Admiral reveals 22% hike in premium rates

 

Diamond and Elephant.co.uk car insurer Admiral revealed a 22% hike in premium rates today, as it reports a leap in profits during the fist half of the year.

Admiral insurance advert

Admiral: a 23% increase in customers has helped increase profits

The Cardiff-based group said the cost of car insurance soared year-on-year in line with the wider market as the industry battles against a rising trend for injury claims.

Admiral's rate increase, combined with a 23% rise in customer numbers helped drive interim pre-tax profits up 21% to £126.9m in just the first six months of the year.

This haul means that 4,000 staff will share more than £6m of free shares – giving each employee a windfall of around £1,500

Admiral's price comparison website Confused.com lost out to rivals in the first half as its television advertising campaign failed to draw in customers.

The group blamed a 35% plunge in half-year earnings at Confused.com on the unsuccessful TV ads, in a market that depends heavily on marketing.

Competitors have fared better with campaigns in recent months, with moneysupermarket recently thanking its 'haggle hero' series featuring comedian Omid Djalili for a 5% lift in half-year revenues.

Admiral admitted its Confused.com offering had slipped from first place in the market for car insurance websites to second position after a difficult six months.

But it said the group responded quickly, pulling back on current ads ahead of a new campaign that will roll out in the next six months, as well as cutting costs at the online operation.

A good performance across the wider Admiral group offset troubles at Confused.com, with UK total written premiums up 37% to £556m, while non-UK business also increased.

Revenues outside the UK increased 51% to £37.1m and customer numbers lifted by 53% to 154,100.