Every vehicle driven on UK roads needs to be suitably insured but trying to find the right cover can be overwhelming. In this independent review, we look at Admiral car insurance including what it covers, how much it costs and how it compares to other providers. We have partnered with Quotezone* so that you can search and compare quotes from over 120 UK car insurance providers to find the best deal.
We recommend reading the review in full but you can also jump to specific sections of the article using the following links:
- What is Admiral?
- Admiral car insurance key features
- What does Admiral car insurance cover?
- How much does Admiral car insurance cost?
- What is the excess on Admiral car insurance?
- How to make a claim on Admiral car insurance
- Admiral car insurance customer reviews
- Pros and cons of Admiral car insurance
- Alternatives to Admiral car insurance
- Summary
What is Admiral?
Admiral, a trading name of EUI Limited which is a subsidiary of Admiral Group plc, was established in 1993 and originally specialised in car insurance.
In 2005, Admiral became the first UK car insurance provider to offer a multi-car policy to help customers with more than one car obtain a cheaper premium for their car insurance.
In 2012, Admiral expanded its insurance offering with home insurance, and travel insurance followed in 2017. 2017 also saw the launch of Admiral's MultiCover Insurance meaning that those wishing to insure both their home and car could do so under one policy.
Admiral car insurance key features
- A choice between comprehensive, third party, fire & theft and third party car insurance
- Child seat cover, uninsured driver promise, and 24-hour emergency helpline included as standard with comprehensive policies
- Cater your car insurance with optional extras including breakdown cover and no claims bonus protection
- Specialist cover for electric vehicles
- Discounts for multiple vehicles or if you choose to insure your car and your home
- 5 star Defaqto rated comprehensive policies (excludes Essential cover)
What does Admiral car insurance cover?
Admiral offers three different types of car insurance cover; fully comprehensive, third party, fire & theft and third party with 4 levels of fully comprehensive cover known as Admiral Platinum, Admiral Gold, Admiral and Admiral Essential.
Fully comprehensive car insurance is the most extensive car insurance policy type and offers cover for both repairs to your vehicle as well as any third party involved in the accident. Third party fire & theft covers damage to a third party and you will also be covered if your vehicle is stolen or damaged due to a fire. While, third party car insurance, the least comprehensive policy type, covers third party damage only. For more information on car insurance types and how they work, read our article, 'What are the different types of car insurance?'
Admiral offers a number of motor insurance policies to choose from including car insurance, multi car insurance, van insurance, black box insurance, electric car insurance, learner driver insurance and temporary car insurance.
Admiral car insurance policies
In the below table, we highlight the different levels of cover you can expect with an Admiral car insurance policy.
| Admiral Platinum | Admiral Gold | Admiral | Admiral Essential | Third party, fire & theft | Third party | |
| European Cover for up to 90 days | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Windscreen Cover (repair & replace) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Optional | Optional |
| Courtesy Car while yours is repaired at an Admiral-approved garage | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Uninsured driver promise | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Stereo Cover | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| 24hr Emergency Helpline | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Replacement Lock Cover max £500 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Personal Belongings Cover | £300 | £300 | £200 | No | No | No |
| £5,000 Personal Injury Cover | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Child Car Seat Cover | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| New Car Replacement for cars less than a year old | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Motor Legal Protection | Yes | Yes | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
| Roadside Breakdown Cover | Yes | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
Admiral car insurance optional extras
Below we share the additional extras that can be added to your Admiral car insurance policy.
Motor Legal Protection
This is included with Admiral Platinum and Admiral Gold cover for all other policies. Motor Legal Protection offers cover up to £100,000 and provides cover for the cost associated with legal fees when making a claim. For more information on Motor Legal Protection and whether you need it, read our article 'A complete guide to car insurance legal cover'.
Breakdown Cover
If you don't already have breakdown cover you may wish to add it to your Admiral car insurance policy (included with Admiral Platinum). The breakdown cover is provided by The AA and there are 3 levels of cover available, they are Roadside Assistance Cover, National Cover and European Cover. Regardless of the level of cover you will receive unlimited roadside recoveries for breakdowns more than 1/4 mile from your home. Before purchasing the add-on it is worth shopping around to ensure you are getting the best price, our article 'What is breakdown cover and how does it work? looks at stand alone breakdown cover, what it includes and how much it costs.
Personal Injury Cover
Despite Admiral comprehensive car insurance providing up to £5,000 of personal injury cover as standard you can choose to enhance this cover to £50,000 with Personal Injury Cover or to £100,000 with Personal Injury Cover Plus. The additional cover extends to named drivers on the policy compared to the standard cover that is included which only covers the policyholder and their partner.
Hire Vehicle Cover
If you are involved in an accident Admiral comprehensive car insurance includes a small courtesy car while your car is repaired, however, you are not covered if your vehicle is stolen or written off. Hire Vehicle Cover ensures you get access to a hire vehicle of a similar size to your vehicle for up to 28 days if your car is stolen and unrecovered or written off in an accident that was your fault, however it doesn't cover non-fault claims "where the costs of a hire vehicle are recoverable from the insurer of the person who caused the accident."
Windscreen cover
If you take out a Third party, fire and theft or Third party you have the option to add windscreen cover. Windscreen cover is included with Admiral Platinum, Gold and Silver policies but cannot be added to an Admiral Essential comprehensive policy.
No Claims Bonus protection
When getting an Admiral car insurance quote you can choose to protect your No Claims Bonus (NCB) at an additional cost. How much protection you get will depend on how many years of No Claims Bonus you have accrued. If you do not choose to protect your NCB and you make an at-fault claim, your No Claims Bonus will automatically reduce. For more information read our article 'What is no-claims discount and is it worth protecting?'
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How much does Admiral car insurance cost?
