Elephant Auto Insurance Review

Elephant Insurance has been supplying auto insurance since 2009. A subsidiary of Admiral Group plc, Elephant is based in the United Kingdom and is one of the U.K.’s leading insurers. However, its auto insurance offerings aren’t limited to the U.K. alone — it provides insurance to more than 6 million customers worldwide and has a presence in eight different countries, including the United States.

Elephant offers policies to residents of Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia; its product line includes auto insurance, homeowners insurance, and motorcycle insurance. It also offers multi-policy discounts, so you might want to consider bundling more than one insurance policy with Elephant to cut your overall costs.

In this review:

• How Much Does Elephant Auto Insurance Cost?
• What Does Elephant Insurance Cover?
• Elephant Insurance Discounts
• Downsides of Elephant Insurance
• Where is Elephant Insurance Available?
• Elephant Insurance Customer Service

How Much Does Elephant Auto Insurance Cost?

Elephant auto insurance prices are competitive, but the cost varies depending on many factors such as where you live, the number of drivers in your household, the age of the drivers on the policy, your driving record, and the type of vehicle.

For example, the monthly premium for a 36-year-old female driver with a bachelor’s degree in Centerville, Virginia, with no recent accidents and who drives a 2018 6-cylinder RDX with crash avoidance technology primarily to commute to work would be $153. This policy would include $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident bodily injury liability; $20,000 in property damage liability; $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in uninsured motorist coverage for bodily injury; $20,000 in uninsured motorist coverage for property damage; and comprehensive and collision coverage with a $500 deductible.

Elephant makes it easy to get a quote online. You’ll start by inputting your address and describing all of the vehicles you wish to insure. Next, you’ll add details about each driver who will be covered by the policy and answer some basic questions about your driving history.

The entire process of getting an insurance quote takes only a few minutes, and you don’t need to provide your Social Security number or driver’s license. You can also customize your coverage limits to adjust your premium as needed.

Add-on coverage could also affect your premium. For example, if our 36-year-old female driver wanted coverage for up to $1,000 in medical payments, she would pay an additional $55 per month. Adding income loss coverage of $100 per week would add $48 to her monthly premium, while adding $75 in roadside assistance coverage per incident would cost her $25 per month. Adding $900 in rental reimbursement would increase her monthly bill by $113.

What Does Elephant Insurance Cover?

Although Elephant Insurance provides different kinds of coverage, auto insurance is the company’s main offering.

When you buy auto insurance, you’ll have a choice of whether to opt for the basic policy or whether you want to add additional coverage for an added fee. The “basic” policy will vary depending on where you live, as minimum coverage amounts vary by state. However, you can choose to buy more coverage or purchase add-ons that give you more comprehensive protection.

For example, in Virginia, a basic policy would need to include:

• $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability
• $20,000 in property damage liability
• $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury coverage caused by an underinsured or uninsured motorist
• $20,000 in property damage coverage caused by an uninsured or underinsured motorist

You have the option to increase in any of these coverage amounts. For example, you could increase your bodily injury liability coverage up to $500,000 per person per accident. Other add-on options include:

• Medical payments
• Income loss
• Roadside assistance
• Rental car reimbursement
• Custom equipment (for eligible vehicles)
• A diminishing deductible
• Legal assistance 

Basic policies with Elephant Insurance, or with any auto insurer, typically do not provide the full extent of coverage you need to protect yourself in case of an accident. For example, if you have limited bodily injury coverage and cause an accident that hurts someone, you could find your personal assets at risk in a lawsuit. If you don’t opt for collision or comprehensive coverage, you could be out of luck if you cause a crash and want your insurer to pay to fix your vehicle.

Elephant Insurance Discounts

There are a number of discounts for which you might be eligible when you buy auto insurance through Elephant Insurance. Some of these discounts include:

• Multi-vehicle: You could save up to 20% by insuring more than one car through Elephant Insurance.
• Responsible driver: Drivers who have been accident-free for five years or longer can score a discount of up to 10% on certain types of coverage.
• Good student: Policyholders ages 16 to 25 who are attending school full-time and who have a B or better GPA are eligible for up to a 12% discount on certain types of coverage.
• Online quote: You could save up to 15% on coverage by applying for a quote online.
• Paperless: This discount could be up to 3% per vehicle if you sign up for paperless statements.

Paying in full and opting to use an electronic signature can also result in a discount, although Elephant Insurance doesn’t specify how much.

Downsides of Elephant Insurance

The biggest downside of Elephant Insurance is its customer service rating. There were 187 complaints made to the Better Business Bureau in the last three years over issues related to improper late fees, random rate increases, and trouble getting claims approved.

Another downside is that Elephant is available only in certain states. If you don’t live in one of them, this insurance won’t be an option for you.

>> Read More: Best Auto Insurance Companies

Where is Elephant Insurance Available?

Elephant Insurance is currently available in Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Elephant Insurance Customer Service

Elephant can be reached via telephone and email for customer service. The phone number is 1-855-ELEPHANT and the email address is [email protected].

Although Elephant Insurance has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, it received only 2 1/2 out of five stars from customer reviews with the BBB. As mentioned above, there have been a number of consumer complaints made to the BBB as well as unfavorable reviews on other sites.

Bottom Line

Elephant Insurance makes getting a quote easy, but the insurer has faced some customer service complaints. It’s important to shop around carefully and compare both insurance company quotes and reviews before deciding which insurer is right for you. 

If you find that Elephant Insurance saves you money compared to other insurance providers — especially when factoring in discounts for bundling multiple policies or for being a good student — you may decide Elephant Insurance is right for you.