Terms of Business – Effective from January 2026
New Star Financial Management Ltd
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
New Star Financial Management Ltd (C88141) 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
New Star Financial Management Ltd 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
New Star Financial Management Ltd is a member of Brokers Ireland (B.I.).
Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life assurance/mortgages/savings & investments & general insurance products. A full list of insurers, product producers and lending agencies with which we deal with is available
upon request and on our website.
Insurance Intermediary Services/Mortgage Intermediary Services
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
We are renumerated by commission for our investment intermediary services.
Insurance based Investment Products
We are remunerated by commission for the advice we provide on our insurance-based investment products
Life Assurance / Deposits & Life Wrapped Investments
We 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.
We 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 Products
We can provide advice on and arrange household insurance.
We provide general insurance on a fair and personal 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).
In some cases, we may be granted authority from an insurance undertaking to conduct tasks on their behalf, for which we will be remunerated. Where we place your business with this insurance undertaking under this authority you will be notified in advance of the placement.
We will also offer assistance to you in relation to processing claims on policies taken out with us and in seeking renewal terms on your cover.
Mortgages
Through the lenders or other undertakings with which we hold an agency, New Star Financial Management Ltd. can provide advice on and arrange mortgage products from the following range: fixed-rate loans, variable rate mortgages, capital & interest mortgages, interest only 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.
Sustainability Factors – Investment/IBIPs
In accordance with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (‘SFDR’), we inform you that when providing advice on insurance-based investment products/Investments, we 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 assess environmental, social or governance events/conditions that, if they occur, could have a material negative impact on the value of the investment.
We integrate these risks in our advice in the following way: We review product provider literature in relation to sustainability risks, we liaise with the providers in relation to any queries in relation to the funds. We ask customers to confirm their sustainability preferences by way of a questionnaire. This information is reviewed by the firm on an ongoing basis.
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 are 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. We will review this approach on an annual basis in January each year
Impact on Return
We have not assessed the likely impacts of sustainability risks on the returns of Investment since we have not been able to identify any sustainability risks that are relevant. We reference information contained in the product document provided by the product manufacturer.
Statement of Charges
We may earn our remuneration on the basis of fee, commission and any other type of remuneration.
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.
Pursuant to Regulation 68 of the Consumer Protection Code, 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 – www.newstarfm.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 the method of calculation of the fee.
Ongoing Renumeration
We wish to inform you that we receive ongoing remuneration from Product Providers in respect of the financial service provided to you. This remuneration varies between product providers, is based upon a percentage of the annual premium paid and is intended to cover the ongoing service that we provide to you in relation to this product.
The nature of the service for which this remuneration is payable includes regular reviews of your product, updates on performance, and continued access to our advice.
General Insurance
We may be remunerated by commission from insurers on completion of business. Details of the commission arrangements are available on our website. Where an override commission is received, this will be disclosed to you in general terms.
Mortgages
Switcher mortgage applications will not incur any fees. For all other new mortgage customers, we charge two separate one off mortgage fees when providing customers access to 8 Lenders for their future mortgage needs.
- Mortgage Pre-Assessment Fee
Our initial one-off fee of €150 covers a full mortgage pre-assessment to ensure you meet individual lenders policy & criteria prior to application.
This fee includes follow up meetings and mortgage coaching to become mortgage ready if there are areas which need to be addressed before a formal application can be submitted.
- Mortgage Packaging & Application Fee
As and when you are ready to proceed to formal application, we package and submit your application to one or more lenders for approval. Your dedicated mortgage advisor works with you until you become sale agreed and your Loan Offer issues.
Our Completions Team then look after you and guide you through the Loan Offer conditions and liaise between the Lender & Solicitor and keep you updated until the mortgage funds issue.
We charge a separate one-off fee for this service as follows:
- €350 (NO VAT) for non-city locations and the Rest of Rural
- €500 (NO VAT) is charged for Dublin City/ Cork City /Galway City or immediate surrounding city areas.
- €500 (NO VAT) is charged for ‘NON-RESIDENT’ mortgage This fee permits the customer to do a full formal application on two separate occasions (if required).
Should you receive mortgage approval and not become sale agreed before the formal approval expires, we repeat the process above on an on-going unlimited basis until such time as you do go sale agreed.
Once your mortgage funds issue and you become a New Star customer, we will then look after all of your mortgage needs *fee free* for the lifetime of your mortgage.
You also receive complimentary access to our inhouse Protection and Financial Advisor Team for the lifetime of your mortgage.
Just to confirm that if a mortgage does not draw down – we do not receive any payment from the Lenders.
We may receive commission based on 1% of your mortgage amount for arranging mortgage finance with the following lenders, HAVEN, DILOSK T/A ICS, BANK OF IRELAND, BROKERS IRELAND, AVANT MONEY, MOCO, NUA MONEY & SPRY FINANCE. This commission is paid by the mortgage lender or Brokers Ireland and does not alter the one-off fees payable above.
All cheques/drafts should be made payable to New Star Financial Management Ltd. We do not charge VAT on our fees. We do not yet offer payment by way of Debit or Credit Card.
The above fees are non-negotiable and non-refundable, except at the absolute discretion of New Star F.M. Ltd.
Discounted fees are offered at the discretion of New Star F.M. and include a 50% reduction for all public servants.
For example: We charge a fee of €350 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.
Ongoing Suitability
Investments
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.
Insurance based Investment Products
We will provide periodic assessments of the suitability of the insurance-based investment product which we have recommended to you.
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
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’1
Before renewal of the contract of insurance, specific questions will be asked. Again, you will be required to answer honestly and with reasonable care. Where you do not provide additional information (after being requested to do so) it can be presumed that the information previously provided remains unchanged.
Failure to answer all questions honestly and with reasonable care can result in the Insurer being able to rely on proportionate remedies for misrepresentation, which include but are not limited to the insurer voiding the contract of insurance. If a policy is cancelled by an insurer for any reason including payment default you may encounter difficulty in purchasing insurance in the future.
1 Average consumer as per Directive No. 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 is reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect, taking into account social, cultural and linguistic factors.
Completed proposal forms/statement of fact
Completed proposal forms or Statement 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.
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 and the firm will take all steps within its control to appropriately manage the conflict and minimise the impact of the conflict on the consumer. Tara Wylie is responsible for managing potential conflicts of interest. A full copy of our conflicts of interest policy is available on request.
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
Upon receipt of an oral complaint, we will provide the option to have the complaint addressed through the firms established complaints procedure. We will permit and facilitate submission of complaints in writing by post and by electronic means. We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 working 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 working 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 complaint’s procedure is upon request.
Data Protection
We are subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018.
New Star Financial Management Ltd. 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://newstarfm.ie/privacy-policy/ If this medium is not suitable, we will ensure you can easily receive a copy by hard copy, or telephonic environment. (pre-recorded).
Please contact us at info@newstarfm.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.
The following sections only 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.
New Business & Renewal
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.
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.
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 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).
If you make a false or misleading claim in any material respect (and know it to be false or misleading or consciously disregards whether it is) the insurer is entitled to refuse to pay and to terminate the contract.
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.