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Confused.com reveals the most popular dog and cat names

Confused.com figures show that most cat and dog owners favour more human-style names over traditional pet names.

According to a new research which is based on cat and dog insurance quotes, people are no longer calling their prized pets Rover and Tiddles. Instead, human style names are becoming the norm with people preferring to name their prized pooches Alfie, and Bella, and their cute kittens Charlie and Millie.

Big risers in popularity have been Charlie, Max and Oscar for male dogs and Poppy, Molly and Bailey for female dogs.

Some of the most popular names for cats include Oscar, Alfie and Gizmo for males and Bella, Fluffy and Poppy for females.

Kate Rose, head of pet insurance at Confused.com, said: “This could suggest a tendency towards anthropomorphism. The increasing popularity of human-style names suggests that barriers are being broken down between pets and their owners. Pet owners no longer see themselves as having dominion over their furry pals, but instead see them as true friends and companions, people even, hence the shift towards more human names.

“Although it’s worth noting that humans have never really had dominion over cats.”

To coincide with these findings, Confused.com has launched a pet name generator. If anyone is in any doubt as to what to call their new bundle of joy, they can have the perfect name generated based on whether their pet is a cat or a dog, its age, look and personality. The tool can be found at
www.confused.com/pet-insurance/pet-name-generator.

In addition, proud owners can download and print out their own ‘birth petificate’ to make it official.

Kate added: “It’s the perfect tool for anyone looking for inspiration as to what to name their new kitten or puppy. And it’s a good bit of fun.”

To find out more, the Confused.com pet insurance page contains plenty of information, including links to lots of useful articles and guides about pet insurance.

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Confused.com Invites Public To Become Burglars For The Day

Confused.com is offering members of the public the opportunity to burgle a house filled with the most-stolen items, including iPads, Kindles and laptops.

To promote the need for home insurance, Confused.com is giving members of the public the chance to become a legal burglar for a day and nabbing themselves items to keep in the process.

The first five people to correctly enter the right answer to the clues hidden in the video on this page http://bit.ly/Oft9TA will be sent a further video link with more information about taking part in the experience.

This link will provide more details about where to begin their experience, where they’ll be met by a member of a burglary crew. From there, the successful burglars will be told more while in transit, and allowed to keep items they successfully find while inside the empty house.

The ‘burglaries’ will take place in a secret location and will also be filmed and assessed by a security expert, in order to show members of the public how best to protect their home and possessions.

Those not amongst the first five to correctly answer can enter a further draw to win a home security robot with built in webcam, to help them keep an eye on their home no matter where they are.

Sharon Flaherty, head of content at Confused.com said: “We looked at the most-burgled items and perhaps unsurprisingly, electrical goods such as tablets, video game consoles and laptops topped the list. So many people go without contents insurance, or have insufficient cover, and we wanted to highlight the issue, while giving people the chance to have a unique experience.

“Much of the experience is being kept secret, but we will be releasing footage after the burglaries themselves. Many burglars are opportunistic individuals, and not professionally put-together crews as Hollywood would have you to believe. As such, our footage will be as close to burglary as you can legally get, demonstrating just how an intruder might find his or her way around your house.”

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Confused.com Launches New Travel Insurance Service

Confused.com is launching a new price comparison service that allows travellers with pre-existing medical conditions to get a quick and easy travel insurance policy.

Most travel insurance policies tend to exclude pre-existing conditions; these are medical conditions that have been diagnosed at the time of purchasing a policy. It is important to note that this includes conditions diagnosed a number of years ago that you may continue to have check-ups on. If people travel with a known medical condition without informing their provider, and need to make a claim as a result of falling ill abroad, then any emergency treatment or hospital costs relating to that pre-existing condition would be excluded, leaving the policyholder to pick up the pieces.

Confused.com can find an insurance quote to cover pre-existing medical conditions and also offer cover for non-pre-existing conditions, so when people have an accident they can have the peace of mind that their insurance policy will safeguard them.

Confused.com has teamed up with travel insurance specialists to allow people to compare travel insurance policies that cover pre-existing medical conditions, meaning consumers no longer have to search hundreds of insurers only to find out they may not insure them.

Comparing travel insurance with Confused.com means people can search the market to find their best quotes available for travel insurance with pre-existing medical conditions.

Confused.com’s new service allows customers to select their particular condition, answer a selection of questions on their personal situation and will only show accurate prices by providers who will cover them; saving the customer time.

Those with pre-existing conditions are seen by insurance companies as customers who would pose a greater risk of claiming, resulting in them paying higher premiums and having fewer insurers to choose from. Therefore many people might find it tempting not to declare more minor conditions such as asthma etc., simply to save the hassle or because they are worried about the higher premium but if they then need to claim, the insurer can access their medical records and so will find out that they have a pre-existing medical condition and the policy may become void. This could then result in the policyholder having to pay out for expensive medical bills. This is particularly relevant in countries with higher costs for medical treatment such as the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Spain, Cyprus, Turkey or Malta.

Having travel insurance is very important for people with pre-existing medical conditions and making sure they have the right policy that suits their individual needs is key.

