Admiral: Varied Car Insurance Premiums by Payment Method

According to Which?, Admiral customers are getting implicated to a £145 double charge. Admiral and its sister companies, Diamond and Elephant.co.uk, are charging a higher premium for customers who prefer to make monthly payments and then charging them interest too- meaning they are getting charged twice for the option to spread their car insurance quotes.

Premium

Most people prefer paying monthly for their car insurance as they can spread the cost over the year and hence budget according to their income. However, this option is usually more expensive than making the full payment upfront, as the insurer increases the premium to account for the cost of credit and default risk. These charges are reflected as an annual percentage rate (APR) but according to the research by Which?, some insurers are adding to this extra premium charge.

Which? Example

The example by which?. includes a quote done on Elephant.co.uk, for a Toyota vehicle driven by a 25 years old. The annual cost showed up as £594.66 if paid in advance for the year, for selecting the pay monthly option the total premium rose to £642.36 not including the interest. After interest calculations the total cost peaks to £702.35 which is 108 more than a one off yearly payment.

Differences not factored in annual percentage rate (APR) figure

The difference between the two premium quotes is shown as the ‘discount’ for motorists who pay-up front for the year ahead as appose to a ‘charge’ for people who prefer spreading the cost over the year. Note, not all insurers/policies, offer the ‘discount’ but in the research, those who got the early payment discount noted a big difference when comparing the full cost of the insurance premium.

Getting charged twice

So given that Admiral already take into account individuals who pay monthly on their car insurance quote, it seems they are incorrect to profit again for giving the same option. It would be interesting to know their justification once they divulge the information.

Written by

Kevin Patterson