Terms of Business

PATTON INSURANCE LIMITED
T/A
Harte Insurance

TERMS OF BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION DETAILS

Name: Patton Insurances Ltd t/a Harte Insurance
Address: 18 Academy Court, Oliver Plunkett Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, F92 D684.
Telephone: 074 912 59
Email: patricia@harteinsurance.ie            info@harteinsurance.ie

These Terms of Business set out the general terms under which we will provide non-life insurance broking services to you and the respective duties and responsibilities of both parties in relation to such services. Please read these terms carefully and if you have any queries please refer to us for clarification. If any material changes are made to these terms we will notify you.

AUTHORISED WITH THE CENTRAL BANK OF IRELAND

Patton Insurance Ltd t/a Harte Insurance is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Patton Insurance Limited trading as Harte Insurance is subject (inter alia) to the Central Bank Consumer Protection Code, Minimum Competency Code and Fitness & Probity Standards. These Codes can be found on the Central Bank website: www.centralbank.ie. Patton Insurance Ltd is a limited liability company; Company number 331583

SERVICES PROVIDED
We will provide advice to clients in respect of non-life insurance products on a fair and personal analysis of the market. This means we will research the market and recommend the best product to suit the needs of our clients. To enable us provide a fair and personal analysis of the market we have in place appointments to arrange insurance with a wide range of Product Producers authorised to transact such business in the Republic of Ireland. A full list of the Product Producers we transact business can be found on our website; www.harte insurance.ie

The services provided will include arranging insurance cover, dealing with administration of such insurance including policy/cover amendments, renewals and claims handling. In providing the services outlined above we will only advise on matters in which we are knowledgeable and will refer clients to specialists (e.g. solicitors, accountants, architects, engineers, loss assessors and the like) when necessary.

FAIR and PERSONAL ANALYSIS

The concept of fair and personal analysis describes the extent of the choice of products and providers offered by a broker within a particular category of non-life insurance. The number of contracts and providers must be sufficiently large to enable a broker to recommend a product that is adequate to meet a client’s needs. The number of providers that constitutes “sufficiently large” will vary depending on the number of providers in the market for a particular product 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 brokers.

In order to ensure that the number of contracts and providers is sufficiently large to constitute a fair and personal analysis of the market we will consider the following criteria:

• The needs of the consumer
• The number of providers in the market that deal with brokers
• The market share, reputation and reliability of each provider
• The number of relevant products available from each provider
• The availability of information about the products
• The quality of the product and service provided by the provider
• Cost and
• Any other relative consideration

COMPENSATION SCHEME

We are members of the Investor Compensation Scheme established under the Investor Compensation Act, 1998.  This legislation provides for the establishment of a compensation scheme and to the payment, in certain circumstances, of compensation to clients of firms covered by the Act.  In the event that a right to compensation is established, the amount payable is the lesser of 90 per cent of your loss which is recognised as being eligible for compensation or €20,000. We are also members of the Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund.

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

If you have a complaint regarding the service you have received from us please refer such complaints to our Managing Director Patricia Patton, We will: acknowledge all written complaints received, in writing, within 5 days of receipt: conduct a thorough and fair investigation into all written complaints: provide a written update on the progress of such investigation at intervals of not greater than 20 business days: within 5 days of the completion of the investigation of a complaint advise you in writing of the outcome of the investigation. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of our investigation you may refer the matter to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman, Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2. D02 VH29 or the Central Bank of Ireland, New Wapping Street, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 DO1 FTX3.

REMUNERATION STRUCTURE
We are remunerated for services to our clients by commission paid by the Product Producer and/or by fees. The maximum fee charged in respect of personal lines insurance will be €50.00. The amount of any fee charged in addition to the premium will be disclosed separately. Details of the commission arrangements are available on our website; www.harte insurance.ie            

SCALE OF FEES

OTHER CHARGES

BROKERAGE FEE IS PAYABLE WITHIN THE COOLING OFF PERIOD

PREMIUM REBATES

Where a policy amendment or cancellation results in a premium rebate being due to you we will refund the premium to you within 5 working days of the rebate becoming due. The premium rebate becomes due to you once we have received the premium rebate from the Product Producer.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

We are independent of all the Product Producers with whom we transact business.  We have no affiliation of any kind with any Institution that would compromise our ability to offer our clients independent advice.  Our philosophy is to remain independent of all Product Producers because we believe that to do so is in the best interest of both our clients and ourselves.  In the unlikely event that our conflict of interest does arise we will ensure that our clients are fairly treated whilst discharging our obligations to the market.  We will to do so in a transparent and verifiable manner.

