Kerry insurance firm reprimanded and fined by the Central Bank

Company failed the seek approval for the appointment of three senior positions

The three directors were appointed in January 2018 but the company did not submit any application forms for approval of the individuals until more than a year later.

An insurance company in Kerry has been reprimanded and fined after failing to obtain approval from the Central Bank of Ireland before appointing three individuals as directors of the firm.

Insure4Less Teoranta trading as Kerry Insurance Group was fined €8,400 in respect of three breaches of fitness and probity (F&B) obligations under the Central Bank Reform Act 2010. The Firm has admitted to the breaches.

The firm is authorised as a retail intermediary that operates in the commercial and retail insurance market. The Central Bank’s investigation began in September 2021 and found that the firm failed to obtain prior approval before appointing the three individuals to senior positions that are designated as pre-approval control function (PCF) positions. Under the fitness and probity regime, the Central Bank acts as a gatekeeper for individuals proposed for PCF positions and will assess the honesty, integrity and competence of candidates before taking up these roles.

The three directors were appointed in January 2018 but the company did not submit any application forms for approval of the individuals until February 2019. The Central Bank's investigation found that at no stage in the process did the firm bring to their attention that the three individuals had in fact already been appointed. In January 2020, as a result of its own enquiries, the Central Bank became aware that the three directors had been appointed in January 2018 without approval.

The Central Bank determined the appropriate fine to be €12,000, which was reduced by 30% to €8,400 in accordance with the settlement discount scheme provided for in the Central Bank’s Administrative Sanctions Procedure. The Firm has three employees and its audited accounts for the year-end 2020 show a turnover of €337,831.

The Central Bank’s Director of Enforcement and Anti-Money Laundering, Seána Cunningham, said the F&P regime is a critical element of protecting consumers and investors and ensuring that there is public trust and confidence in the financial system.

“The breaches, when discovered by the firm, were not reported and came to light only following the Central Bank’s interrogation of a number of deficient applications submitted by the Firm long after it had committed the breaches," she said.

“As well as acting as a deterrent to this firm, this enforcement action serves as a reminder to all regulated firms, in all sectors and regardless of size, of the importance which the Central Bank attaches to F&P compliance. We are committed to following through to hold firms accountable for F&P failures and to raising compliance standards in this critical protection for customers of regulated firms.”