Terms and Conditions | Terms of Business | Product Providers | Privacy Policy | Authorised Status

The following documents set out the terms under which O'Driscoll O'Neil will provide insurance, investment and mortgage services to you. You should read the following documents carefully and if there are any matters on which you require clarification, we will be more than happy to explain them in more detail.

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Content

Advice

Access to the Site

No Damage Arising from Use

Alterations

Links to Other Sites

Privacy Policy

Force Majeure

Applicable Law

These conditions shall be governed and construed in accordance with Irish Law and any disputes shall fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish Courts. If any provision of these disclaimers and exclusions shall be unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable then that provision shall be deemed severable and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.

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Client Protection

The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) has become the regulatory body for Insurance Intermediaries with effect from the 1st April 2001.

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd, which forms part of the O’Driscoll O’Neil Group of companies, is registered as an Authorised Adviser by IFSRA under these new regulations.

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd as an Authorised Adviser and Independent Intermediary is free to place business with all the leading insurers and as we are not tied to any institution that might compromise our ability to offer impartial or independent advice or to place your business at the best terms and conditions on offer to meet the specific requirements of each client.

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd is a member of the Irish Brokers Association (IBA)

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd is a member of the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. Scheme (ICCL) which was established under the Investor Compensation Act of 1998. This act allows for the payment in certain circumstances of monies or investments held by this company on your behalf that cannot be returned either for the time being or in the foreseeable future and where the client falls within the definition of an eligible investor within the meaning of the act. In a case where a right to compensation is established under the act the amount recoverable will be limited to €20,000.00 or 90% of the agreed loss whichever is the lesser amount.

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd as a member of the Irish Insurance Brokers Association (IBA) is bonded through this membership to €127,000 with a limit of €63,500 per client.

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd in addition, maintain our standards in compliance with the ISO 9001:2000.

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd are subject to the Code of Conduct issued under section 37 of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995.

Services

O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd provides a full range of insurance advice to the corporate and personal sectors including the placing of insurance contracts and related claims handling and risk management services. O’Driscoll O’Neil  (Life & Pensions) Ltd also offers advice on life, pension, investments, mortgages and financial products.

Remuneration Policy

O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd are remunerated by commission from insurers and financial institutions, and a service charge for non-life business

• The current minimum rate at which fees/commission are charged is 15% on the total premium per policy and with a minimum handling charge of €20 per transaction.

• Or on an hourly rate on time spent plus disbursements on non life (The estimated hourly rate is €300 for Directors and consultants and €100 for support staff) and by commission or an agreed fee on life and pension business.

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd do not charge for handling any claim for which cover is provided by a policy of insurance.

Receipts

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd will issue a receipt for all payments received in accordance with section 30 of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995. These receipts are issued for our client’s protection and should be held safely by the client.

Handing Clients Money

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd accept payments by cash, cheque and major credit card in respect of all classes of insurance and assurance contracts in circumstances as set out under section 25G of the Investments Intermediaries Act 1995.

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd cannot accept cash or negotiable instruments in any other circumstances.

• Where return premiums are obtained these shall be netted against any outstanding balances due and shall be net of commission and any cancellation fee or charge.

Credit Terms

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd are obliged as Authorised Advisors to operate a policy of strict credit control and premiums must therefore be paid in full on or before the renewal/ inception/ alteration date of the cover.

• In order to protect the interests of their clients O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd are prevented by these regulations from paying any premiums to Insurers, which have not been paid to O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd. 

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd can arrange suitable Premium Finance with an approved institution, subject to terms & conditions 

• We expressly reserve the right to offset credits/ claim payments against outstanding balances due and following non-payment we retain the right to terminate the cover(s) ab initio or otherwise and secure refunds to discharge the account.

• Any bank fees charged on unpaid cheques will be charged to the client and are payable in full with all other outstanding balances.  No agency transfer may be effected until the account is cleared in full.

Documentation

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd will issue all relevant Insurers documents to its clients. These should be read to ensure that they are in accordance with the insurance requirements.

• It is also of vital importance that these documents be retained in a safe place, as these documents are the basis of the contract between the Insured and the Insurer.

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd will issue summaries of covers for the benefit of their clients. These Summaries are not intended to be a definitive interpretation of the policy cover, terms and conditions. For the full details of the cover, terms and conditions please refer to the policy documents. 

