Excellent first quarter results for the Admiral group have raised expectations for a record year through the rest of 2008.
Turnover for the car insurance provider was up by 14 percent in Q1 compared with the same time last year at GBP232 million. More excellent news came with the increase in customer numbers that was also recorded. Admiral saw the number of customers rise by 17 percent, a factor that leads them to consider the possibility of a record year.
The CEO from Admiral insurance said that they would keep delivering good results in spite of the difficult trading conditions they are dealing with. Car insurance is something that everyone needs and by being competitive they can win more market share.
Admiral car insurance has warned car drivers that they could see their premiums 5 percent higher by the end of this year.
In the first half of the year insurance premiums have risen by around 2.5 percent according to data collated by Admiral, with a similar level of increase expected in the second half of the year. On the back of all the other price rises that are hitting consumers there appears to be no escape from rising costs.
What seems to be happening is that the cost of car insurance is going up even though the number of claims is relatively unchanged. Admiral suggest that it may be the increasing cost of repairs that is forcing premiums up.
Hastings Direct has been fined GBP735,000 by the FSA (Financial Services Authority) for treating its customers unfairly. The car insurance company was found to have cancelled over 4,500 policies following a pricing error.
The problem was caused by the Hastings Direct car insurance quotation system, which generated quotes that were lower than the market rate. The insurer then decided to cancel these policies, a step that was not acceptable according to the FSA.
Although a cancellation clause was included within the policies the FSA felt that Hastings Direct should have considered other options first rather than invoking the cancellations. They believe that it is not acceptable to cancel cover because of what is simply a pricing error.
