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A higher-than-expected surge in UK motor insurance profits helped Admiral Group to record pre-tax profits for 2024 up 90 per cent, in what chief executive Milena Mondini de Focatiis called a “remarkable” year for the UK insurer.
Pre-tax profits in UK motor insurance rose 63 per cent over the previous year, to £955mn, thanks to a wider rise in UK motor premiums. The strong UK motor profits and reduced losses in other businesses meant group-wide pre-tax profits rose to £839mn, the group’s highest-ever level, compared with £443mn for 2023.
The group announced a proposed final dividend of 121p, more than twice the 52p at the same stage last year, made up of a 91.4p normal dividend and a one-off 29.6p special dividend.
Admiral’s shares were up 5.5 per cent in mid-morning trading in London, at £30.61.
However, the UK’s largest motor insurer said it expected more “normalised growth and margins” in 2025.
Mondini de Focatiis said: “2024 was a remarkable year. We delivered an excellent result with a 28 per cent increase in turnover and 90 per cent increase in profit.”
Admiral’s strong profits come as rival Aviva is in the process of taking over Direct Line Group, in a deal that would create the UK’s largest motor insurer.
Mondini de Focatiis told the Financial Times on Thursday that Admiral saw further opportunity to expand its market share, adding that consolidation had been going for a long time.
The group’s UK insurance pre-tax profits received a £100mn boost after the UK government changed the Ogden discount rate, an assumption about how much interest claimants stand to earn by investing their compensation.
Admiral charged a 17 per cent annual percentage interest rate last year on so-called premium finance, a monthly payment option for insurance.
The Financial Conduct Authority in October launched a market study into premium finance, saying it would investigate whether customers were being overcharged.
Thomas Bateman, insurance equity analyst at Mediobanca, said the study, expected to conclude in the second quarter of this year, posed a “significant risk” to Admiral’s profitability.
