After a rocky time of it, Admiral has set itself up for a smoother ride. The Welsh insurer is starting to feel the benefit of premium rises, which have improved profits that had been hampered by rampant claims inflation.
The Cardiff-based group has lifted premiums ahead of the broader market, up by about 20 per cent on new business and renewals over the first six months of the year. Pre-tax profits were 4 per cent higher, helped by increased returns on its balance sheet investments and reserve releases in its UK insurance business.
Higher prices also meant it lost customers in its core UK motor insurance business, where policy numbers declined 3 per cent. But the gap between the FTSE 100 insurer and the rest
