SOUTH West rural insurer Cornish Mutual has opened a new Devon office to help service its growing Membership in East Devon, Somerset and Dorset.

Cornish Mutual now occupy The Barn at the Hitchcocks Business Park near Willand.

The new premises provides a permanent base for the company in the county, and is led by Phil Wilson, sales and opperations leader at Cornish Mutual.

The expansion is part of the company’s continued investment in its Member service-led strategy.

Its presence in Devon will further enhance the company’s service and enable it to continue to deliver responsive and expert insurance advice to Members in a straightforward and face-to-face manner.

The insurer joins other prominent regional businesses based at the site, including Gregory Distribution Ltd, Mid Devon District Council, and Richfords Fire & Flood, a restoration specialist which Cornish Mutual has worked with for many years.

In 2015, the rural insurer’s Field Force team visited over 12,000 Members across the South West – a combined travel distance of 240,000 miles – and the new office will offer the team an operational base in Devon from which to conduct many of these farm visits.

Alan Goddard, managing director of Cornish Mutual, said: “We welcome Members and non-members to drop in and talk to Phil and his team – the door is always open.

“This is strategically and operationally a very significant step for Cornish Mutual and will be invaluable in the continued development of our exceptional service delivery to the whole of the South West.”

Richard Persey, owner of Hitchcocks Business Park, said: “As a former farmer I am delighted that Cornish Mutual has chosen us as the location for its new office.

"They have a great heritage in the region, especially in the agricultural community.

"We diversified the farm five years ago to create the industrial business park and it has been a huge success, largely due to its location only minutes from the M5.”

Cornish Mutual has more than 24,000 Members across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, and is the only general insurer based in the South West offering insurance to farms, businesses and individuals.

For more information about Cornish Mutual visit www.cornishmutual.co.uk