All insurance brokers urged to comply by the rules set by Financial Regulator
All brokers in Ireland have received a warning from the Financial Regulator to ask
them to ensure that they have proper processes in place for handling money when collected from consumers when they are paying for their insurance policies.
The advice came on the back of officials from the financial regulators office launching a probe into files from a number of insurance brokers to look at whether they were handling their customer's money and payments in accordance with the rules and regulations that have been set out.
The regulators office said that the vast majority of the brokers inspected are adhering to the systems in place and following them correctly, complying with the regulators rules. In a statement though, they highlighted that a number of issues were identified during the course of the inspection.'
The Financial Regulator said, "Compliance issues identified during the inspection are subject to separate engagement by the Financial Regulator with the individual firms concerned."
A written notice sent to all brokers in Ireland reminded them of the stringent rules that are in place concerning how these firms handle a customers' money.
The financial regulator said that the law does not allow insurance brokers to mix up funds owned by the brokerage with their clients' funds. The watchdog insisted that they would continue to monitor all brokers to make sure that they comply with all the rules and regulations set out by the regulator.
There was a call for insurance brokers to make sure that there were adequate and sufficient funds in place within a clients' account, to guarantee that these accounts do not become overdrawn in anyway. There is also the need to make certain that a customer receives proper and appropriate receipts when the broker has received money or any payments from them.
All insurance brokers urged to comply by the rules set by Financial Regulator