DRIVERS have been warned to do an urgent check after a car and van insurance firm with 16,000 customers went bust.
Premier Insurance Company Ltd collapsed into administration last month.
In an update issued this week, the watchdog warned customers to urgently find new insurance policies to avoid future claims not being covered.
Customers will no longer be covered from December 1, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Thursday – meaning thousands have less than two weeks to get new cover.
It said customers would be contacted by brokers to discuss options for finding alternative cover.
Premier Insurance was placed into administration on October 14 following an application to the Supreme Court of Gibraltar.
Freddie White and Bradley Chadwick of Grant Thornton were appointed as joint administrators.
The Gibraltar based-insurer, which mainly wrote car and motorcycle insurance policies for UK customers, stopped writing new insurance in January 2025.
If you need help finding new cover, you can contact your existing broker or the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), the watchdog added.
Sarah Marin, chief customer officer at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), said: “We understand customers will be worried about how Premier Insurance Company Limited’s failure will affect their motor insurance policies.
“We’d like to reassure customers that FCFS is working closely with the Insolvency Practitioner, Grant Thornton (Gibraltar) to make sure all eligible UK policyholders are protected.
“FSCS will also protect eligible firms with an annual turnover of less than £1m.
“Premier Insurance Company Limited customers can be assured that their claims will continue to be considered against the terms of their policy.”
What happens if my insurance provider goes bust
If the insurance company you’re with goes into administration, you will be informed by the firm appointed to sort out its finances – called the insolvency practitioner.
You’ll be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which will give you a refund if your policy is not taken over by a new insurer.
They will refund you for the remaining portion of your policy premium.
To stay in the loop, you can sign up to the FSCS website for updates on what is happening.
If you have any questions about your refund, you can contact the FSCS at https://www.fscs.org.uk/contact-us/.
If you’re not sure if your policy was underwritten by Premier Insurance, you should contact the broker that sold you the policy.
Be sure to keep all the paperwork about your policy to hand as you might need it in future.
It comes after several energy firms stopped trading this year, causing havoc for thousands of customers.
Tomato Energy, which served over 15,000 households and 8,000 businesses, collapsed last month under huge debts and a £1.5million fine.
Energy watchdog Ofgem said it had appointed British Gas to supply all of Tomato Energy’s customers.
Rebel Energy went bust in April, leaving around 80,000 customers without an energy supplier.
Green energy firm Ripple Energy also went under in March, filing a notice to appoint administrators.
Customers are protected by regulator Ofgem in these circumstances, as well as any funds that have been paid into accounts and their credit balances.
What is car insurance?
Consumer Reporter Sam Walker reveals all you need to know about the basics…
Car insurance pays out if your vehicle is stolen, damaged, catches on fire or is involved in an accident.
As a minimum, it protects you against any damage you case to other road users, the public or their property – these are called third parties.
You only need to claim on your car insurance when an accident is your fault.
If another motorist is to blame, their insurance should pay out instead.
Car insurance, unlike home insurance, is a legal requirement and if you don’t have it you can be fined up to £1,000.
You can also have your vehicle seized and destroyed.
However, you don’t need to insure your car if it is classed as “off-road”, or holds a statutory off road notification (SORN).
The vehicle has to be kept on private land and not a public highway though.