Admiral has announced that they have sold the groups German counterpart, Admiral Direkt, to Itzehoer Versicherung for an undisclosed sum of money.
The group claims that the value of the gross assets it sold is 4.4 million pounds which was the second company launched by Admiral in Europe in October 2007.
Itzehoer, on the other hand, is a 104-year-old insurer that specialises in motor coverage. It is said to be the leading independent motor insurer in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Its acquisition of Cologne-based AdmiralDirekt will be a huge boost to its online market presence.
It is thought that they have sold the business because of its loss-making in the past two years.
In the first half of 2010 AdmiralDirekt had 31,300 vehicles insured, and posted pretax losses of 1.6 million pounds in their interim report.
The business previously saw losses of 2.2 million pounds in the second half of 2009. Admiral said its strategy of increasing car insurance rates in Germany had resulted in a 25% fall in premiums.
The insurance contracts generated by AdmiralDirekt and underwritten by the Admiral Group in 2011 will be fully reinsured by Itzehoer. It is their intention to transfer the insurance contracts for 2011 and earlier to Itzehoer subject to court and regulatory approval.
Admiral reiterated that they wish to remain focused on continuing the profitable growth of its UK operations.
They also stay committed to building profitable, growing and sustainable businesses in Spain, Italy, France and the USA.
Source : Finance News