Kate Rose, Head of Travel Insurance said: “At Confused.com we understand that not everyone has a perfect medical record and that shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying travel as much as anyone else. We advise that you shop around and compare with Confused.com to get a great deal on your travel insurance.”

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Confused.com Reveals Telematics Technology Helps To Create Safer Roads And Save Drivers Money

Confused.com has introduced a range of car insurance providers which could offer discounts to its customers for good driving, via telematics technology.

Confused.com, the car insurance comparison website now has five telematics insurance providers on its website, which include insurethebox, Autosaint, Coverbox, AA Drivesafe and Bell. By having a telematics device fitted to their car, drivers could save money on their car insurance.

Technology is changing – and so is the law. The European Court of Justice has ruled that from 21 December 2012, car insurance premiums must be gender neutral and as such, car insurers are finding new ways of assessing risk such as through telematics
devices.

Telematics enables personalised insurance based on the policyholder’s driving. This is measured by the black box, or otherwise known as telematics device, which gathers data from the telematics device fitted to the car. Telematics is a method of monitoring a vehicle gathering data such as mileage driven and harsh acceleration and braking.

The insurance provider fits this device free of charge to its customer’s car and the better the driving, the greater the chance of premium reductions on renewal. Customers who use the device could also see their driving manner online through a secure personalised portal. They can even try and improve their driving skills by using the data to see if they are driving too fast or breaking too harshly, making the roads safer for everyone.

As an additional safety benefit, the telematics device will inform the insurance company in the event of an accident, and the emergency services may be contacted where appropriate. On top of this, the device acts as a tracker, meaning the car can be located in the event of being stolen.

When it comes to car insurance, if a driver is unlucky enough to fall into one of the high risk groups such as young drivers or inexperienced drivers telematics can help. 17-20 year olds pay an average of £2,491 for a comprehensive policy, more than three times the national average of £797. But instead of paying for insurance based on the average driver, telematics insurance is based on how individuals drive.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, said: “Telematics insurance is targeted at drivers who believe they can reduce their premiums by driving safely. This can be of specific benefit to young drivers, who traditionally have been considered a higher risk than other drivers. Telematics allows insurers to offer premiums that reflect an individual driver’s actual risk on the road not just assessing them by age or gender.”

“Telematics is great for young drivers or anyone who wants to take control of their insurance costs and Confused.com’s car insurance comparison service makes it easy for customers to compare different policies and now offers even greater choice for insurance than before.”

Confused.com’s telematics services will be supported by a new 30 second TV advert running from 25 July. The new advert can be viewed at www.confused.com/press/our-adverts.

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Confused.com Expands Their Credit Card Panel With Fluid

Confused.com has added a new credit card from online personal finance brand Fluid to its credit card panel meaning customers can now apply to a choice of 50 credit cards.

The low-fee balance transfer credit card, powered by MBNA, offers new customers 15 months at 0 per cent interest on balance transfers. Balance transfers must be made within the first 60 days of opening the account and a 1.5 per cent handling fee applies.

The credit card also allows new customers to move credit into their current account. Fluid charges a 4 per cent fee for this money transfer and offers 15 months at 0 per cent interest but after that, charges will apply.

New customers can also benefit from 0 per cent interest on purchases for five months from the date the account is opened.

Will Becker, chief executive of Media Ingenuity, Fluid’s corporate parent, said:
“We have listened to what customers want within the UK market. In conjunction with MBNA, we’ve created a card with an exclusive offer that can yield a substantial saving to consumers. This is a great card for people who are looking to get control of their finances and repay existing balances within the 15-month offer period.”

Confused.com started to display credit cards in 2008 and it enables customers to compare credit cards from across the whole of the UK market.

With the average authorised overdraft rate currently at 12.659% APR, Nerys Lewis, head of credit cards at Confused.com, believes the Fluid credit card’s money transfer option could help people who need to pay off their overdraft.

Lewis says: “This credit card could be a good option for anyone who is paying interest charges on their current overdraft facility, as long as they can pay back their debt within the 15-month period.

“Many university graduates of the last few years could be starting to pay interest on their graduate overdraft accounts, for example, so the Fluid credit card may be a useful option for those who can afford to pay off this debt before the interest-free period is over.

“Meanwhile, the comparatively low balance transfer fee of 1.5 per cent makes the Fluid credit card a strong offering to anyone who is looking to transfer their existing credit card balance, providing they keep on top of payments.

“If you use a balance transfer credit card carefully, it can be a sensible way to manage your finances.”

Customers can apply for the Fluid credit card at www.confused.com/credit-cards

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Confused.com Reveals That Women Could Save Money For Their Partners

Confused.com has revealed that women who drive regularly could make their male partners big savings and could almost halve the cost of their car insurance by simply being added as a named driver.

However, there are only 154 days where such savings could be made so Confused.com are calling all men to put their partners to good use before it’s too late.

A new UK poll into women’s spending habits found that 35% of women spend on average more than £200 a month on household bills, 34% of women spend on average over £200 a month on essential food bills and 79% of women spend on average up to £100 a month on socialising compared with 72% of men.

On top of this, 93% of women spend on average up to £150 a month on clothes and 87% of women spend on average up to £100 a month on grooming and beauty products (£23 per week).

