Terms of Business

Promotions Direct Ltd trading as Sheridan Insurances

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.

Authorisation with the Central Bank of Ireland

Promotions Direct Ltd trading as Sheridan Insurances Central Bank number 2700, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an insurance intermediary registered under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulations 2018; as an Investment Intermediary authorised under the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995.  Copies of our regulatory authorisations are available on request. The Central Bank of Ireland holds registers of regulated firms. You may contact the Central Bank of Ireland on 0818 681 681 or +353 (0)1 224 5800 or alternatively visit their website at www.centralbank.ie  to verify our credentials.

Codes of Conduct

Promotions Direct Ltd trading as Sheridan Insurances is subject to the Consumer Protection Code 2012, 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

Promotions Direct Ltd trading as Sheridan Insurances is a member of Brokers Ireland. Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life & pensions and general insurance products. A full list of insurers, product producers with which we deal is available on request.

Insurance Intermediary Services

We act as a Broker which means that:

1. a) the principal regulated activities of the firm are provided on the basis of a fair and personal analysis of the market; and
2. b) you have the option to pay in full for our services by means of a fee.

For Heath Policies, we operate as a tied agent for Irish Life Health.

Fair and Personal Analysis

The concept of fair and personal analysis describes the extent of the choice of products and providers offered by an intermediary within a particular category of life assurance, general insurance, and/ or a specialist area.  The number of contracts and providers considered must be sufficiently large to enable an intermediary to recommend a product that would be adequate to meet a client’s needs.

The number of providers that constitutes ‘sufficiently large’ will vary depending on the number of providers operating in the market for a particular product or service and their relative importance in and share of that market.  The extent of fair analysis must be such that could reasonably be expected of a professional conducting business, taking into account the accessibility of information and product placement to intermediaries and the cost of the search.

We research the products on your behalf with the Product Producers (Insurers/Insurance Providers) with whom we hold appointments.

We will 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 policy and we will explain to you the various restrictions, conditions and exclusions attached to your policy. However, it is your responsibility to read the policy documents, literature and brochures to ensure that you understand the nature of the policy cover.

Non-Life General Insurance

We can provide advice on and arrange products from the following range: household, all classes of motor, health, commercial, public liability, product liability employer liability, professional indemnity, cyber, employment practice liability insurance. We provide general insurance on a fair and personal analysis basis.

In some cases, we may be granted authority from an insurance undertaking to conduct tasks on their behalf, for which we will be remunerated.  Where we place your business with this insurance undertaking under this authority you will be notified in advance of the placement..

We will also offer assistance to you in relation to processing claims on policies taken out with us and in seeking renewal terms on your cover.

To ensure continuity of cover, where you have an existing policy which is due to expire and where we have been unable to contact you, we may put continuing cover in force whilst awaiting your instruction. You will be liable for any premiums payable to the relevant insurer for the period of time between renewal and when we receive your instruction. You have the right not to avail of this service, which needs to be notified to us immediately.

Statement of Charges

We may earn our remuneration on the basis of fee, commission and any other type of remuneration, including a non-monetary benefit or on the basis of a combination of these methods.  A non-monetary benefit will only be accepted if it enhances the quality of the service to our clients.

You may choose to pay in full for our services by means of a Broker Support, Service, and Advice fee. Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for initial advice provided.  We reserve the right to charge additional fees, where both parties agree to ongoing research, support, advice and service

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.sheridaninsurances.com

Where a Credit Agreement is put in place between you and Premium Credit Ltd, we may earn commission of up to 2% of the premium amount financed.

We charge a fee for services provided.  These are listed below and under our schedule of Advice, Service and Support Fees on our website. www.sheridaninsurances.com

Schedule of Advice, Service and Support Fees

Our brokerage fees in relation to Initial placement, Renewal or Alteration of policies are listed below. The firm will charge you a fixed fee or a percentage of the insurance premium for the following services provided. For complex and non-standard cases, a pre agreed fee will be discussed on a case by case basis depending on the complexity of the case and level of work required.

