Advertising: Will you insure me?

Ohhhh no! Churchill Insurance did not want to insure a bulldog as it was too old (PA)

Ohhh no, we can't insure your bulldog. This was the response from Churchill Insurance when Timothy Taylor, of Leicestershire, tried to get a quote to cover his six-year-old bulldog, Monty, who'd just been given a clean bill of health.

Churchill – whose mascot is, of course, a nodding bulldog – told Taylor that Monty was too old for cover.

Churchill isn't the first insurance firm to contradict its own advertising. In 2009, Swiftcover's advert featuring Iggy Pop was pulled by the Advertising Standards Authority when it emerged the company bans rock stars from taking out car insurance.

What next? Will Legal and General, famous for its umbrella logo, not insure you for a rainy day? Or will Admiral refuse to cover your naval frigate?

The Compare the Meerkat campaign might have jumped the shark, but at least you can use its website, to, you know, actually compare meerkats.