Admiral has become the first major UK motor insurer to offer its customers partial refunds, as many drivers are stuck at home because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but industry experts say the move does not go far enough.
The group, Britain’s biggest car insurer, said it would return £110m to its policyholders – a £25 refund for each car and van it covered as of 20 April, a total of 4.4m vehicles. The refund will automatically be credited to customers by the end of May.
This will pressure other companies to follow suit, as insurers reap the benefit of reduced accident and breakdown claims under the lockdown. Some industry estimates suggest insurers could save up to £1bn as a result this year.
Gareth Shaw, the head of money at Which?, said: “People will remember how businesses treated them during this crisis, and Admiral’s decision to provide partial refunds to all of its car and van policyholders will certainly be welcomed by customers experiencing unforeseen pressure on their finances.
“Firms that act fairly now may see that they are rewarded in the future, and we encourage all other car insurers to follow Admiral’s lead.”
James Blackham, the chief executive of By Miles, which provides cover on the basis of car usage, said Admiral’s move, while welcome, does not go far enough. “We’ve calculated that over a two-month lockdown, drivers could be between £35 to £58 out of pocket, for each car they own … It’s a shame, too, that the refund won’t be processed until the end of May.”
Admiral has pledged a further £80m, mainly to reduce prices, with the biggest cuts to benefit renewing customers with above-average premiums, such as younger drivers. Some of the money will go towards measures to support NHS staff, as well as a £4m Covid-19 support fund in south Wales, where Admiral is based.
Epidemics of infectious diseases behave in different ways but the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed more than 50 million people is regarded as a key example of a pandemic that occurred in multiple waves, with the latter more severe than the first. It has been replicated – albeit more mildly – in subsequent flu pandemics.
How and why multiple-wave outbreaks occur, and how subsequent waves of infection can be prevented, has become a staple of epidemiological modelling studies and pandemic preparation, which have looked at everything from social behaviour and health policy to vaccination and the buildup of community immunity, also known as herd immunity.
Is there evidence of coronavirus coming back elsewhere?
This is being watched very carefully. Without a vaccine, and with no widespread immunity to the new disease, one alarm is being sounded by the experience of Singapore, which has seen a sudden resurgence in infections despite being lauded for its early handling of the outbreak.
Although Singapore instituted a strong contact tracing system for its general population, the disease re-emerged in cramped dormitory accommodation used by thousands of foreign workers with inadequate hygiene facilities and shared canteens.
Singapore’s experience, although very specific, has demonstrated the ability of the disease to come back strongly in places where people are in close proximity and its ability to exploit any weakness in public health regimes set up to counter it.
What are experts worried about?
Conventional wisdom among scientists suggests second waves of resistant infections occur after the capacity for treatment and isolation becomes exhausted. In this case the concern is that the social and political consensus supporting lockdowns is being overtaken by public frustration and the urgent need to reopen economies.
The threat declines when susceptibility of the population to the disease falls below a certain threshold or when widespread vaccination becomes available.
In general terms the ratio of susceptible and immune individuals in a population at the end of one wave determines the potential magnitude of a subsequent wave. The worry right now is that with a vaccine still months away, and the real rate of infection only being guessed at, populations worldwide remain highly vulnerable to both resurgence and subsequent waves.
Cristina Nestares, the chief executive of UK insurance at Admiral, said: “We want to give the money we would have used to pay 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.”
Admiral has also been offering customers who are struggling payment holidays, although any deferred payments have to be repaid by the end of the policy term. Other UK insurers – Axa, Aviva and the AA – have also offered payment holidays to customers on a case-by-case basis.
Admiral said it is waiving any motoring claims excess fees for NHS or emergency service workers and giving them a free courtesy vehicle if their vehicle is stolen or undriveable after an accident, to keep them on the road during the lockdown.
