Latest news with #MilenaMondinideFocatiis
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Thousands could be due car insurance compensation over ‘unfair' claims as Admiral sets aside £50m
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THOUSANDS of drivers could be owed compensation after being underpaid by their car insurer, as Admiral has set aside £50m to cover claims. A review of the 12 biggest car insurers by the City watchdog last March found some customers were being offered settlements worth less than their car's value when making a claim on stolen or written-off vehicles. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Admiral has set aside £50million to compensate customers who may have been affected by the overpayments Credit: Alamy Admiral has now become the first insurer to set aside cash to compensate customers who may have been impacted. In its half-year results on Thursday, the company admitted to failing to respond quickly enough to rising used car prices when settling claims. Admiral customers who made a claim on a stolen or written-off vehicle between 2019 and 2025 will be contacted by the company if they're owed compensation, the FCA said. It's expected that other insurance firms will follow suit in announcing their redress plans. When drivers claim on their car insurance where their vehicle is written off or stolen, they should be offered a payout equivalent to the fair market value of their car. This is the amount their car should have been worth at the time it was stolen or damaged. The FCA looked at the 12 biggest car insurers, which it said make up around 70% of the total market. The watchdog said it had since set clearer expectations for how these sorts of claims should be handled in the future. An FCA spokesperson said: 'We're pleased that Admiral is acting on our findings to put things right for its customers. 'Customers should wait to be contacted by Admiral and we're working with the firm to make sure that those affected get compensation if they're due it.' Supreme Court blow for finance compensation Admiral boss Milena Mondini de Focatiis said just 3% of motor loss claimants had been affected, adding that it was of "paramount importance" for the claims to be handled fairly. The company said it would begin contacting impacted customers during H2 2025. Admiral, which has 9.3million customers in the UK, reported strong first-half results this week. This was led by growth in its motor insurance business, where profits leapt 56 per cent year-on-year. The FTSE 100-listing said pre-tax profit rose 67% to £516.1 million in the six months to June 30 from £309.8 million the year prior. It comes after the Supreme Court ruled last month that millions fewer drivers will be entitled to compensation over "hidden commission" payments in a landmark case. The decision avoided a major headache for chancellor Rachel Reeves, as a major financial redress scheme for victims is no longer needed. However, millions of drivers are still in line to get up to £950 in compensation for car finance loans. The City watchdog is set to launch a refund scheme for motorists stung by 'hidden' commission payments, with up to £18billion expected to be paid out as early as next year. In 2023, Direct Line was forced to pay out £30million in compensation to customers after they were overcharged. The redress involved home and car policyholders who were charged more than new customers after renewing their policies, which broke rules introduced by the FCA in 2022. Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@ Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
Wales Online
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Wales Online
Staff at car insurance giant Admiral to get £1,800 in free shares after record half year
Staff at car insurance giant Admiral to get £1,800 in free shares after record half year The Cardiff car insurance to loans group has reported a 69% rise in pre-tax profits Chief executive of Admiral Milena Mondini de Focatiis (Image: Matthew Horwood) Car insurance to loans group Admiral has reported a record half year financial performance with 13,000 staff being rewarded with free shares with a value worth up to £1,800. Following record revenues and profit for full year 2024, the Cardiff headquartered venture and Wales' only FTSE 100 business, maintained a strong upwards trajectory in the first half of this year. Admiral, which employs more than 7,000 in South Wales but also has insurance businesses in Spain, Italy and France, posted a 69% rise pre-tax profits from continuing operations (not including its US car insurance business which is being sold to J.C. Flower) from £307.6m in the first half of 2024 to £521m. Its UK insurance business (mainly car, but also with other lines like pet) performed strongly adding more than a million customers on the first half of 2024 to reach 9.3 million. Profits for its UK car insurance business rose 56%. Overall, group customers were up just over one million at 11.42 million. However, European customers were down marginally (3%) from 1.96 million to 1.91 million. Overall group customers were up more than two million at 11.42 million Article continues below Group revenues came in the same as the first half of 2024 at £3.1bn. It also announced an interim dividend payment of 115p per say (71p last year). The dividend will be paid to shareholders on October 3. Following the publishing of the interim results Admiral's price was up more than 7%. The group's lending business, Admiral Money, increased its loan balances on a year earlier by 25% to £1.28bn. Wales bucks UK trend with a fall in unemployment READ MORE: Welcoming the financial results chief executive Milena Mondini de Focatiis said: "We have delivered another excellent first half with strong execution across all strategic objectives. Group profit increased 69% to a record £521. "We have an additional one million customers across our diversified businesses compared to this time last year, due to our focus on offering competitively priced cover and excellent service across our diversified businesses. 'In the UK, car insurance prices have been falling for the last 18 months due to softer inflation. Our disciplined approach to pricing and growth means that we reported a great performance across the board. "Our UK motor business increased its profit by 56% and the UK Household and Admiral Money businesses continued to grow, more than doubling their respective profit. In Europe, we saw good progress with growth in France and Italy close to restoring profitability. 'In March, we said that our priority was to stay efficient and agile and we are continuously investing in our data and technological capabilities to future-proof our competitive advantage. We are enhancing the customer experience so we can help our 11 million customers safely back onto the road, back into their home or back from abroad faster than ever. "I'm proud of our colleagues' customer-centric approach which has resulted in an excellent group net promoter score. I am also proud of the way that we are supporting customers' transition to a lower carbon economy and boosting their resilience and preparedness for extreme weather. Article continues below 'I'm very excited to see our businesses go from strength to strength. I'm confident in our fundamentals and adaptability which mean that we are well-placed for further success, delivering even more value for our shareholders and our growing customer base."
