Terms of Business
About Quinlan Wealth Services Limited trading as Quinlan Financial:
This document sets out the basis on which we will provide business services to you. It details our regulatory and statutory obligations 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, please contact the undersigned who will be happy to clarify any matters which may arise. If any material changes are made to these terms we will notify you.
Contact:
Telephone:
Authorised Status
Quinlan Wealth Services Limited trading as Quinlan Financial, Central Bank number C93716, 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 and as a Mortgage Intermediary authorised under the Consumer Credit Act, 1995, and as a Mortgage Credit Intermediary under the European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016. 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 1890 777 777 or alternatively visit their website at www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials.
Regulatory Codes of Conduct
Our Services
Quinlan Wealth Services trading as Quinlan Financial is a member of Brokers Ireland.
We offer financial advice based on the information provided by you and, as we are not tied to any one insurance company or other financial institution, we are able to select the most suitable and competitive product for you from a wide range of products available on the market.
Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life & pensions, mortgages and insurance products. A full list of insurers, product producers and lending agencies with which we deal is available on request.
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, mortgages, 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 be reasonably expected of a professional conducting business, taking into account the accessibility of information and product placement to intermediaries and the cost of the search.
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 customer,
- the size of the customer order,
- the number of providers in the market that deal with brokers,
- the market share of each of those providers,
- 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 relevant consideration.
Investment Intermediary Services
Quinlan Wealth Services trading as Quinlan Financial is remunerated by commission for its investment intermediary services
Life, Pensions & Investments
- Life Assurance
- Serious Illness
- Savings
- Investments
- Pensions
- Permanent Health Insurance
We also provide assistance to you on any queries you may have in relation to your policies and assist in any transactions you may wish to carry out on your policies. Please note that it is your responsibility to read the policy documents, literature and brochures in relation to your policies to ensure that you understand the nature of the policy cover, particularly in relation to PHI and serious illness policies.
Specifically on the subject of permanent health insurance policies it is our policy to explain to you (a) the meaning of disability as defined in the policy; (b) the benefits available under the policy; (c) the general exclusions that apply to the policy; and (d) the reductions applied to the benefit where there are disability payments from other sources.
For a serious illness policy, we will explain clearly to you the restrictions, conditions and general exclusions that attach to that policy.
Mortgages
Through the lenders or other undertakings with which we hold an agency, Quinlan Wealth Services Limited trading as Quinlan Financial can provide advice on and arrange mortgage products from the following range: fixed-rate loans, variable rate mortgages, capital & interest mortgages, interest only mortgages, pension mortgages and residential investment property.
Quinlan Wealth Services Limited trading as Quinlan Financial provides mortgage advice on a fair analysis basis, providing services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available on the market to enable the firm to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be adequate to meet your needs. We will need to collect sufficient information from you before we can offer any advice on housing loans. This is due to the fact that a key issue in relation to mortgage advice is affordability. Such information should be produced promptly upon our request.
Sustainability Factors – Investment/Insurance Based Investment Products (IBIPs)/Pension Advice
When providing advice, the firm considers the adverse impact of investment decisions on sustainability. As part of our research and assessment of products, the firm will examine the Product Providers literature to compare financial products and to make informed investment decisions about ESG products. The firm will at all times act in the client’s best interests and keep clients informed accordingly. The consideration of sustainability risks can impact on the returns of financial products.
Remuneration
Quinlan Wealth Services Limited trading as Quinlan Financial are remunerated by a combination of; (i) fees, payable directly by the client and (ii) commission, received from Insurance Companies and other Financial Institutions on completion of business.
You may choose to pay in full for our services by means of fee. Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for initial advice provided. Quinlan Wealth Services trading as Quinlan Financial applies annual trail commission of up to 0.5% in relation to investment and pension products. When assessing products, we will consider the different approach taken by product providers in terms of them integrating sustainability risks into their product offering. This will form part of our analysis for choosing a product provider.
