Coronavirus: Admiral offers car insurance customers £25 refund

Millions of drivers are set to benefit from a small refund as Admiral shares the cash benefits from fewer claims during the UK lockdown.

As a nation, we aren’t particularly trusting of our insurance providers. 

A study last year by tech firm Eptica crunched the numbers to look at which industries consumers have faith in, and which they really don’t.

Respondents were asked to rank industries in order based on their level of trust, and insurers were among the bottom, only managing to beat garages and the social media/tech industry.

So, it’s welcome news that more than four million drivers are about to receive a helping hand from their insurer as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

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Automatic refunds

Insurer Admiral has confirmed it is giving millions of its car insurance customers a £25 refund. In total, around £110 million is being handed back to motorists.

Obviously, given the fact we have all been told to stay at home unless it’s absolutely necessary, the roads are far less busy than they were just a month or so ago.

And that doesn’t just mean that those of us who live next to main roads are subjected to less noise ‒ it also means there are fewer accidents.

In recognition of this, and the fact that the firm will therefore have to deal with fewer claims, Admiral is handing back cash to its customers, instead of offering freebies.

A refund of £25 is to be paid automatically for each car and van insured with Admiral ‒ and its other brands, like Elephant and Diamond ‒ so long as your policy was in place on 20 April 2020.

The cash will be credited to the card you paid for your policy with by the end of May.

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Time to follow suit

First off, it’s worth noting this is a brilliant piece of PR from Admiral.

The firm deserves ‒ and will receive ‒ plenty of praise for recognising how it stands to benefit from a global pandemic and opting to share the spoils with its customers rather than sitting on that cash.

At a time when all businesses, large and small, are getting a little twitchy about money, it would have been somewhat understandable if Admiral had decided to simply enjoy this unexpected boon.

That it has taken a more generous approach should be applauded.

And it should also be followed. I’d imagine there are plenty of other car insurers who are irritated by this move, as they know the pressure is now on them to follow suit.

It is surely only a matter of time before at least some of Admiral’s rivals announce a similar refund or handout for customers.

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It shouldn’t just be car insurers

But let’s be honest, car insurance providers are not the only businesses that are seeing the bright side of the lockdown.

There are plenty of other firms which are also enjoying something of a boost at the moment, but are they likely to take a similarly inclusive approach to sharing the spoils?

A perfect example here is Amazon. The world’s biggest retailer is the go-to website for many of us, whether we need electronics, exercise equipment, a book, gardening equipment or anything else. 

With high street stores shuttered for the foreseeable future, it’s become an even more compelling option.

The firm is due to announce its quarterly figures at the end of the month, with analysts predicting its sales will be up by 22% on the same period last year. That works out at an insane $10,000 a SECOND (around £8,000).

And yet Amazon has opted to slash the commissions it pays affiliates, leaving many small businesses and publishers massively out of pocket.

Given the huge swathes of people using the site, it certainly has room to be more generous whether with its customers or its business partners, rather than hoarding the cash, Scrooge McDuck-style.

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In contrast, take Virgin Media. With so many people at home, desperate for entertainment, the firm could have happily sat back and pocketed extra cash from customers increasing the TV channels included in their packages.

And yet it has given customers access to more than 50 channels at no extra cost, covering everything from nature documentaries to kids TV. 

A host of mobile phone networks have similarly opted to share the spoils at a time when we are all likely to be making more calls.

O2, for example, has given all pay monthly customers unlimited free calls, Virgin is also handing out free call allowances, and Sky is giving customers a huge 10GB data boost.

Truthfully, there are plenty of firms who are currently doing very well out of lockdown.

It would be welcome to see those firms who are benefitting from factors outside of their control follow a similar approach to Admiral.

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