By Tony Booth

First we had the Yuppy ... then the Guppy ... and now we have the Yappy - Young Affluent Professionals. One major insurance company has identified how following the trail of the Yappy can pay dividends for investors...

The concept is so new, even experienced journalists frown at the term - but if you want to be one of the first to follow this lead, read on.

You might think that insurance companies had better things to do than assess which regions are set to become new property hotspots - and actually, they do.

While they go about their main business of supplying building and contents policies to cover homeowners against disaster, they also acquire a vast range of superficial but nonetheless valuable information about people and the way they live - and much of it comes their way as a consequence of their normal day-to-day activities, rather than as a conscious intention.