Admiral staff scoop shares payout as profits rise to record level

The insurance giant has reported record pre-tax profits of £377m for 2015, a rise of 6 per cent on the previous year.

Turnover for the business topped £2.1bn, the second highest figure in the firm’s history.

Admiral said it will give staff free shares worth a total of £3,600 each under an employee share scheme based on the results.

The pay boost comes after rising car insurance premiums helped group pre-tax profits rise 6 per cent to £377 million in 2015.

FTSE 100-listed Admiral grew UK car insurance customers by 5 per cent to 3.3 million, with the average written premium for 2015 rising 4 per cent to £470, up from £453 in 2014.

UK household insurance also grew strongly with and contributed a profit of £1.2m.

The only sour note in the overall positive results was in the price comparison side where there was a loss of £21.5m, impacted by investment in the US site compared.com.

Cardiff-based Admiral increased its final dividend by 16 per cent to 114.4 p per share.