.
COMMISSIONS
We are remunerated by commission and other payments from product producers or lenders on the completion of business. We shall tell you the amount of commission payable to us on any such policy. We do not charge any fees.
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 is available in our office or on our website – www.LABrokers.ie
INSTRUCTIONS
We prefer instructions to be given to us by email. If any instructions are given orally, they must be confirmed by email or in writing. We may refuse at our discretion to accept certain instructions, although such discretion will not be exercised unreasonably.
Clawback
If you cancel your policy early the insurer may clawback commission they paid us. We will not charge you or recover costs from you.
We do not charge clients any fees.
Ongoing Suitability
The firm’s services does not include ongoing suitability assessments.
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 which may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments. We would therefore advise that you to seek up to date advice elsewhere and check the product is best suited to your needs.
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.
In some cases, we may be a party to a profit-share arrangement with product producers where we provide extra services for the provider. Agreements to this effect may be in place with Aviva, Irish Life, New Ireland, Standard Life, Royal London, Zurich.
POLICY DOCUMENTS
All contract notes and documents of title in respect of your investment should be sent to you directly by the relevant insurer. If any documents are received by us in error, they will be forwarded to you as soon as practicable.
Default on payments by clients
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. All complaints should be directed in writing to Mr John Geraghty, Complaints Officer, LABrokers Limited.
Data Protection
We are subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018.
ABC Ltd. 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, if this medium is not suitable we will ensure you can easily receive a copy by hard copy.
Please contact us at john.geraghty@labrokers.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.
TERMINATION
You, or we, may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time, without penalty. Notice of this termination must be given in writing.
LOCUM AGREEMENT
We have only one principal who is responsible for the day to day conduct of investment business. If our principal should become unable to conduct business (say through illness), we would not want your interests to suffer. LABrokers does not handle client funds. All administration of your policy is carried out by the insurers themselves. We have therefore made a formal arrangement for the continuation of our business obligations if our principal is unable to conduct business for more than a period of 14 days.
The following sections apply to consumer duties and rights arising out of the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 which was implemented to protect consumers.
Consumers: Duty of Disclosure when completing documentation for new business/renewals and midterm adjustments
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’.
Before renewal of the contract of insurance, specific questions will be asked. Again, you will be required to answer honestly and with reasonable care. Where you do not provide additional information (after being requested to do so) it can be presumed that the information previously provided remains unchanged.
Failure to answer all questions honestly and with reasonable care can result in the Insurer being able to rely on proportionate remedies for misrepresentation, which include but are not limited to the insurer voiding the contract of insurance. If a policy is cancelled by an insurer for any reason including payment default you may encounter difficulty in purchasing insurance in the future.
Completed proposal forms/statement of fact
Completed proposal forms or Statements of Facts will be provided to you. These are important documents as they form the basis of insurance contract between the insurer and you the consumer. You should review and confirm that the answers contained within are true and accurate.
You are under a duty to pay your premium within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance.
Cancellation of a Contract of Insurance
If you have taken out a life insurance contract, you may cancel the contract by giving notice in writing to the insurer within 30 days after the date you were informed the contract is on cover.
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 does not apply where, in respect of life insurance the contract is for a duration of six months or less. An insurer may refuse a claim made by you 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.
You 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.
You must notify the insurer of a claim within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance.
If you make a false or misleading claim in any material respect (and know 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 may notify the consumer advising that they are voiding the contract of insurance, and 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.
INVESTOR COMPENSATION SCHEME
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 as 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 Clients’ Compensation and Membership Benefits Scheme (BIC)
We are also members of the Brokers Ireland Clients’ Compensation and Membership Benefits Scheme (BIC). 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.
Life Insurance Providers
LABrokers Limited has agencies with: Aviva, Irish Life, New Ireland, Royal London, Zurich Life, Standard Life