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 Read our Policy

MRA Quantumsure Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd has the following Conflict of Interest Management Policy in place:

Definitions:

Conflict of interest: means any situation in which a provider or a representative has an actual or potential interest that may, in rendering a financial service to a client:

1. influence the objective performance of his, her or its obligations to that client; or
2. prevent a provider or representative from rendering an unbiased and fair financial service to that client, or from acting in the interest of that client, including but not limited to –

1. a financial interest;
2. an ownership interest;
3. any relationship with a third party.

Financial interest: means any cash, cash equivalent, voucher, gift, service, advantage, benefit, discount, domestic or foreign travel, hospitality, accommodation, sponsorship, other incentive or valuable consideration, other than –

1. an ownership interest;
2. training, that is not exclusively available to a selected group of providers or representatives, on –

• products and legal matters relating to those products;
• general financial and industry information;
• specialised technological systems of a third party necessary for the rendering of a financial service; but excluding travel and accommodations associated with that training.

Ownership interest: means-

1. any equity or proprietary interest, for which fair value was paid by the owner at the time of acquisition, other than equity or an proprietary interest held as an approved nominee on behalf of another person; and
2. includes any dividend, profit share or similar benefit derived from that equity or ownership interest.

Third party: means –

1. a product supplier;
2. another provider;
3. an associate of a product supplier or a provider;
4. a distribution channel;
5. any person who in terms of an agreement or arrangement with a person referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d) above provides a financial interest to a provider or its representatives.

Associate: means –

1. in relation to a natural person, means –

1. a person who is recognised in law or the tenets of religion as the spouse, life partner, or civil union partner of that person;
2. a child of that person, including a stepchild, adopted child and a child born out of wedlock;
3. a parent or stepparent of that person;
4. a person in respect of which that person is recognised in law or appointed by a court as the person legally responsible for managing the affairs of or meeting the daily care needs of the first mentioned person
5. a person who is the spouse, life partner or civil union partner of a person referred to in (ii), (iii) and (iv)
6. a person who is in a commercial partnership with that person

1. in relation to a juristic person,

1. which is a company, means any subsidiary or holding company of that company, any other subsidiary of that holding company and any other company of which that holding company is a subsidiary.
2. which is a closed corporation registered under the Close Corporations Act, means any member thereof as defined in section 1 of that Act.
3. Which is not a company or a closed corporation, means another juristic person which would have been a subsidiary or holding company of the first-mentioned juristic person:

• had such first-mentioned juristic person been a company; or
• in the case where that other person, too, is not a company, had both the first-mentioned juristic person and that other juristic person been a company

1. means any person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the board of directors of or, in the case where such juristic person is not a company, the governing body of such juristic person is accustomed to act.

1. in relation to any person,

1. means any juristic person of which the board of directors or, in the case where such juristic person is not a company, of which the governing body is accustomed to act in accordance with the directions or instructions of the person first-mentioned in this paragraph.
2. includes any trust controlled or administered by that person.

Distribution channel: means –

1. any arrangement between a product supplier or any of its associates and one or more providers or any of its associates in terms of which arrangement any support or service is provided to the provider or providers in rendering a financial service to a client.
2. any arrangement between two or more providers or any of their associates, which arrangement facilitates, supports or enhances a relationship between the provider or providers and a product supplier.
3. any arrangement between two or more product suppliers or any of their associates, which arrangement facilitates, supports or enhances a relationship between a provider or providers and a product supplier.

In terms of the FAIS General Code of Conduct a provider and a representative must avoid, and where this is not possible, mitigate any conflict of interest between the provider and a client or the representative and a client.

In order to adhere to this requirement, the FSP must ensure that adequate arrangements are in place for the management of conflicts of interests that may arise wholly or partially, in relation to the provision of any financial services to clients by the FSP, or any Representative of the FSP, as part of the financial services business of the FSP.

