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Home insurance by text

A new company is aiming to shake up the way insurance is sold by offering cover via text message.

Text2Insure has started selling Hastings Direct travel insurance products and their research shows that 8.6 million people would consider buying insurance via text messaging with the majority of people interested being under 30.

Nicholas Thurlow, director and founder of Text2Insure, said: "We believe the convenience of SMS text messaging, and the fact that so many people are comfortable using it, means it is a natural distribution channel for buying insurance."

The process customers follow is to first send a text to the company's number and a reply is sent immediately asking for details about the location, length of a holiday and the person's age.

A quote is generated and if the customer accepts it they can text the word "BUY" and the company calls them to get payment details.

Text2Insure is also looking to develop the payment system so that transactions can be completed and policies viewed over WAP.