Single men and women in the UK are putting mates first and love second according to research conducted by Future Poll for Confused.com, which reveals:

45% of singles turn to their friends before family for emotional support

59% of singles would consider insuring the life of a friend if they bought a house together

More than one in four single people would go to their friends first if they needed money urgently, and men (31%) are more likely to do so than women (23%)

The Confused.com report, entitled: ‘Friendships, Finance and the Future: The rise of Singledom in the UK', reveals that almost three quarters (72%) of singles have friends who will be friends for life, and four in five say that friendships last longer than romantic relationships. Men in particular are saying no to marriage. Just three in ten single men think they will ever get married, and 48% think single people are more fun.

Friendships, Finance and the Future:

29% of single people in the UK have lent money to a friend in the last 12 months, and in the West Midlands 35% of singles have lent a friend money in the last year

30% of single people say their friend knows them best, if you live in Yorkshire and the Humber, this rises to 36%

28% of single people living in the North West think that they will never get married, compared to a national average of 23%.

2,000 single UK adults were interviewed by Future Poll for Confused.com in April 2012.

This new report also identifies a new demographic in UK society: FLAPers (Financially Liberated And Positively Single) are a new breed of single people who are turning the tables on the stereotype of the sad singleton and embracing the adventure and spontaneity. Like the flappers of the 1920s, who threw away their corsets and sought independent lifestyles, these FLAPers are celebrating a new era of positivity and empowerment in the wake of troubled times.

Experts at Future Poll, the research division of The Future Laboratory, predict that in the future we could see friendships among single people recognised as relationships that work while marriage increasingly fails. Laws will protect best friends and single people might formalise their friendships by entering into ‘mate-trimony' agreements with their best friends. Relationship status on passports and census forms could include ‘mate-trimony' as an option, next of kin will automatically be friends, and more and more singles will protect their most important relationships - their friendships - with life insurance.

As people stay single for longer, they are realising how much they rely on their friends for the things traditionally provided by a partner. Friends offer a shoulder to cry on: 45% of singles turn to their friends first for emotional support. Friends know us inside out too: 30% of singles say the person who knows them best in life is a friend.

Singles even trust their friends, rather than family members, with their online secrets. Twice as many singles would rather have a friend see what they've been looking at online than a family member. 18-24-year-old singles would much rather that friends see their web-browsing history (62%) than family members (18%), probably because their friends would be less shocked.

To many single people, marriage is viewed as an old fashioned idea. 21% of single men think marriage is out-dated while 34% of single women think marriage lacks the value it once had.

Mike Hoban, Chief Marketing Officer at Confused.com said:

"This report has highlighted how much single people rely on their mates both financially and emotionally and that, if something were to happen to one of their friends, they could be completely unprotected. As the Welfare State retreats, the importance of life insurance has never been more certain. The need for us all to prepare for the worse, and protect our loved ones, is paramount. There is an opportunity for life assurance companies to reflect the rich diversity of our society and meet the needs of more people by making available products and services which reflect the value that people put on personal relationship outside of traditional family and marriage ties."

Confused.com's Head of Life Insurance, Matt Lloyd, agrees:

"As long as an insurable interest can be documented, life insurance and critical illness insurance policies can be written to cover the lives of financially dependent friends, protecting against death and potentially lifestyle threatening illnesses.

"In the future we may see new products created, tailored to meet the needs of friends or groups of friends who wish to protect jointly owned assets and pooled incomes." He says.

The report, published today, 20 June 2012, by Confused.com can be downloaded from the website at www.confused.com/life-insurance/articles/~/media/docs/friendships-finance-and-the-future.pdf and includes infographics and viewpoints from the following experts:

Chris Sanderson, co-founder, The Future Laboratory

Emily Barr, bestselling author

Jody Day, founder, Gateway Women: supporting, inspiring and empowering childless women

For more information please visit: www.Confused.com