Admiral - the Insurance company from Hell (Admiral Car Insurance)

Member Name: Craig Munden

Product:	Admiral Car Insurance
Date:	12/05/01 (1121 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Convenient

Disadvantages: Appalling customer service, Excrutiatingly low offers, Vile staff with no manners

PLEASE AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS.

Their literature states that are/have been a 'Welsh Company of the Year'. As a Welshman I find the concept disgusting, and wonder on what grounds they were awarded it.

I will reiterate what a few other people have said and add my own comments and experience, hopefully encouraging you never to use this appalling company.

I had used Admiral a couple of times in the past - getting reasonably priced premiums and a reasonable standard of service.

Until I needed to make a claim, however!

In late November of 1999 I was driving my beautiful H-reg Jaguar Sovereign when I hit black ice; skidded completely out of control; shot off the road and smashed through a fence and verge.

My passenger received a whiplash injury and I suffered a very bad injury to my lower back and a couple of broken ribs.
We are actually lucky to be alive I think - if we had been in a smaller, lighter car I think we would have come off a lot worse, with the car turning over completely.

As it was the Jag was a horrible mess.

And I, unfortunately, needed to make a claim with Admiral.

The car was towed to my local VW dealership/body shop to wait for the Admiral so send out an asessor. In the end it was moved to one of their 'approved' bodywork places.

Who were next to useless. Completely uninterested as soon as they realised they wouldn't be making huge amounts of money from over-priced repairs.

I was told pretty much straight away that the car was to be written-off, so I got on with trying to find a new car before Christmas.

It took me around two weeks just to get an official decision on the write-off - after constantly ringing both Admiral and the bodyshop, trying to get them to talk to each other.

Once it was actually written off I waited for the initial offer letter from Admiral.

I knew better than to expect a good
offer in the first instance - but to be offered around £3,000 for a car insured for £10,000 beggared belief!

What compounded the feeling of injustice was the tone of the woman from Admiral that I spoke to. She was a complete and utter (pardon me) cow! She spoke to me as though I were a two year old child, in an offensive, very abrasive and curt tone of voice.

I had the pleasure of talking to her - or should I say, being talked at BY her - for a good twenty minutes. I have NEVER been spoken to in such a way by a representative of a supposed 'customer service' organisation.

By the end of this 'chat' I got a revised offer on the grounds of a full Jaguar service history, etc. That offer when I got it proved to be almost as offensive as the first and, combined with their assesor's manner, prompted letters to their Customer Service manager and Chief Executive - copied to the young lady in question.

On balance, the lengths that I went to just to get a bearable - but still very low - third offer were incredible.

Please, please, please avoid them for your own sake.

'Cheap' does NOT equate to 'Good Value'.

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