| What
is the Financial Services Guide |
|
This
Financial Services Guide contains information about our services
and charges, your rights as a client and other things you need
to know in relation to insurance matters including how any complaints
you may have will be dealt with.
We trust it will assist you in deciding whether to use our services.
If you ask us to act as your General Insurance Broker, we will
do so on the terms set out in this Guide. Unless you tell us otherwise
in writing, we assume that you agree with these terms. If there
is any change to these terms, we will also provide you with a
Letter of Engagement, which, together with this Guide, will record
the basis of our relationship.
You might also receive some other documents after or at the time
we advise you about your insurance needs including:
- Statements
of Advice - these will be summaries of our advice and the basis
on which it was provided;
- Product
Disclosure Statements - these will contain information about
the products we recommend to you; and
- Confirmation
notices - these will confirm the details of transactions we have
arranged on your behalf.
If
you need more information or have any questions, please feel free
to telephone us.
This Financial Services Guide was prepared on December
01 2006 Version 3 |
|
| About
ACE IRM Insurance Broking Group back
to top |
ACE - I.R.M Insurance Broking Group Pty Ltd, Australian Financial
Services Licence No 237361 under the Corporations Act 2001 provides
general insurance broking services.
- ACE-I.R.M
Insurance Broking Group Pty Ltd is an independently owned
insurance advisory firm.
- ACE-I.R.M
Insurance Broking Group Pty Ltd is a member of the National
Insurance Brokers Association and subscribes to the General Insurance
Brokers' Code of Practice.
- ACE-I.R.M
Insurance Broking Group Pty Ltd is a member of the IBNA Group,
Insurance Broking Network of Australia, which is a group of independent
insurance brokers working together to increase their buying power
on behalf of their clients.
- ACE-I.R.M
Insurance Broking Group Pty Ltd is a member of the Council
of Queensland Insurance Brokers (CQIB).
|
|
| Our
Services back
to top |
|
Ace-Irm
Insurance Broking Group Pty Ltd is committed to
providing sound advice based upon your needs and
our comprehensive market knowledge.
Ace-Irm Insurance Broking Group Pty Ltd generally
has access to most licenced Insurers in Australia
and has special facilities sourced from overseas.
We
will always advise you who we will arrange your
Insurance with at the time of placement of cover
and this advice will be contained in our Invoice
and Schedule or Summary of Insurance.
Please note the Financial Services Review Act
no longer requires us to give a separate statement
of advice other than as advised above, when supplying
a general insurance product as a result of determination
of your personal needs and circumstances.
However, we will be recording the substance of
our discussions on file for any future reference.
You should check any documentation sent to you
to ensure your requirements have been fully satisfied.
If
we arrange personal accident and/or illness insurance
or consumer credit insurance for you, then we
will supply a separate statement of advice to
you.
If you have not received a statement of advice
regarding any further advice we have given you,
you may request a copy of this advice from us
by writing to us or telephoning us in office hours.
We
offer a range of services to assist you to protect
your assets. These include:
*
Reviewing and advising regarding your insurance
needs
* Arranging and renewing insurance contracts on
your behalf
*Arranging premium funding, if required
* Assisting with insurance claims
We
can advise about and arrange the following insurances
on your behalf:
*
Motor Vehicle
* House and Contents Insurance
* Marine Insurance
* Personal Accident and Sickness Insurance
* Any Commercial Insurance Products as required
* Speciality Insurance Lines
Superannuation and Income Protection needs.
To enable us to provide advice, which is appropriate
to your circumstances, we will need you to provide
us with complete information about the risk(s) to
be insured, your situation and your needs and objectives.
You should also tell us about any relevant changes
as they occur.
If you are unable or choose not to provide some
information to us, we will be unable to comprehensively
review your circumstances. As this may limit our
ability to make appropriate recommendations, you
will need to assess the appropriateness of our advice
to your needs before acting on it. |
|
| How
we will look after your needs back
to top |
You can provide us with instructions in person,
by telephone, by fax, email or in writing.
New Business
Contact us as soon as possible if you need cover
for a risk or property that is not insured. If you
need immediate cover, we can usually obtain an interim
contract of insurance (which is generally valid
for one month or less). To arrange this, we will
need details of the property or risk and all other
information, which you need to disclose to the insurer.