Exactly how much you will pay for your Admiral car insurance will vary depending on a number of factors including the type of car you drive, your age and where you live. The type of policy you choose will also affect how much you pay for your car insurance, as well as your driving experience. For additional information on the cost of car insurance, read our article, 'How much does car insurance cost?'
You may see a discount awarded to your Admiral car insurance if you have accrued a No Claims Bonus. The following table shows the average discount received by car insurance customers of EUI Limited brands which are Admiral, Ford Insure, Bell, Diamond and Elephant.
| No Claims Bonus | Average discount received |
| 1 year | 15% |
| 3 years | 17% |
| 5 years | 18% |
| 9+ years | 27% |
Are there any Admiral car insurance admin fees?
In the below tables, we share some of the administration fees payable by customers that cancel or make changes to their Admiral car insurance policy. We have not listed every charge and charges may vary depending on individual policies. It is important to read through policy documents carefully to ensure you know exactly what you will have to pay if you need to make a change to your Admiral car insurance policy.
Admin fees for cancellation
| Charge if cancelled within 14 days | Charge if cancelled after 14 days | |
| Cancellation | £25 | £60 |
| Cancellation for a vehicle with a LittleBox/Safe Driver | £125 | £160 in your first year, if you renew your policy and then cancel 14 days after renewal you will be charged £60 |
| Cancellation for a vehicle with a LittleBox Plug & Drive | £75 (£50 is refunded if the unit is returned within 30 days) | £110 (£50 is refunded if the unit is returned within 30 days) |
| Vehicle (with a LittleBox Pod) | £25 | £77 |
Admin fees for changes to your policy
| Charge | |
| Change to any motor policy details made online | £13.00 |
| Change to any motor policy details over the phone | £26.00 |
| Vehicle Registration change | £5.50 |
| Changes made due to policy inaccuracies | £26.00 |
| Unpaid/rejected Direct Debit instalment | £7.50 |
What is the excess on Admiral car insurance?
There are usually two types of excess on a car insurance policy; compulsory and voluntary excess. The compulsory excess is fixed and set by the insurer while the voluntary excess is chosen by the policyholder and is payable in addition to the compulsory excess. How much excess you pay can vary between policyholders and increasing your voluntary excess can sometimes reduce your insurance premium. More information can be found in our article 'Car insurance excess explained'.
When completing a quote on the Admiral website the voluntary excess amounts ranged from £0 - £500 in £50 increments as well as the option to have an voluntary excess of £700, £750 and £1000. The compulsory excess example was £425, this, of course, could vary for individual policyholders and is dependent on what you are claiming for.
How to make a claim with Admiral car insurance
If you have an accident or your car is stolen then you need to inform Admiral within 48 hours of the incident either online or by telephone. You may also be asked to provide a crime reference number from the police if your vehicle was stolen.
You can easily claim on your Admiral car insurance policy by logging in to your online account and clicking 'Start my Claim Now'. Alternatively, you can call Admiral on 0333 220 2033 to make a claim.
In order for your claim to be processed as quickly as possible it is best to provide as much information as you can including your policy number, your vehicle registration number, details of the claim and any footage or paperwork that can support your claim.
Admiral car insurance customer reviews
Admiral Insurance has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 105,000 reviews on the consumer website Trustpilot. 73% of customers rated it as '5 stars' citing an easy set-up, competitive price and smooth claims process. 10% rated it as '1 star' with customers complaining of admin fees, increases in price at renewal and problems with claims.
It is also worth noting, however, that not all of the reviews are specific to car insurance but refer to Admiral Insurance products as a whole. As with all insurance products you need to ensure you thoroughly research before taking out a product to ensure it is right for you.
Pros and cons of Admiral car insurance
Pros
- Policy type to suit most drivers
- Discount if you insure multiple cars or your car and your home
- 5 star defaqto rating on some policies
- Child car seat cover included with comprehensive policies
Cons
- Administration fees if you need to amend or cancel your policy
- New car replacement is only for cars under 12 months old
- Can't add windscreen cover to Admiral Essential comprehensive policy
Alternatives to Admiral car insurance
In this section of the review, we compare Admiral car insurance to alternative car insurance policies. One of the best ways to compare car insurance policies, however, is via a comparison site. Comparison sites allow you to compare multiple policies at once to find the best deal for your circumstances. We have partnered with Quotezone* so that you can search and compare quotes from over 120 UK car insurance providers. Comparison sites are not always whole of market, however, so it can mean you may miss out on deals offered by other insurers.
In the below table, we compare Admiral car insurance to Direct Line and Aviva.
Admiral vs Direct Line vs Aviva
| Admiral | Aviva | Direct Line | |
| Policy Types |
|
|
|
| Uninsured driver protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-car insurance discount | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Temporary car insurance | Yes | Yes | No |
| Optional breakdown cover | Yes (included with Admiral Platinum) | Yes | Yes |
| Policy amendments admin fee | Yes | No | No |
| Defaqto rating | 5 stars (3 stars for Admiral Essential | 4 & 5 star policies | 5 stars |
| More information | Aviva car insurance review | Direct Line car insurance review |
Summary
Overall, Admiral car insurance offers a vast choice of cover with a number of policies to choose from that suit motorists of different ages. The option to cater your cover for individual circumstances is also beneficial and means you are not paying for cover that you don't need. Discounts for cover for multiple cars and combined car and home insurance is also attractive. Admiral does however have an extensive list of administration fees and charges should you need to amend or cancel your car insurance policy which is something to consider, especially if you are thinking of moving home or changing your registration number.
As with all car insurance policies it is best to do your research to ensure you are getting the best cover for your circumstances at the right price. You may also wish to compare providers in our article, 'Best car insurance in the UK'.
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