Elephant is part of the Admiral Group of companies (along with Bell, Diamond and Gladiator) and claims to bring you low-cost car insurance with none of the faff. But is it good value for money? We’ve compared the policies to find out.
An online car insurer that trumpeted into existence in 2000, Elephant, unlike its namesake, is known for policies that are small and easily shifted. It has highly customisable cover and some of the lowest prices on the market.
Elephant offers a range of different insurance options, and whether you’re looking for the most basic or want to get the highest level of protection for your beloved car, Elephant cover options have some useful benefits
This is the most basic cover. But at Elephant, third party insurance has the added bonus of 90 days’ European cover and flexible payments, too.
Popular with drivers of less valuable cars, TPFT is the same as third party insurance, but also covers damage done to your car if it is stolen or set on fire.
This includes all of the above, plus it will pay out for damage done to your own car in the event of an accident. Elephant’s comprehensive cover also has some good extras like stereo cover, courtesy car and sports equipment cover.
At Elephant, there’s a range of useful extras and higher levels of cover you can add to a basic policy. These include:
Elephant offers a discount for covering multiple cars in the household through its MultiCar Insurance.
| Cover | Third party, fire and theft | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| Accidental damage | – | ✓ |
| Liability to others | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fire and theft | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windscreen damage | – | ✓ |
| Named driver bonus | – | ✓ |
| In-car entertainment | – | ✓ |
| Sports equipment cover | – | ✓ |
| European cover | ✓ | ✓ |
| Courtesy car | – | ✓ |
Elephant prides itself on providing cheap, hassle-free car insurance. With a long list of policy upgrades, you may be able to save by opting for Elephant’s basic cover levels, and then adding only the extras you need.
If you’re a young driver, the less powerful and expensive your car is, the less you’ll pay. Elephant also offers a “Bonus Accelerator” policy, which lasts only 10 months, but still means you could earn a whole year’s no-claims discount, and save the next time you get a policy. However, this may cost more in the short term.
Alternatively, taking the Pass Plus test can help show that you’re a proficient driver in traffic, at night and on the motorways, and this can reduce your premium.
If you already have a good no-claims discount and can pay annually, Elephant’s full 12-month policies are cheaper, and opting to pay in one go rather than with its flexible payment options can save you a decent sum, too.
Your excess is the amount you will be expected to pay towards the costs of any claim you make. There will be the mandatory excess, and then you can reduce your premium by opting to pay a higher voluntary excess, but this means you’ll have to fork out a larger amount towards fixing your car if anything happens.
With Elephant, you can make a claim by phone during its opening hours (Monday to Friday 8am-9pm, Saturday 9am-5pm and Sunday 10am-4pm) by calling 0333 220 2039.
On customer review platform Trustpilot, Elephant as a company has 3.6 out of 5 stars and a rating of “Average”, based on more than 600 reviews.
On similar platform, Reviews.io, the company has 3.11 out of 5 stars, based on more than 120 reviews. 53% of customers say they would recommend the service.
Customers love the ease of purchase and helpful staff, but some report sub-par customer service and price hikes (updated December 2020).
Elephant is a great option for drivers looking for competitively priced car insurance with the features of a premium insurer. In their own words, they offer “great value, no nonsense and straightforward” car insurance which seems to resonate well with their customers.
Like most providers – Elephant offer third party only, third party, fire and theft and comprehensive policy options. Their comprehensive policy is bundled full of impressive features (included as standard) which makes their overall policy score strong. They’ve also recently upgraded their policy to include £300 sports equipment cover and a named driver no claims bonus.
One downside is that the cancellation cannot be done in a simple click of a button and must be made via letter or phone call. In addition to this, some customers found a spike in prices when it came to their renewal.
All in all, Elephant is a very good choice for most when it comes to looking for an affordable provider with a range of features included. However, as always, it’s important to compare providers based on your individual circumstances to see which one is best for you.
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