Retention of Documentation

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd will maintain records of the Insurance contracts(s) we arrange on your behalf. We will automatically destroy these records after specified periods unless you ask us to do otherwise. We are happy to provide this service free of charge for as long as we remain your Broker.

Money Laundering (Criminal Justice Act 1994)

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd are required to comply with the legislation in respect of Money Laundering and are therefore required to seek information from all new clients to comply with the provisions of this legislation.

• A fact find will be completed both to comply with this legislation and in addition to ensure that the covers are arranged to offer the best protection available in the market.
  

Written Appointment from Product Providers

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd hold letters of appointment from all of the main Insurers.

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd also hold letters of appointment to transact business with other brokers who are also Authorised Advisers under the IFSRA regulations.

• As the Insurance markets are continually changing a detailed list of these Product Producers is available on request or on our website (www.odon.ie).

Policy in Relation to Conflicts of Interest

It is the policy of the firm to avoid any conflict of interest when providing services. However, should an unavoidable conflict arise, we  will advise you of this prior to providing advice or arranging a transaction on your behalf.

Actions in Event of Default

A firm will, if necessary, exercise its legal rights to receive any payments due to it from clients in the event that clients default in relation any amount due to the firm. A product provider may withdraw benefits of 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

O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd have an agreed complaints procedure in accordance with ISO procedures and regularly canvas clients for both compliments and complaints. As part of the ISO procedures O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd also send a comment and complaints card to all clients requesting any comment on service in order to improve the standard of the service provided to clients.

The following persons deal with any complaint within O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd:

If a complaint has not been resolved any complaint may be referred to one of the following:

Licensed and Approved Insurers

• O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd will only transact and recommend Insurers who are licensed by the Department of Trade Enterprise and Employment or EU insurers who are also approved under the EU directives on the freedom of services and which must comply with the solvency and security legislation on their local member state.

• In addition to the legislation, which controls the solvency and security, we rely on our own market research in addition to the support from Standards and Poors which independently rate insurers on their stability and claims payments.

Commitment to Clients Best Interests

Insurance contracts are tailored to meet the specific requirements of each client and while similar products may be provided by direct insurers, these may not always be on the same terms and conditions which offer the best protection for the clients.

O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd hold letters of appointment from all the leading Product Producers who provide cover in Ireland and at Lloyds. It is the policy and practice at O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd to recommend the various covers to clients irrespective of cost or the Product Producer, based on the various covers, service, stability and consistency of the market involved.

O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd will highlight any alternative markets to which O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd do not hold written letters of appointment and to which O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd do not have access. However O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd cannot comment on the specific covers which may be provided by these insurers nor on the level of service or security provided as they may be direct insurers.

O’Driscoll O’Neil Ltd will be happy to provide advice on any insurance contracts and policy wording provided to them as part of our quotation and insurance review. This work will be undertaken at an agreed fee.

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Privacy Policy - Back to top

Information Collected

O’Driscoll O’Neil collects personal information from users of our site through the use of enquiry forms and every time you email us your details.

Use of Personal Information

O’Driscoll O’Neil processes personal information collected via our site for the purposes of dealing with your requests and providing you with information about the products and services we can offer you. So that O’Driscoll O’Neil can deal with your requests and provide this information we may sometimes pass your personal information to other organisations assisting O’Driscoll O’Neil.

How we Protect your Information

The Internet is not a secure medium. However we have put in place various security procedures as set out in this policy. Firewalls are used to block unauthorised traffic to the servers and the actual servers are located in a secure location which can only be accessed by authorised personnel. We also keep your information confidential. Our internal procedures cover the storage, access and disclosure of your information.

Disclosures

We do not sell, trade or rent your personal information to others. It is our policy not to pass e-mail addresses to any third parties without first obtaining your consent. We may provide aggregate statistics about users, traffic patterns and related site information to reputable third-parties, but these statistics will include no personally identifying information.

Internet Based Transfers

The Internet is a global environment. Using the Internet to collect and process personal data necessarily involves the transmission of data on an international basis. Therefore, by using this Site and communicating electronically with O’Driscoll O’Neil, you acknowledge and agree to the processing of personal data in this way by O’Driscoll O’Neil.

O'Driscoll O'Neil Ltd is regulated by the Financial Regulator | P: (01) 6395800 | F: (01) 6395850