𝐈’𝐦 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 – 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬?

In General Insurance, Authorised Representative (AR) models continue to be popular for Insurance brokers & to a lesser degree for Underwriting Agencies & TPAs.

𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 & 𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣 𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙥

Sections 916A-F of the Corps Act, as modified by Corps regs 7.6.04AA & 7.6.08, relate to the appointment & cessation of ARs by AFS licensees.

Licensees must notify ASIC within 30 business days of the date an authorisation is issued.

𝗢𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗔𝗥’𝘀

Licensees must ensure that their AR’s have, & the AR’s must have, compliance measures to:

– provide the financial services efficiently, honestly & fairly
– adequately manage conflicts of interest
– comply with the financial service laws
– have adequate resources (human, IT & financial) to provide the services
– ensure its people are adequately trained & are competent
– have adequate risk management systems
– identify complaints, incidents & breaches & report those to the licensee
– the trust account for client money must be in the name of the Licensee however the AR may be involved in directing the money into that account

𝙊𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣 𝘼𝙍

AR’s have independent obligations:

– must not hold out they have an AFS Licence
– can only sub-authorise individuals with the licensees consent
– include its AR number in business documents & website
– provide a copy of its authorisation on-request, free of charge within 10 business days
– provide retail clients with a FSG
– provide a general advice warning when providing general advice
– comply with the hawking prohibtion
– when engaging in retail product distribution comply with TMD requirements
– must not make false statements or engage in dishonest, misleading or deceptive conduct

𝘼𝙍 𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙨

𝘎𝘐 𝘊𝘰𝘥𝘦 – 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘗𝘈𝘴

– deal with customers in a honest, efficient, fair, transparent & timely manner
– be trained & have relevant expertise
– advise the customer of what they are authorised to do
– notify the insurer of complaints & breaches within 2 business days
– generally comply with the Code

𝘕𝘐𝘉𝘈 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘥𝘦 – 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘴

– comply with the Code when acting on behalf of the licensee
– have the expertise, skills & experience to provide the services
– receive appropriate education & training
– be reviewed annually by the Licensee for Code compliance

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀

To assist Licensees & their AR’s, I provide the following compliance services:

1) design tailored & fit-for-purpose Monitoring Programs for AFS Licensees; &
2) design tailored & fit-for-purpose compliance arrangements for ARs