Fast_Blue_Scooby

Anyone got a national rate phone number I can use to contact them? I know they are connected to Admiral BUT I am not paying 60p a minute for using the phone number displayed on their website.

The reason I ask is that they haven't answered my email from 3 days ago. Last time they answered they took almost a month to get back to me via email. Also their site states that 7 weeks to go you are supposed to get an email regarding your renewal. Then 3 weeks to go, your renewal amount. Well guess what I have less than 3 weeks to go to my renewal date and not a single email from them.

Anyone used elephant before and can offer words of assurance OR anyone used them and offer me words of advice!!

Thanks.

Fast_Blue_Scooby

Well I have just phoned Liverpool Victoria and the quote I got, just less than £470, beats all the others hands down. So I will not be renewing with elephant and I have taken out my insurance with LV. And just think I paid over £700 for last year!!

To say I am happy is an understatement!!!!!!!!!!!

Bal

Yep, they send you the renewal amount 3 weeks before.
I had a hassle free year with Elephant.
They were not competitive enough for me this year, which is a shame.
They even sent me my proof of no claims :-)

Bal

LoFi

elephant, had a year with them but come renewal time they were an absolute shambles, the poorest customer service ever. No answer to emails about change of details, no reply to emails telling them not to renew and just take my money, they even sent me out the policy documents. In the end had to phone them and tell 'em that if they debited my card I'd treat it as theft. They didn't take any money and I went with Greenlight - good service, know subarus and for me the cheapest by a bit.

Piers LoFi

Fast_Blue_Scooby

Well I have sent my email to elephant asking them not to renew my insurance. So I wonder if I will get a reply back! I'm also going to be cancelling my debit card, as that is the one they have from last year. That way they won't be able to take any money out for sure. They have 2 weeks to read my email anyway!!

ADP

I did that - it didnt work the next thing I knew I had another email saying thanks for renewing!!! So I called up and said under no circumstances were they to renew. She said said back the policy schedule with cancelled or something on it.

Dave Wynn

Hi all!

I’m the Senior Quality Exec from elephant.co.uk. A customer passed this link to me, and I thought I’d take this opportunity to address some of the points you guys have made.

Regarding our response times to emails - I'm sorry you received such slow service from us. The reason for this is that to a certain extent we have become a victim of our own success. We have been hit with a deluge of emails from customers and policyholders alike.

To rectify this we have been working around the clock to clear the backlog. In fact, if any of the elephant.co.uk handlers are reading this – thanks! I’ve never seen such a group of employees work so hard for their company! As a result of your hard work and dedication we’ve almost got the problem licked!

Also, we have had a new intake of staff who are shaping up well, and helping us improve the service.

About our telephone numbers, originally we had a 60p a minute number in place to encourage our customers to email us, rather than call. However, we underestimated the demand, and were unable to respond to many emails in a timely fashion. This meant many customers were having to turn to the 60p a minute number to contact us.

Obviously this was causing complaints, so we decided the best way forward would be to get rid of the 60p a minute number altogether. We can now be contacted on the following numbers:

Sales: 0870 013 1072
Customer Services: 0870 040 6644
Renewals: 0870 040 3377

All of them are at National Call rates, though I understand mobile charges may vary. That said, you can still contact us via help@elephant.co.uk!

About our premiums, I'm sorry we have been uncompetitive for some members here. Most insurers look to capture different parts of the market. For example, some insurers may give drivers with maximum bonus and plenty of driving experience better premiums, whilst others may prefer to invite younger, less experienced drivers to have a quotation. There are many other examples of how insurers specialise and this accounts for the wide diversity of motor insurers in the market and also shows that we cannot be competitive for all. Thanks for giving us a try though!

I hope this has addressed any concerns you may have had! I’ll pop by later to see if you guys have anything else to add, and hopefully (work allowing – it’s always non-stop here! ) I can answer any other questions you may have.

Cheers!

Dave

GMcM

Hi Dave,

I read your post about being competitive in differing sectors. I'm just wondering if Elephant are thinking of becoming more competitive in Northern Ireland for high group cars. I tried Elephant quite recently for a quote on a standard impreza turbo, it came through at £3100+. I'm 26 with 4 years NCB, no accidents clean license etc, living in a quiet rural area. This is one of the highest quotes I've received anywhere.

Insurance premiums are UNBELIEVABLY high over here.

Geoff.

LoFi

Hey Dave, thanks for coming on. I wish more insurers would have a look at what their customers are saying on forums such as this, so thanks for the input. Despite the slow service from elephant I have to say that the bottom line for me is always quality of cover and price. What concerned me most was the modified clause (clause 11 on your leaflet EL28 04/02 version (2)) that efectively says that modification are not covered and replacement parts will always be the OEM items. As you can imagine not very satisfactory if your new rear wing, which has increased the premium (oh yes more cash for no more cover), gets damaged but you only get a replacement OEM item. This would surely be a serious problem for a number of scooby owners and many others.

Piers LoFi

Dave Wynn

Hi again!

Geoff, I'm not sure how are Pricing Dept. are going to approach premiums in Northern Ireland I'm afraid! If I hear anything, I'll post here again.

Piers, I see what you mean about our standard parts clause (we don't cover anything that is not standard on the car from manufacture) - it must seem like you are paying extra for no extra cover.

However, most modifications do make a car more attractive to criminals, and the risk of the car being damaged or written off through theft increases. After all, if a car is stolen, it's not just the modifications that are stripped!

As with most insurance companies, anything that increases the 'risk' (ie the likelyhood of us, the insurer, having to pay out, or indemnify, a policyholder) will increase the premium we charge.

I hope this clears things up! If anyone has any other queries about elephant.co.uk policies, I'll try and swing back in a few days to answer them.

Cheers!

Dave

Huge

Well I've got my Saxo VTS insured with Elephant, and I have to say that I was more than happy with the service.....particularly the minimal year-on-year increase in premium

Pleased to see some of the changes put in place, but shouldn't policy holders be informed directly - if not by mail by e-mail?

Hugh

LoFi

Dave, thanks again for coming back. I understand that some modifications make the car a greater risk, hey apparently even better brakes create more risk because they make you drive faster , but I think the point is that I want cover for MY vehicle, not some vehicle that left the factory 2, 3, 5 years ago. I understand this would make premiums go up and make elephant less attractive (because your premiums would be as much as those offering replacement cover). Just making the point that it's a balance between of the level of cover and the premium that makes most people decide on their insurance company to go with and that the inclusion of the clause mentioned above sent me looking elsewhere. But then insurance is a business not a charity and everyone must make their own decisions about what cover is acceptable at what price.

Piers LoFi

[Edited by LoFi - 8/20/2002 5:32:58 PM]

Maddriver

Thanks for popping in here.

I've just been through my second renewal with Elephant.co.uk I have had a problem both times with my credit card not being acccepted. On my first renewal it took from the renewal date in September until January for the payment to leave my card.

This year I wasn't quite so patient and started complaining. It took over a week to respond to an e-mail from a customer who started that I was a unhappy customer. I guess you've explained the reason for that in your post, I'd have been more understanding had I known at the time. When I finally did get a reply your "elephant handler" was very helpful and understanding. He certainly did his best to sort the problems out.

Point is , I had to wait a week for a reply, I can certainly understand the reason for that as you stated, but it is extremly frustrating when the only alternative method of communicating is a 60p a minute phone line - which I refused to use as I would have been adding to your profits by complaining!!

I should say tho, on the one occasion when I did need to claim, the service was great.

Its just that since then I've had bad experiences on 2 successive renewals, and thats why I'm considering going elsewhere next year.

Keith