Admiral profit dips 18% as ‘very soft’ UK motor market weighs on H1 2026 results

Admiral has revealed that its group profit before tax dropped 18% in the first half of this year following a “very soft market” in UK motor insurance.

In a trading update published today (6 August 2026), the insurer revealed that it secured £429.2m in pre-tax profit during the sixth months to June 2026, down from £521m during the same period in 2025.

Meanwhile, insurance revenue sat at £2.44bn, slightly lower than the £2.47bn in H1 2025, while group turnover only increased slightly from £3.10bn to £3.11bn year-on-year.

Admiral Group chief executive Milena Mondini de Focatiis explained that the numbers come amid more challenging market conditions and felt that a year-on-year comparison was “unfair” because of fluctuations in UK motor.

Speaking during a half year results media briefing, she said: ”Our profit this half [is] very aligned to the second half last year too and we expect a second half that is stronger.

“The UK motor [market] is quite cyclical, so there are years that are stronger than others and the profit that you see [is] a reflection of not only current conditions but also the past.”

Mondini de Focatiis also explained that the insurer is ”pricing for long-term sustainable growth with our UK motor business having increased rates earlier than the market, following a softer period in the cycle”.

She added: “Our turnover was [similar to] last year, but it was up 11% versus [the] second half of last year and that’s a feature of increasing customer risk outside UK motor, as well as increasing rates in UK motor.

“As we put some rate increase in the first half of this year, this will earn through and we expect the second half that everything has been equal. Of course, there is a lot of the volatility, but everything has been equal.”

COR number

Meanwhile, the insurer reported a combined operating ratio (COR) of 78.5%, which Mondini de Focatiis explained is only a “very small deterioration” on the previous year.

When Insurance Times asked about this during the media call, she said: “There is some impact of the price decrease of 2025, but we increased price at the beginning of this year so we’re in a very strong position for capturing growth where the time is right.

“The rest of the business outside UK motor – all the other personal lines, household travel packs in the UK, Admiral Lending, Admiral Money and European motors – they all see some improvement in their underwriting performance.

”The profitability of those lines of business increased year-on-year by 50%, while for UK motor the decrease is mainly the reflection of the softer market in 2025, but we expect this to reverse.”