Annual review season is open — appointments are being scheduled into late November. Have your current declarations page handy.
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Firstlight Branch · Personal & small commercial lines
We are an independent agency, which means we read the policy you already have before we propose anything. You get the wording explained in plain language, a side-by-side of what changing would actually do, and a renewal date in your calendar instead of a surprise in the post.
01 — 06 / Coverage index
Six lanes, listed plainly. If your situation sits across two of them — a flat you rent out, a van you also use at weekends — that overlap is usually where money and cover get lost, and it is the first thing we check.
01
Dwelling and contents limits, liability, outbuildings, and the endorsements that standard wording leaves out — water backup, earth movement, high-value items.
02
Liability limits, collision and comprehensive, uninsured-motorist cover, and how adding a young or newly licensed driver changes the whole household rating.
03
Term versus permanent in practical terms: how long the obligation lasts, what the payout has to replace, and whether a rider is doing real work or just adding cost.
04
Reading a plan by its deductible, out-of-pocket maximum and network rather than its monthly figure, plus where dental, vision or accident cover is worth adding.
05
What the building's master policy stops covering and your unit policy has to start covering: interior finishes, loss assessment, contents and personal liability.
06
General liability, tools and equipment, business interruption, and hired-and-non-owned auto for the vehicle that does double duty on weekdays.
Not listed here — marine, aviation, large fleet and specialty programmes. If that is what you need, say so in your enquiry and we will tell you plainly that it sits outside what we write.
How a review works
A review is a reading exercise before it is a sales conversation. Most take a single sitting, and roughly a third end with us recommending that you keep the policy you already hold.
A short conversation about property, vehicles, dependants and anything that changed in the last year. No forms to pre-fill.
We go through your declarations page and endorsements and mark limits, deductibles, exclusions and anything quietly renewed at a different figure.
Two or three routes compared on the same terms, including staying put. You see what each one costs and, more importantly, what each one stops covering.
If you move, we handle the paperwork and the overlap dates. Either way your renewal months go in a calendar so the next review is not a scramble.
Terms worth knowing
Learn these six and you can compare two quotes yourself — which is the point. A cheaper policy is often just a quieter set of definitions.
Questions clients ask
The seven that come up in nearly every first conversation, answered the way we answer them in the room.
No. A review can end with us confirming your current policy is well-built and telling you which two limits to revisit at renewal. We would rather be the agency you call in three years than the one that moved you for nothing.
Compare four things before the price: the deductible, whether losses are settled at replacement cost or actual cash value, the liability limit, and the exclusions list. A quote that beats yours on all four is a better policy. One that beats yours only on the monthly figure has moved risk back onto you.
Roughly sixty days before renewal, so there is time to act without rushing. Outside that window, review after anything that changes what you own or who depends on you: a move, a renovation, a new driver, a birth, a marriage, a business that started earning, or paying off a mortgage.
It lowers the premium, which is not the same thing. The test is whether you could pay the higher deductible from savings tomorrow. If the answer is no, you have swapped a predictable monthly cost for an unpredictable one at the worst possible moment.
Usually only in a very limited way, and often not at all once clients visit or stock and equipment are on site. Most home policies exclude work done for pay. Depending on the scale it is either an endorsement on the home policy or a small standalone commercial policy — we will tell you which, and why.
Flood and earth movement are the two big ones; both are typically separate. Add gradual wear, maintenance you have deferred, mould from a long-running leak, and limits that quietly cap jewellery, cash, bicycles and home-office equipment well below what people assume.
They are used for your review and nothing else. We do not sell or share enquiry details, and if you decide not to proceed you can ask us to delete what you sent. The written summary from your review stays yours regardless of what you decide.
Request a policy review
Tell us which lines you want looked at and when your renewal falls. We will come back with a time, and with the two or three questions we need answered first.
Your current declarations page The summary sheet listing limits, deductibles and endorsements — one page per policy is enough.
Anything that changed this year A renovation, a new driver, a move, a business that started earning, a dependant added or leaving home.
The renewal month you are working towards So the review lands with time to act rather than the week the notice arrives.