Terms of Business

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.

Nelson Life Limited trading as Nelson Life is a company incorporated in Ireland (registered number 541204) with its registered office at Dockgate, Dock Road, Galway, H91 V6RR

e| ask@nelsonlife.ie w| www.nelsonlife.ie t| 091 44 11 88

Authorisation with the Central Bank of Ireland

Nelson Life Limited trading as Nelson Life (C129707) 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.

Codes of Conduct

Nelson Life 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

Nelson Life’s principal business is to provide financial advice to cover all aspects of our clients financial situations, goals and objectives.

We arrange transactions on behalf of clients (individual and employers) in relation to investments, pensions, shares in companies or bonds, funds, life insurance, mortgages and deposits. Nelson Life is a member of Brokers Ireland.

Product Producer Appointments

Nelson Life is authorised to receive and transmit orders to product producers from whom a written letter of appointment is held, these providers include:

  • Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited, trading as Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland (including Friends First Life assurance Company dac)

  • BCP Asset Management dac

  • BES Management Limited

  • Blackbee Investments Limited

  • Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland Limited

  • Standard Life Assurance Limited

  • Independent Trustee Company Limited

  • Irish Life Assurance PLC (including Canada Life Ireland)

  • J&E DAVY

  • New Ireland Assurance Company plc

  • The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited

  • Wealth Options Limited

  • Zurich Life Assurance plc

  • Permanents tsb plc

  • Broker Ireland Network Services Limited including; Haven/AIB Mortgage Services, Banco Sabadell S.A., BNP Paribas Personal Finance, Dilosk dac, Galway County Council, Diblin County Council, Pepper Finance Corporation Ireland dac & Ptsb Mortgages

Charges, Fees and Remuneration

We will discuss the options available to you and these include:

  • Commission and other payments from product producers or lenders on the completion of business.

  • Payment in full for our services by means of a fee.

  • Payment for our service(s) via a combination of the above

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 under Our Remuneration  – https://www.nelsonlife.ie/our-remuneration

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 fee. Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for initial advice provided.  We reserve the right to charge additional fees if the number of hours relating to on-going advice/assistance exceeds 2.0 hrs.

In certain circumstances, it will be necessary to charge a fee for services provided.  These are listed below. In other circumstances where fees are chargeable or where you choose to pay in full for our service by fee, we will notify you in writing in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged if different from fees outlined below.  Where it is not possible to provide the exact amount, we will provide you the method of calculation of the fee.

If we receive commission from a product provider, this may/will be offset against the fee which we will charge you. Where the commission is greater than the fee due, the commission may become the amount payable to the firm unless an arrangement to the contrary is made.

Pensions, PRSAs, Approved Retirement Funds, Investment Intermediary Services, Insurance Based Investment Products, Life, Wrapped Investments and Deposits

You may elect to deal with us on a fee basis. 

  • Director/ Senior Advisor - EUR 250 per hour

  • Advisor/QFA - EUR 175 per hour

  • Paraplanner - EUR 150 per hour

  • Sales Support QFA - EUR 75 per hour

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 EUR 175.00 per hour to a maximum of EUR 250.00 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 will be offset against the fee which we will charge you. Where the commission is greater than the fee due, the commission will become the amount payable to the Nelson Life unless an arrangement to the contrary is made.

IMPORTANT! Clawback of commission

If we receive a commission from a product provider [and off-set the commission against the which we would have otherwise charged you] but the commission is subsequently clawed-back by the provider because of the transferring of the assets or business to another provider or in and circumstance  consequent on your actions or ommissions, we will charge a fee to you that is equal to [100% of] the clawed-back commission. That  fee will be owing in single contract nupon the claw-back of the commission.

Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulations (SFDR)

The SFDR sets out harmonised rules on transparency and aims to include environmental, social and governance (ESG) “sustainability” considerations and risks in the decision-making process of investors and asset managers in a consistent manner across the EU financial services sector.

