Remuneration Arrangements – Challenge Insurance Brokers Ltd
We, Challenge Insurance Brokers Ltd act as an intermediary (Broker) between you, the consumer, and the product provider with whom we place your business.
The background
Pursuant to provision 4.58A of the Central Bank of Ireland’s September 2019 Addendum to the Consumer Protection Code, all intermediaries, must make available in their public offices, or on their website, if they have one, a summary of the details of all arrangements for any fee, commission, other reward or remuneration provided to the intermediary which it has agreed with its product producers.
What is the commission?
For the purpose of this document, a commission is the payment earned by the intermediary for work undertaken on behalf of both the provider and the consumer. The amount of commission is generally directly related to the quantity or value of the products sold.
There are different types of commission models:
Single commission model: where payment is made to the intermediary shortly after the sale is completed and is based on a percentage of the premium paid.
Indemnity commission
Indemnity commission is the term used to describe a commission payment made before the commission is deemed to be ‘earned’. Indemnity commission may be subject to a clawback (see below) if the consumer lapses or cancels the product before the commission is deemed to be earned.
Other forms of indemnity commission are advances of commission for future sales granted to intermediaries in order to assist with set up costs or business development.
General insurance products
General insurance products, such as motor, home, travel, health, retail or liability insurance, are typically subject to a single or standard commission model, based on the amount of premium charged for the insurance product.
Profit Share arrangements
In some cases, the intermediary may be a party to a profit-share arrangement with a product provider and will earn additional commission. Any business arranged with these product providers on a client’s behalf will be placed with the product provider because that product provider is at the time of placement, the most suitable to meet the client’s requirements, taking all the client’s relevant information, demands and needs into account.
Clawback
Clawback is an obligation on the intermediary to repay unearned commission. The commission can be paid directly after a contract is concluded but is not deemed to be ‘earned’ until after a specified period of time. If the consumer cancels or withdraws from the financial product within the specified time, the intermediary must return the commission to the product producer.
Marketing Support
The firm may also be in receipt of marketing support from product providers.
Other Fees, Administrative Costs/ non-monetary benefits
The firm may also be receipt of non-monetary benefits such as:
- Attendance at, and participation in, conferences, seminars, and other training events on the benefits and features of products or services we provide to consumers
- The hospitality of a reasonable de minimis value, such as food and drink during a business meeting or a conference, seminar, or other training events.
- Reasonable travel and accommodation expenses where the firm participates in or provides market research or training conducted by another firm.
- Assistance with Advertising/Branding
- Other minor benefits that are capable of enhancing the quality of the service provided to clients and do not impair the firm’s duty to act in the best interests of the client.
Outlined below is a list of the providers that our firm deals with – for ease of reference in alphabetical order:
- Aiken & Company (Insurances) Ltd
- Alan B Kidd & Co Ltd
- Aon Insurance Markets
- ARB
- Atradius
- Aviva
- Blue Insurances
- Capital Cover
- Citynet
- Construction Guarantee
- Corporate Underwriting
- Willis
- DIUA
- Dolmens
- First Ireland
- Gogans
- Liberty Insurance
- Optis
- Paragon International Brokers
- Willis
- WR Berkley
- Yachtsman Euromarine
| Product Producer | Policy Types | ||||||
| Consultant Indemnity | Dental Indemnity | GP Indemnity | Corporate Indemnity | Professional Indemnity | Property | Liability | |
| Aiken & Company (Insurances) Ltd | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan B Kidd & Co Ltd | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aon Insurance Markets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| ARB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atradius | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aviva | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 15 |
| Blue Insurances | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Capital Cover | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Citynet | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Construction Guarantee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corporate Underwriting | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Willis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DIUA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Dolmens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| First Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gogans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liberty Insurance | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Optis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paragon International Brokers | 13.75 | 7.5 | 13.75 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Willis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WR Berkley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yachtsman Euromarine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Challenge Insurance Brokers is remunerated by a commission and/or a professional fee for the initial work activity and time spent in seeking the best terms, advice, product and product producer for your specific needs. Fees are also attributable to the running of our in-house Challenge medico-legal helpline facility for private healthcare clients. A scale of our fees is provided below. We are usually remunerated by commission received from the product producers for the work involved in placing an order and finalising the product with them on your behalf.(Some product producers do not pay a commission). Should no commission be payable by the Product Producer in a specific instance an additional fee approximating the commission normally paid by Product producers for such class of business will be charged.
Premiums are quoted exclusive of brokerage fees being charged and all brokerage fees charged will be noted separately on our quotation and invoice documents.
Scale of Brokerage Fees
| Initial Fee | Renewal | Policy Alterations | |
| Motor/House | Min €75 Fee Up to a max of € 100 | Min €75 Fee Up to a max of € 100 | Min €75 Fee Up to a max of € 100 |
| Commercial | Min €250 Fee Up to a max of 30 % | Min €250 Fee Up to a max of 30 % | Min €250 Fee Up to a max of 30 % |
| Clinic/Hospital Indemnity | Min €2,500 Fee | Min €2,500 Fee | Min €250 Fee Up to a max of 30 % |
| Consultant Indemnity | Min €1,500 Fee | Min €1,500 Fee | €0 Fee |
| GP Indemnity | Min €1,000 Fee | Min €1,000 Fee | €0 Fee |
| Dental Indemnity | Min €500 Fee | Min €500 Fee | €0 Fee |
Premium Finance Arrangements
Where separate premium finance agreements are arranged for you via a premium finance provider we may earn additional commission of up to 2% of the annual premium. Additional fees/charges may be charged and will be notified to you by the premium finance provider
We reserve the right to amend these fees should the complexity of the product require a higher fee. We will confirm and agree this fee with you prior to any increased charge being applied.