Wales Online
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Wales Online
Staff at Admiral get major reward after record half year
Staff at Admiral get major reward after record half year The Cardiff car insurance to loans group has reported a 69% rise in pre-tax profits Chief executive of Admiral Milena Mondini de Focatiis (Image: Matthew Horwood) Car insurance to loans group Admiral has reported a record half year financial performance with 13,000 staff being rewarded with free shares with a value worth up to £1,800. Following record revenues and profit for full year 2024, the Cardiff headquartered venture and Wales' only FTSE 100 business, maintained a strong upwards trajectory in the first half of this year. Admiral, which employs more than 7,000 in South Wales but also has insurance businesses in Spain, Italy and France, posted a 69% rise pre-tax profits from continuing operations (not including its US car insurance business which is being sold to J.C. Flower) from £307.6m in the first half of 2024 to £521m. Its UK insurance business (mainly car, but also with other lines like pet) performed strongly adding more than a million customers on the first half of 2024 to reach 11.42 million with profits up 56%. However, European customers were down marginally (3%) from 1.96 million to 1.91 million. Overall group customers were up more than two million at 11.42 million Group revenues came in the same as the first half of 2024 at £3.1bn. It also announced an interim dividend payment of 115p per say (71p last year). The dividend will be paid to shareholders on October 3. Following the publishing of the interim results Admiral's price was up more than 7%. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here Article continues below The group's lending business, Admiral Money, increased its loan balances on a year earlier by 25% to £1.28bn. Welcoming the financial results, chief executive Milena Mondini de Focatiis said: 'We have delivered another excellent first half with strong execution across all strategic objectives. Group profit increased 69% to a record £521. "We have an additional one million customers across our diversified businesses compared to this time last year, due to our focus on offering competitively priced cover and excellent service across our diversified businesses. 'In the UK, car insurance prices have been falling for the last 18 months due to softer inflation. Our disciplined approach to pricing and growth means that we reported a great performance across the board. "Our UK motor business increased its profit by 56% and the UK Household and Admiral Money businesses continued to grow, more than doubling their respective profit. In Europe, we saw good progress with growth in France and Italy close to restoring profitability. 'In March, we said that our priority was to stay efficient and agile and we are continuously investing in our data and technological capabilities to future-proof our competitive advantage. We are enhancing the customer experience so we can help our 11 million customers safely back onto the road, back into their home or back from abroad faster than ever. "I'm proud of our colleagues' customer-centric approach which has resulted in an excellent group net promoter score. I am also proud of the way that we are supporting customers' transition to a lower carbon economy and boosting their resilience and preparedness for extreme weather. 'I'm very excited to see our businesses go from strength to strength. I'm confident in our fundamentals and adaptability which mean that we are well-placed for further success, delivering even more value for our shareholders and our growing customer base." Get Cardiff news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions, and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice Article continues below
Reuters
06-03-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
UK's Admiral Group reports nearly-doubled profit on motor arm strength
March 6 (Reuters) - British motor and home insurer Admiral Group (ADML.L), opens new tab on Thursday reported a near-doubling in annual pre-tax profit, helped by its motor arm and competitive pricing. Admiral's competitive pricing has enabled it to attract a good customer base and mitigate the effect of falling motor premiums. "The main driver of our exceptional performance was our UK Motor business," said Group CEO Milena Mondini de Focatiis, adding that its French and U.S. motor businesses reported a double-digit profit. The company reported group pre-tax profit of 839.2 million pounds ($1.08 billion) for the year ended December 2024, up 90% from a year earlier. ($1 = 0.7745 pounds)
