Disclosure Statement - James Townsend
Last updated: November 2026
About us
Straightline Advisory Limited (FSP723692) is a Financial Advice Provider licensed by the Financial Markets Authority to provide a financial advice service. It gives advice primarily through James Townsend (FSP273945), a financial adviser and Chartered Qualified Insurance Broker. Both are regulated by the Financial Markets Authority and comply with the IBANZ Code of Professional Conduct. We are members of IBANZ and the Steadfast broker network.
Our services
We are insurance brokers, not an insurer. We advise on general insurance for businesses and related personal cover. We identify your risks, then recommend and arrange suitable cover from a range of insurers we hold agency agreements with, including through the Steadfast network, choosing those that best fit your needs. We review your cover at renewal and help with claims. We don't advise on life, health, investment, lending, legal or tax matters.
Our duties
We are bound by the duties in sections 431I, 431K, 431L and 431M of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. We must give priority to your interests and exercise care, diligence and skill. We must also meet the standards of competence, knowledge, skill, ethical behaviour, conduct and client care in the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services. We also follow the IBANZ Code of Professional Conduct.
Your part
The decisions are yours. Please read your policy wording, and tell us promptly about any change in your risk or circumstances, including claims, licence loss, convictions or insolvency. If you don't, an insurer may decline a claim.
Limits of our advice
Our advice is based only on the information you give us. If that information is incomplete or inaccurate, our advice and your cover may not be suitable. Our advice is also limited to the services and insurers described here. We can't guarantee that an insurer will accept a claim, as that depends on your policy wording.
How we're paid
Insurers pay us commission on your premium (not on levies), within the ranges below. You're welcome to ask what we earn on your policy, and if commission differs materially between the options we recommend, we'll tell you. We're commission-based as standard, though this varies from client to client. Any fees we charge are clearly noted, never hidden. We can work on a fee-only basis by arrangement. Feel free to request a different service model, or call us to discuss. Steadfast may also earn an insurer bonus of up to 2%, based on network-wide volume; Straightline Advisory receives none of it. We regularly negotiate premiums down for clients, even when that reduces our commission. To manage these conflicts, we base our advice on your needs, keep a register of conflicts and commissions, and review our compliance monthly.
Type of insurance | Commission | Natural disaster portion |
|---|---|---|
Material damage / business interruption | 10%–26% | 5%–9% |
Contract works | 22%–25% | 5%–9% |
House / contents | 15%–25% | 0%–9% |
Liability, incl. professional and management | 15%–25% | – |
Commercial motor / private vehicle | 10%–15% | – |
Contractors mobile plant | 12.5%–17.5% | – |
Marine hull / builders risk / transit | 15%–20% | – |
Pleasurecraft | 7.5%–25% | – |
Travel | 25% | – |
Paying monthly
Premium funding is optional. You can use another funder or pay your insurer directly, and we'll show you the full cost before you agree. We arrange funding primarily through the providers below. Their websites are linked so you can do your own research:
Cashflow Assist Premium Funding Limited (Companies Office record), which is only available to Straightline Advisory clients and charges interest and an administration fee. James Townsend owns both Cashflow Assist and Straightline Advisory. Straightline Advisory receives nothing from Cashflow Assist.
Elantis Premium Funding (elantis.com.au), which generally pays Straightline Advisory 1% of the flat rate for setting up and administering the funding.
Complaints
Contact James on 09 600 0883 or james@straightline.net.nz, or Rick Hao on 021 309 458 or rick@prestigeinsurance.co.nz. We'll acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days, look into it, and respond within 20 working days. If we can't resolve it, you can use our free, independent dispute resolution service, the Financial Dispute Resolution Service, which may help investigate or resolve it. Contact them on 0508 337 337, at enquiries@fdrs.org.nz or at Freepost 231075, PO Box 2272, Wellington 6140, and quote Straightline Advisory Limited, FM5499.
Privacy
To understand your situation, both at the start and as things change (for example, when you make a claim), we need to collect, review and share your information. We do this for one reason: to get you better value and better results from your insurance. We share it with insurers, premium funders and others involved in your cover or claims, some of them overseas. Insurers may check your claims history, for example through the Insurance Claims Register. Giving us information is voluntary, but without it we may not be able to arrange cover, and an insurer could decline a claim. If you give us details about other people, such as named drivers or employees, please let them know and point them to our privacy policy. Straightline Advisory Limited, 66 Cryers Road, East Tamaki, holds your information securely in line with the Privacy Act 2020, and you can ask to see or correct it at any time. We use secure, business-grade AI tools under strict controls. These tools don't use your information to train their models. We limit what goes into them, and nothing containing your information leaves without our approval. Our full privacy policy is on our website.