“We’re doing our very best to fix it.”
That was the assertion made by Leicester-based life insurance intermediary DeadHappy following its ‘ominous-sounding’ announcement that the company is unable to accept new customers at this point.
Notoriously known for its controversial adverts and provocative marketing, DeadHappy (formally registered as Dead Happy Ltd) made its current predicament known through the firm’s homepage, pointing to disagreements without elaborating further.
In a statement on its website, DeadHappy said: “Our insurance partners have told us we can’t accept new life insurance customers at the moment. We wish it was different; we believe it should be different, but unfortunately not everyone agrees.
“To all our existing customers, please don’t worry – your policies are protected.”
According to DeadHappy, existing policyholders can still manage their accounts online as normal. Meanwhile, those seeking “a little extra peace of mind” are advised to get in touch with the intermediary.
In January 2023, DeadHappy faced backlash after it featured the image of convicted serial killer Harold Shipman in a “despicable” social media advert. The intermediary, which conceded then that it made a mistake in an attempt to be provocative, was also called out in 2019 due to promotional material that “trivialised the issue of suicide” and was deemed offensive.
DeadHappy came to life in 2013 and was marketed with a focus on so-called ‘Deathwishes’ – a policy feature that allows insureds to specify how they wish their payouts to be spent, e.g. on funeral costs, someone’s education, mortgage payments, etc.
In its latest pronouncement, DeadHappy noted: “Although life insurance might look incredibly easy on the surface, there’s a lot of moving parts going on underneath. Sometimes a part can break, and in this instance we’re doing our very best to fix it.”
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