Gibraltar-based car insurance company Premier Insurance Company Limited goes into administration

The Gibraltar-based car insurance company Premier Insurance Company Limited has gone into administration.

The UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme says it's stepping in to protect over 16,000 eligible UK policyholders.

The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission says the company, which was first licensed on the Rock in 2008, applied for administration to the Supreme Court this week.

It says Freddie White and Bradley Chadwick of Grant Thornton have been appointed as joint administrators.

The GFSC says existing policies will continue to be administered by the company, but that any mid-term adjustments or changes will not be able to be actioned.

It says the administrators will coordinate with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to ensure policyholders have all valid and eligible claims settled.

For its part, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme estimates that it will protect over 16,000 individual customers and small firms with an annual turnover of less than a million pounds.

It says customers who are unclear if their insurance policy was underwritten by Premier Insurance Company Limited should contact the insurance broker that sold the policy to them.

The FSCS has set up a page on its website with questions and answers for policyholders.