DEFAULT REMEDIES/PENALTIES

A Product Producer may cancel your insurance if you fail to pay premiums as agreed when arranging the insurance.  Should any such default occur during the first period of insurance (normally within 12 months of cover first being arranged) Product Producers will apply short term rates which means you will not receive a refund on a pro-rata basis for the unexpired period of cover. In cases where minimum and deposit premiums apply (commonly imposed by Product Producers from Employers and Public Liability Risks) no refund of premium will be allowed in the event of mid term cancellation.

RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL (COOLING-OFF PERIOD)

A consumer (as defined by S.I. No 853 of 2004) has the right to withdraw from an insurance policy (as defined by S.I. No 853 of 2004) within 14 days of the start date of the policy without penalty and without giving any reason (provided no claims have been made or no incidents have occurred that might give rise to a claim). The right of withdrawal may be exercised by notice in writing to us quoting your policy number. Should this right be exercised the Product Producer will charge a pro-rata premium for the period you are on cover. If the cover is motor insurance the premium cannot be refunded until the Certificate of Insurance and windscreen disc have been returned to us.

CANCELLATION

 You, the customer, can cancel your policy by notice in writing at any time. 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 unexpired period of insurance. If you cancel the insurance during the first year (outside the cooling off period) short term rates may apply. Please refer to the terms and conditions contained in your policy document. In the case of cancellation of a motor insurance policy you, the customer, must return the certificate of insurance and windscreen disc to us. Product Producers normally reserve the right to cancel policies at any time by giving appropriate sent to your last known address. Please refer to your policy terms and conditions for details.

 GOVERNING LAW AND LANGUAGE

 Our Terms of Business will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Ireland.  All communications relating to any policies you may enter into with us will be in English.

DATA PROTECTION

 We collect your personal details in order to provide you with insurance products, services and advice and to provide the highest standard of service to you. We fully respect your right to privacy. Any personal information which you provide to us will be treated with a high standard of security and confidentiality strictly in accordance with the Data Protection Acts 1988 -2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018. We take great care with the information we obtain, taking steps to ensure that it is only used for legitimate purposes. To fulfil these objectives we may share information with other affiliated professionals. You have the right at any time to request a copy of any personal data within the meaning of the Data Protection Acts 1988 -2018 that our office holds about you and to have any inaccuracies in that data corrected. A copy of our GDPR Privacy Notice is available for inspection on our website.

CLAIMS NOTIFICATION CONDITIONS

 Policy conditions require you to notify Product Producers immediately of any claims or the occurrence of any incident that might give rise to a claim. It is essential that we are notified immediately of any such incidents and we will then deal with the matter on your behalf. Failure to do so could invalidate your insurance cover with the result that claims may not be paid, or indemnity refused, by your Product Producer. If you are in any doubt as to your duties regarding notification of claims please contact us and we will be happy to clarify any queries you may have. This is a very important aspect of your insurance policy cover/conditions.

DUTY OF DISCLOSURE

It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information for Product Producers when arranging an insurance policy, throughout the period the policy is in force, and when you are renewing it. It is important that you ensure that all information provided and all statements made on proposal forms, claim forms and other documents are complete and accurate to the best of your knowledge and belief. Failure to disclose any material information could invalidate your insurance and result in all or part of a claim not being paid.

SUMS INSURED

 Property insurance/material damage insurance provides cover for replacement as new of property lost, destroyed or damaged including, where relevant, the cost of site clearance, debris removal, architects surveyors and consultants fees necessarily incurred in the reinstatement of the property and the additional cost of meeting public authorities and EU building/planning requirements (for full details of the cover provided please refer to your policy document). It is essential for you to make sure that your sums insured are adequate to meet the cost of replacement/ reinstatement as new.

AVERAGE

 Property insurance policies include a clause known as the “Average” clause. This clause states that if the property is insured for a sum lower than the cost of replacement then any claim payment will be reduced in proportion to amount the sum insured bears to the cost of replacement. As an example: if a building costs say €300,000 to rebuild as new but the sum insured is €150,000 (50% of the replacement value) and a claim in the sum of €20,000 occurs the settlement will be reduced by 50% to €10,000 thus reflecting the % that the sum insured bears to the replacement value. We are not experts in rebuilding costs and we would advise you to obtain advice from a suitably qualified professional in order to establish the correct cost of rebuilding as new including the ancillary costs referred to above. This is a very important issue and requires careful attention. Please refer to us if you have any queries or concerns about the average clause/ sums insured and we will clarify your queries.

PRODUCT PRODUCER SECURITY

We do not and cannot guarantee the financial security of any Product Producer. That is a matter for the Regulator of the Product Producer in its home country. If you have concerns about the security offered please let us know.

Patton Insurance Limited trading as Harte Insurance

March 2020