Chester Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 I'm looking around for insurance quotes for the tin top at the moment. Churchill (my current insurer) are quoting £330 for a 1.9 dci Megane. I've just run a quote through www.elephant.co.uk and came up with £250 for a like quote. Does anyone have any good or bad views about elephant? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_p Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 A guy that works for me has used them for the past two years and hasn't had a problem....even though he hasn't had a claim either... Personally I've always found direct Line the cheapest for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick M Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 I used to have my car insured with Direct Line but when we bought a run-around to use last year Elephant were the cheapest by some margin. Not had a claim, but the experience to date has been good and very easy to sort out on-line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eccentric_Rich Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 I recently found Direct Line cheapest for my err (whisper) Escort TD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.c Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I have been with Direct Line for about 5 years now, and each year I have a quick call round and most come back about £100 more Will certainly give Elephant a call this year. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbowestie.co.uk Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Both me and my wife use Elephant for our daily drivers, they were the cheapest by £550 for our Civic VTI. Had no problems with them, but again had no claims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Albert Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Direct Line, Tesco and Peugeot insurance (and for all I know dozens of others) are all operated by UK Insurance Ltd out of the same offices using the same computer systems. We have 2 vehicles with Direct Line and 1 with Tesco (best quote for the 20 year old) which is how I found out they are the same company. When the 20 y o was rear-ended in the snow by a brand new Peugeot 206 I found out that Peugeot insurance was another brand name for UK Insurance. Saved a lot of time with the claim They claim they don't share information but I would take that with a pinch of salt. Given that there is significant variation in quotes for the same driver/vehicle/cover from the above 3 , does it make you wonder about the process? Oh for an american style freedom of information act so we could see the accident statistics and make our own judgements Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chester Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 Just run a quote through DL - £472. Just happens to be the same at Tesco........... Why is there such a huge difference? Looks like elephant will be getting my business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWatson Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I use Admiral (who own Elephant). Prices are exactly the same, in fact the website is exactly the same but with a pink back ground instead of yellow, the only differance is you can pay by Direct Debit each month with Admiral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Scarfe Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I use Elephant for my tin box(es - 2 off) and they are by far the cheapest for me. Remembering that cheapness isn't everything - you have to study the details to see what's included. As with previous replies though I haven't claimed. They also have a good on line quoting system and the price for the policy IS what is quoted. Very efficient with renewals and change of details and the price didn't go up after the first year like some do, forcing you to look elsewhere again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 I've been with DL for years, when my renewal on my diesel Citroen came round 2 weeks ago it was £437 with 9 years ncb went to e sure £332, no contest, even Saga (yep i know only for the over fifties) came in at £335 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Westy Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Aaah now we have made a claim through elephant, although it's probably not a good example of how claims are normally handled as it was (still is) a complicated case involving a hit and run, a witness who saw who was driving, driver turned out to be the sister of the owner, who said that the car had been stolen, then the witness suddenly denied everything. Oh, and the police losing the evidence of which car was involved. Elephant closed the case several months ago citing not enough evidence to claim against 3rd party insurers (due to loss of police evidence), police say that elephant should have been able to claim off 3rd party regardless. Another car parked next to ours was also hit and their insurance company are still pursuing the claim. Correspondence has been variable - sometimes very quick replies, sometimes very slow (the police say they never replied to a letter they sent), and also on one occasion a letter "please find enclosed..." with the important bit not actually enclosed. My main gripe is that the accident happened in Oxfordshire (we live in Essex) and they arranged for the vehicle to be picked up and taken back to Essex for repair. So I got a lift back with someone else. Then the next day they rang us and told us that it would be repaired in Oxford, they only take it to the nearest place. Which meant that we had to travel back to Oxford a couple of weeks later to collect the car. If they'd told us that the day before, we would have got the RAC to collect it and bring it back to Essex so we could have it repaired locally to us. It also meant that when the repair wasn't done too well (the boot wouldn't shut properly), it was easier for us to just pay to have it refitted locally rather than have to take it all the way back to Oxford for a 5 minute tweak-job. So, in summary, not terribly impressed, particularly with the wrong information given on where the car would be going, although in fairness generally this is a particularly troublesome case. Does the fact that the RAC, who were the insurer for the other person whos car was hit, are still pursuing the 3rd party, tell us something about tenacity? I leave that thought with you. Having said all that, we did reinsure with them the following year, but mainly because it was too difficult to try and explain the circumstances of the ongoing case to another insurance company; it was the line of least resistance for us. My car is insured with Direct Line - we also had an accident in that one last year (may I just state that neither of these accidents were our fault) and they sorted it all out quickly and smoothly, no claims reinstated quickly and no hassle at all. Very happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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