We will then send you a proposal for completion.
You will need to complete and sign this and return
it to us as soon as possible and before the interim
cover expires.
We will send the original insurance contract documents
as soon as they are issued correctly by your insurer.
As these are legal documents, you should keep them
in a safe place.
Renewals
We will give you at least 14 days notice of expiry
of any insurance contract which we arranged or last
renewed for you.
At that time we will send you an offer to renew
the insurance contract and invoice you for the cost
of renewal. If you want to change the details of
the cover, contact us as soon as you receive the
renewal offer. If you wish us to renew the contract
on your behalf, you must provide us with written
instructions to do so and/or pay the premium and
other charges before the date shown on the invoice.
In some circumstances we may be able to arrange
for the insurer to cover you temporarily before
payment is received, but we cannot guarantee this.
If you arranged or renewed insurance directly with
an insurer or through another broker, we will not
be responsible for notifying you of expiry or arranging
renewal unless you ask us to do so in writing.
Variations
You should carefully monitor and review that your
insurance contract is adequate to cover your assets
or business activities.
If you want to vary any cover, eg by increasing
the sum insured or adding other property, please
provide us with details of the changes you require
and any other information you need to disclose to
the insurer.
We will arrange the variation with the insurer and
provide you with written confirmation.
Claims
We will receive your claims notifications, assist
and advise you regarding the scope of cover and
pass the information to the insurer.
If
a loss adjuster is appointed we shall, with your
permission, pass on your contact details and co-ordinate
meetings.
In
the case of a major loss, we can attend the initial
meeting with the loss adjuster if you wish us
to.
We
will promptly forward to you all claims documentation,
insurance company settlement cheques and other
information.
If
any claims are outstanding when you terminate
our appointment as your insurance broker, we will:
*
Negotiate settlement on your behalf or
*
Provide details of the claim(s) to your new insurance
broker so that they may continue to negotiate
settlement on your behalf |
|
| Fees
for Our Services back
to top |
You are entitled to know how and what we will charge
for our services and what other benefits we receive.
Our
remuneration
*
We may be paid commission by the relevant insurers
when we arrange insurances on your behalf.
As
a general rule, the insurer will pay us an amount
based on a percentage of the base premium before
government charges which can vary between 10%
and 20% and is included in the premium and the
premiums remain the same as if you arranged the
Insurance direct with the Insurer.
This commission payable to us does not represent
our profit margin as it also reimburses us for
Administrative and other expenses we incur in
providing our services.
It
also covers the costs of performing the distribution
functions of the Insurer such as Data entry, Marketing,
Annual renewal marketing and Underwriting.
If
we accept a commission, we may also charge you
an arrangement fee.
*
Alternatively, we may rebate all commissions to
you and charge you a fee based upon the nature
of the service we provide.
When
we arrange insurances for you, we earn commission
as set out against each class of policy in our
invoice issued to you.
By
showing the commission earned on the invoice we
remove the need to supply a separate commission
statement. Our fees are already shown on the invoice
and our FSG refers to the other possible sources
of remuneration which we would normally not have
to specify in the vast majority of transactions.
If
we have not already done so, we will supply details
of any commission, remuneration or benefits earned
by us when we give personal advice to you or as
soon as possible thereafter. This will be shown
on our invoice issued to you.
If
you require this information before then, we require
you to request this before the insurance is arranged
for you.
Our
charges are subject to GST.
Some
of our charges may be tax deductible.
If
we hold your money in trust pending payment to
the insurer, we also receive the interest earned
which is offset against our Administration Costs.
*
In addition, some insurers with whom we arrange
a large amount of business may pay us a commission
based on the volume of/profitability of the business
we place with them. These payments do not increase
the amount you are required to pay for your insurance
and they do not influence our decision to place
your covers with the most appropriate Insurer.
* We do not receive any other form of non-monetary
reward from Insurers for placing Insurances with
them except on occasions there may be a business
function that we have to attend.
How
are our advisers paid?
Our advisers are usually paid via a negotiated salary.
