General info
Elephant Insurance is a property and casualty insurance company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. It offers auto, home, motorcycle, and life insurance to customers in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Founded in 2009, Elephant is a subsidiary of Admiral Group plc, a FTSE 100 company and one of the U.K.’s leading insurers with a presence in eight countries and over 9 million customers worldwide.
Elephant was listed as a Forbes America’s Best Insurance Companies 2023. Forbes partnered with Statista to survey over 15,000 U.S. customers of more than 3,300 U.S. insurance companies to create the rankings. Participants rated their insurance providers in terms of their overall satisfaction and whether they would recommend them to family and friends.
Elephant is rated in the excellent range on Trustpilot.
Elephant has been certified as a Great Place to Work in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Richmond Times Dispatch/Richmond SHRM Top Workplace: 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Elephant was one of the first Virginia companies to confirm that employees would work from home until at least through July 2021.
History
Elephant Insurance was founded in 2009, as an American subsidiary of the Admiral Group. Admiral is a direct-to-consumer insurance provider in the U.K. It brought this business model to the United States via Elephant. Elephant started in the commonwealth of Virginia. In 2012, it added Maryland, Illinois, and Texas. In 2016, it was launched in the Indiana and Tennessee markets. Ohio was added to the company’s portfolio in 2020, and Georgia was added in February 2021.
A direct-to-consumer carrier provides access to insurance through an online application process. Pricing and underwriting of the policy are conducted through the consumer’s interaction with the online quote journey. If preferred, the consumer can also speak with a licensed agent to buy or service an auto insurance policy.
Andrew Rose was the founder and CEO of Elephant. He left the company in 2012 to become President and CEO of Admiral’s comparison-shopping website, Compare.com. Former Admiral Group FD and Confused.com CEO Kevin Chidwick took over as CEO of Elephant from 2012 to 2017. When he stepped down, Henry Engelhardt, the co-founder, and former CEO of Admiral Group, stepped in as interim CEO. The current CEO of the company is Alberto Schiavon, a native of Italy, who became CEO of Elephant insurance in 2017 after spending 5 years with Elephant’s parent company, Admiral Group.
Sponsorships/charitable giving
Elephant is engaged and active in the communities it serves and continuously looks for more ways to contribute to important community issues. As an auto insurance provider, Elephant ties many of its charitable partnerships to road safety and driver-centric causes. For example, benefitting organizations include Adopt A Highway and Project Yellow Light. For many years, Elephant has also supported sports organizations in its hometown including the Richmond Flying Squirrels (MiLB) and the Richmond Kickers (USL).
Employment
Elephant Insurance currently employs over 500 employees. In October 2017, the company set entry-level minimum pay at $15 per hour and starts all employees with 22 days of paid time off per year. In March 2020, employees transitioned to a fully remote workplace.
Services
Elephant Insurance Services is a direct-to-consumer insurance company that offers auto, home, motorcycle, and life products to customers in the USA. The company provides property insurance, such as homeowners insurance, renters insurance, and condo insurance; and other insurances, including motorcycle and life insurance.
Culture
The company is known for its inclusive, fun culture following its parent company’s motto, “If you like what you do, you’ll do it better.” Popular monthly team-based and company-wide “fun” activities lend to Elephant’s culture of community and connection. Elephant has been named a Top Workplace in Richmond for 10 years.
Awards
The parent company of Elephant Insurance, Admiral Group, is rated “A+” Superior rating by A.M. Best insurance rating organization. Other awards won by the Elephant Insurance Services include:
- Forbes America’s Best Insurance Companies 2023
- 2017-2018, 2019-2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Great Place to Work Certified
- 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 Top Workplace, Richmond Times Dispatch
- 2019, 2020 Style Weekly’s Best of Richmond, Readers’ Choice Award
- 2014 Stevie Award bronze medal for Sales and Customer Service
- 2011 Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces Award
- 2011 Best places to work in Virginia