Insurance giant Admiral prepares for point of sale motor finance launch

The insurance giant Admiral Group is preparing to enter the UK's point of sale motor finance market and it will soon be looking for car dealer partners.

Although the group would reveal little except to confirm its intentions, AM understands that it seeks to support motor retailers in their physical and digital channels, including with getting their cars in front of potential online customers, and it wants to promise consumers an exceptional experience.

The new motor finance unit will operate as part of its Admiral Money division, AM understands.

It is described having "the freedom and innovation of a small start-up with the security of a large parent company". 

The Admiral Money division is headed by chief executive Scott Cargill (pictured), who joined the group in 2016 from Lloyds Banking Group where he had held roles including online car finance director and head of strategy and business development in consumer finance. 

Outside OEM's captive finance houses, the UK's point of sale car loan market is dominated by Black Horse Motor Finance, part of Lloyds, but rivals including Close Brothers Motor Finance, Motonovo, Alphera Financial Services have all been able to carve a slice.

Stock market-listed Admiral Group, whose headquarters is at Cardiff, generates £4.8 billion turnover globally. In the UK its motor insurance business alone has 4.9 million customers.

And since 2017 it has already offered unsecured personal loans, some of which are used to buy cars, to 152,000 customers.

Admiral's spokeswoman told AM: "We are working towards launching a new car finance offering which will work with existing dealerships across the UK as we look to introduce new features, capabilities and experiences into the market."

AM understands that the group is seeking to build a motor finance team with appropriate, experienced specialists across all functions, including sales, product, operations, underwriting and technology.

Separately, the group's Admiral Pioneer programme has been testing new propositions based around changing consumer habits and desires, including subscription models and the growth of embedded insurance at the point of sale.

In 2022 car subscription provider Wagonex became the recipient of the first investment from the Admiral Pioneer business.