In fact, the research determines that thousands of pounds will be spent over a woman’s life, all in an effort to satisfy the insatiable urge to shop.

However while some men may despair when they see their partner’s expenditure, they can feel better about one thing: while women are spending they are also shopping around for great deals. In fact, women are much more likely to search incessantly for the best deal, while men are happy to pay more just to be done with the task of shopping. Fifty-four per cent of women admit they shop around and get better deals than their partner; with 38% of men agreeing with this.

As well as women being more savvy shoppers, the research also found that more women (57%) than men (47%) admit to saving, stashing away up to £100 a month.

In fact not only are women savvy savers but they could almost halve the car insurance bill for a man by simply being added to their insurance policy, if they are a regular driver. According to the latest Confused.com car insurance price index the average annual cost of comprehensive cover for a male driver is £954 if he is the only driver insured on the car. However, by adding a spouse it could cause the policy to decrease as the average for a driver and spouse is just £452, creating a potential saving of £502.

When a driver adds a female driver to their comprehensive policy, average costs come down. For example, a 21-25 year old male pays an average of £1,763 for their car insurance, but by adding a spouse who drives on a regular basis, average car insurance prices reduce by 29%, making insurance £1,257 for fully comprehensive cover and creating a potential saving of £506.

Surprisingly, 63% of men surveyed didn’t know that by adding their female partner they could reduce their cost of their policy.

While there is a chance women could currently save their partner money on their car insurance, this is expected to come to an end when the Gender Directive ruling comes into force. From 21 December 2012, insurance providers will no longer be exempt from a wider EU principle covering gender equality meaning insurers will no longer be allowed to take gender into account when they calculate car insurance premiums.

Until then, insurers can continue to use gender as a rating factor, charging men and women different premiums.

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Confused.com Releases New Facebook App Designed To Celebrate Friendships

Coinciding with the release of a report titled ‘Friendship, Finance and the Future: The rise of Singledom in the UK’, Confused.com has created an app that allows users to celebrate the important friends in their life.

A report by Future Poll for Confused.com has shown that four in five say that friendships last longer than romantic relationships. With friends playing such an important role in our lives the app gives users the opportunity to celebrate the anniversary of their meetings, or ‘Frenniversary’ and show how important their friends are.

The app, called ‘Friend Booth’, has three different functions; a tattoo booth, a cover photo montage creator and a Frenniversary reminder service.

The tattoo booth allows Facebook users to create an image with a virtual tattoo dedicated to their closest friend. The user selects their friend and either takes a photo or chooses an existing one, they then select the style of tattoo they want their friend’s name to appear in. They can resize the tattoo and adjust the angle to make it look as convincing as possible before posting it to their wall.

The photo montage creator allows users to create a montage that’s sized, ready for them to have as their cover photo. The Facebook application asks users to enter the name of their best friend. Photos in which both the user and their best friend are tagged will be displayed, allowing the user to select their favourite pictures which will be automatically added into a bespoke image that the user can set as their profile cover image.

The report claims that in the future relationships status on passports and census forms could include mate-trimony as an option, with next of kin automatically being a friend. With friends playing such a significant role in our lives celebrating Frenniversaries will become more common. The Facebook application helps us remember this date by providing a Frenniversary reminder service. When they sign up their email address and friend’s name they’ll be sent an email reminder to make sure they don’t forget to celebrate the day.

Sharon Flaherty, head of content at Confused.com said: “This application is all about having fun with your friends and showing you appreciate them, but the report raises issues around how insurance companies need to protect long-term friendships as they do marriage. More and more people are relying on their friends, buying houses with them and becoming financially co-dependent. If something were to happen they would be left completely unprotected.

“This report by Future Poll shows that in the future more single people will protect their most important relationships with life insurance, in the short term the app allows users to show the people that matter they care.”

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Confused.com Reveals That Car Insurance Prices Have Dropped

Confused.com has revealed that after several years of soaring increases, the brakes have been applied to car insurance prices. The average cost of comprehensive car insurance for Q2 2012 stands at £797, a price drop of 7.1% year on year, compared with £858 which was the average cost for Q2 2011. However, despite the drops and impending gender directive implementation, men are still paying on average £110 more than women on their car insurance.

Despite prices plummeting, 17-20 year old drivers in the UK are still being quoted average comprehensive car insurance premiums of £2,491. Postcodes are a significant factor in car insurance pricing with 17-20 year-old male drivers in Manchester/Merseyside finding they are quoted significantly more than their counterparts in Central Scotland. The average price for 17-20 year old male drivers in Manchester/Merseyside is £5,394, while in the Central Scotland region male drivers aged 17-20 are quoted a more modest £2,999. Young male drivers aged 20 or younger in Inner London can expect to pay an average of £5,330 per year.

Regionally, the West of England has seen the biggest fall in prices, as average premiums for comprehensive cover dropped by 10.5% year-on-year. 21-year-olds saw the largest year-on-year reduction in prices, experiencing a 10.5% drop. This compares with a 1.9% increase in Q2 of 2011 and a drop of 4.6% quarter-on-quarter.