Our current basic hourly advisory fees for Accountant/Certified Financial Planner are €200 and for Qualified Financial Advisor is €150. This may be increased for specialised work and will be agreed in advance. The minimum transaction fee for the Firm is €250.
We are remunerated by commission and other payments from product producers on completion of business, however, in certain circumstances, it will be necessary to charge a fee for services provided. In circumstances where fees are chargeable, we will notify you in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged.
Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency, our scale of fees for such cases range from a minimum of €150 per hour to a maximum of €200 per hour. We will notify you in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged. If we receive commission from a product provider, this may be offset against the fee which we will charge you. Where the commission is greater that the fee due, the commission will become the amount payable to the intermediary unless an arrangement to the contrary is made.
Mortgage Remuneration
We may receive up to 1% (or whatever maximum is applicable) of the loan for arranging mortgage finance. This commission is paid by the mortgage lender. The actual amount of commission will be disclosed at a later stage in the ESIS (European Standardised Information Sheet) which will be forwarded to you. Information on the variation in levels of commission payable by the different creditors providing credit agreements being offered are available on request.
There is no charge for our initial mortgage meeting and thereafter we charge a fee of €350 for making a formal application to the lenders. We charge a fee of €1,000 for a self-build mortgage application. This fee is split €500 when making the application and €500 after the first stage payment has issued. These fees are non-refundable. This is not in any way an indication of mortgage/loan approval.
Please note that lenders may charge specific fees in certain circumstances and if this applies, these fees will be specified in your Loan Offer. You have the right to pay a fee separately and not include it in the loan offer. Typically, this situation arises in relation to specialist lending.
If we provide mortgage advice and obtain a Loan Offer for you and you subsequently do not proceed with your application through our firm, we will charge you an arrangement fee of €250 for our service
Ongoing Suitability: Investments
Regular Reviews
It is in your best interests that you review your policies on a regular basis to ensure that they continue to meet your needs. As your circumstances change, your needs will change too, therefore it is in your best interest to 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 inform us of changes in your circumstances, or 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 render your policy void and invalidate a claim.
Conflicts of Interest
We value our clients highly, and endeavour always to make every reasonable effort to avoid conflicts of interest with our clients. We review our business processes and practices on an ongoing basis in order to identify and manage any potential conflicts of interest that may arise. Should an occasion where the firm’s interests may conflict with yours or an unavoidable conflict arises; we will make you aware immediately 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
Our firm will exercise its legal rights to receive payments due to us from clients for services provided. 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. Please refer to your policy documents or product terms for the details of such provisions. Mortgage lenders may seek early repayment of a loan and interest if you default on your repayments. Your home is at risk if you do not maintain your agreed repayments.
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
Quinlan Wealth Services Limited trading as Quinlan Financial are subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018. Quinlan Wealth Services Limited trading as Quinlan Financial 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 www.quinlanfinancial.ie if this medium is not suitable we will ensure you can easily receive a hard copy. Please contact us at hugh@quinlanfinancial.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.
Compensation Scheme
We are members of the Investor Compensation Scheme operated by the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. The Investor Compensation Act, 1998 provides for the establishment of a compensation scheme and the payment, in certain circumstances, of compensation to certain clients (know 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 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 recognized for the purposes of the Act
In the event that a right to compensation is established, the ICCL Scheme provides for payment of up to 90% of an eligible loss or €20,000, whichever is the lesser. For further information contact the Investor Compensation Company Ltd at (01) 2244955.
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 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.
Consumer Responsibilities arising out of the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 which was implemented to protect consumers.
If you have taken out a life insurance contract, you may cancel the contract by giving notice in writing to us 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, or in respect of general insurance, the duration of the contract is less than one month.
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.
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 both you and the insurer when the contract was concluded.
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.
If you become aware after a claim is made of information that would either support or prejudice the claim, you are under a duty to disclose it. (The insurer is under the same duty).
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.
Terms of Business Acknowledgement
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