Terms of Business
Terms of Business – Effective from January 2012 until further notice.
Orca Financial Ltd trading as Oomph
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
Orca Financial Ltd trading as oomph is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an insurance intermediary registered under the European Communities (Insurance Mediation) Regulations, 2005; as a Multi-Agency Intermediary authorised under the Investment Intermediaries Act, 199. 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.
Codes of Conduct
Orca Financial Ltd trading as oomph is subject to the Consumer Protection Code, 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
Orca Financial Ltd trading as Oomph is a member of the Professional Insurance Brokers Association (PIBA). As a member of PIBA we must be in a position to place insurance with at least five insurers of the relevant form (life) and therefore can generally give consumers greater choice than agents and tied agents.
Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life Insurance, mortgage protection and pensions. A full list of insurers, product producers and lending agencies with which we deal is available on request.
Orca Financial Ltd trading as oomph acts as an Independent Broker which means that the principal regulated activities of the firm are provided on the basis of a fair analysis of the market.
Fair Analysis
The concept of fair analysis is derived from the Insurance Mediation Directive. It 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 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.
Remuneration Policy
For the most part, Orca Financial trading as oomph’s remuneration takes the form of commission paid by the product producers on the completion of business with which it has letters of appointment in place. Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for ongoing advice and administration provided in relation to that particular product.
Life & Pensions
Orca Financial Ltd trading as oomph provides life assurance and pensions on a fair analysis basis i.e. providing services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available on the market to enable us to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be adequate to meet the 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 policies 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 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.
Disclosure of Information
Any failure to disclose material information may invalidate your claim and render your policy void. It is vitally important that you answer all questions on our application form in full and honestly.
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 should 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.
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.
Default on premiums due
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
We ask that you make any complaint against our firm, relating to services provided by us, in writing. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and we will fully investigate it. 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 Ombudsman or the Pensions Ombudsman. A full copy of our complaints procedure is available on request.
Data Protection
Orca Financial Ltd trading as oomph complies with the requirements of the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003.
The data which you provide to us will be held on a computer database and paper files for the purpose of arranging transactions on your behalf. The data will be processed only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given. We would also like to keep you informed of insurance, investment and any other services provided by us or associated companies with which we have a formal business arrangement; which we think may be of interest to you. We would like to contact you by way of letter, email or telephone call. If you do not wish to receive such marketing information please tick the box in the Terms of Business acknowledgement letter.
Terms and Conditions
Access to our Web Site and the use of its information is ruled by the following terms and conditions. By proceeding you are deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions. Any references to “we” relate to Orca Financial Ltd trading as oomph our subsidiaries and associate companies.
www.oomph.ie is owned by Orca Financial Ltd and is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland.
This web site is established in Ireland in accordance with the laws of Ireland and is governed by Irish law. By using the web site, it is deemed you accept that your use of the web site and any information on it, will also be governed by Irish law and if any claim or dispute arises from your use of the web site or any of the information on it, you agree that the Irish courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
Information about some of the products and services on this web site may be subject to specific restrictions concerning the persons to whom such information may be made available.
The information on the web site is provided in good faith, taken from industry, trade and other sources believed to be reliable. Although we have made all reasonable efforts to ensure that the information on the site is accurate at the time of inclusion, we do not recommend that it should be relied upon as such.
The information contained in this web site is for information purposes only. Whilst every care has been taken in their preparation we do not make any warranties or representations as to their completeness, accuracy or reliability of the contents of this Site. We neither accept nor assume any responsibility to you in relation to the contents of this Site.
The information contained in this web site should not be relied upon to enter into any investment or property purchase decision either by placing a deposit or going to auction on the basis of this information.
Be aware that the sending of information via e-mail over the Internet may not be secure and can be intercepted by third parties or incorrectly delivered.
There are some links on our web site to web sites not operated or maintained by us. We will not be liable in any way for the content, availability or use of such linked web sites and you use such links entirely at your own risk.
The case studies featured on this website are actual cases, all identities have been changed to protect our clients privacy.
Access to and use of this web site is at your own risk. We do not represent or warrant that the use of this web site or any information accessed from it will not cause damage to property, including but not limited to loss of data or computer virus infection. In no event do we accept liability of any description including liability for negligence for any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits arising out of or in connection with the access, use or performance of this web site or any its contents.
The contents of the web site, including these terms and conditions, are subject to change by us without prior notification. Information may be updated from time to time and may at times be out of date. We accept no responsibility for keeping the information in this web site current or liability for any failure to do so.
The information contained within the web site, our logos and trademarks may not be copied, transmitted or reproduced without written permission.