Over the past 12 months, car insurance price cuts have been greater for 17-20 year old women than men of the same age. With the looming EU gender directive which takes effect this December, shifts in gender pricing are beginning to show through. For example, for women aged 17-20, comprehensive car insurance prices increased by 0.5% over the second quarter this year, but for men of the same age group car insurance prices have fallen by 1.1%.

Despite this welcome respite for male drivers, men are still paying an average of£110 more per year than their female counterparts. For younger drivers, women aged 17-20 are quoted £1,878 on average, while men of the same age suffer average insurance quotes of £3,596. While this could be in part connected to the types of cars the drivers choose to drive, it is also in part due to gender, which will no longer be an influential factor by 2013.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com said: “Competition between car insurance providers is currently very high, which means it’s a great time to get a deal on your car insurance. At Confused.com we have more than 130 insurers competing for customers and so drivers can benefit from this competitive market by shopping around. When it comes to men versus women, any gender differences have to be factored out of quotations after December this year and so other factors such as the type of car you drive and the distances you expect to cover will become more important in the quote process. We anticipate that drivers will continue to reduce their annual mileage as a result of high motoring costs and seek cheaper vehicles in their search for more affordable cover.”

More than 4 million quotes are used in the construction of each quarter’s insurance price index – this makes it the most comprehensive insurance index in the UK. Unless otherwise stated all prices referred to are for comprehensive cover.

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Confused.com Reveals Unluckiest Streets And Door Numbers

It’s not easy being ‘Green’ according to new statistics from comparison site Confused.com: 27.6% of customers living on a road named Green Way have claimed on their home insurance in the last five years.

The Confused.com figures also reveal that living at house number 166 can be unlucky too: 21.9% of UK customers living at 166 have also claimed on their home insurance within the last five years.

The highest amount of cash paid out to claimants went to residents of Portland Road, where average claims exceeded £25,000, followed by Castle Street residents whose average claims came to £13,671 per resident.

Unsurprisingly the least claims were made in the more remote areas. The Scottish Borders registered the fewest claims, where the door number 7 was unluckiest. In London it’s people living behind the number 93 who might be worried as they are the ones with the highest volume of claims over the last five years, coming in at just over 19%.

The number 60 is unlucky not only for homeowners living in Central Scotland (almost 25%), but also for those who reside in the East of England where 60 is also the most likely to have had a home insurance claim, with almost 19% of the residents putting in a claim during the last five years.

Gareth Lane, home insurance expert at Confused.com, said: “As a person looking to buy a house in the near future I’ll think twice about moving into 166 Green Way. Joking aside, if these trends continue, on average more than 14 per cent of customers could claim on their home insurance in the next five years, with an average claim amount of around £2,000.

“During these hard economic times and extreme weather it’s important to find the right cover at the right price.”

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Confused.com Reveals That Nervy Brits Call For UK Driving Laws To Follow Europe

Confused.com has asked if it’s finally time for the UK’s driving laws to fall in line with Europe, with two thirds (66%) of Brits’ experiencing some form of motoring mishap when travelling abroad.

British holidaymakers have long been labelled the blight of the European holiday season, but new research from car insurance expert Confused.com, has revealed a different side to the ‘bawdy Brits’. Nearly three quarters (73%) of Britons who will drive abroad this summer have a fear of foreign roads because of confusing foreign road signs, driving habits and cross-country law changes.

Far from being a falsified phobia, the fear of driving on the continent exists for good reason. According to the research, one in five (20%) road trips from Britain to Europe end in a crash or bump, and an overwhelming two-thirds (66%) experience some form of motoring mishap.

This is worrying news for the 25% of British motorists who drive abroad each summer without checking they have adequate insurance. The current trend shows that a quarter of British motorists casually assume that their UK policy automatically covers them on foreign soil when in fact their policy may not be as comprehensive as while driving at home.

With so many blissful summer breaks turning into holiday horrors, it’s not surprising that British motorists want to alleviate their euro nightmares. Driving on the right is the number one fear for more than a third (39%) of UK drivers, and one in five of us (19%) confess to having driven on the wrong side of the road abroad.

The debate over left vs. right is intricate and complicated, and while switching the UK from left to right overnight is perhaps a step too far, the British public feel that standardising Europe’s drink-driving laws is a must, and soon.

Nearly half (47%) of Brits who have driven in Europe are strongly in favour of introducing uniform drink-driving limits. 27% believe that standardising European driving laws would reduce their chance of having an accident abroad, an opinion supported by transport expert, Benjamin Heydecker: “England and Wales are the only two countries in the EU (other than Malta) that has a legal drink-driving limit above 50mg per 100ml – 80mg. Harmonising Europe’s standards by reducing the limit to 50mg per 100 ml – which Scotland did recently – would modify drivers’ attitude to drink driving, with undisputed benefits for road safety.”

UK drivers’ lack of preparation was revealed when quizzed on the driving laws of Europe’s top-locations: 50% of Brits admitted they didn’t realise it was illegal to use a hands free kit in Spain, or that in Sweden it’s compulsory to carry antifreeze and a shovel in the car. Similarly one in ten (10%) didn’t know that drivers in Spain and Italy who wear glasses need to carry a spare pair.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, said: “As the holiday season approaches, we’re going to see more Brits heading to the continent. While driving is often the most convenient means of travel, it’s important for motorists to take the time to understand the foreign laws. Accidents can easily happen in an unfamiliar environment, so reading up and making sure you’re completely covered for the country you’re driving in is just as important as getting the right currency.”

