The move, in partnership with insurance specialist Hood Group, is part of the supermarket’s strategy to broaden its financial services offering by leveraging its existing customer base and More Card loyalty programme.

Customers who take out a pet insurance policy through Morrisons will earn 20,000 More Points, equivalent to four Morrisons Fivers to spend in-store or online.

Those opting for travel insurance will receive a 10 per cent discount.

Morrisons shoppers can get free bonus loyalty points

A Morrisons spokesperson said: “These new services are designed to make life a little easier by offering simple, good-value options in areas that really matter to our customers.”

The supermarket joins Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s in expanding its brand and loyalty schemes beyond groceries into areas such as insurance, banking and telecommunications.

Morrisons Pet Insurance offers three tiers of lifetime cover with annual veterinary fee limits of £2,500, £5,000 or £10,000.

Customers also get access to a 24/7 UK-based Pet Health Assist line, staffed by qualified vets and nurses.

Travel insurance is available in three levels of cover and includes gadget protection as standard for direct customers.

Pet insurance policies are underwritten by Burns & Wilcox Global Solutions Limited on behalf of Accredited Insurance (UK) Limited.

Travel insurance is underwritten by AXA.

The launch has been welcomed by Hood Group, which developed and powers the digital insurance platform behind the new products.

Bruce Reid, commercial director at Hood Group, said: “Absolutely delighted to see this latest affinity partnership come to life with Morrisons.

“It’s been a genuine pleasure collaborating on the launch of Pet and Travel Insurance for their customers – an initiative that truly reflects their ambition and forward thinking.”

He said: “Morrisons have embraced the opportunity they can unlock within their estate, recognising the meaningful value they can bring to their shoppers by offering high-quality pet and travel insurance products.”

He described the launch as “a brilliant collective effort” involving teams from Morrisons, Hood Group and their insurance partners.

Redgate has published research showing that 77% of organisations scaling AI in database management do not use formal data governance or quality frameworks. The findings point to a widening gap between AI adoption and operational controls.

Use of AI for database management among enterprises rose to 44% from 15% a year earlier, according to the database software company. The report drew on responses from 2,150 IT professionals globally and examined how companies are managing database estates as AI spending increases.

The study found that 44% of organisations spent more than USD $100,000 on database AI over the past year. Nearly a quarter of large enterprises spent more than USD $1 million, suggesting database-related AI projects are moving beyond small-scale trials in many large businesses.

At the same time, only 23% of firms said they had formal data governance or quality frameworks in place for these environments. That means most organisations are expanding AI use in databases without structured controls over data quality, governance and change management.

Redgate’s figures also suggest many companies are accepting greater exposure as they push for faster results. The report found that 58% of surveyed organisations explicitly accept higher data security risks in exchange for efficiency gains.

That pressure is playing out across increasingly complex estates. More than a third of enterprises surveyed, or 36%, said they manage four or more database platforms, indicating that many teams are working across fragmented systems rather than a single standardised environment.

Operational practices also remain heavily manual in many organisations. The report found that 39% still rely on manual methods to test and deploy database changes, suggesting many businesses have not yet automated key parts of database operations even as they expand AI use.

Control gap

The data points to a contradiction at the heart of many AI programmes. Businesses are committing larger budgets and reporting benefits from adoption, but governance, security and deployment processes are not keeping pace with the speed of roll-out.

Almost all respondents, 99%, reported operational benefits from AI in database management. The most common gains were task automation, cited by 63%, and performance optimisation, cited by 60%.

Those returns help explain why companies continue to expand deployments despite unresolved risks. For IT teams under pressure to streamline operations and reduce the burden of managing sprawling data estates, AI tools are becoming part of day-to-day database administration rather than an experimental addition.

Yet the report suggests weak governance could undermine those gains, especially where organisations are dealing with large volumes of data across multiple platforms. The combination of fragmented systems, manual deployment processes and looser security trade-offs may increase the likelihood of errors that are harder to trace and fix.

