Terms of Business  

V.1.1. Effective 01/12/2024

Senna Brokers Limited trading as Senna Brokers.

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

Senna Brokers Limited trading as Senna Brokers (C540894) 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 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

Senna Brokers Limited 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

Senna Brokers Limited is a member of Brokers Ireland.

Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life & pensions/mortgages/general insurance products. A full list of insurers, product producers and lending agencies with which we deal is available on request.

Insurance Intermediary Services/Mortgage Intermediary Services (except for Insurance based Investment Products (IBIPs))

Senna Brokers Limited act as an Independent Broker which means that:

a) the principal regulated activities of the firm are provided on the basis of a fair and personal analysis of the market; and

b) you must pay for our services by means of a fee. We provide our services on the basis of independent advice. This means that the firm does not accept any third party payments (i.e. commissions) from Providers.

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.

Investment Intermediary Services

Senna Brokers Limited are remunerated by commission for our investment intermediary services.

Insurance based Investment Products

Senna Brokers Limited are remunerated by commission for the advice we provide on our insurance-based investment products

Life & Pensions/Deposits & Life Wrapped Investments

Senna Brokers Limited provide life assurance and pensions on a fair and personal analysis basis i.e. providing services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available in the market to enable us to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be adequate to meet your needs.

Senna Brokers Limited 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 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 PHI and serious illness policies.

Specifically on the subject of permanent health 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 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.

Non-Life

Senna Brokers Limited do not provide advice on and arrange products from the following range: household, motor, commercial, public liability, employer liability, and travel insurance.

Mortgages

Through the lenders or other undertakings with which we hold an agency, Senna Brokers Limited 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.

Senna Brokers Limited 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).

Senna Brokers Limited 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/IBIPs/Pension Advice

In accordance with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (‘SFDR’), we inform you that when providing advice on insurance-based investment products/Investments, we do not assess, in addition to relevant financial risks, relevant sustainability risks as far as this information is available in relation the products proposed/advised on. This means that we do not assess environmental, social or governance events/conditions that, if they occur, could have a material negative impact on the value of the investment.

Considering Principal Adverse Impacts on sustainability factors in the advice:

When providing advice on insurance-based investment products (‘IBIPs’) or investment advice we do not consider the impacts of our advice that result in negative effects on sustainability factors (namely environmental, social and employee matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and anti-bribery matters), because currently there is limited relevant products on the market which meet these criteria. The area of sustainable is relatively new and as the issue progresses, we will review our position.

The firm may review this approach in the future.

Impact on Return

Senna Brokers Limited have not assessed the likely impacts of sustainability risks on the returns of Investment/Pensions since we have not been able to identify any sustainability risks that are relevant. Please refer to information contained in the product documentation provided by the product provider/manufacturer.

Statement of Charges

Senna Brokers Limited 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 a 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 4 hrs.

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 websites – www.sennabrokers.com or www.sennabrokers.ie

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 with the method of calculation of the fee.

If Senna Brokers Limited 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.

Life and Pensions

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

Adviser / Directors €175 First hour and €150 for consecutive hour

Support staff €100 First hour and for any consecutive hour

NOTE: All fees are liable to VAT at the rate prevailing at the time invoices are issued.

Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency, our scale of fees for such cases of €250 per hour for the first hour and €200 for any consecutive hours thereafter. We will notify you in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged.

Investment Fees

Adviser / Directors €175 First hour and €150 for consecutive hour

Support staff €100 First hour and for any consecutive hour

NOTE: All fees are liable to VAT at the rate prevailing at the time invoices are issued.

Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency, our scale of fees for such cases of €250 per hour for the first hour and €200 for any consecutive hour thereafter. We will notify you in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged.

NOTE: All fees are liable to VAT at the rate prevailing at the time invoices are issued.

Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) – Fees

Where advice is requested for PRSAs, the following hourly fees will apply:

Adviser / Directors €175 First hour and €150 for consecutive hour

Support staff €100 First hour and for any consecutive hour

NOTE: All fees are liable to VAT at the rate prevailing at the time invoices are issued.

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 ranges from a minimum of €250 per hour for the first hour and €200 for any consecutive hour thereafter. 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 intermediary unless an arrangement to the contrary is made.

NOTE: All fees are liable to VAT at the rate prevailing at the time invoices are issued.

Clawback

If Senna Brokers Limited receive commission from a product provider and off-set the commission against the fee which we would otherwise have charged you, but the commission is subsequently clawed-back by the provider because of early encashment by you or because of the transferring of the assets or business to another provider or in any circumstances consequent on your actions or omissions, we will charge a fee to you that is equal to 100% of the clawed-back commission. That fee will be owing in simple contract upon the claw-back of the commission.

Mortgages

Senna Brokers Limited may receive up to 1.00% (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.

For example: We charge a fee of €250 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).

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 Senna Brokers Limited 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 €350 for our services.

Money Laundering

Senna Brokers Limited reserves the right to request additional information that may be required in order to comply with Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021.

Ongoing Suitability

Investments

The firm’s services do not include ongoing suitability assessments.

Insurance based Investment Products

The firm’s services do 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.

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 via email in pdf format.

Default on payments by clients

Senna Brokers Limited 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 Senna Brokers Limited 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. Senna Brokers Limited 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 our website section "Complaints" or upon request in pdf format.

Data Protection

Senna Brokers Limited are subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018.

Senna Brokers Limited 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.

Senna Brokers Limited will ensure that this Privacy Notice is easily accessible. Please refer to our websites www.sennabrokers.com and www.sennabrokers.ie , if this medium is not suitable we will ensure you can easily receive a copy by hard copy, or by email.

Please contact us at dataprotection@sennabrokers.com if you have any concerns about your personal data.

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.

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.

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 pay-out to you if you are in breach of your duties under the Act, in proportion to the breach involved.

Cancellation of a Contract of Insurance

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.

Post-Contract Stage and Claims

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.

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.

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).

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.

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 €20,000.

For further information, contact the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. at (01) 224 4955.

Brokers Ireland Clients’ Compensation and Membership Benefits Scheme (BIC)

We are also members of the Brokers Ireland Clients’ Compensation and Membership Benefits Scheme (BIC). 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.

Governing Law and Language

The laws of Ireland form the basis for establishing relations between you and Senna Brokers Limited. All contracts, terms, conditions and communications relating to any policies or services you may enter into with the firm will be in English.

Force Majeure

You agree that we cannot be held liable for any loss resulting from third party insolvency or failure of a third party to act with due skill, care and diligence. This is subject to our having exercised reasonable skill and care in selecting the third party for this role, in accordance with our due diligence procedures. If any Institution with whom you have a policy or with whom you hold an investment becomes insolvent, you may be limited in the amount of compensation against loss that you can receive. You may ask us for details of the compensation schemes relevant within other jurisdictions.

Termination of this Agreement

It is agreed that either party can terminate this agreement at any time having given 30 days’ written notice to the other party, without penalty but without prejudice to the completion of transactions already initiated. Any transactions effected before the termination of the agreement and all charges for services provided to the date of termination will be due immediately, and payable within 14 days. If the agreement is ended and we are involved in an incomplete transaction, we reserve the right not to complete the transaction and return to you all documents relating to the incomplete transaction.