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Confused.com Reveals Why Single People Are ‘Mating’ With Friends For Life

A new Confused.com report, entitled ‘Friendships, Finance and the Future: The rise of Singledom in the UK’, has revealed that almost three quarters* (72%) of singles have friends who will be friends for life, and four in five say that friendships last longer than romantic relationships. Men in particular are saying no to marriage. Just three in ten single men think they will ever get married, and 48% think single people are more fun.

This new report also identifies a new demographic in UK society: FLAPers (Financially Liberated and Positively Single). This is a new breed of single people who are turning the tables on the stereotype of the sad singleton and embracing the adventure and spontaneity. Like the flappers of the 1920s, who threw away their corsets and sought independent lifestyles, these FLAPers are celebrating a new era of positivity and empowerment in the wake of troubled times.

Experts at Future Poll, the research division of The Future Laboratory, predict that the future could see friendships among single people recognised as relationships that work while marriage increasingly fails. Laws will protect best friends and single people might formalise their friendships by entering into ‘mate-trimony’ agreements with their best friends. Relationship status on passports and census forms could include ‘mate-trimony’ as an option, next of kin will automatically be friends, and more and more singles will protect their friendships with life insurance – 59% of singles would consider insuring the life of a friend if they bought a house together.

As people stay single for longer, they are realising how much they rely on their friends for the things traditionally provided by a partner. Friends offer a shoulder to cry on: 45% of singles turn to their friends first for emotional support. Friends know each other inside out too: 30% of singles say the person who knows them best in life is a friend.

Singles even trust their friends, rather than family members, with their online secrets. Twice as many singles would rather have a friend see what they’ve been looking at online than a family member. 18 – 24-year-old singles would much rather that friends see their web-browsing history (62%) than family members (18%), probably because their friends would be less shocked.

The research found that 29% of single people in the UK have lent money to a friend in the last 12 months and in the West Midlands, 35% of singles have lent friends money in the last year. More than one in four single people would go to their friends first if they needed money urgently, and men (31%) are more likely to do so than women (23%).

To many single people, marriage is viewed as an old fashioned idea. 21% of single men think marriage is out-dated while 34% of single women think marriage lacks the value it once had.

Mike Hoban, Chief Marketing Officer at Confused.com said: “The need for us all to prepare for the worst, and protect our loved ones, is paramount. There is an opportunity for life assurance companies to reflect the rich diversity of our society and meet the needs of more people by making available products and services which reflect the value that people put on personal relationship outside of traditional family and marriage ties.”

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Confused.com Reveals A New Way Of Living For Young Singles

Confused.com has revealed that the continued property crisis, coupled with a rise in the number of singles in the UK, is resulting in the creation of alternative ‘family’ units and giving birth to the MOSH.

This type of MOSHing does not include head-banging to metal music; it’s all about embracing the ‘Multiple Occupant Shared Home’ and challenging the traditional household structure.

Confused.com has worked with futurologists at Future Poll, the research division of The Future Laboratory, on the new study into the friendship and finances of single people in the UK, which explores the growing trend for best mates to create alternative ‘family’ units.

The Confused.com research found that 57% of singles have a friend they trust enough to buy a house with.

Furthermore, 59% of singles would consider protecting their friendships with life insuranceif they bought a house together.

Single-person households are projected to increase by 163,000 per year – from 6.8m in 2006 to 10.9m in 2031 – and singleton households could outnumber any other kind of household by 2031, according to the Government Office for Science. This shift in behaviour among young people will mean MOSHing is tipped to become mainstream over the next decade. The Confused.com report predicts that MOSHing will become a lifestyle of choice for men and the younger generation of singles, and so it will be vital to protect these co-dependent lifestyles with some form of insurance.

Men are already MOSHing more than women. Twice as many single men (10%) have bought a house with a friend compared to just 5% of single women surveyed. Some 44% of men would be comfortable owning a property with a friend, compared with 38% of women. Young people are native MOSHers, according to the Confused.com research. More than six in 10 (64%) single 18–24-year-olds have friends they trust enough to buy a house with, compared with around half (47%) of those over 55.

Young MOSHers also have more friends they would trust enough to buy a house with: 18–24-year-old singles have 36%, while those over 55 have just 21%.

Social networking is accelerating friendship and young people are connecting to more people and sharing things in a way that would be impossible in their busy offline lives. Their constant connection to their friends online means that they increasingly want to make these online communities concrete.

Mike Hoban, Chief Marketing Officer at Confused.com explains how this will impact insurers: “Insurance companies are increasingly using social media to communicate with young audiences and the next stage is to recognise, and respond to, the real-life social networks which are structuring the new ‘urban families’ as friends set up home together, supporting one another both financially and emotionally. As our report demonstrates, friendships are increasingly important to independent single people in the UK and a financial industry that caters for single people and couples alike is one that is prepared for the future of personal finance.”