Kellyn Gorman, engineer and advocate at Redgate, addressed that tension in the report findings. “AI didn’t create fragile operational foundations, but it has exposed and amplified organizational pitfalls at a speed and scale that is impossible to ignore,” Gorman said.

She added: “The hard truth is that AI without strong foundations doesn’t just fail slower, it fails faster, and in ways much harder to debug, fix and explain to the business. The solution isn’t to slow down delivery, but to stop pretending the gaps aren’t there while we accelerate toward them.”

Rising spend

The findings come as businesses across sectors look for practical uses of AI in infrastructure, software development and IT operations. Database management has emerged as one area where companies expect AI to help automate repetitive work, improve performance monitoring and support more efficient administration of growing data estates.

But Redgate’s figures indicate that financial commitment to these tools is outpacing the organisational changes needed to support them. A company can spend heavily on AI software and still lack the controls required to manage underlying data quality, access and deployment discipline.

That issue matters because database environments sit close to core business systems. Problems in governance or testing can affect not only internal workflows but also customer-facing services, reporting and compliance processes, particularly in organisations running a mix of legacy and modern platforms.

The report places database AI adoption within a broader shift in enterprise technology management, where teams are expected to move faster while handling more complexity. In that environment, manual processes and fragmented controls can persist even as budgets rise and adoption widens.

For many organisations, the challenge is no longer whether to use AI in database management, but whether supporting processes are mature enough to handle the pace of change. Redgate’s research suggests that for most, the answer is still no: only 23% are using formal governance or quality frameworks while adoption has climbed to 44%.

Apex Computing Services has achieved Investors in People Platinum accreditation, the highest level in the framework.

The accreditation marks a step up for the Manchester-based IT company, which held Silver status three years ago. The latest assessment recognised its approach to staff development, workplace culture and organisational structure.

Apex provides IT support, cyber security, cloud, Microsoft Modern Workplace, AI and automation services to organisations across Greater Manchester and the wider North West. The accreditation reflects changes made since its last review, including work to strengthen leadership, define a longer-term strategy and create a more measurable structure.

The business has also placed greater emphasis on embedding its five core values into daily operations. Those values – Customer Focused, Reliable, Act With Integrity, Always a Team and Enable Growth – are now used across recruitment, onboarding, performance reviews, one-to-ones, recognition and decision-making.

People focus

Apex said it had created 29 development opportunities since 2023 through internal progression, apprenticeships and secondments. It has also set aside time for self-development, invested in accreditations, expanded wellbeing support and introduced a more structured approach to personal development.

Employee survey results also formed part of the assessment. According to Apex, 92% of staff said they were proud to work for the company and 93% said they would recommend it as a great place to work.

Chris Gorman, Chief Executive Officer at Apex Computing Services, said: “Achieving Platinum is something we are incredibly proud of because it recognises the culture we have built together. It shows that putting people first isn’t just something we talk about – it’s how we operate every day.

“Our people are the business. Technology changes constantly, but it is the knowledge, commitment and relationships our team builds with clients that make the difference. By investing in development, wellbeing and opportunities to progress, we are investing in better outcomes for our clients and a stronger future for Apex.

“What I am most proud of is how people genuinely support one another. There is a real willingness to collaborate, share knowledge and step in to help when needed. We have built a culture where people are trusted, encouraged to grow and celebrated for their successes, and that is what makes Apex such a great place to work.”

Assessment standard

Investors in People assesses organisations on how they lead, support and develop employees. Platinum is its highest accreditation level, recognising employers that meet its top standard.

For Apex, the latest result serves as an external benchmark as it continues to expand in the competitive regional market for managed IT and technology services. The business linked the accreditation to its aim of developing staff while growing the company.

Daniel Shone, Managing Director at Apex Computing Services, said the accreditation was part of a wider process rather than an endpoint.

“Achieving Platinum is not the finish line. It confirms that we are moving in the right direction and challenges us to keep raising the bar. As Apex continues to grow, we will stay focused on developing our people, strengthening leadership, supporting wellbeing, creating opportunity from within and making sure our team grows with the business.

“This achievement belongs to everyone at Apex. We are incredibly proud of what we have built together and even more excited about what comes next.”