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TERMS OF BUSINESS

OFM Financial Ltd T/A Omega Financial Management is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Investment Intermediary and Deposit broker under the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 as amended and as an Insurance Intermediary under the Insurance Distribution Regulations  2018 and the Consumer Credit Act, 1995, as amended. Copies of our statements of Authorised Status from the Central Bank of Ireland are on display in our office and available on request.

OFM Financial Ltd T/A Omega Financial Management is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, and is located at: Suite 31 The Mall

Beacon Court, Sandyford, Dublin 18

 

FREEPOST 3345

Co Dublin

 

Lo-call: 1850 260 261

Tel:

01 2938554

Fax:

01 2931948

 

This firm is subject to the Central Bank of Ireland codes of conduct: The Consumer Protection Code, The Consumer Credit Act 1995, as amended ,The Minimum Competency Code, The Fitness & Probity Standards and the Handbook of Prudential Requirements for  Investment Intermediaries. This firm must comply with these codes which offer protection to a consumer and these codes can be found on www.centralbank.ie

 

Services Provided

Our firm provides its Life, Investment, Pension, Savings and Investment services to our clients on a fair personal analysis basis. “Fair& Personal analysis of the market” means that our firm provides its Life, Investment, Pension, Savings and Investment services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available on the market to enable our firm to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be adequate to meet our clients consumer’s needs.

 

When our firm provides deposit and insurance services to clients we provide this service on a limited analysis basis meaning that our firm provides deposit and insurance services on the basis of a limited number of contracts and product producers available on the market. A full list of the Product Producers with which we hold a written appointment is available on request. We do not guarantee nor make representations in regard to, and expressly disclaim responsibility for, the financial institutions with which we place business.

 

Ongoing Services

We provide ongoing going services to all our clients on an annual basis through valuations from investment companies and we also provide a reactive service on an as-required bass. This means that our clients can contact us at any time during working hours and we will report to them on their life assurance, pensions and investments. We also provide enhanced services & access to a wide range of suitable investments. We offer ongoing suitability assessments and related services on an annual basis or a client’s interim request.

 
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 notify us of changes in your circumstances, or request a review, may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments.

 

Remuneration Structure

We are remunerated by the Insurance Companies and Product Producers to whom orders are transmitted for new business, on renewal of existing business and/or based on the levels of business introduced; remuneration details are available on request. We do not provide the facility to pay for our services by fee.

 

Conflicts of Interest

Our employees are required to comply with a policy of independence and disregard any conflict of interest when making

a recommendation to you. However, where an unavoidable conflict of interest arises we will advise you of this in writing before providing you with any service.

 
Failure to Pay or Default

Product producers may withdraw on benefits or cover on default of any payments due under any products arranged for your benefit. Details of these provisions will be included in your policy terms and conditions. We will also exercise our legal right to receive any payments due to us for business services provided in the event of a default in payment.

 
Disclosure of Information

Please note It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information for Insurers when arranging an insurance policy and to answer all questions honestly and with reasonable care.

It is essential to make full disclosure of relevant facts, including:

a) your medical details or history; and b) any previous insurance claims made by you for the type of insurance sought.

 

Failure to disclose all information may result in:

i) your policy being cancelled

ii) claims not being paid

iii) difficulty in trying to purchase insurance elsewhere

iv) a breach of the terms and conditions attaching to any loan secured on property.

If you are ever in doubt about whether or not something needs to be disclosed, the safest course of action is to disclose it.

 
Cooling off Period  

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 (except in the case of travel policies whose operative period is for one month or less), 30 days in the case of Life Assurance 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 Omega Financial Management quoting your policy number provided that no claim or adjustment has been made or is intended to be made or no incident has occurred which is likely to give rise to a claim. Should this right be exercised the insurance company may charge for the period you are on cover. Please note that the policy set up charge is non-refundable if you choose to withdraw from the policy within the cooling off period.

 

Complaints Procedure

We have a written complaints procedure for the effective handling of all complaints:

•  We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within 5 working days.

•  A written update will be issued to you every 20 days by a nominated individual within our firm.

•  A comprehensive response to your complaint will be issued within 8 weeks of receipt of your initial complaint.

•  In the event of failure to resolve your complaint you may refer your complaint to the Financial Services & Pension Ombudsman’s Bureau, Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, Tel: 01 567 7000  Email: info@fspo.ie

•  Our full Complaints Procedure is available on request

 

Compensation Scheme

We are members of the Investor Compensation Scheme established under Section 38 of the Investor Compensation

Act 1998.The Act provides that compensation shall be paid to eligible investors (as defined in the Act) to the extent of

90% of an investor’s net loss or €20,000, whichever is the lesser and is recognised as being eligible for compensation. Full

details of this scheme are available on request. We are also a member of the Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund. 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 Investor Compensation Scheme has failed to adequately compensate any client of the member. Further details are available on request.

 

Data Protection

We collect your personal details in order to provide the highest standard of service to you. We take great care with the information provided; taking steps to keep it secure and to ensure it is used only for legitimate purposes. The information and other data provided to our office may be used to advise you of products and services we may offer from time to time if you provide consent to do so.

 

Please note that the information we ask for is necessary and without it we may not be able to advise you fully under the Central Bank of Ireland Consumer Protection Code. You have the right at any time to request a copy of any ‘personal data’ within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 & the Data Protection Act 1988 (as amended or re-enacted from time to time) that our office holds about you and to have any inaccuracies in that information corrected.

 

CONSUMER INSURANCE CONTRACTS ACT 2019

 

Following the commencement of the Consumer Insurance Contract Act 2019 which was implemented to protect consumers. There is important information that you should be aware of and we are bringing to your attention. There are obligations on you as the consumer and duties that you must fulfil at the various stages of the process of arranging and renewing your Insurance policy.

So please read the following information very carefully and if you have any questions please ask a member of our staff.

 
Pre-Contract Stage

Before a contract of insurance is entered into, you as the  consumer need to understand the following:-

If an insurer asks a specific question, it must be presumed the matter to which it relates is material to the risk undertaken by the insurer or the calculation of the premium by that insurer, or both. 

You as the consumer is under a duty to answer all the questions posed by the insurer honestly and with reasonable care. We are advising you that this is extremely important to adhere to.

 
New Business & Renewal

A consumer may cancel a contract of insurance, by giving notice in writing to the insurer, within 14 days after the date the consumer was informed that the contract is concluded.  The insurer cannot impose any costs on the consumer other than the cost of the premium for the period of cover. (This does not affect notice periods already in place, i.e.  30 days in respect of life policies and 14 days in respect of general policies under respective pieces of legislation).

 

The consumer is under a duty to pay their premium within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance.

 

A court of competent jurisdiction can reduce the pay-out to the consumer where they are in breach of their duties under the Act, in proportion to the breach involved.

 
Post-Contract Stage and Claims

An insurer may refuse a claim made by a consumer 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. 

 

Any clause in a contract of insurance that refers to a “material change” will be interpreted as being a change that takes the risk outside what was in the reasonable contemplation of the contracting parties when the contract was concluded.

 

The consumer 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.

 

The consumer must notify the insurer of a claim within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance. 

 

If the consumer becomes aware after a claim is made of information that would either support or prejudice the claim, they are under a duty to disclose it.  (The insurer is under the same duty). 

 

If the consumer makes a false or misleading claim in any material respect (and knows 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 must notify the consumer advising that they are avoiding the contract of insurance.  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. 

 

 

OFM Financial Ltd T/A Omega Financial Management is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

 

Effective Date:  October 2020

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