The report, entitled ‘Friendships, Finance and the Future: The Rise of Singledom in the UK’, can be downloaded here:
www.confused.com/life-insurance/articles/~/media/docs/friendships-finance-and-the-future.pdf.

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Confused.com Launches New Zombie Video

Confused.com has launched a new video application called ‘Home Sweet Zombie’, in order to increase awareness of the importance of home insurance and raise its social media profile.

The video requires the user to enter their postcode. After doing so, the hometown of the user becomes swamped with a virus and zombie characters appear to make their way to the user’s home making use of Google Maps technology.

In order to demonstrate the need for home insurance, the video app uses the customer’s name and postcode to personalise the experience and make them feel as though their local area has been invaded by zombies. As the video continues, a shot of the zombies with a bomb is shown and the video comes to a climax as the customer’s home is blown up.

The last shot is Confused.com characters holding a message ‘Make sure you get your home insurance through Confused.com’.

The video forms part of the on-going social media strategy of Confused.com, and reinforces the importance of having a home insurance policy in place to make sure possessions are covered against damage and theft.

The video app can be accessed via the Confused.com website here and also Confused.com’s Facebook page. But to widen the campaign further, Confused.com will be sending an email to 1.2 million of its customers, each with a personalised video.

This app also coincides with Confused.com’s Nectar promotion where customers can collect 1,000 Nectar points with every home, pet, van, bike and car insurance policy bought through Confused.com. Customers who buy life insurance will receive 5,000 Nectar points.

The app aims to encourage people to think about the need for home insurance and customers can collect 1,000 Nectar points by simply buying this product through Confused.com.

Speaking about the video app, Mike Hoban, Marketing Director at Confused.com, said: “We’re looking to get people talking about this video app and make people understand the importance of having home insurance. We want to create customer engagement and via Facebook and Twitter we want people to share and like this video, building essential relationships with our customers.

“The aim of the video is also to create a personalised touch for our customers to ensure they know how important they are to us and how important it is to ensure their house is protected against unforeseen circumstances.”

Gareth Kloet, Head of Home Insurance added: “We want to ensure that people have home insurance. By using a comparison site like Confused.com it means we do the hard work for you and the added benefit of this exciting video app is that customers can be directed straight to the site by the click of a button.”

The ‘Home Sweet Zombie’ video app can be found at www.confused.com/news-views/games/home-sweet-zombie.

Via EPR Network
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Bower Welcomes the ReLaunch of SHIP

Bower Retirement Services, winners of the 2011 Equity Release Awards, welcome the relaunch of Safe Home Income Plans (‘SHIP’) as The Equity Release Council (The Council). Bower welcome also the decision of the trade body to broaden its membership to include financial advisers, solicitors, surveyors and other interested parties.

SHIP was established in 1991 by the major product providers as the body to safeguard the interests of consumers entering into equity release plans. Over the past 20 years, SHIP has been very successful in improving the reputation of equity release and in promoting consumer awareness of the products available. The main focus of the Equity Release Council will be to protect consumers and increase education, awareness and understanding of how equity release works, the options available and the consumer safeguards that are in place.

Geoff Charles, Managing Director of Bower commented:

“We welcome the new organisation and look forward to joiningand supporting the Equity Release Council. The changes are excellent news for elderly homeowners who are seeking to release capital from their homes in order to raise a lump sum and/or to supplement their retirement income. The extension of the membership and SHIP standards to all participants in the sector will strengthen consumer confidence and reinforce the message that equity release plans are now mainstream retirement products.”

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Confused.com Expands Their Telematics Car Insurance Providers

Confused.com has added leading telematics brand, insurethebox, to its ever-increasing car insurance panel. insurethebox joined Confused.com’s collection of leading car insurance providers on Friday 25 May.

Confused.com’s car insurance comparison service makes it easy for customers to compare different policies, and the new relationship with insurethebox affords those shopping for insurance an even greater choice than before.

insurethebox specialises in telematics insurance, which is targeted at drivers who believe they can reduce their premiums by driving safely. This can be of specific benefit to young males, who traditionally have the worst driving record and consequently the highest premiums.

insurethebox is the fourth telematics provider to be added to the Confused.com panel, following Autosaint, Coverbox and AA Drivesafe.

Telematics enables personalised insurance based on the safety of the policyholder’s driving. This is measured using data gathered by a device which is fitted to the car. The device is about the size of a deck of cards, and gathers data such as mileage, when and where the car is driven and harsh acceleration and braking.

insurethebox policies are unique in a number of ways. The insured is limited to a maximum number of ‘policy miles’ which they can drive in a year – currently 6,000. Extra miles can be purchased or built up.

Data gathered is sent to insurethebox, which then rewards safe driving with up to 100 bonus miles every month. The better the driving, the greater the chance of premium reductions on renewal. The data can also be accessed online through a secure personalised portal, so that the driver can see how they have driven and learn where they need to improve.

As an additional safety benefit, the telematics device will inform insurethebox in the event of an accident, and the emergency services may be contacted where appropriate. The device also acts as a tracker, which can deter theft and locate the car in the event of it being stolen.

