Admiral vs Elephant: Compare Car Insurance
Is Admiral or Elephant the better car insurance company for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best car insurance for you and your wallet.
The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.
Admiral and Elephant are two insurance brands of the Admiral Group, who are the largest car insurance company in the UK. Run by the same motor insurance company, let's see how they stack up against each other.
Quick Overview: Admiral vs. Elephant Car insurance
Elephant and Admiral are two different brands of the same company. And after reading through the policy wordings, we've discovered that Elephant car insurance is virtually identical to the lowest tier of Admiral comprehensive car insurance. Admiral offers three tiers of comprehensive car insurance: Admiral, Admiral Gold and Admiral Platinum.
Below we recap some of the best features of Elephant and Admiral, so you can see for yourself.
What we like about Admiral
Admiral, rated 4 out of 5 stars by our editors, is superior to Elephant for the following notable reasons:
- They offer two higher tiers of comprehensive cover: Gold and Platinum
What we like about Elephant
Elephant, rated 3.5 by our editors, essentially offers an identical product to Admiral comprehensive car insurance.
Here's a quick, high level comparison of how Admiral and Elephant compare on cost, features, customer service access and customer ratings.
| Car Insurance Comparison | Admiral | Elephant |
|---|---|---|
Cost | Slightly more expensive for our sample driver | Slightly cheaper for our sample driver |
Customer Service Access | Webchat and phones lines open 7 days a week, including bank holidays | Webchat and phones lines open 7 days a week, including bank holidays |
Customer Ratings |
|
|
| Get Quotes | Get Quotes |
Admiral vs Elephant Overall Review
When comparing the levels of cover Admiral and Elephant provide, it is clear that Elephant is virtually the same as the basic Admiral tier of comprehensive cover.
Neither offers cover for the 'alternative transport & hotel after accident', or a courtesy car in case of theft/write off (unless you buy an add on). Or a courtesy car for repairs if you don't use an approved repairer.
Otherwise, their cover is pretty good and equivalent. One minor difference we found is that the basic Admiral plan covers £150 of belongings while Elephant covers up to £150 for personal belongings AND up to £300 (any one incident) for sports equipment. So in this respect, Elephant offers a superior product to the basic Admiral cover.
However, with Admiral you have to option to buy a higher tier of cover (Gold or Platinum) to get cover for alternative transport & hotel after accident, or include motor legal as standard, or get higher belongings cover. Here is a quick overview (all subject to conditions, of course).
| How Do They Compare? | Admiral Comprehensive Coverage | Elephant Comprehensive Coverage |
|---|---|---|
|
"Must Have" Features | ||
|
Windscreen | Included | Included |
| Belongings | Up to £150 | Up to £150 personal belongings, up to £300 (any one incident) for sports equipment |
|
Keys | Up to £300, as long as not lost/stolen from your vehicle | Up to £300, as long as not lost/stolen from your vehicle |
|
Protected NCD | Yes, if you are eligible | Yes, if you are eligible |
|
Car recovery after accident | Included | Included |
| Courtesy car (repairs) | Included | Included |
|
Repairs guaranteed (if use approved repairer) | Included | Included |
|
"Should Have" Features | ||
|
New car replacement | Theft or if cost to repair more than 60% of list price; cars up to 12 months old | If damage repair will cost more than 59% of the value of the car at the time |
| Stereo and satellite nav | Equipment fitted by the manufacturer is covered in full. For 'aftermarket' equipment up to £1,250 or market value of your car, whichever is the lower | Up to £1,250 or the market value of your car, whichever is the lower. |
| Alternative transport & Hotel after accident | If you buy the add on, up to £50 per person (maximum £150) for travel. Up to £200 for overnight accommodation, if you are 25 miles away from your home | Not included |
| 24-hour emergency helpline | Included | Included |
| Courtesy car (total loss or theft) | Up to 28 days, if you buy the add on | Up to 28 days, if you buy the add on |
| Motor legal expenses | If you buy the add on | If you buy the add on |
| Breakdown cover | If you buy the add on | If you buy the add on |
|
"Could Have" Features | ||
|
Same cover in EU | Up to 90 days | Up to 90 days |
| Child car seat replacement after accident, theft, fire | Included | Included |
| Larger/premium courtesy car | If you buy the add on (theft or write off) | If you buy the add on (theft or write off) |
| Uninsured driver NCD protection | Included | Included |
|
Cancellation fee | £25 within 14 days, £55 after | £25 within 14 days, £55 after |
Admiral vs Elephant Cost Comparison
As you would expect, Elephant's comprehensive cover is cheaper than Admiral—for our sampler driver. This is where you may decide to go with Elephant. If you are happy with the worse policy cover, it may be worth the trade off for cheaper cover.