A sustainable investment product is where a product is sold as promoting environmental or social characteristics. It is envisaged that greater transparency and sustainability-related information will enable investors to compare financial products and to make informed investment decisions about ESG products.

Sustainability Factors – Investment, Insurance Based Investment Products & Pension Advice

When providing advice, Nelson Life considers the adverse impact of investment decisions on sustainability. As part of our research and assessment of products, Nelson Life will examine the Product Providers literature to compare financial products and to make informed investment decisions about ESG products.

Nelson Life 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 policy

We take due care so that our internal remuneration policy with respect to investment or insurance advice on insurance-based investment products (‘IBIPs’) promotes sound and effective risk management in relation tosustainability risks and does not encourage excessive risk-taking with respect to sustainability risks

We are remunerated by commission and other payments from product producers. 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.

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 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.  

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.

We provide the following services on a fair and personal basis:

  • Investment Intermediary Services

  • Insurance Based Investment Products (including Lump Sum Investments and Regular Savings)

  • Life (including Life Cover, Employer Life Insurance, Employer Income Protection Insurance, Income Protection/Salary Protection, Cancer Cover and Specified Serious Illness Cover)

  • Pensions (including PRSAs, Master Trusts, Executive Pensions, AVCs, Approved Retirement Funds, Buy Out Bonds, Annuities, Employer Occupational Pensions, Employer PRSA Pensions, and retirement advice)

  • Life Wrapped Investment Products

  • Mortgages

Limited analysis

The concept of limited 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 is not sufficiently large enough to enable an intermediary to recommend a product that would be adequate to meet a client’s needs. We provide the following services on a limited analysis basis: Deposits (Permanent tsb)

Life Cover, Income Protection/Salary Protection, Specified Serious Illness Cover and Cancer Cover

We will provide assistance to you for any questions 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 (not limited to) Income Protection/Salary Protection and Specified Serious Illness policies.

Specifically on the subject of Income Protection/ Salary Protection insurance policies we will 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 (and income) from other sources.

For a Specified 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, “Nelson Life” can provide advice on and arrange mortgage products from the following range: fixed-rate loans, variable rate mortgages, capital & interest mortgages, interest only mortgages, endowment mortgages, pension mortgages and residential investment property.

We provide mortgage advice on a fair analysis basis (providing services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available in 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.

We may receive up to 1.0% 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. For example: Nelson Life charge a fee of EUR 450.00 for advising on a mortgage  application, this fee is non-refundable.  This is not in any way an indication of mortgage/loan approval.  Our fee will be notified to the lender who will include this fee into the calculation of the APRC (Annual Percentage Rate Charge).

Brokers Ireland Network Services charge an application fee of EUR 500.00 . This fee is payable when application is ready to proceed with the selected lender. 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.  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 mortgage application through our firm, we will charge you an arrangement fee of EUR 450.00 for our services.

Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency. We will notify you in advance of providing you with these services.  Our scale of fees for such cases range from a EUR 175.00 per hour to EUR 250.00 per hour.

Ongoing Suitability - MIFID Investments/products

Ongoing suitability assessments form part of the service to clients.  On an annual basis the firm will issue a client report outlining changes in the services or instruments involved and/or the circumstances of the client.

Ongoing Suitability - Insurance based Investment Products

The firm’s services does 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 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.

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:

(1) 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’. 

(2) 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.

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.

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.

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.

We do not currently have a profit sharing agreement with any product producer.   

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.

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

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

Nelson Life 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. Please refer to our website https://nelsonlife.ie/privacy-notice/ if this medium is not suitable we will ensure you can easily receive a copy by hard copy, or telephonic environment (over the phone).  Please contact us at dataprotection@nelsonlife.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.

Consumer Insurnace Contracts Act 2019

The was implemented to protect consumers and applies to consumer duties and rights. Non-Consumer Commercial clients have no duties and rights under this Act.

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 EUR 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 members firms up to a maximum of EUR 100,000 per client (or EUR 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.

This Terms of Business was last reviewed 24.08.2023