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15 Feb 2024

Admiral car insurance review

Name: Admiral car insurance review
Item: Admiral Car Insurance Policy
Rating: 59
Author: Maha Gadir

Read Which?'s expert review of Admiral's car insurance. Find out how we rate its policy against 27 other providers

Maha GadirMarket analyst

In this article

What does Admiral offer?
Does Admiral offer the best car insurance?
How good are Admiral's policies?
Admiral: key cover areas rated
How did customers rate Admiral's car insurance?
How can you save money on Admiral car insurance?
Admiral: how can you claim?
Admiral FAQs

What does Admiral offer?

Admiral is part of the Admiral Group - currently the UK's largest car insurer. Bell, Diamond, Elephant and Gladiator are also Admiral brands.

We've reviewed four of Admiral's policies - Essential, Gold, Platinum and Littlebox.

Admiral policies are underwritten by Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited.

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Does Admiral offer the best car insurance?

Here's how Admiral scored in our latest survey:

60% customer score, joint 22nd out of 27 insurers
59% policy score on its standard policy - placing it 21st out of 27 providers
56% claims score means it's 25th out of 25 insurers rated.

See how this compares with the best car insurance.

We review a lot of policies - and our 'Best Buy' badge recognises the individual products that stood out as being the most comprehensive in our analysis. It doesn't reflect customer service. However, we won't give a provider a Best Buy badge where there's evidence - either from our surveys or from Financial Conduct Authority data - of poor service or a poorer-than-average record of paying claims.

Policies named as Best Buys must have a minimum policy score of 65%

Additionally, we look at how consistently good the cover is in policies. To make the cut, a policy needs to have scored at least three out of five points in two thirds of the areas we've rated.

Find out more: how we rate policies.

Lastly, all Best Buy policies must provide - either as standard or as an option - the following levels of cover as a minimum:

'Comprehensive' cover (meaning it covers third party claims, fire, theft and accidental damage to your car), a temporary courtesy car if yours is under repair or if it has been stolen or written off, a repairs guarantee period of at least 3 years, cover for damage to your windows or windscreen, legal expenses cover, liability cover of £20m or more and personal accident cover.

We analyse and rate 78 key elements of car insurance policies to come up with the overall policy score.

Initially, we score all of the product elements out of five, reflecting how competitive each provider is in this area compared with other insurers. We assess how important different policy elements are to drivers when choosing and using a car insurance, and weight different areas of cover accordingly to enhance/reduce their impact in the overall product score.

How good are Admiral's policies?

Admiral's standard Gold policy scored 59% - below the average of 64% in our analysis so it's in the bottom half of our table.

It includes an 'uninsured driver promise', which means you can claim without worrying about your no-claims discount if you're involved in an accident caused by an uninsured driver. It also guarantees repairs that it organises, for the lifetime of the vehicle - which only a minority of insurers do.

Areas in which it fell down included low levels of cover for windscreen and windows damage, and a high cancellation fee of £60.

Personal belongings

Gold's personal belongings cover provides up to £300 per claim (an average amount). However, it's one of a minority of policies that cover mobile phones, laptops and tablets. Most exclude some or all of these items.

Essential, Platinum and Littlebox

Admiral's Essential policy offers a lower level of cover and earned 58% in our analysis - in the bottom 40% of policies rated. Littlebox - Admiral's telematics (or 'black box') offering - received the same score.

Its pricier Platinum policy received 59% in our analysis, the same as Gold. This policy comes with breakdown cover, which isn't reflected in our scoring.

Admiral: key cover areas rated

Select a table:

Gold


Fire excess	Varies
Theft excess	Varies
Accidental damage excess	Varies
Windscreen replacement excess	£115
Is the policy holder's NCD affected if car is hit while parked	Yes - but can be reinstated
Windscreen damage - limit per claim	Market value / £50
Window damage - limit per claim	Market value / £50

Tables last updated February 2024. Next update January 2025. We recommend checking policies before buying.

How did customers rate Admiral's car insurance?

We asked Admiral customers who have recently made a claim how they felt about their car insurance.

Admiral earned a customer score of 60% - which is poor and places it in the bottom half of our table. It was the same with its claims-specific rating. Admiral's 56% places it last out of 25 insurers.

Here's how customers rated Admiral in various areas of service:

Select a table:

Customer satisfaction


Application process	-
Clarity of policy
Dealing with queries
Ease of managing your policy online
Fair treatment of longstanding customers	-
Dealing with complaints
Value for money

Table last updated in February 2024. Next update in January 2025. A dash '-' indicates insufficient sample size (less than 30) to generate a star rating.

How can you save money on Admiral car insurance?

Admiral's policies are generally cheapest to buy on comparison websites. Its policies can be bought on the following ones:

Clearscore
Compare the market
Confused.com
Experian
Go Compare
MoneySuperMarket
Parkers/Mustard
QuoteZone

Discounts are available for covering multiple vehicles and for taking out both car and home insurance with Admiral. It also provides a discount to drivers with dash cams.

Above information correct as of December 2023.

Check you're getting a great deal and search for a new car insurance policy using the service provided by Confused.com. Get a quote now

Admiral: how can you claim?

If you need to make a claim with Admiral car insurance call 0333 220 2033 or you can start a claim online.

Find out more: is it worth claiming on your car insurance?

Admiral FAQs

How can I cancel Admiral car insurance?

To cancel your car insurance with Admiral, you can choose from these options:

Phone: call them at 0333 220 2000 during weekdays between 9am and 6pm, and on weekends between 10am and 4pm.

Email: send an email to cancel your policy. You can expect a reply within around 24 hours.

Live chat: use the live chat feature on Admiral's website - available Monday to Friday from 9am-6pm, and on weekends from 10am-4pm.

Can I drive any car with Admiral comprehensive insurance?

Like most comprehensive policies, Admiral's policies include Driving Other Cars (DOC) cover. As the name suggests, this covers you for driving vehicles other than the one named on your Admiral policy.

However, the cover is for emergency situations - not sustained or everyday use. And not all policyholders are covered - just those aged 25 and over with a full manual licence.

Also, you won't get full comprehensive cover when driving another car, but third party cover only.

Admiral car insurance review