Court battle costs broker everything

David McGuffie

David McGuffie was this month cleared of four charges of dishonestly filing claims with Pinnacle Life, Asteron, Tower and AIA.

He owned Advanced Insurance in Napier, which was put into liquidation early 2014. McGuffie went bankrupt.

McGuffie said his trouble started in 2009 when he had his agency agreement terminated by Fidelity Life after he moved a number of clients to another insurer.

Of an initial $850,000 of annual premium he had placed with Fidelity, McGuffie estimated he moved about $600,000 over a two-and-a-half year period, primarily because clients could get a better deal elsewhere.