Company
McDonald Dwyer Reddy & Byrne Insurances Limited (“the Company”) is a Private Limited Company, trading from 131/132 Parade Quay, Waterford, Ireland, 051-872080. We offer a wide range of services, including Insurance placements, Risk reviews, Claims reviews and support, and Risk management. We transact business with the leading insurers and a full list of these is available on request. We do not have a tied relationship with any Product Producer that would compromise our ability to offer independent advice and choice.
Authorised Status
McDonald Dwyer Reddy & Byrne Insurances Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and is authorised and registered to undertake insurance mediation under the European Union (Insurance Distribution)Regulations 2018 by The Central Bank of Ireland. Copies of our regulatory authorisations are available on request. The Company is subject to and complies with the Central Bank of Ireland’s Fitness and Probity Standards, Consumer Protection Code and Minimum Competency Code. These Codes offer protection to consumers and can be found on the Central Bank of Ireland’s website www.centralbank.ie Regarding our UK clients, we are deemed authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The nature and extent of consumer protections may differ from those for firms based in the UK. Details of the Temporary Permissions Regime, which allows EEA-based firms to operate in the UK for a limited period while seeking full authorisation, are available on the Financial Conduct Authority’s website.
Our Services
McDonald Dwyer Reddy & Byrne Insurances Limited is a member of Brokers Ireland. The Company is an independent insurance intermediary and provides the following services: –
- Advising on the selection of Non-Life insurance products best suited to its clients’ needs.
- Receiving and transmitting orders to product producers.
Advice to clients is based on a fair and personal analysis of the available market. 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.
Conflict of Interest
We will endeavour 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 / Remedies
All insurances are effected on the express condition that, pending receipt of the premium from the Insured, the Company reserve the right, notwithstanding delivery of policy or certificate or receipt to the Insured, to cancel the policy, obtain a refund from the Insurers and apply same in the reduction of the amount due by the Insured. We regret that credit cannot be extended to clients in respect of premiums; initial, renewal or additional. Initial or first premiums must be paid at inception of cover and renewal premiums before the policy renewal date otherwise the Company will advise the insurance undertaking or product producer involved accordingly and cover will be cancelled. It is therefore critical that we are in receipt of the full premium before the renewal date or inception of a new policy.
Our firm will exercise its legal rights to receive payments due to it from clients for services provided. In particular, without limitation of 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. Insurers and other 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.
Governing Law & Language
The laws of Ireland form the basis for establishing relations between you and McDonald Dwyer Reddy and Byrne Insurances Limited. All contracts, terms, conditions, and communications relating to any policies or services you may enter into with the firm will be in English.
Commission and Statement of Charges
Our income is generated from a combination of commissions received from product producers, brokerage fees for our professional services and any other type of remuneration, including an economic benefit of any kind offered or given with the insurance contract. We may be remunerated by commission from insurers on completion of business. Details of the commission arrangements are available on our website. Where an override commission is received, this will be disclosed to you in general terms. Any brokerage fee charged will be clearly identified on our documentation to you and will be non-refundable in the event of policy cancellation. Our brokerage fees in relation to Initial Placement, Renewal or Alteration of policies are up to a maximum of 100% of the premium. Where it is not possible to provide the exact amount, we will provide you the method of calculation of the fee. The amount of commission receivable, by the Company, under any policy of insurance is available on request.
Handling Clients’ Money/Receipts
We will accept payments in cash, by cheque, debit card, credit card and bank transfers, in respect of all classes of Insurance in the circumstances permitted under Section 25G(I) of the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995. We are not authorised to accept cash or cheques in any other circumstances. We will issue a receipt for each payment received pursuant to the requirements of the Central Bank of Ireland’s Consumer Protection Code. These receipts are issued for your protection and should be stored in a safe place by you. We act as agents for the Insurer for the collection of premiums and payment of claims and refunds of premiums. This means that premiums are treated as being received by the Insurer when received in our bank account and that any claims money or premium refund is treated as received by you when it is actually paid over to you. There are occasions where such transactions are restricted (for example, to receiving premiums only) and we will tell you if this is the case.
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 which may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments. We would therefore advise that you contact us to ensure that you are provided with up-to-date advice and products best suited to your needs.
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The following sections apply to consumer duties and rights arising out of the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 which was implemented to protect consumers. Non-Consumer Commercial clients have no duties and rights under this Act, and therefore the following sections do not apply to them. Please refer to the definition of ‘Consumer’ as defined in the Financial Services & Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017.
Consumers: Duty of Disclosure when completing documentation for new business/renewals and midterm adjustments
Section 14 (1) – (5) of the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act which is effective from 1st September 2021 alters consumers’ duty of disclosure:
– You are required to answer all questions posed by us or the insurer honestly and with reasonable care – the test will be that of the ‘average consumer’. Average consumer as per Directive No. 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 is reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect, taking into account social, cultural, and linguistic factors.
– Specific questions will be asked. Where you do not provide additional information (after being requested to do so) it can be presumed that the information previously provided remains unchanged. An insurer may repudiate liability or limit the amount paid on foot of the contract of insurance, only if it establishes that non-disclosure of material information was an effective cause of the insurer entering into the relevant contract of insurance and on the terms on which it did.
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Consumers: Completed proposal forms/statement of fact
Completed proposal forms or Statements of Facts will be provided to you. These are important documents as they form the basis of insurance contract between the insurer and you the consumer. You should review and confirm that the answers contained within are true and accurate.
Consumers: New Business and Renewal
Under the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019, if you have taken out a new policy with us or renewed an existing policy, and we have not met face to face during the process, you may cancel the contract by giving notice in writing within 14 days after the date you were informed the contract is on cover. If we have met face to face during the process, you may cancel the contract by giving notice in writing within 14 working 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 the duration of the contract is less than one month. The right of withdrawal may be exercised by notice in writing to McDonald Dwyer Reddy and Byrne Insurances Limited quoting your policy number provided that no claim or adjustment has been made or is intended to be made or no incidence has occurred which is likely to give rise to a claim. For motor insurance, the Certificate and Disc of Insurance must be received by us before the policy can be cancelled. 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. A court of competent jurisdiction can reduce the payout
to you if you are in breach of your duties under the Act, in proportion to the breach involved.
Consumers: Post-Contract Stage and Claims
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. You must notify the Insurer of a claim within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance. 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). 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. An Insurer may refuse a claim made by you 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. 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
o 5% of the claim settlement amount where the claim settlement amount is less than €40,000, or
o 10% of the claim settlement amount where the claim settlement amount is more than €40,000.
If you make a false or misleading claim in any material respect (and know 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 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.
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Commercial Customers: Non-Consumer Disclosure of Information
It is essential that you should bring to our attention any material alteration in risk such as changes of address or use of premises. Any failure to disclose material information may invalidate your claim and render your policy void.
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Complaints
The Company has in place a written procedure for the handling of complaints. 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 (GDPR) 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018. The Company 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 accessible to you. Please contact us at info@mdrb.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.
Investor Compensation Act, 1998
McDonald Dwyer Reddy & Byrne Insurances Limited is a member of the Investor Compensation Scheme, established under the ‘Investor Compensation Act, 1998’. Under that Act, an ‘eligible investor’ may receive a maximum compensation of €20,000 or 90% of the loss, whichever is the lesser. Further information on this scheme is available from the Central Bank of Ireland.
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.
Insurers
We review and consider the security of Insurers and Underwriters in a professional manner. We do not and cannot guarantee the financial security of any Insurer or Underwriter.
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