The case has been heard in the High Court at Christchurch, but many of the details are suppressed, including the name of the insurer and the adviser.

The adviser, referred to as Mr X, was one of the insurer's top three advisers in the country.

He and his companies relied heavily on the insurer for their business - the two companies put 97% and 100% of their business with the insurer, respectively.

He argued that the cancellation of the contracts would be disastrous for his business.

Complaints were first raised about the adviser in October last year, by female staff of the insurer, who said he was behaving in an unsolicited, sexualised way.

A review was carried out and in May it was determined that the allegations of misconduct had been established.

The insurer told the adviser that his behaviour had breached its agreement. It cut off his commission streams and told him it would market its policies directly to his clients.

Mr X took the insurer to court, seeking to have the contracts reinstated. His trail commissions were worth up to $37,000 a month.

The insurer argued that the trust of clients and the wider marketplace was important in insurance, and there was a risk that the adviser would damage its brand and reputation.

It said he also jeopardised its ability to offer its staff a safe workplace.

The judge said he could not restore the contracts before a full hearing but noted it was unlikely the business relationship would continue.

It should be a matter for damages to address if the insurer had been wrong to cut off the contractual relationship, he said.

The Financial Markets Authority said it had not had anything to do with the case.