Independent agency · Households & small business
Cover that still makes sense a year after you bought it.
We read the policy wording so you don't have to, compare insurers on your behalf each renewal, and pick up the phone when something goes wrong.
- Motor & homeEveryday cover for the car, the house and what's in it.
- PropertyLandlords, second homes and holiday lets.
- Small businessLiability, premises, stock, tools and cyber.
- Life & incomeTerm life, critical illness and income protection.
Our approach
Independent, and it shows in the paperwork.
Warm Branch is not tied to a single insurer. That changes three practical things for you — what gets quoted, what gets explained, and who argues your corner when a claim is disputed.
We quote from a panel, not a product sheet
Each renewal we re-run your risk across the insurers we hold agencies with. If your existing insurer is still the right answer, we say so and leave it alone.
Exclusions are discussed before you buy
Unoccupancy limits, business use on a private car, flood wording, cover for tools kept overnight — the clauses that decide claims get read out loud, not buried in a summary.
One advisor holds the whole file
You deal with the same person for the quote, the mid-term change and the claim. Nothing is handed to a queue that has never seen your policy.
Cover we place
Four lanes, and an honest answer about which one you're in.
Most enquiries fall into one of these. If yours sits between two, say so on the form — overlapping cover is usually where money is being wasted.
-
Motor & home
Private car, second vehicle and buildings-and-contents cover written as one household file so excesses, no-claims discounts and accidental damage limits line up instead of contradicting each other.
- Buildings
- Contents
- Private car
- Legal expenses
- Home emergency
A good fit whenYour policies renew in different months, you've never checked whether your contents sum insured survived the last move, or a young driver is about to join the household.
-
Property portfolio
Let property, inherited houses standing empty, and short-let flats. We keep an eye on occupancy conditions, which are the single most common reason a landlord claim is reduced.
- Landlord
- Unoccupied
- Holiday let
- Block cover
- Loss of rent
A good fit whenA property will sit empty for more than thirty days, you're switching between long and short lets, or a single schedule would be simpler than four separate policies.
-
Small business
Trades, studios, shops and consultancies. Cover is built from what you actually do on site rather than a generic trade code, and reviewed when headcount or turnover moves.
- Public liability
- Employers' liability
- Stock & premises
- Tools in transit
- Professional indemnity
- Cyber
A good fit whenYou've taken on your first employee, a client contract specifies indemnity limits you're not sure you meet, or you carry equipment between sites.
-
Life & income
Protection arranged around a mortgage term, a dependent child or a business loan — with the medical underwriting handled before you commit, so the price you're quoted is the price that stands.
- Term life
- Decreasing cover
- Critical illness
- Income protection
- Trust placement
A good fit whenA mortgage has just completed, an old policy predates your current family situation, or you're self-employed with no sick pay behind you.
The review
What actually happens after you send the form.
A cover review takes about a week end to end. Nothing is bound and nothing is cancelled until you've seen the comparison in writing.
-
We read what you already hold
Send your current schedules and we'll note the sums insured, excesses, endorsements and any conditions you may already be breaching.
-
A short conversation about the gaps
Twenty minutes, by phone or video, to confirm the facts an insurer will ask about — occupancy, business use, claims history, planned work.
-
A written comparison
Options set side by side with the differences called out in plain English, including the cheapest option we would not recommend and the reason why.
-
You decide, we handle the switch
If you move, we time the start date against your existing expiry so there's no gap and no double cover, and cancel the old policy for you.
Claims support
The part you actually bought us for.
A claim is where an agency proves its worth or doesn't. Ours is the number you call first, before the insurer, and we stay on the file until it closes.
- We notify the insurer, register the claim and send you the reference the same working day.
- We tell you what evidence the loss adjuster will ask for before they ask, so nothing stalls the file.
- If a claim is reduced or declined, we review the wording with you and write the challenge ourselves.
- After settlement we re-rate your cover, so one claim doesn't quietly set your premium for the next five years.
Before we speak
What to have ready.
None of this is required to send the form — but having it to hand turns a two-week back-and-forth into a single conversation.
- Current schedulesThe policy summary pages for anything renewing in the next four months, including the renewal invitation if you've had one.
- Renewal datesMonth and day for each policy. Aligning them is often the quickest saving available.
- Sums insuredRebuild cost for buildings — not market value — plus a rough contents or stock figure.
- Claims historyAnything in the last five years, settled or withdrawn, including incidents you reported but never claimed on.
- Changes since last yearExtensions, new tenants, a home office, a second vehicle, extra staff, a change of trade.
- Security and protectionsAlarm type, lock standards, smoke detection, and whether any of it is monitored.
Request a review
Tell us what you hold. We'll tell you what we'd change.
One form, one advisor, no obligation to move. We'll confirm by email within two working days and ask for the schedules if we need them.
Already a client and need a mid-term change? Use the same form and put the policy reference in the notes.
Questions
The six we're asked most.
Short answers to the things people want settled before they hand over a policy schedule.
Can I switch insurer part-way through a policy year?
Usually yes. Most insurers refund the unused portion of the premium less an administration fee, so switching mid-term only makes sense when the saving or the improvement in cover clearly outweighs that cost. We'll do the arithmetic before you decide, and if it doesn't add up we'll tell you to wait for renewal.
How are you paid?
By commission from the insurer on the policies we place, and in some commercial cases by an agreed fee instead. Either way you'll see how we're being paid on the documentation before you commit, and our commission does not change based on which insurer on the panel you choose.
Do all my policies have to move at once?
No. Most clients start with whichever policy renews next and move the rest as their dates come around. Over a couple of years that tends to bring everything onto aligned dates, which makes each review faster and often reduces the total premium.
Is a higher excess always cheaper?
It lowers the premium, but only usefully if you could comfortably pay that excess tomorrow. We look at it per claim type — a high excess on escape of water may be sensible while the same figure on accidental damage is not, because the frequency and typical size of those claims are very different.
What happens if I get something wrong on a form?
Tell us as soon as you notice. An honest correction before a claim is routine and usually costs nothing more than an adjustment; the same error discovered during a claim can reduce or void a settlement. This is why we read the declared facts back to you rather than assuming last year's answers still hold.
Can I leave after a review?
Yes. The review itself carries no obligation, and if you later want to move on, we'll release your file, confirm your claims history in writing and send whatever a new agent needs. We'd rather you leave with clean paperwork than stay out of inconvenience.