Admiral isn’t one of the best lenders we’ve reviewed, but it still offers a straightforward application process and a reasonable level of flexibility around payment dates and overpayments.
However, Admiral may take longer than some lenders to transfer the loan, so it may not be the best lender for you if you need the money in a hurry.
Remember, if you’re considering a loan it’s sensible to only borrow what you need and pay it back as quickly as possible based on what you can comfortably afford to repay each month.
» MORE: Compare personal loans and rates
NerdWallet Review Rating
See how we rate our lenders below.
Important information: Neither the review nor the star ratings considered the lender’s lending rates or representative APR, and therefore does not reflect how much they charge to borrow with them. The rates on this page have been provided as additional information. Always check and compare a lender’s rates against others on the market when considering a loan. The rate you are offered will be dependent on your personal circumstances, loan amount and term and may differ from the representative APR.
Other loans may be available in the UK loans market that are not included in this service.
Admiral Personal Loan
1 to 8 years
£1,000 to £40,000
16.9%
No
Representative APR 16.9%. Based on a loan of £10,000 over 60 months at an interest of 15.72% p.a. (fixed). Monthly repayments of £241.68. Total amount payable £14,500.80.
- Must be a permanent resident of England, Wales or Scotland
- Must have lived in the UK for at least three years and have a UK bank account
- Must be in employment or retired and have a minimum annual income of £19,000
- Must not currently have any County Court Judgements (CCJs), any Debt Relief Orders or an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) and are not currently Bankrupt
NerdWallet has partnered with Monevo who will check your eligibility
Admiral loans pros & cons
Pros
- You can make penalty-free overpayments.
- You can choose your repayment date when you apply for a loan.
Cons
- It can take up to three working days to get the loan in your account.
- It doesn’t offer joint loans.
- Charges may apply if you pay off your loan early.
The pros and cons featured here are chosen by us based on a combination of our expert opinions from our research of the personal loans market and an exclusive survey of UK consumers conducted on behalf of NerdWallet UK in February 2023 to identify the features of personal loans that people feel are most important. They are unlikely to be the only product features and restrictions that you should consider. Pros and cons are subjective and you should align them to your own personal circumstances. Information was correct at the time of publication but may have changed since.
Admiral loans overview
Admiral was formed in 1993 as a specialist car insurance provider. It has expanded its product offering over the years, now offering unsecured personal loans to consumers alongside its range of insurance policies.
You can borrow between £1,000 and £40,000 from Admiral, over a term of one to eight years. Like many lenders, Admiral allows you to see if you are eligible for one of its loans and the rate you may get, without affecting your credit score.
Admiral also offers flexibility with how and when you repay your loan. You can choose your repayment date from the start and change it during the term if a different day works better. Admiral also allows you to make additional repayments towards your loan, without facing any penalty fees, if you’ve got the spare cash to do so.
| Amount borrowable | £1,000 to £40,000 |
| Term length | One to eight years |
| Time to get a decision | Instant |
| Time to receive funds once approved | Three working days |
| Need to have an account with the provider | No |
| Customer support | Phone, live chat, online form |
How do we rate Admiral’s personal loans?
We’ve assessed a selection of UK loan providers and rated each against a set of criteria that take into consideration what loan customers tell us are the most important product features.
Here’s what we review and how Admiral performs:
| Criteria | Star rating |
|---|---|
| Flexibility | 3.5 stars |
| Application process | 4.5 stars |
| Available customer support | 2.5 stars |
| Overall (The overall score is weighted in favour of the features borrowers told us they consider most important) | 3.5 stars |
NerdWallet’s star rating assessment criteria does not include the lender’s product lending rates or fees. Always check and compare a lender’s rates against others on the market when considering a loan.
Category definitions
Flexibility
A flexible loan gives customers a choice of funds, terms and payment options. That means offering a wide range of loan amounts and repayment term options, allowing the borrower to change their payment date and make overpayments, for example.
Application process
The best application processes are quick and easy, with clear eligibility criteria, soft checks and multiple ways to apply to suit different customers’ needs.