If a person has referred you to us, we may pay them a part of any
fees or commission received. This will not increase the amount
you pay us. |
|
|
Terms
of Payment back
to top |
Invoices
We will invoice you for the premium, statutory charges
(eg stamp duty, fire services levy, etc) and any
fees we charge for arranging your insurances. GST
component is always shown. You must pay us within
30 days of the date of the invoice or, in the case
of a renewal, before the expiry date of the contract
of insurance.
If
you do not pay the premium on time, the insurer
may cancel the contract of insurance and you will
not be insured. The insurer may also charge a
short term penalty premium for the time on risk.If
your Policy is arranged on a monthly instalment
basis, we will advise you of the monthly amount
to be debited to your account in payment of your
Insurance |
|
| Premium
Funding back
to top |
Premium funding products enable you to pay your premiums by instalments.
Although they do not usually require any security, Premium Funding
Companies do charge interest.
We can arrange premium funding on your behalf if you require it.
We may receive a commission based on a percentage of the premium
from the Premium Funding Company for doing so. We will tell you
the basis and amount of any such payment before or at the time
the premium funding is arranged. |
|
| Cancellation
back
to top
|
We cannot cancel a contract of insurance without written instructions
from a person(s) who is authorised to represent each of the parties
who are named as insureds in the contract of insurance.
- If
a contract of insurance is cancelled before expiry of the period
of insurance, we will refund the net premium we receive from
your insurer. We will not refund our fees or commission for arranging
the insurance.
- A
broker service fee may be applied in the event of a mid term
cancellation of the policy.
|
|
| Your
Duty of Disclosure back
to top |
In order to make an informed assessment of the risk
and calculate the appropriate premium, your insurer
needs information about the risk you are asking
it to insure.
For
this reason, before you enter into a contract
of insurance, you have a duty under the Insurance
Contracts Act 1984 to disclose to your insurer
every matter that you know, or could reasonably
be expected to know, is relevant to the insurer’s
decision whether to accept the risk and, if so,
on what terms. The duty also applies when you
renew, extend, vary or reinstate a contract of
insurance.
You
do not have to disclose anything that:
*
Reduces the risk to be undertaken by the insurer;
* Is common knowledge;
* Your insurer knows, or in the ordinary course
of its business, ought to know; or
* If the insurer has waived your obligation to
disclose.
If
you do not comply with your duty of disclosure,
your insurer may be entitled to reduce its liability
in respect of a claim or may cancel your contract
of insurance.
If
the non-disclosure was fraudulent, the insurer
may be able to void (or cancel) the contract of
insurance from its beginning. This would have
the effect that you were never insured.
One
important matter to be disclosed is the history
of losses suffered by the person seeking insurance
or any closely associated person or entity. As
you are responsible for checking that you have
made complete disclosure, we suggest that you
keep an up to date record of all such losses and
claims.
If
you have any questions about whether information
needs to be disclosed, please contact us.
Material
Changes
You must also notify your insurer of any significant
changes which occur during the period of insurance.
If you do not, your insurances may be inadequate
to fully cover you.
We
can assist you to do this and to ensure that your
contract of insurance is altered to reflect those
changes.
Cooling
Off Period – Retail insurance only
If you decide that you do not need a contract
of retail insurance which has been arranged on
your behalf, you have a minimum of 14 working
days from the earlier of the date you receive
confirmation of the contract and the date it was
arranged to change your mind. You must tell the
insurer in writing that you wish to return the
insurance contract and have the premium repaid.
If you do so, the insurance contract will be terminated
from the time you notified the insurer and the
premium will be returned.
You
cannot return the contract of insurance if it
has already expired or if you have made a claim
under it.
IMPORTANT
INFORMATION |
|
| Non-Disclosure
back
to top
|
If you fail to comply with your Duty of Disclosure, the Insurer
may be entitled to reduce its liability under the Contract in respect
of a claim or may cancel the Contract of insurance. If your Non-Disclosure
is fraudulent, the Insurer may also have the option of avoiding
(or cancelling) the contract of insurance from its beginning. This
would have the effect that you were never insured.
One important matter to be disclosed is the history of losses suffered
by the person seeking insurance or any closely associated person
or entity. As you are responsible for checking that you have made
complete disclosure, we suggest that you keep an up to date record
of all such losses and claims.