The conflict of interest management policy contains the following provisions:

• Mechanisms for the identification of conflicts of interest.
• Measures for the avoidance of conflicts of interest, and where avoidance is not possible, the reasons therefore and the measures for the mitigation of such conflicts of interest
• Measures for the disclosure of conflicts of interest.
• The processes, procedures and internal controls to facilitate compliance with the policy.
• Consequences of non-compliance with the policy by the provider’s employees and representatives.
• The basis on which a representative will qualify for a financial interest.
• A list of all the FSP’s associates.
• A list of all parties in which the FSP holds an ownership interest.
• A list of all third parties that holds an ownership interest in the FSP.

In terms of Section 3A(2)(b)(i)(aa) of the General Code of Conduct, a conflict of interest management policy must provide mechanisms for the identification of conflicts of interest.

Due to the intangible nature of an actual or potential conflict of interest, any such manifestation will only be identified once the subjective realisation of its presence has been acknowledged by an individual. The legal duty to avoid whenever possible an actual or potential conflict of interest is therefore, to a large extent, dependent on whether a particular individual believe or perceive a conflict of interest to begin with. It is for this reason that Key Individuals must apply honest and sage judgement whenever confronted with a situation that may give rise to an actual or potential conflict of interest.

REPRESENTATIVES

Throughout the process of rendering a financial service to a client, a Representative must apply his or her mind to answering the following questions:

• “Is there any situation that exists that influences the objective performance of my obligations to my client”?
• “Is there any situation that exists that prevents me from rendering an unbiased and fair financial service to my client”?
• “Is there any situation that exists that prevents me from acting in the interest of my client”?

• If the answer to any one of these questions is “no” –  No further action would be required
• If the answer to any one of these questions is “yes” – The following two questions must also be answered:

• “Is the situation caused by an actual or potential relationship with a 3rd party”? (see definition of 3rd party)
• “Is the situation caused by an actual or potential financial or ownership interest”? (see definition of financial and ownership interest)
  • If the answer to any one of these questions is “yes” –  An actual or potential conflict of interest has been identified.

Note that a conflict of interest is not limited to a financial or ownership interest.

KEY INDIVIDUALS

Throughout the process of rendering a financial service to a client, a Key Individual must apply his or her mind to answering the following questions:

• “Is there any situation that exists that influences the objective performance of the representative’s obligations to his or her client”?
• “Is there any situation that exists that prevents the representative from rendering an unbiased and fair financial service to his or her client”?
• “Is there any situation that exists that prevents my representative from acting in the interest of his or her client”?

• If the answer to any one of these questions is “no” –  No further action would be required
• If the answer to any one of these questions is “yes” – The following two questions must also be answered:

• “Is the situation caused by an actual or potential relationship of the FSP with a 3rd party”? (see definition of 3rd party)
• “Is the situation caused by an actual or potential financial or ownership interest of the FSP”? (see definition of financial and ownership interest)
  • If the answer to any one of these questions is “yes” –  An actual or potential conflict of interest has been identified

Note that a conflict of interest is not limited to a financial or ownership interest.

GUIDANCE ON “OBJECTIVE PERFORMANCE”, “UNBIASED AND FAIR” & “FINANCIAL INTEREST

The contextual definition of the terms “influences the objective performance” and “unbiased and fair financial services” are not to be found within legislation and its interpretive meaning must therefore be sourced from elsewhere.

It is generally accepted that the word “objective” refers to a situation where an individual’s personal feelings or opinions are completely removed from the equation. The “objective performance” of an FSP’s obligations therefore implies a situation where financial services are rendered without the influence of unrelated feelings or opinions. In the same vein, “unrelated feelings and opinions” denote separate, external persuasions or motivations where no causal link or nexus can be found between the particular feeling or opinion and the financial service that is rendered within the best interests of the client. Put differently, if an unrelated feeling or opinion of an individual, influences the performance of such said individual’s obligations, it cannot be said to be an objective performance of that individual’s obligation.

The word “bias” indicates an inclination or prejudice in favour of a particular person or viewpoint. Similarly, the word “fair” indicates a situation of just circumstances or treating people equally.