2% compliance charge on the premium will apply across all our policy types.  There are no charges on return premiums

An hourly rate of up to €200 per hour will be pre agreed for advice without placement of policy

It is the policy of Sheridan Insurances to disclose actual fees charged on our documentation. Where as a result of a cancellation or an alteration a credit is returned from an Insurer, we will return this credit to you promptly. Where we arrange Insurance Premium Finance on your behalf a handling fee will apply. If you arrange Premium Credit Finance to pay your insurance premium, please note there will be no refund on a minimum deposit premium.

Life and Pensions & Investments

We provide life assurance and pensions on a fair and personal analysis basis. regarding which contract would be adequate to meet your needs.

We will 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 policy and we will explain to you the various restrictions, conditions and exclusions attached to your policy. However, it is your responsibility to read the policy documents, literature and brochures to ensure that you understand the nature of the policy cover; particularly in relation to Permanent Health Insurance and serious illness policies.

We are remunerated by commission for the advice we provide on our insurance based investment products,

We charge a fee under Financial Service Fees as advised in our schedule of Advice, Service and Support Fees

Premium Handling and Money Laundering

We will accept payment by cash, cheque and credit/debit card.  Premiums are due on or before the inception/renewal date or before any policy changes that result in an additional fee. If we do not receive your payment on or before renewal date your policy will lapse and no cover will be in place. We reserve the right to request information from you which we may need to know to comply with our legal or other money laundering requirements.

Ongoing Suitability

The firm’s services do 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. 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 contact us in relation to changes in your circumstances or failure to request a review, may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments.

Disclosure of Information

Any failure to disclose material information may invalidate your claim and render your policy void.

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.

Default on payments by clients

We will exercise our legal rights to receive payments due to us from clients (fees and insurance premiums) for services provided. In particular, without limitation to the generality of the foregoing, the firm will seek reimbursement for all payments made to insurers on behalf of clients where the firm has acted in good faith in renewing a policy of insurance for the client.

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.

Data Protection

We are subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018.

Promotions Direct Ltd trading as Sheridan Insurances 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 assessable. Please refer to our website https://www.sheridaninsurances.com/privacy-statement/

if this medium is not suitable please email dataprotection@sheridaninsurances.com we will ensure you can easily receive a copy, Please contact us at dataprotection@sheridaninsurances.com if you have any concerns about your personal data.

All inbound and outbound calls are recorded for regulatory, quality, training and verification purposes.

Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019

New consumer responsibilities arising out of the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 which was implemented to protect consumers

Pre Contract Stage

Before you enter a contract of insurance you need to understand

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.

Also that you are under a duty to answer all the questions posed by the insurer honestly and with reasonable care.

New Business & Renewal

A consumer may cancel a contract of insurance, by giving notice in writing to the insurer, within 14 working 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.

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

If, in respect of the insurance contract the insurer is not obliged to pay the full claim settlement amount until any repair, replacement or reinstatement work has been completed and specified documents for the work have been furnished to the insurer, the claim settlement deferment amount cannot exceed

5% of the claim settlement amount where the claim settlement amount is less than €40,000, or

10% of the claim settlement amount where the claim settlement amount is more than €40,000.

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.

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 which is 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 Compensation Fund

We are also members of the Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund. Subject to the rules of the scheme the liabilities of its member’s 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.

Cancellation

The consumer can cancel their policy in writing at any time. If a premium or rebate is due this will be issued to you.  These may not be issued in certain circumstances depending on the insurer policy conditions.  For motor policies we need the certificate and disc returned to us to cancel the policy. Insurers normally reserve the right to cancel a policy at any time by sending written notification to the consumers last known address.

Cooling Off Period

A consumer has the right to withdraw from an insurance policy within 14 days of the start date of the policy without penalty and without giving any reason.  Exception travel policies whose operative period is one month or less. Additional condition is that no claim or adjustment has been made or is intended to be made that is likely to give raise to a claim. The insurance company may charge for the period of time you have been on cover.