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Life insurance company DeadHappy defends use of photo of serial killer Harold Shipman in ‘horrific’ ad
- DeadHappy used a photo of the killer to sell life insurance
- But the company has doubled down, saying it’s just trying to be provocative
A life insurance company has been called “hideous and tasteless” for using a photo of serial killer Harold Shipman in one of its advertisements.
Life insurance broker DeadHappy ran an ad this week with a photo of Shipman and the tagline “Life Insurance.” Because you never know who your doctor is.’
Shipman was found guilty of murdering 15 people, but the actual number could be as high as 250, making him one of the worst serial killers of all time. The former doctor died by suicide in a prison cell in 2004.
Insurance professionals are lining up to criticize the ad.
The life insurance broker said it was only “provocative” by displaying an image of Shipman
Gareth Davies, director of South Coast Mortgage Services, said: ‘There is controversy and there is plain wrong, and this is the latter I’m afraid.
“However, I suspect they knew what the reaction would be, and we’re all talking about it as a company.”
Scott Taylor-Barr, a financial advisor at Carl Summers Financial Services, added: “This is truly appalling and distasteful. Shipman’s crimes are not that long ago, his victims’ immediate families are still alive and could very well see this ad, which would be horrifying to them.”
But DeadHappy made double use of Shipman’s image in the ad.
DeadHappy founder Andy Knott said, “We’re DeadHappy and our tagline is “Life Insurance To Die For,” so we’re aware of the provocative (and to some, deeply shocking) nature of our brand.
‘But being provocative is different from being offensive and it is of course never our intention to offend or hurt people. Our aim is to make people think.
“We take risks with our brand and sometimes we cross the line, whatever or wherever that line may be, and whoever chooses to draw that line.”
What is DeadHappy?
DeadHappy is a fully online pay-as-you-go life insurance brokerage that launched in February 2019.
The company presents itself as a disruptor of more traditional life insurance companies and uses controversial advertising and branding.
According to Direct Line Life Insurance, only 35 percent of people in the UK have life insurance.
DeadHappy wants to increase that figure by making the process of buying life insurance faster and easier.
Customers go to the DeadHappy website, decide how much payout they want when they die, answer a few questions, and then get a monthly quote to guarantee that payout.
The process is purely digital, meaning you can’t speak to anyone in person or on the phone, and there’s no advice.