Millions of motorists will get £25 sent to them by their insurance provider, in what could just be the first of many discounts to come.
There has been a 70% drop off in the number of miles people are driving during lockdown, and that means more than £1billion less in accident payouts, experts have said.
In the US, stay-at-home drivers have been given discounts on their insurance to reflect that, but no UK provider had announced a similar plan until today.
Admiral is the first to break ranks, saying it will credit people £25 back, per policy, thanks to the savings it’s making.
In total, that means £110million returned to drivers of the 4.4million vehicles insured with Admiral.
“Refunds will be issued by 31 May 2020 and will be credited to the current payment method Admiral has on file for customers,” a spokeswoman told Mirror Money.
(Image: Getty)
The money is going to all customers with Admiral on 20 April, 2020.
Admiral insurance chief executive Cristina Nestares said: “This is an unprecedented time when people across the country are driving significantly less than before the lockdown, and we expect this to lead to a fall in the number of claims we are seeing.
“We want to give the money we would have used to pay these claims back to our loyal customers in this difficult time. We have also already reflected this change in driving behaviour in our pricing for customers and will continue to do so.”
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She added: “Customers don’t have to contact us to receive this, we’ll be in touch with them in the coming weeks to explain how we’ll refund them.”
However, the £110million Admiral is handing back is just the tip of the iceberg, with approximately 40 million vehicles registered to drive on the UK’s roads the total amount repaid could be close to £1billion.
Cuvva founder Freddy Macnamara said: “No doubt this is a step in the right direction, but a one month premium holiday split over the months of April and May would more accurately reflect motor usage during lockdown and extended periods of isolation.
“Motor insurance incumbents could make as much as £1 billion in profits from a reduction in claims of up to 50%. It’s only fair that those funds are returned to customers automatically, in line with individual policies.”
Admiral customers can find full details about the refund by visiting www.admiral.com/stayathome