The Confused.com telematics page contains plenty of information, as does the Confused.com telematics FAQ page.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, said: “For us, Confused.com customers come first. So we’re really happy to be able to offer them a greater choice and variety of policies.

“insurethebox are a market-leading brand with some really progressive ideas. Their telematics expertise is second to none, and we’re really glad to be able to add them to our impressive list of partners.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com To Offer Free Breakdown Cover With Any Van Insurance Policy

Confused.com is launching a new promotion giving away free breakdown cover with any van insurance policy purchased through the site.

The free breakdown cover includes up to two call outs for home assistance, within one mile of a customer’s home address; up to four call outs for road side assistance; payment for alternative travel up to £100 to the customer’s chosen destination; alternative accommodation up to £60 per person for one night and recovery for 23 foot caravans/ trailers.

Breaking down without cover could cost hundreds of pounds to be rescued. As purse strings are tightened and finances reviewed, drivers no longer need to think of breakdown cover as a costly extra due to Confused.com’s new promotion.

The promotion began on 6 June and will run until 31 July, so anyone buying a van insurance policy during this period will get free breakdown cover. Whether people are using their van for business or personal use, Confused.com searches the market’s top insurance providers to help them to find a competitive quote.

Confused.com’s van insurance covers small vans, medium vans, commercial vans, pickup vans and the commonly known transit van, offering a wide range of insurance cover for the customers various van needs.

The expert price-comparison site offers comparison on van insurance policies, allowing van drivers to get prices from 20 of the most competitive and market-leading brands, such as Aviva, Highway, Ageas, RSA.

A further benefit for buying van insurance from Confused.com is that any customer who buys any van insurance product through the website will receive 1,000 Nectar points, giving a little helping hand in these difficult times. All Nectar points will be awarded within the first 90 days of purchase and the points will go straight onto the customer’s card – so they can boost their Nectar balance by simply buying insurance.

Alex Higgs, Product Manager at Confused.com said: “As people’s purse strings are still tight, we want to help our customers save money, but also make their travel journeys as safe as possible. So by simply buying essential van insurance customers can help prevent themselves being left stranded on the side of the road by getting this free breakdown cover that we are offering in our new promotion.

“With our choice of cover options and our excellent value for money prices, we have a policy to meet the needs of every van driver. Confused.com is here to help customers get the right cover they need at the right price.

“Make sure you’re shopping around using a price comparison site like Confused.com as it allows you to not only check the price but also review the benefits you can get which you may not necessarily think about until you are in an emergency situation.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Unveils Its Improved Motorbike Insurance Offering

Confused.com has teamed up with Vast Visibility to broaden its online bike insurance service.

Confused.com now goes to 35 insurers to compare motorbike policies for its customers. These include MCE, Bikesure, Carole Nash, and most of the other leading providers in the UK.

The motorbike insurance quotes service has been re-launched as a much slicker experience, helping to make it easier for bikers to find the right policy at the right price.

Confused.com compares policies for a range of motorbikes, including mopeds, scooters, classic motorbikes, sports bikes and quads and with every motorbike policy bought, customers can still claim 1,000 Nectar points.

Alex Higgs, Head of motorbike insurance at Confused.com, said: “We are delighted to be in partnership with Vast Visibility, working together to provide an even better service for motorbike insurance customers.

“We can now offer an even wider range of policies and a wider range of prices. With the list of questions nearly 20 per cent shorter, getting a quote through Confused.com is now easier and more intuitive than before. And, as ever, we will continue to make improvements.

“Having helped bikers compare insurance deals since 2008, we have a loyal base of valued customers, and hope to help an ever-increasing number of bikers save money in the future.”

The service shows prices for all three levels of cover – fully comprehensive, third party fire and theft, and third party only. This gives the customer even more information with which to make an informed decision. In addition, policy features can be compared side-by-side to aid with the decision of which policy to buy. At a glance, it’s possible to tell which policies feature helmet cover, breakdown assistance, legal cover and so on.

Once a bike insurance customer has compared policies with Confused.com, then comparing prices the following year becomes easier too. Confused.com sends the customer their best prices at renewal time, so they can see at a glance if it’s worth allowing their policy to renew automatically, or if they’d be better off comparing policies again.

Also, for the first time, motorbike insurance customers are able to complete their quotes over the phone. This is useful in case they get stuck, and means that it is now even easier to get quotes. Another way bikers could keep their motorbike insurance premiums down is to read Confused.com’s motorbike insurance articles, which are full of top tips and useful pointers.

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Gives Away 5,000 Nectar Points with Every Life Insurance Policy

Confused.com has announced it is continuing its Nectar promotion with a new exciting twist; for every life insurance policy bought through Confused.com, 5,000 Nectar points will be given away to the policyholder.

Previously, Confused.com were giving away 3,000 Nectar points with every life insurance policy bought through the comparison website, but this has been extended to 5,000 points.

As of 1 June, 2012, any customers who buy a life insurance policy through Confused.com will receive 5,000 Nectar points.

Life insurance offers protection and support to family and loved ones if the worst should happen. By purchasing life insurance through Confused.com, customers are not only planning for the future, but will also get a little helping hand in these difficult financial times.