Available customer support
Good customer support can include clear information on the lender’s website and a customer service team that’s available most of the time and can be reached in multiple ways.
Where Admiral personal loans stand out
You can borrow up to £40,000
Admiral offers loans ranging from £1,000 to £40,000, which is more than some lenders allow. This may make Admiral worth considering if you need a larger loan amount.
You can choose your repayment date
When you apply for an Admiral loan, not only can you choose when your first monthly payments go out, it also allows you to change your monthly payment date at any point during the term of your loan. Handy if your payday changes, for example. However, there could be an impact on the interest you pay, either more or less depending on the change you make, so make sure you check.
Where Admiral personal loans fall short
It can take longer to receive funds
It could take up to three working days to receive the money into your account, which isn’t useful if you need the money quickly. It is significantly longer than some other lenders, which may be able to transfer funds on the same day.
There is no option to take out a joint loan
You can only apply for an Admiral loan as an individual. If you want to apply jointly with another person, you will need to consider an alternative lender.
It has a lower rating on Fairer Finance
According to ratings by review site Fairer Finance, Admiral only has a 61% rating for customer experience as at September 2024. This makes it a lender with one of the lowest scores and is over 10 percentage points lower than the lenders at the top of the rankings.
Features
Admiral loans are unsecured personal loans. This means you do not have to put up an asset, such as your home, as collateral in order to be eligible for a loan.
Instead, Admiral will consider factors such as your income, employment status, and your credit history to decide whether to offer you a loan. These can also affect the interest rate you receive.
You can borrow between £1,000 and £40,000 from Admiral. This is more than some lenders, but you may still be able to find a bigger loan from another provider.
Repayment terms on an Admiral loan range from one to eight years, which is longer than other lenders. But bear in mind, that while a longer repayment term can lower your monthly repayments, it also means you will pay more in interest overall.
Loans from Admiral can be used for a range of purposes, such as weddings, home improvements, and buying a car.
Joint loans
Admiral doesn’t offer joint loans. However, some other lenders do allow you to apply for a loan with another person.
Loans for bad credit
Admiral states that it won’t accept loan applications from individuals with county court judgments (CCJs), Debt Relief Orders or individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs), or if you are bankrupt.
Admiral states it wants applications to come from individuals with a good credit score. If you have any concerns about your credit history, check it before applying or use a soft search eligibility service.
Don’t apply for loans you’re unlikely to get because unsuccessful applications have a negative effect on your credit score.
Flexibility
Admiral loans come with a good amount of repayment flexibility.
When you apply for an Admiral loan, you can choose the date that your repayments go out. Some 45% of respondents to our NerdWallet survey told us this is an important feature, but it isn’t something offered by every lender. Other lenders may automatically set your payment date to 30 days after your application is approved, for example, which may not always be the most convenient date for you.
After the first month, Admiral also allows you to change your payment date, if the original one you chose is no longer the best for you. You can change your repayment date by contacting Admiral directly by phone or via your online account, online contact form, or webchat.
Extra repayments
Admiral allows you to make extra payments towards your loan, on top of your scheduled monthly repayments, without paying any extra charges, but make sure you understand any limits that might be in place.
Borrowers can also pay off an Admiral loan in full before the end of the term, which could help them to save money on interest. However, as is the case with many lenders, Admiral can then charge you up to 58 days’ interest to settle your loan early.
To settle your loan early, you can contact Admiral or request a settlement quote through your online account.
» MORE: Paying off a loan early
Additional borrowing
You may be able to borrow more on top of your existing Admiral loan, but only if you’ve had your loan for at least six months and have a good repayment history. You will also need to pass Admiral’s usual credit and affordability checks as Admiral will want to ensure you can afford to repay the extra amount.
Application process
Although Admiral scores well for its application process, its pay-out time is relatively slow compared to other lenders we’ve looked at.
And, unlike many other lenders, Admiral doesn’t offer a loan calculator on its website that you can adjust to see how much your monthly repayments could be.
