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Disclosure - Michael McCarthy

26/06/2025

 

Michael McCarthy

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My FSP number:          308886

My Contact details:     Address:          9 Hopetoun Street, Freemans Bay, 1011, Auckland]

                                      Phone:             09 218 3878 / 021 364848

                                      Email:              mike@theinsuranceadviser.co.nz

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I am a financial adviser and provide advice on behalf of Virtual Communications Limited Trading as The Insurance Adviser, FSP1006610, who are licensed as a Financial Advice Provider by the Financial Markets Authority.

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Both Virtual Communications Limited and I are registered on the financial service providers registry, which can be viewed at

fsp-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz

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Our mission is to empower Kiwis to secure their financial future by providing advice to educate and inform, so you can make the best decision.

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Relevant History / Qualifications

I have been working as an Insurance Adviser since 2013. During this time, I have completed the New Zealand Certificate in Financial Services (Level 5) (Investment) to meet the legal requirements for giving Financial Insurance Advice (and KiwiSaver investment advice only) in New Zealand.
 

I am also highly involved in the community as a volunteer at the Takapuna Cricket Club, where he has been awarded NZ Cricket’s Volunteer of the year in 2017.
 

My Services    

The conditions of my licence allow me to provide the following financial advice services:

  • Personal Risk - Life, Income, Disability & Health Insurances

  • KiwiSaver Investments only

 

Personal Risk - Life, Income, Disability & Health Insurances

I provide personalised advice based on your individual circumstances to determine the personal risk products that best meet your personal goals and needs, limited to the providers we have chosen to work with.

 

I follow a documented advice process that uses your personal situation to determine what is important to you, what products you need and how much cover you should have in place. I then recommend the provider that offers the cover suited to your stated preferences.
 

Providers I work with

  • AIA NZ            

  • Asteron Life NZ

  • Chubb Insurance NZ

  • Partners Life

  • Fidelity Life NZ

  • NIB NZ

  • Southern Cross Health


How am I paid?

To ensure that advice remains accessible, I do not charge an upfront fee for providing personal risk insurance advice or for implementing advice if you decide to proceed.
 

In place of an upfront fee, I (Virtual Communications Ltd/The Insurance Adviser) am paid a commission by the recommended insurance provider from the premium they charge you for your cover. This commission will range from 140% to 220% of the first year’s premium, depending on which insurance company you take out cover with. I will then receive a servicing commission of 7% of the annual premium for the Life of the policy.
 

KiwiSaver

I also provide personalised advice on KiwiSaver, limited to the providers we have chosen to work with. As part of my service, we will discuss your risk profile and I will recommend a KiwiSaver fund that matches your investment timeframe and tolerance for risk.

 

I do not offer investment planning or retirement planning services.

 

For Managed Funds, I can refer you to the service providers listed below. I will receive a commission for referring you. This commission is an ongoing payment of 0.2% - 0.25% of your account balance, paid from the revenue they receive from your fees.


Providers I work with           

  • Booster

  • Pathfinder

  • Milford Asset Management 

  • Generate                                                                          


How am I paid?

I do not charge our clients any fees for providing personalised advice on KiwiSaver. I am paid through the providers who may pay us an upfront fee, and a small amount of ongoing commission based on funds under management.

 

Other Services

General Insurance

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I do not provide advice on general insurance; however, I can refer you to a general/commercial insurance broker for which I may receive a referral fee.
 

Referral commissions range from 3.75% to 6.25% of each premium, depending on which insurance products you put in force, after taxes and levies.  

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How I manage conflicts of interest and put your interests first

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As mentioned, the services I/we offer are provided free of charge because Virtual Communications Ltd/The Insurance Adviser is paid by the providers when one of their products is taken up on the back of my/our recommendation.

To ensure that I/we always put your interests first:

 

  • We follow a proven 6-step advice process that puts client’s needs at the heart of the advice process

 

  • We identify and disclose the maximum level of commission I may get on the back of our recommendation

 

  • If our recommendation involves replacing the cover, we will provide a comparison of covers and explain what the recommended provider offers that your existing cover does not.  We will also let you know if there is anything your existing provider covers that the recommended provider will not

 

  • All our recommendations are provided in writing with an explanation as to how they are based on your individual needs

 

  • The Insurance Adviser completes internal and external reviews of my advice process to ensure I follow a thorough review process that puts client interest first

 

 

Duties

 

Under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, it is the duty of a license holder to ensure:

 

  • We will ensure that the standards of competence, knowledge, and skill set out in the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services (Code of Conduct) are met. These form part of the wider regulatory regime for financial advice and ensure I have the expertise necessary to provide you with advice

 

  • Priority is always given to your interests by taking all reasonable steps to ensure that the advice given to you is not materially influenced by our own interests or the interests of any other person connected with the giving of advice

 

  • We will exercise care, diligence, and skill is exercised that a prudent person engaged in the occupation of giving related financial advice would in the same circumstances

 

  • We will meet the standards of ethical behaviour, conduct, and client care set out in the Code of Conduct, to treat you as we should and to provide you with suitable advice

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What if something goes wrong?

 

We value the ability of our clients to provide feedback about the service they have received as well as the opportunity to put it right if you are unhappy with any aspect of our service.

 

If you would like to raise concerns about the service you have received, we have an internal complaint process that we will follow when we receive your formal complaint.

 

Our internal process involves:

 

  1. Requesting your complaint in writing

  2. Acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 2 working days of receipt

  3. Investigating your concerns by speaking with all the involved parties and reviewing all the documentation we hold on file.

  4. Provide a formal written response within 28 days of acknowledging your concerns.

 

If you would like to provide feedback or make a complaint, please send your email to: mike@theinsuranceadviser.co.nz

 

If you are unsatisfied with the outcome of our internal complaints process, you are able to escalate it to our dispute resolution scheme:

 

Scheme:                      Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS)

Address:                      Level 4, 142 Lambton Quay, Wellington 6011

Telephone number:   0508 337 337

Email address:            fdrs.org.nz

 

They are an independent dispute resolution service provider that helps resolve complaints about financial service providers, free of charge.

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