Admiral Is Giving Drivers £25 Refunds On Their Car Insurance
Insurance provider Admiral has pledged to refund drivers with £25 on their car insurance. The move comes as insurers have been pressured to offer their customers support…
Car Insurance Refunds
Admiral is the first insurance provider in the UK to offer customers refunds on their car insurance during the coronavirus pandemic. It’ll be partially refunding its customers with £25, as many of them are stuck at home during the lockdown; with their cars sat idle on driveways and stored away in garages. Industry experts, however, are not impressed and believe the move doesn’t go far enough. Admiral is, in fact, the nation’s largest car insurance provider. Its decision is actually worth £110 million and will compensate cars and vans insured after April 20th of this year; that’s around 4.4 million vehicles in all. The refund will be automatically made by the end of May. It’s hoped that the move will inspire other companies to follow in Admiral’s footsteps. After all, the car insurance industry is expected save save £1 billion this year as claims nosedive.
Gareth Shaw, the head of money at Which?, suggested that wiser companies will look after their customers during the health crisis. He said, “people will remember how businesses treated them during this crisis, and Admiral’s decision to provide partial refunds to all of its car and van policyholders will certainly be welcomed by customers experiencing unforeseen pressure on their finances”. He added, “firms that act fairly now may see that they are rewarded in the future, and we encourage all other car insurers to follow Admiral’s lead”.
Does It Go Far Enough?
Not everyone has been as welcoming of Admiral’s refund policy as Mr Shaw. James Blackham, the chief executive of By Miles, which provides cover on the basis of car usage, believes some drivers could be owed more than double the refund amount specified. He said, “we’ve calculated that over a two-month lockdown, drivers could be between £35 to £58 out of pocket, for each car they own. It’s a shame, too, that the refund won’t be processed until the end of May”.
Admiral has pledged an additional £80 million to reducing prices; in particular those offered to customers with above average premium fees, such as younger motorists. The company has said that some of the funding will also go to NHS initiatives, especially in South Wales where the company is based. Cristina Nestares, the chief executive of UK insurance at Admiral, spoke of assisting ‘loyal customers’. She said, “we want to give the money we would have used to pay claims back to our loyal customers in this difficult time. We have also already reflected this change in driving behaviour in our pricing for customers and will continue to do so.”
Coronavirus: Car Insurance Premiums May Drop Soon – https://autoserveclub.co.uk/blog/coronavirus-car-insurance-premiums-may-drop-soon/
Car Finance: A Three Month Payment Freeze Has Been Proposed – https://autoserve.co.uk/motoring-news/car-finance-a-three-month-payment-freeze-has-been-proposed/
