Getting Admiral Car Insurance - A Review Of Reviews

"Should I Insure With Admiral?"

Admiral was launched in 1993. Based on recent online reviews, it seems that in 2011 have a problem with customer service. It looks like they've gone down the same road as many another company: offered a cheap product and snagged up the bureaucracy. What does this mean?

It means, like any other bureaucracy, that if you dot your I's and cross your T's and don't make a claim, you'll have no problem. Probably. The problems start when you actually need something done that requires human intelligence and a reasonably-competent administrator to sort out. Examples would be alterations to no-claims bonuses or a change of policy. Even in cases where the other side admit full liability, there are problems reported in online reviews by supposed Admiral customers. There are also allegations about the rudeness of their customer service.

The overall theme seems to be that Admiral is an unhelpful company which, while it may offer cheaper premiums, one pays for it when it comes time to make a change to your policy or a claim. There's also the curiosity of them charging 8p per minute to contact them. Also, there are mentions of 'APR' if you want to pay for your insurance in stages i.e. it's like taking out a loan with interest. They also seem to look for excuses to increase your premiums.

8p p.m. phone calls might not be so bad if one were contacting a business that sells something simple, but car insurance is not. There are too many variables. Factor in that your query may not fit a standard template and the fact that insurers make money by not paying out and you have a recipe for customer dissatisfaction.

The smart thing is to type "reviews Admiral insurance" into a search engine and see what comes up. Same for any business, really. You need to beware of glowing reviews written by someone who has only ever written one review on the website. These are propagandists for the company named. There is also black propaganda, of course; negative reviews written by competitors. However, they are, in gambling terms, less likely to want to spend money putting down their rivals when they could be spending it, positively, by promotiong their own company.

One needs to look at the details offered. If a review has specifics, it's more trustworthy. Try as they might, people find it had to fake a good review. It just comes out stilted. Too enthusiastic. And no negative remarks at all!

One thing in Admiral's favour is the cheapness of their policy. This is consistently mentioned in online reviews. However, if a company goes down this road it puts the pressure on them to save money somewhere. I guess if you just need some kind of insurance to be road-legal and don't care about your old banger if it gets a bash then it might be worth looking into Admiral.