Admiral drives profits higher

The Cardiff-based group said the cost of car insurance soared year-on-year in line with the wider market as the industry battles against a rising trend for injury claims.

Admiral's rate increase, together with a 23 per cent rise in customer numbers helped drive interim pre-tax profits up 21 per cent to 126.9m in the first six months of the year.

The haul means 4,000 staff will share more than 6m of free shares - giving each employee a windfall of around 1,500.

Admiral's price comparison website Confused.com lost out to rivals in the first half as its television advertising campaign failed to draw in customers.

The group blamed a 35 per cent plunge in half-year earnings at Confused.com on the unsuccessful TV ads, in a market that depends heavily on marketing.

Competitors have fared better with campaigns in recent months, with moneysupermarket recently thanking its "haggle hero" series featuring comedian Omid Djalili for a 5% lift in half-year revenues.

Admiral admitted its Confused.com offering had slipped from first place in the market for car insurance websites to second position after a difficult six months.

But it said the group responded quickly, pulling back on current ads ahead of a new campaign that will roll out in the next six months, as well as cutting costs at the online operation.

A good performance across the wider Admiral group offset troubles at Confused.com, with UK total written premiums up 37 per cent to 556m, while non-UK business also increased.

Revenues outside the UK increased 51 per cent to 37.1m and customer numbers lifted by 53 per cent to 154,100.