If you have any questions about whether information needs to be
disclosed, please contact us
Material Changes
You must also notify your insurer of any significant changes, which
occur during the period of insurance. If you do not, your insurances
may be inadequate to fully cover you. We can assist you to do this
and to ensure that your contract of insurance is altered to reflect
those changes.
Cooling Off Period - Retail insurance only
If you decide that you do not need a contract of retail insurance
which has been arranged on your behalf, you have a minimum of 14
days from the earlier of the date you receive confirmation of the
contract and the date it was arranged to change your mind. You
must tell the insurer in writing that you wish to return the insurance
contract and have the premium repaid.
If you do so, the insurance contract will be terminated from the
time you notified the insurer and the premium will be returned.
The insurer may retain its reasonable administration and transaction
costs and a short-term premium.
You cannot return the contract of insurance if it has already expired
or if you have made a claim under it.
Sums Insured - Average and Co-Insurance
Some insurance contracts require you to bear a proportion of each
loss or claim if the sum insured is inadequate to cover the amount
of the loss. These provisions are called 'average' or 'co-insurance'
clauses.
If you do not want to bear a proportion of any loss, when you arrange
or renew your contract of insurance, you must ensure that the amount
for which you insure is adequate to cover the full potential of
any loss. If you insure on a new for old basis, the sum insured
must be sufficient to cover the new replacement cost of the property.
Interests of other Parties
Some insurance contracts do not cover the interest in the insured
property or risk of any one other than the person named in the
contract. Common examples are where property is jointly owned or
subject to finance but the contract only names one owner or does
not name the financier.
Please tell us about everyone who has an interest in the property
insured so that we can ensure that they are noted on the contract
of insurance.
Waiver of Rights
Some insurance contracts seek to limit or exclude claims where
the insured person has limited their rights to recover a loss from
the person who was responsible for it, eg by signing an agreement
which disclaims or limits the liability of the other party.
Please tell us about any contracts of this type
which you have or propose to enter into.
If an insurer wants to alter these terms or offer less than the
minimum amount of insurance they must clearly inform you in writing
that they have done so. They can do this by providing you with
a Product Disclosure Statement or a copy of the insurance contract.
Unusual Terms
If an insurer wants to rely on a term in a contract of insurance,
which is not usually included in contracts that provide similar
cover, they must clearly inform you in writing of that term. Again,
they may do so by providing you with a copy of the insurance contract.
|
|
| Complaints
& Disputes back
to top |
If you are not fully satisfied with our services, please telephone
our Senior Administration Manager, Mrs Ann Flower who is the person
responsible for managing complaints and disputes. We will acknowledge
your complaint in writing and endeavour to resolve your problem
within 20 days.
If you are still not satisfied, we subscribe to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which handles complaints against brokers involving
amounts up to $50,000 and relating to a variety of small business
and domestic processes. You can refer your complaint to the FOS
Consumer Relations Manager for who will conciliate with a view
to seeking a solution that is acceptable to both parties
If the dispute remains unresolved after a further 20 days, it will
be referred to the FOS Referee whose decision is binding on us
(but not on you).
Further information about the FOS is available from our office.
FOS is now located at L12, 717 Bourke Street, Melbourne (GPO Box 3, Melbourne, Vic 3000) www.fos.org.au |
|
| Privacy
Policy back
to top |
| We
are committed to protecting your privacy. We use
the information you provide to advise about and
assist with your insurance needs. We only provide
your information to the insurance companies with
whom you choose to deal (and their representatives).
We do not trade, rent or sell your information.
You
can check the information we hold about you at
any time. For more information about our Privacy
Policy, ask us for a copy.
Sums
Insured – Average and Co-Insurance
Some
insurance contracts require you to bear a proportion
of each loss or claim if the sum insured is inadequate
to cover the amount of the loss. These provisions
are called ‘average’ or ‘co-insurance’
clauses.
If
you do not want to bear a proportion of any loss,
when you arrange or renew your contract of insurance,
you must ensure that the amount for which you
insure is adequate to cover the full potential
of any loss. If you insure on a new for old basis,
the sum insured must be sufficient to cover the
new replacement cost of the property.
