Research Shows Pet Owners Value Their Pets’ Lives Over Their Own

LONDON, November 28, 2011 -

New data released by comparethemarket.com, one of the UK’s leading price comparison sites, shows that pet owners are far more likely to insure their pet than their own life.

According to the website’s statistics, three times as many people get a quote for pet insurance than they do for life insurance*.

Commenting on the findings, comparethemarket.com’s Commercial Director Jeremy Moll said: “It’s good that so many people are aware of the need for pet insurance. In the event that your pets ever need vaccinations or treatment, the right pet insurance enables you to give them all the care they need without the extra worry of escalating vet bills.

“However, pets aren’t the only members of the family who could benefit from insurance. If the worst were to happen, life insurance cover enables you to look after your family when you are gone. This could help make sure that your home is paid for and your family’s welfare is taken care of.

“comparethemarket.com can help customers find great deals on both pet and life insurance. By comparing and contrasting products from different providers, customers can be sure to find the right cover at the right price to suit their lifestyle and circumstances.”

Additionally, people who buy pet or life insurance will also receive an exclusive meerkat toy based on characters from the highly successful ad campaign. As the toys are not for sale, comparethemarket.com’s Simples Rewards scheme is the only way to receive one of these much sought after toys.

Specialising in more than just car insurance, comparethemarket.com provides customers with an easy way to find the right deal on a wide range of insurance and financial products including home insurance, van insurance, bike insurance, life insurance, pet insurance and credit cards.  It also offers comparisons for a range of household utilities including electricity, gas, phone, broadband and digital TV.

*Figures based on quotes provided by comparethemarket.com between July to September 2011.

About comparethemarket.com

• comparethemarket.com was launched in 2006 as a motor insurance comparison site, offering customers a wide range of competitively priced insurance quotes instantly online.  
• comparethemarket.com has grown rapidly over the past three years and is now one of the UK’s leading price comparison brands.  
• As well as insurance, comparethemarket.com also offers comparisons on credit cards, loans, current accounts and savings accounts.
• comparethemarket.com actively selects its brand partners, working with the best and most trusted organisations to ensure quality service to consumers.

comparethemarket.com is a trading name of BISL Limited.  BISL Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

About Meerkovo and Simples Rewards

Meerkovo, a small village based just outside of Moscow, is the home of best-selling author and founder of comparethemeerkat.com Aleksandr Orlov.  

Meerkovo is going through troubled times because people in the UK keep confusing comparethemeerkat.com with comparethemarket.com when looking for cheap deals on insurance. This is clogging up the meerkat comparison site, so to try and solve this confusion Aleksandr asked Sergei, his trusty IT assistant, to build Meerkovo.com to provide fans with the opportunity to see Aleksandr’s home village.

Now Aleksandr has launched Simples Rewards, a scheme to reward people who know the difference between meerkat and market.  From 4th July, the meerkats of Meerkovo have been giving everyone who buys car, van, pet and home insurance through comparethemarket.com the chance to claim a free meerkat toy at meerkovo.com.  From 6^th October, customers who buy motorbike and life insurance are also eligible to claim a toy.

The range of six toys comprises: Aleksandr; Sergei; Vassily, the pub rocker; Maiya the school mistress; Bogdan, the meerpup; and Yakov, the toymaker.  

The Simples Rewards scheme is subject to terms and conditions.

About Aleksandr Orlov

Meerkat entrepreneur Alesksandr Orlov first hit our screens in January 2009.  He became an internet phenomenon overnight and today has nearly 800,000 Facebook fans and almost 50,000 Twitter followers.  Over 50,000 people enquired about buying the original Aleksandr soft toy when it went on sale in Harrods in 2009, while his iSimples was downloaded over 750,000 times.   Aleksandr’s “A Simple’s  Life”  sold over 500,000 copies, hitting the No.1 spot in the Christmas bestseller list and outselling autobiographies, Tony Blair, Katie Price, Michael McIntyre and Keith Richards.

Follow Aleksandr on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Comparethemeerkat

or Twitter @Aleksandr_Orlov

Holly Dedman at Good Relations, Tel: 020 7861 3106, Email: hdedman at goodrelations.co.uk