As well as giving away 5,000 Nectar points for buying a life insurance product, Confused.com will continue to give customers 1,000 Nectar points for every car, home, pet, bike and van insurance product they buy through the website.

All Nectar points will be awarded within the first 90 days of purchase. The Nectar points will go straight onto the customer’s card.

The Confused.com promotion not only gives customers competitive rates on all their insurance needs, but gives customers something back for their purchase.

Mike Hoban, Marketing Director at Confused.com, said: “After extending the Nectar giveaway which offered our customers the chance to get thousands of Nectar points by purchasing motor, home, life, bike and van insurance products we decided to increase the giveaway when customers purchase a life insurance product.

“Now customers can get 5,000 Nectar points as an added reward when they buy life insurance with Confused.com, which we hope will be a welcomed boost in these turbulent economic times.”

The 5,000 point Nectar promotion will also be supported by a TV advertisement, running from the 6 June, 2012. The new advert can be viewed at www.confused.com/cara

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Reveals How Vain Brits Turn To Credit To Keep Up Appearances

Confused.com has revealed that forty per cent of Brits use their credit card to make themselves look good by buying beauty and grooming products.

When it comes to looking good, more than one in ten (11%) Brits regard fake tan as an essential expense.

Surprisingly, many men see image-enhancing purchases as something they can’t live without. For instance, 14% of men say waxing is an essential part of their grooming regime.

Across the regions, 10% of men surveyed from London say Botox treatment is a vital part of looking good. Meanwhile, 22% of men in the West Midlands believe a fake tan is a crucial part of sprucing themselves up – the highest of any region. In Wales, 23% of men surveyed say eyebrow shaping is an essential part of their grooming regime.

From the findings it appears image is everything for adults. 60% have bought clothing using their credit card, the most popular credit card purchase, while 28% have bought jewellery.

When it comes to who influences their appearance, almost a fifth (18%) of adults say celebrities affect the way they choose their look.

However, it is not just superstars that have a sway over people’s image. More than one in ten (12%) people say reality TV personalities from programmes such as ‘Made in Chelsea’ or ‘The Only Way is Essex’ influence their appearance.

Overall, Kate Middleton is the most popular celebrity icon for women, with 21% of females saying they would like to look like her. Cheryl Cole came in second place (18%), while Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton received 5% of the vote.

As well as using a credit card to obtain the perfect look, 28% of Brits polled spend on credit cards to treat themselves. Shockingly, more than one in ten (11%) believe spending on a credit card is easy money.

Nerys Lewis, head of credit cards at Confused.com, said: “Our survey suggests many Brits are using their credit cards to power an aspirational lifestyle fuelled by celebrity culture.

“A third (35%) of adults say they are spending more than they can afford this year, and it seems many are turning to credit when they haven’t got the cash or just fancy indulging themselves.

“All this spending has got to come at a price, however. We would urge people to think carefully about what’s essential versus what’s desirable when it comes to using their cards for buying things such as fake tan.

“People should ensure they have a solid plan in place for paying back any debt, and if anyone is struggling, they can speak to a specialist debt advice organisation such as Citizens Advice.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Becomes First Ever Brand To Use YouTube Slam And Gives Away £500

Confused.com has become the first ever brand to use YouTube Slam in its latest social media competition. The YouTube Slam competition is the final showdown of Confused.com’s latest social media campaign, the ‘5 second challenge’, where the British public were asked to showcase what they could do in 5 seconds to be in with the chance of winning £500.

YouTube Slam is one the most recent innovations from Google which allows users to create a video duel which the public can vote on.

Confused.com’s YouTube Slam will take place from midday on Wednesday 6 June till Friday 15 June 12pm. During this time, the public will get the chance to vote for the ultimate winner of Confused.com’s 5 second challenge. The entrant with the most votes in the Slam will receive £500 in prize money for themselves or a charity of their choice. Entries received include a woman removing her bra and a unique piece of art created in just 5 seconds and can be viewed at http://bit.ly/5secondchallenge when the Slam begins on midday Wednesday 6 June 2012.

This latest social media campaign forms part of Confused.com’s ongoing marketing strategy for QuickQuote. The campaign demonstrates the concept of time and what can be achieved in 5 seconds, a creative twist on the fact that the new groundbreaking Confused.com QuickQuote text message service allows customers to get a car insurance quote in seconds.

The progress of the ‘5 second challenge’ can be followed on the leader board on the Confused.com YouTube Slam page and the public can help decide who wins the competition by voting for their favourites. The winner of the slam will take £500 prize money.

Sharon Flaherty, head of content at Confused.com, commented: “It is now almost second nature for people to comment, like, share and vote in social media platforms. The popularity of programmes such as Britain’s Got Talent and The Voice also clearly shows that the public want to be able to affect the outcome of competitions, highlighting that interactivity is key to ensuring successful conversations with customers.

“As such, we have incorporated this into our social media strategy and are encouraging people to vote for their favourite video in our 5 second challenge on YouTube Slam. To see the video of their choice be crowned the winner of our YouTube Slam, viewers simply need to vote for their favourites and make someone a winner.”

Via EPR Network
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