That being said, car insurance quotes are extremely sensitive and very case specific. Please ensure you get your own quotes before making a decision.
| What Policy? | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Admiral Comprehensive | £543.20 | £48.60 (11 payments, £48.73 deposit) |
| Admiral Third Party, Fire and Theft | £424.48 | £37.98 (11 payments, £38.05 deposit) |
| Elephant Comprehensive | £502.88 | £45.61 (11 payments, £45.76 deposit) |
| Elephant Motor Legal | £24.95 | N/A |
These quotes are based on 22-year-old Essex-based male driving a 2008 Ford Fiesta, 8,000 miles a year. He parks at home. He has been driving for 4 years and has 3 years of no claims. These quotes are for a young driver, hence why they are so high. Drivers with more experience can pay up to 45-50% less than the premiums listed here.
Admiral vs Elephant Reviews and Ratings Compared
When it comes to customer ratings, it's a bit hard to read into them because Elephant has only a few hundred reviews compared to thousands for Admiral. But here are the ratings anyway (none seem spectacular, but the Admiral Trustpilot rating will be most reliable with over 13,500 customers having left a review):
| Review Site | Admiral Ratings | Elephant Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 3.6 out of 5 | 2.7 out of 5 |
| reviews.co.uk customer service rating | 2.8 out of 5 | 3.1 out of 5 |
Admiral vs Elephant Cancellation Fees Compared
No one expects to cancel their car insurance—it could mean you've had to sell your car—but you may have to. If that is the case, knowing your cancellation fees is important.
Looking at the table below, you'll see that, just like the section before, they are almost identical. They both will charge you £25 during your cooling off period and £55 after that.
The main difference, in this section, is the fee for mid-term admin changes. Admiral charges anywhere between £9.50 all the way up until £100. While Elephant will only charge you £9.50 if you ensure to make changes online.
| When Are You Cancelling | Admiral | Elephant |
|---|---|---|
| During cooling off | £25 | £25 |
| After cooling off period | £55 | £55 |
| Mid-term admin changes | £9.50 to £100 | From £9.50 online. From £25 over phone |
Important Phone Numbers
Admiral and Elephant have identical customer service and webchat opening times! Excluding bank holidays which are 'subject to change' for Elephant. From what we've gathered, it's different for each bank holiday.
| Opening Hours | Admiral | Elephant |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Service (Mon-Fri) | 8am-7pm | 8am - 7pm |
| Customer Service (Sat) | 9am-5pm | 9am-5pm |
| Customer Service (Sun) | 9:30am-4pm | 9:30am-4pm |
| Customer Service (Bank Holiday) | 9:30am-4pm | 'Subject to change' |
| Webchat (Mon-Fri) | 7am-10:45pm | 7am-10:45pm |
| Webchat (Sat) | 8am-7:45pm | 8am-7:45pm |
| Webchat (Sun) | 8am-7:45pm | 8am-7:45pm |
| Emergency Hotline | 24-hour | 24-hour |
Admiral Contact Numbers
| Admiral Contact Numbers | |
|---|---|
| Customer Service (UK) | 0333 220 2000 |
| Renewals | 0333 222 6715 |
| Claims (in UK) | 0333 220 2033 |
| 24 Hour Helplines | |
| Windscreen Claims | 0333 220 2025 |
| Accident recovery | 0800 600 840 |
Elephant Contact Numbers
| Elephant Contact Numbers | |
|---|---|
| Customer Services | 0333 220 2006 |
| Claims (open Mon - Fri 8am - 9pm, Sat 9am - 5pm and Sun 10am - 4pm) | 0333 220 2039 |
| Renewals (open Mon - Fri 8am - 8pm, Sat 9am - 5pm and Sun 10am - 4pm) | 0333 222 6719 |
| To pay by direct debit | 0330 134 3230 or 0333 220 2086 |
| Calling from abroad | +44 2920 601 298 |
| 24 Hour Helplines | |
| Roadside emergency (following an Insured Incident) | 0800 600 840 |
| Glass Repair Helpline (open 24 hours a day) | 0333 220 2027 |
| Breakdown service | 0800 458 9283 |
Policy Documents
More information about Admiral car insurance policies can be found by reading their policy documents.
To view your documents online, log into your customer portal or access the policy documents here.