Admiral car insurance review

Admiral is part of the Admiral Group, one of the UK's largest car insurers. Diamond, Elephant and Gladiator are also Admiral brands. You can purchase its policies direct or through comparison websites.

We've reviewed five of Admiral's policies: Essential, Admiral, Gold, Platinum and Littlebox. We've also surveyed 402 Admiral customers who've claimed on its policies.

Admiral's policies are underwritten by Admiral Insurance Gibraltar Limited and cover drivers aged between 17 and 90.

Please note that this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of an insurer before committing to any financial products.

Does Admiral offer the best car insurance?

See how this compares with the best car insurance, or read more about how we rate car insurance.

What does Admiral car insurance cover?

We've reviewed five of Admiral's policies. Select a policy from our table to see what it offers and how it scored.

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'Why even Admiral's premium policies fell short'

Dean Sobers, Which? car insurance expert, says:

Of Admiral's five policies, we gave its Gold and Platinum policies scores of 64%. This nosed them slightly above the average score of 62% – but was slightly too low for Best Buy consideration (this year, the minimum Best Buy score was 65%).

As their scores suggest, Platinum and Gold are fairly similar in their offerings: one of the main differences being that Platinum includes roadside breakdown cover as standard. It's an optional add-on with Gold.

We liked that both policies cover lost car keys as standard, and also that the policy can provide a hire car for up to 28 days in the event that your car is stolen or written off –  or £400 cash to arrange your own. This feature is optional. 

We were less impressed by the policies' fairly steep compulsory excesses of between £150 and £750 for accidental damage claims, depending on the driver. They also charge higher-than-average fees of £60 if you cancel your policy before renewal.

Uninsured driver promise

If you're involved in an accident with an uninsured driver where that driver is at fault, Admiral's 'uninsured driver promise' means that once the claim is settled, any no-claims discount you've lost will be restored, and you'll be repaid your excesses, too.

In order to benefit, though, you'll need to supply the make, model and registration number of the uninsured driver's car.  

Admiral, Littlebox and Essential

Admiral's 'Admiral' policy and its telematics-based Littlebox policy – which uses GPS tracking to monitor your driving and so provide more tailored pricing – both scored 63% in our analysis. They have slightly less personal possessions cover and lack onward travel cover (this pays to get you to your destination if an accident strands you en route).     

Essential, as the name suggests, strips out a wider range of cover to offer a cheaper price. This includes cover for your windscreen and windows, cover for driving other cars and driving your car overseas. It retained enough to merit an overall score of 62% (the average of policies we analysed). We recommend taking special care to check that it has all the specific elements of cover you'd personally consider to be 'essential'.  

How did customers rate Admiral's car insurance? 

We asked Admiral customers who have recently made a claim how they felt about their car insurance.

Admiral earned a customer score of 75%, which places it in the middle of our table (6th out of 12). It scored 74% when assessed specifically for its claims service (joint 8th out of 14). The average customer and claims scores were 76% and 75%.

One customer who rated Admiral highly explained: 'I love their competitive pricing and value for money.' However, not everyone was as pleased - with one customer noting 'Very long delay times', with regards to a recent claim. 

Here's how customers rated Admiral for various areas of service:

How can you save money on Admiral car insurance?

Admiral's policies are generally cheapest to buy on comparison websites and are priciest when bought over the phone. Its policies can be bought on the following sites:

• Clearscore
• Compare the Market
• Confused.com
• Experian
• GoCompare
• MoneySuperMarket
• Mustard
• Parkers
• QuoteZone

Admiral offers a multicar version of its policy that offers discounts for covering multiple vehicles. You can also get a discount if you take out both your car and home insurance with Admiral, or if you own a dash cam. Admiral may be willing to offer additional discounts if you contact it at renewal to discuss its renewal offer. 

Want to pay monthly?

You can choose to pay your premium in one go or in monthly instalments. Paying monthly usually costs more overall. This is because paying by instalments is usually provided as a form of credit – with interest or other charges applied.

When we reviewed Admiral's policies, its rate for paying in monthly instalments was 15.4% APR. This was less than the average rate (20.49% APR) charged among providers that told us their rates.

However, it would still be cheaper to pay annually and spread the cost with an interest-free purchase credit card.

The above information is correct as of December 2025.

How does Admiral compare with other providers?

Admiral's customer score of 75% placed it joint sixth in our customer score table – LV is slightly ahead with 76%. Its claims score of 74% landed it in joint-eighth place, just behind LV and The AA (which had 75%).

With policy scores of 64%, Admiral's Platinum and Gold policies were pipped by 1st Central's Extra Premier and Extra Plus Legal policies, The AA's Platinum policy, and Direct Line's Standard Online policy. These each earned 65%.

Admiral: how can I claim? 

If you need to make a claim with Admiral car insurance, you can do so online or by calling 0333 220 2033.

• Find out more: Is it worth claiming on your car insurance?

Should you buy Admiral car insurance?

Perhaps, if you're being quoted a great price. While Admiral's scores weren't especially poor, it didn't hugely impress us, either.

How we rate car insurance

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