Brits Make Millions Of Promises They Can’t Keep

Brits beware - someone will let you down today. New research reveals that ten million Brits admit to breaking at least one promise every day.

The study was undertaken by Churchill Insurance, which has recently launched a price promise* for new customers, and looks at the social act of promises and how they are used in everyday life.

Women are the worst culprits for breaking promises. The research reveals that more than 6.5 million women fail to fulfil a promise every 24 hours compared to just 4.2 million men.

The research found that broken promises don’t always fall into stereotype. In fact, women are most likely to break promises to do household chores such as cleaning the house (28%) and doing the ironing (26%).  Women also state they are guilty as charged when it comes to not spending money on items that they don’t need (26%).

Also, men will break pledges to complete a DIY project (31%), wash up (29%) or finish the gardening (24%). Women should be on their guard when they are trying on their new purchases – men are more likely to promise someone they look good when they don’t (17%).

It doesn’t stop there – Brits are letting people down on far more serious promises. Two million men and women admit to regularly breaking ‘major’ pledges including their marriage vows (6%), promises to be faithful (12%) and not to drink (3%), smoke (19%) or gamble (1%).

More than one in five women (22%) admit they have gone back on a promise not to smoke compared to one in ten men (10%) at some point in their lives. But men are more liable to break a vow to be faithful (14%) or to steer clear of alcohol (7%).

The research also reveals that some people are more likely to be let down than others. One in five women (23%) fail to keep a vow to their husband or boyfriend – exactly the same number who will break a promise to a complete stranger (23%).

In contrast, less than 10% of men would fail to fulfil a promise they had made to their wife or girlfriend. Men are most likely to let down work colleagues (14%) or friends (19%).

The top ten broken everyday promises for men and women are revealed:

Everyday Promises Men Break	Everyday Promises  Women Break
1. Doing DIY	1. Cleaning the house
2. Washing up	2. Ironing
3. Tidying the garden	3. Not spending money on useless things
4. Cleaning the house	4. Tidying the bedroom
5. Telling someone they look good when they don't	5. Cleaning the car
6. That they won't have another drink in the pub	6. Washing up
7. Cleaning the car	7. Giving up smoking
8. Ironing	8. Doing the gardening
9. Meeting a work deadline	9. Keeping their temper under control
10. Tidying the bedroom	10. Turning up on time to meet someone

 

Abi Clark, spokesperson at Churchill Insurance, said:
“The research shows we’re a nation of promisers – although it appears that we’re not always good at sticking to our word. This could be down to a number of reasons such as juggling priorities and tasks as well as simply having the day stacked against you. But not sticking to a promise can really damage relationships - Brits should challenge themselves to keep to their promises or to only make promises that they can definitely keep. At Churchill, we vow to stick to our price promise for all new customers.”

The research also revealed that Brits are content to let themselves down. The most common promises that we break to ourselves include getting fit (54%), losing weight (49%) and making an effort to be a better person (21%).

However, despite the number of promises being broken, more than half of Brits (51%) like to hear the words ‘I promise’ because it reassures them that something will happen. Nearly eight in ten (79%) believe in karma – what goes around, comes around.

Conditions apply.

Notes to editors:

* On 24^th July 2006, Churchill Insurance launched its ‘Challenge Churchill’ price promise.  The insurer promises to beat existing renewal quotes for all new car and home insurance customers on a like for like basis. The offer runs until 30^th September 2006 and is applicable for customers who haven’t made a claim for three years.

For more information:

Abi Clark
Churchill Insurance
020 8313 5830
pressoffice@churchill.com