Unbiased financial services therefore imply financial services that do not lend itself to a particular preference towards a person or viewpoint, if an accompanying, reasonable justification for such preference cannot be found. Consequently, all unbiased financial services must necessarily comprise services that are capable of being motivated by readily discernible, logical reasons and explanations. “Fair” financial services on the other hand imply a situation where the same conclusion or outcome is consistently reached given the same exact set of circumstances. In other words, financial services cannot be said to be fair if a pattern of favouritism begin to present itself vis-à-vis a particular person or service.  Any unexpected inconsistencies towards a group of clients and/or a particular client must therefore again, have to be motivated by logic reasons and explanations.

A provider or its representatives may only receive or offer the following financial interest from or to a third party:

• Commissions as authorised under the Long-term Insurance Act, Short-term Insurance Act and the Medical Schemes Act
• Fees as authorised under the Long-term Insurance Act, Short-term Insurance Act and the Medical Schemes Act if those fees are reasonably commensurate to a service being rendered.
• Fees for the rendering of financial services in respect of which the abovementioned commissions and fees are not paid, provided that the client agreed to such fees in writing and may be stopped at the discretion of the client.
• Fees or remuneration for the rendering of a service to a third party, which fees or remuneration are reasonably commensurate to the service being rendered
• An immaterial financial interest (i.e. a financial interest with a determinable monetary value, the aggregate of which does not exceed R1000 in any calendar year from the same third party in that calendar year received by – a provider who is a sole proprietor, or a representative for that representative’s direct benefit, or a provider who for its benefit or that of some or all of its representatives, aggregates the immaterial financial interest paid to its representatives.)
• A financial interest not referred to above, for which a consideration, fair value or remuneration that is reasonably commensurate to the value of the financial interest, is paid by that provider or representative at the time of receipt thereof.

A provider may not offer any financial interest to a representative of that provider for:

• Giving preference to the quantity of business secured for the provider to the exclusion of the quality of the service rendered to clients.
• Giving preference to a specific product supplier, where a representative may recommend more than one product supplier to a client.
• Giving preference to a specific product of a product supplier, where a representative may recommend more than one product of that product supplier to a client.

Complaints Procedure

Should it ever happen that you feel dissatisfied with the advice or service you got from us, we will do everything to resolve the issue in a fair, timely and efficient manner. 

SUBMITTING A COMPLAINT  

Submit your complaint in writing and forward it to marius@mrabrokers.co.za or post to PO Box 19739, Nelspruit, 1200. 

Please include the following details with your complaint: 

• Your name, surname and contact details; 
• The policy number; 
• A complete description of your complaint; 
• The date on which the matter complained about occurred; 
• All documentation relating to your complaint; 
• Your expectations regarding the outcome;
•    How you would prefer to receive communications from us.

 OUR COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE  

1. All complaints must be lodged in writing (with copies of relevant documentation attached) and delivered by hand, fax or email. 
2. Within 48 hours we will acknowledge receipt of the complaint in writing.
3. We will further provide the contact details of the person responsible for resolving the complaint.
4. We will aim to resolve the matter as quickly as possible, but not longer than 6 weeks of receipt of the written complaint.
5. We will respond with an answer in writing.
6. If we are unable to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, you have the right to refer your complaint to the FAIS OMBUD appointed specifically for this purpose. You have 6 months to do so. The contact details of the FAIS OMBUD:

PO Box 74571 

Lynnwood Ridge, 0040 

Telephone number (012) 470 9080 / 99 

Fax number (012) 3483447 

E-mail info@faisombud.co.za

 COMPLAINT AGAINST THE INSURER  

1. If you would like to complain about the advice or service you got from the Insurer, we will provide you with the contact details of their Complaints Department. The same procedure applies.
2. If they don’t resolve the matter to your satisfaction, you may refer the matter to the FAIS OMBUD.
3. If the complaint has reference to the payment of a claim and the insurer’s interpretation of their policy wording, then you must refer the complaint to the SHORT-TERM INSURANCE OMBUD.
4. Contact details of the SHORT-TERM INSURANCE OMBUD: 

PO Box 74571 

Lynnwood Ridge, 0040 

Telephone number (012) 470 9080 / 99 

Fax number (012) 3483447 

E-mail info@faisombud.co.za

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Read our PAIA Manual