Lupton Financial Services Limited t/a Lupton & Co. Financial Services

BACKGROUND The Firm is a regulated financial service provider authorised by the Central Bank as an Investment Intermediary under the IIA. PII policies typically provide insurance cover on what is known as a “claims made” basis. This means that the PII policy in place at the time that a claim is made provides cover in respect any valid claim, irrespective of when in the past the events giving rise to the claim occurred. The Firm’s failure to hold PII on a continuous basis means that had a consumer sought to make a claim during the period when the Firm had no PII in place, the protections afforded by Part 4 of the Handbook would not have been available to them. For this reason, the Central Bank views non-compliance with the statutory requirement to hold PII seriously, as non-compliance represents a failure to provide consumers with key protections afforded to them under the Handbook in their dealings with Investment Intermediaries. PRESCRIBED CONTRAVENTIONS The Firm has accepted that it failed to comply with Part 4 of the Handbook of Prudential Requirements for Investment Intermediaries which requires Investment Intermediaries to hold PII on a continuous basis. CENTRAL BANK ACTION The Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Directorate became aware of the breach as a result of a thematic review by the Consumer Protection Directorate in relation to retail intermediaries and their professional indemnity cover.