Whipper-snapper

Good morning, you glorious beasts.

The most popular baby names of last year have been revealed, with Olivia claiming the top spot for girls and Muhammad retaining his title for the boys.

More curiously, there was a child born named “Awesome”, which feels rather like setting yourself up for disappointment.

First time reading? Join over 2500 smart UK professionals and sign up here.

And, as always, send us feedback by replying directly to this email.

INSURANCE
What’s going on with home insurance?

Quotes are declining at breakneck speed, but the actual price people are paying has increased massively since 2022. Lend me your ears: 

Home insurance quotes have fallen by 7.9% in the last year

That’s the amount insurance companies say you’ll pay. 

More people can source quotes for less than £200 than they could a year ago – and there are more brands offering competitive prices. 

There’s more choice, due to the influx of little insurtech whipper-snappers competing against the big dogs. 

Begad, our rainy little island is now home to roughly 10% of all insurtech startups globally – huzzah! 

So why are actual prices increasing?

Because of inflation, and all the extreme weather we’ve been having, basically – think storms, frozen pipes, and heavy rainfall. 

Since 2022, the average cost of home insurance premiums has increased from £300 to £400, although there’s been a recent softening – a meagre drop of £2 in the second quarter of 2025.

In short, the insurance company quotes you a competitive price – but after they’ve assessed your risk level, they renege on their offer. 

The cowards.

HOSPITALITY
It’s a bad time for Domino’s

People are cutting back on non-essential spending, which has led to a nose-dive in the pizza company’s profits – 15% in the last 6 months. But that barely scratches the surface. 

Britain is hellish for businesses right now

Domino’s relies on a franchise model, and its partners are more reluctant to open new stores. 

After all, they have to fork out far more for National Insurance contributions and minimum wage than before. Not exactly an incentive to grow. 

Particularly for pizza chains

Papa John's has already closed 74 outlets, after reporting a pre-tax loss of more than £21 million. They cited the same reason: Brits are less willing to gorge on expensive American pizza. 

Pizza Hut’s 140 restaurants narrowly avoided insolvency in January. And no wonder. The tax rises imposed by the Labour government were roughly half of the company’s pre-tax earnings.

TECH
Coinbase just rinsed Britain

The American crypto firm released an ad in the form of a musical that perfectly captures how utterly dire the situation is in this country. In short:

Britain is crumbling

According to the ad, which showed white collar workers getting sacked and becoming delivery drivers, rich people saying they’ll “jump ship”, streets strewn with garbage, and rain leaking through roofs. 

All the while, the British sing: “Everything is fine.” 

The ad was not banned

Despite what Coinbase’s CEO has been peddling online in a rather brilliant marketing ploy. 

Clearcast, the regulator that checks whether ads meet legal and ethical standards, rejected ‘Everything is Fine’ because it basically suggested – without evidence – that crypto assets are the solution to our economic malaise. 

NEWS BITES
This just in…

• 🧠 🔬 British researchers can predict who’s going to get dementia. The University of Westminster team developed an AI tool that uses Biobank data to predict the early onset of 38 age-related diseases. Terrifying. 

• 🚀 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 We’re going to space. Scottish startup Skyrora has become the first UK-based company in history to be given a UK license to build and fly rockets. The 11m tall rocket, Skylark L, was built using 3D-printed components, and once launched from its Shetland-based spaceport, it can fly 3.5 times the speed of sound. The glorious beasts hope to launch it 16 times a year by 2030. 

• 🇺🇸 🚢 76% of British exporters are diversifying away from the US, thanks to Donald and his predilection for imposing trade wars willy-nilly. Which is a pretty big deal, considering the US is our biggest trade partner. Now we’re exporting more to the Middle East and Africa. Donald will rue the day.

• 🦠 🤖 CuspAI just secured £75 million in funding. The UK startup has built an AI platform that’s basically a “search engine for molecules”, allowing scientists to tell the AI tool what sort of material properties they want, and instantly receive a molecular structure for that material. And it’s all to build faster, cheaper materials for climate tech. Wunderbar. 

• 🇨🇳 🧐 Uni professors who speak ill of China are getting harassed, according to a recent study. Some administrators are putting pressure on academics to toe the line, largely due to universities’ financial reliance on Chinese students. Chinese students have informed their professors that they’ve been asked to spy by the Chinese government.