Interests
of other Parties
Some
insurance contracts do not cover the interest
in the insured property or risk of any one other
than the person named in the contract. Common
examples are where property is jointly owned or
subject to finance but the contract only names
one owner or does not name the financier.
Please
tell us about everyone who has an interest in
the property insured so that we can ensure that
they are noted on the contract of insurance.
Waiver
of Rights
Some
insurance contracts seek to limit or exclude claims
where the insured person has limited their rights
to recover a loss from the person who was responsible
for it, eg by signing an agreement which disclaims
or limits the liability of the other party. |
|
| What
does "Personal Information" mean |
Personal information is any information about you that identifies
you by which your identity can be reasonably determined. |
|
| Why
we collect your Personal Information |
Collecting your information is essential to be able to conduct
the business of providing insurance and financial products and
services to you. If we do not collect and make use of your personal
information, we are unable to do business with you. |
|
| How
we collect your Personal Information |
|
Where possible, we collect your personal information from you.
Collection may take place in a number of ways such as completing
an application or proposal, or requesting information over the
telephone.
Sometimes personal information may be collected from other sources.
This may be:
- Your
employer when establishing or administering a superannuation
fund.
- Insurance
investigation or reference in assessing a claim or applying for
a policy. A medical practitioner assessing a claim for or determining
eligibility for life insurance.
In
most cases we will require you to consent to any collection, use
of disclosure of your personal information. Your consent will usually
be in writing, but we may accept your verbal consent in certain
circumstances. However, no matter how your personal information
is collected, it is dealt with by us in accordance with this Privacy
Policy. |
|
| Do
we disclose your Personal Information to anyone |
|
We
may disclose your personal information in certain circumstances.
Sometimes we are required or authorised by law to you personal
information. We may disclose your information to a court in response
to a subpoena or to the Australian Taxation Office, following a
direction issued under taxation law. We may also disclose your
personal information where you have consented to us doing so. |
|
| Ensuring
your Information is up to date |
|
It
is important that the personal information we collect from you
is accurate, complete and up-to-date. During the course of our
relationship with you we will ask you to tell us of any changes
to your personal information. You can contact us at any time to
update your personal information, or to tell us your personal information
is inaccurate or incomplete. |
|
| Is
my Personal Information secure |
|
The protection of your information is a priority for us. We take
all reasonable precautions to safeguard your personal information
from misuse, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. When
we no longer require your Personal information, we securely destroy
the information from our systems. |
|
| Can
I access my Personal Information |
|
You
may request access to the information we hold about you. We may
be required by law to retain your personal information for a period
of time after you have ceased your relationship with us. After
the required time we attend to the secure destruction of your personal
information. |
|
| What
is a Commonwealth Identifier |
|
These can be Tax File Numbers (TFN's) or a Medicare Number. We
do not use Commonwealth identifiers as a means of identifying you.
|
|
| Do
I have to be identified at all |
|
Generally it is not possible for us to do business with you unless
we have identified you and in some cases the law required that
you identified yourself to us.
|
|
| Does
my Personal Information leave Australia |
|
We do not send personal information outside Australia unless it
is authorised by law. |
|
| Sensitive
Information |
|
Sensitive information can be:
- Racial
or ethnic origin
- Membership
to a professional or trade association
- Sexual
Preferences or practices
- Criminal
Record
- Health
We
only collect, use or disclose sensitive information about you as
is allowed by law, for example where it is required or necessary
for the establishment of a policy or Claim. |
|
| Our
Privacy Policy may change from time to time |
|
We constantly review our policies and procedures to keep up to
date with changes in law, technology and the market place. As a
result we may change this policy from time to time. This Privacy
Policy was last amended on December 21 2001. |
|
| Request
For Access |
You can request access to your personal information by contacting
our office. |
|
| Can
I complain about a breach of my policy |
You may lodge a concern or complaint with us by contacting our
office. |
|
| What
if I am not happy with ACE IRM's response |
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint to
us, you can contact the Federal Privacy Commissioner,
Telephone: 1300 363 992
In Writing: Director of Complaints Office of the Federal Privacy
Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
Sydney, NSW 1042 |
|
| back
to top |
