Is that a mobile in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?

Sibos delegates in search of more intimate networking might just be in luck, with the launch of a new mobile translation service that promises to text chat up lines direct to UK mobile phone holders.

According to research from Text2insure, a UK-based company that sells travel insurance via SMS text messaging through mobile phones, more than one in four UK adults have had a romantic fling with a non-English speaking person whilst abroad.

The research has been conducted to support the launch of the company's new translation service, which promises to translate a number of key words and phrases and text them to individual's handsets in a matter of seconds. The service includes translating chat-up lines and will be part of Hastings Direct's travel insurance cover, which is the first product to be sold through Text2Insure.

The service can translate into five key languages - French, Spanish, German, Italian and Dutch. Some of the chat-up lines include: 'you have beautiful eyes', 'would you like to have dinner with me', 'what would you do if I kissed you right now?' and - for those with an important deadline to meet - 'do you have a condom?'

According to Text2Insure, 31% of men claim to have had a romantic fling abroad with a non-English speaking person, compared to 21% of women. A third of people aged 25-34 say that they have done this - the highest percentage of any age group.

Nicholas Thurlow, a director and founder of Text2Insure said: "We have developed this service but we are looking to add to the phrases and words we translate and in the near future we will be encouraging users to text us their suggestions."

A straw poll of visitors to the Swift international conference in Copenhagen, conducted by Finextra's onsite daily SibosOnline, found plenty of interest in suggestive double-entendres - incorporating key words such as interfacing, straight-through processing, networking and back office insourcing - most of which were sadly too lewd to reproduce in their entirety.

txt fr ur insrnc?
(2005-07-29)

txt fr ur insrnc?

Gary Parkinson, This Is Money
29 June 2005

HOLIDAYMAKERS can buy travel insurance by texting over their mobile phones for the first time today. Text2Insure, backed by insurance broker Hastings Insurance Services, also plans to offer household and motor cover soon.

TEXT: Holiday insurance is now available through your phone

The new firm promises to text quotes to mobiles within 60 seconds of an inquiry. All stages – apart from final payment – can be carried out by text.

Text2Insure reckons the low cost of distributing insurance by text means it can offer competitive premiums and target those who need last-minute cover.

Research carried out for the group found that nearly a quarter of mobile users would consider taking out insurance through a text messaging service. That figure rises to almost half of those surveyed aged between 16 and 24.

Around 14% of mobile users said they thought they would buy insurance by text messaging within three years.

Around 3m texts are sent in Britain every hour. This year, we are expected to send a whopping 30bn text messages over our mobiles. Almost a third of people aged between 16 and 24 send at least 36 texts a week.

Nicholas Thurlow, director and founder of Text2Insure, said: 'We believe that the convenience of SMS text messaging, and the fact that so many people are comfortable using it, means that it is a natural distribution channel for buying insurance. In time, we hope that it will become as popular as the internet.'

Travellers looking for a quotation for cover should text INSURE to 61066.

They will then receive a text asking for details of their trip, including the number of days they need cover, whether their trip is within or outside Europe, their age, and whether they are looking for an individual or family policy.

Text2Insure will then text a quote within a minute. Should the customer want to proceed, the firm's call centre will ring for credit or debit card payment.Customers can then check details of their policy online.