However, Admiral does allow you to check whether you are eligible for a personal loan and the interest rate you qualify for before applying, which won’t affect your credit file. If you are happy with the quote and submit a loan application, Admiral will then carry out affordability assessments and a hard credit check, which will be recorded on your credit file.
If you are successful, you will be sent a loan agreement for you to sign and return. Your funds will be unlocked once you have returned the loan agreement.
Sam Bromley, Lead Writer and Personal Loans Expert at NerdWallet
What our Nerds say…
“You could consider using a loan eligibility service to do a soft search across multiple lenders. This gives you results of your likelihood of a successful application against several different loans, without affecting your credit score. But do check the details of the service you use, to make sure it only uses soft searches and how many lenders it checks.”
What information do I need?
When you apply for an Admiral loan, you will need to provide some personal details as well as information about your financial situation. For example, Admiral will want to know about your income and employment status.
In some cases, Admiral may ask you to upload certain documents to support your application, such as copies of your payslips or bank statements.
With your permission, Admiral may use open banking technology as part of the application process. This allows Admiral to securely view information from your bank account, which could help it to make a more informed decision about whether you could afford to repay a loan. It can also help to speed up the application process.
How long does it take to apply?
Admiral says most people will get an instant decision on their application. However, sometimes Admiral will require more information, such as proof of address or income, before making a decision.
If your application is approved, you will receive your funds between 12pm and 5pm on the third working day following the return of your signed loan agreement. This is longer than other lenders, so if you want to receive the money in your account relatively quickly, another lender may be more appropriate.
Availability of customer support
Customers can get in touch with Admiral customer support in several ways, but some lenders we’ve reviewed do offer more.
Admiral offers phone and live chat, which were considered the most important forms of customer support by respondents in our survey.
You can also contact Admiral through an online form, but it could take several working days to get a response.
As an Admiral customer, you can create an online account to view your documents and manage your loan, including changing details and requesting a settlement figure. However, unlike some lenders, you can’t manage your loan via a mobile app.
If you would prefer to deal with a lender in person, Admiral won’t be the provider for you as it operates solely online and doesn’t have any branches that you can visit.
Customer ratings
Admiral is one of Fairer Finance’s poorer performing lenders with a 61% customer experience rating.
This information is correct as of 4 September 2024.
Am I eligible for an Admiral loan
To qualify for an Admiral personal loan, you must:
- have lived in the UK for at least three years, and be a permanent resident of England, Wales or Scotland
- earn a minimum annual income of £19,000
- have a UK bank account
- have no current CCJs, IVAs, or Debt Relief Orders
- not be currently bankrupt
On top of this, you will need to pass Admiral’s credit checks and other affordability assessments.
You don’t need to have any Admiral products or be an existing customer to apply for a loan from Admiral.
» MORE: Am I eligible for a loan?
Frequently asked questions
Admiral states that you will receive your funds on the third working day after you have returned your loan agreement, between 12pm and 5pm.
Admiral Loans is a trading name of Admiral Financial Services, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Review methodology
At NerdWallet UK, we base our reviews and our ‘Best’ pages on the results of surveys we undertook about what was important to people who use these products. This allows us to look at products impartially of any commercial arrangements we have and fairly rate the products on the same set of criteria.
Best means our ‘Best’ and is based only on what products we have aligned to our surveys, which form the basis of our reviews and ratings. This means that there will be other products on the market that we have not included in our ‘Best’ pages. Best does not mean it’s best for you, nor does it mean the ‘cheapest’.
Our reviews may display lenders’ rates. This additional information has not been included in our evaluations but is still very important when choosing a product. Rates offered can depend on circumstances, amount and term. Always check details before proceeding with any financial product.
Product details reflect the information that was available at that time but may have changed since. We strive to give you a review on as many products as possible, but there will be products not included on the market. The review is our opinion, but it does not constitute advice, recommendation or suitability for your financial circumstances.
While we try to provide you with accurate information, the providers can change the terms of their products at any time, therefore it is advisable to check the terms before you proceed.
You can view our full review methodology here.