Brightside ventures into pet insurance market with Markerstudy

Brightside Group is considering a full entry into the fast growing UK pet insurance market after signing a six-month pilot scheme with Markerstudy.

Neil Laird, Brightside head of product development, said Brightside will act as an introducer for Purely Pets Insurance (a trading name for Ultimate Pet Partners Ltd, part of Ultimate Insurance Solutions Ltd, owned by Markerstudy) with policies underwritten by IIC Hannover SE.

Neil said: “The arrangement is for an initial six month term and will enable Brightside to work with Ultimate to test the product set with our customers. Our aim is that, following this initial period, we will push ahead and introduce a full Brightside-branded pet insurance proposition.”

He explained that, under the pilot, customers will be directed to a Purely Pets bridging page from the Brightside website, where they’ll be offered quote and purchasing options on a range of cover, including insurance for pets over five weeks old and discounts for multiple pets on one policy.

Paul Hampshire, Managing Director of Ultimate Insurance Solutions commented: “We’re delighted to be working with Brightside on this new proposition. We have over 20 years experience in the pet insurance market, making us the perfect partners to support them in their exciting new business venture.”

Neil said: “The products provided by Ultimate offer our customers a greater level of choice and cover levels, and there is a huge untapped pet insurance market for us to target. We want to offer a wider choice of insurance products to our customers, and we are confident our proposition will appeal to owners who don’t currently have protection for their pets.”

He noted that in the UK, the 2014 Pet market grew by 11.7% to £853m, however pet insurance take up in the UK remains low with 50% and 34.7% of dog and cat owners respectively choosing to insure their pet (source: Verdict Financial Oct 2015.)