Insurance giant customers could ditch policies

Admiral customers may find they can ditch their policies and get a refund without facing a penalty after the insurance giant was found to have made blunders in renewal documents.

New rules introduced in April require insurers to clearly show the premium a customer paid the previous year alongside their proposed renewal premium. The changes were made to help people to shop around.

But the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found that Admiral included inaccurate premium amounts in renewal documents issued to some customers by publishing last year’s quoted premium before any discounts were applied, rather than the amount the customer actually paid. Those affected include people with car insurance or home insurance policies from Admiral.

Admiral, which declined to say how many customers are impacted, has agreed with the FCA to contact customers who renewed their policies after April 1, 2017, and may have received inaccurate information.

FCA said: “If affected customers choose to go to another insurer, they will be able to cancel without penalty and will have their premium refunded.”

The regulator said it was assessing firms’ implementation of the new rules to ensure firms are giving customers clear and fair disclosure on their renewal prices.

It said that while it has seen good practice, it had also seen “some concerning examples” and would continue to address specific concerns with individual firms.

Jonathan Davidson, executive director of supervision, retail and authorisations, FCA, added: “It is vital that insurers give customers the right information so they can easily compare premiums and make a choice whether to shop around.”

Admiral is making changes to ensure it is fully compliant with FCA rules.

The insurer said: “We apologise for any confusion or inconvenience caused to customers who received an inaccurate renewal document.”