Insurance time again (groan) - Elephant

[Will]

Insurance time again! (groan)

Tried all the usual suspects and in the end went for a policy with Elephant (part of Admiral Insurance so I gather)

Considering my age (22), Greater London postcode, type of vehicle, where it is kept and what it is used for etc etc...

Fully Comprehensive cover, including legal protection, guaranteed car hire in event of total loss or theft, all mods declared etc.

£980. Not cheap by most people's standards, but I was happy enough to pay that.

Only problem was a bit of hassle getting them to recognise the car type. The automated selector (going on my car's numberplate) came up as an E200!

Selecting my car manually didn't work. They had virtually every combination of type (4 or 5 door), transmission (manual or auto), spec (sport, classic, esprit, elegance) and engine (C230, C230K , C230 K etc) but none of them matched my car perfectly.

I was offered a C230 Sport Auto Saloon (no K!)
C230K Sport Auto Estate!
C230K Sport Auto Saloon (200x onwards, 1800cc!)
and more.

It was finally put through as a C230K Sport Saloon, with 'transmission' modified!
As I was declaring my wheels it didn't make any difference to the premium really, but a bit annoying all the same. At least Elephant seem to speak english, answer their phones and do call you back.

Plus they seemed reasonable about mods (I don't have many )

So, so far, not bad

Will

 

[uumode]

Elephant are one of the cheapest for me, as are esure and Tesco.
However I didn't go for Elephant as they had some strange small print, not a huge concern, but odd and as esure didn't have the same I went with esure.

One odd exclusion that I can remember was damage caused to your car by road rage. I thought it wasn't inconceivable that a nutter could whack my car with a baseball bat or throw a brick at it in rage, assuming he/she had right of way or whatever.

 

[shrekky]

wow uumode you actually got a quote from esure ?...............me and several of my friends cant even get quotes ............i got a full clean licence,5 years no claims bonus,and drive a mercedes 190 deisel and they cant give me a quote ................and "more than "..............bloody more than alright............more than everyone else !!!......and "quote me happy" norwich union only if i been on drugs the night before ........RAC and AA are the cheapest for me ,heres the thing,main insurer is churchill,so thought i'll cut the middleman out( mr RAC) and go direct to them............TWICE AS MUCH !!!!. ..........whats all that about then ?

 

[McGreggor]

I've heard bad things about elephant, not that insurance companies are ever quoted as being generous when it comes to dishing out claim money, but I heard elephant give out even less than the normal you'd expect if you have to claim...

 

[Pietre]

I was with First Alternative (part of eSure) who wanted a 100% premium hike after a no fault claim, from £400 to £799, so I tried Privelidge who had a similar problem with my car showing as an E200 instead of E280 but that was fixed in two minutes. They covered me using Direct Line for £425 Comp, but when I had gone straight to Direct Line they had quoted £670........... strange but true. Its just another lottery without the chance of prizes.

 

[uumode]

Yes, as others have commented here, I've also found that it is more expensive to go direct than via the broker. (Broker must have upfront discounts).

Same with airplane tickets, book direct with airline and you pay full 'RRP' go via a travel agent who has booked up a block of seats and it's cheaper!

 

[Mambo]

I'm with Elephant because they were the cheapest for me also. They are AWFUL to deal with though when you need to make a claim....

 

[GrahamC230K]

I like Elephant - wheels, chip and exhaust all declared. They charge me £16 a week though to insure a 1989 190E courtesy car!

No problems selecting my car. They wont allow me to make any changes online though, so every change I have to call and pay minimum £10 admin charge for every change.

 

[SportsCoupeRich]

i use churchill and think they are pretty good. A bag of sand to insure my car with a london postcode, 5 years NCB and car port parking. Only 23 too.

 

[aka$h]

Tesco, DirectLine and Privilege are the cheapest for me,But a quote on any of the cars Ive got at the moment requires a tracker to be fitted, so Im with Norwich unoin.

 

[damyers]

Direct Line for me. - £750 odd p/y - other quotes far higher

They did require a Tracker but to be honest I would probably always install one now anyway!

 

[big x]

Try http://www.confused.com an online search engine that automatically comes back with quotes from loads of insurance companies. Useful for getting quotes on different types of car before purchasing decisions are made.
The cheapest for me last year was Esure £190 comp for a C-180 Elegance 1997.Young drivers and high risk cars usually get a better deal going to a specialist broker.
I bet half the people here could get cheaper insurance by using internet searches every year.:bannana:

adam

 

[damyers]

I bet half the people here could get cheaper insurance by using internet searches every year.:bannana:

adam

True - but would the service and the small print be the same

 

[Alps]

I search every year at renwal time and cheapest companies change every year!

car Last year This Year

Golf Mk1 Convert Elephant Norwich Union Direct
Golf Mk4 Tesco Asda
C36 Tesco Asda

year before again i was with different companies, i tend to stick to the Major insurers as service is normally better, but i do agree the service from Elephant was Cr*p, and that was when cancelling, because they have an auto renewal pollicy if you dont inform them!!

 

[gary350]

Its my insurance time as well, just got my renewal from esure its £434 protect/legal, contacted most of the usual lowest so far is first alternative (owned by esure) thats £406 for the slk350.

gary

 

[mercmanuk]

hastings direct for me
very good

 

[Laters]

Ive been insured with elephant for the last few years on the mercs.(my old 190E and the C class)
They were cheaper by at least £75 compared to the other quotes (from the net and phone this year).
£232 fully comp a year with protected no claims for the C200sport

 

[gary350]

Of interest Elephant were £283 more than the lowest so far, in fact they were the highest by a mile £689 against £406, next highest was more-than at £564.
Hasting direct came out at £602

gary

 

[peterchurch]

I had a good one from Elephant When I resinsured the SL I was thinking about satnav so I asked the question the salesman said ahh! that will put your insuance up as it makes your car more nickable said sod that Im not bothering then and took the policy. A few weeks ago while I was getting my policy moved over to another car I asked the question again. the reply came no you can put what you want in for stereo stuff, but we only pay up to £750....

 

[BenzComander]

Did the Internet thing this year for the E class, and everybody was coming in at around 600ish.

Then tried Admiral and they came in at 400

So the eejit with the parot got my money