Insurance company, Admiral has reported a 7 per cent increase in pre-tax profit to £ 172 million during the first six months of the year.

The company said that the number of car insurance rose 7 per cent to 3 million during the first half of the year compared to the first six months of the previous year, which indicates that the core market rose just 1.6 per cent in the first half of the year.

The company said in a statement, “After favourable conditions during 2010 and the first half of 2011 in the group's core UK car insurance market, there has been a marked change in 2012, with premium rates falling and competitors seeking to add market share. In this environment it was appropriate to moderate the rate of growth in the UK.”

The revenues from personal injury referral fees, breakdown cover and car hire cover or ancillary products fell. However, the company now added "installment income" under this heading and thus the amount of fall cannot be determined.

The insurance giant operates the Bell, Diamond and Elephant brands, and price comparison website Confused. com. The shares of the company fell 2.4 per cent to £11.67 after the company posted below expected results.