A consumer rights law firm has announced that it will be investigating claims on behalf of Elephant Insurance Services – the auto insurance company which suffered a cyber incident that exposed the data of its customers.
It was on or around April 25, 2022, when Elephant Insurance first detected an apparent cyberattack on its internal network. An investigation eventually revealed that between March 26, 2022, and April 01, 2022, an unauthorized party had gained access to the insurer’s internal network, as well as “certain” individuals’ information.
Then around May 25, 2022, Elephant Insurance began notifying consumers of the data breach incident. The insurer had indicated that the information acquired by the perpetrators included names, driver’s license numbers, and non-driver identification card numbers.
Elephant Insurance had warned that the information accessed by the unauthorized party includes data from both current and previous customers, as well as data the insurer received as part of the quoting process for prospective customers. Notably, Elephant Insurance did not disclose the exact number of customers affected by the data breach.
Law firm Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP recently issued a statement, inviting all US customers who have received a “notice of data breach" letter from Elephant Insurance to contact the firm if they want to discuss the investigation, or have questions about their rights.
Sometime between March 26 and April 1, 2022, Elephant Insurance had its database hacked. Cybercriminals stole data including the names, driver’s license numbers and, in some cases, birthdates.
An estimated 2.7 million people had their information stolen. Some of the individuals whose data were stolen were not actual Elephant Insurance clients.
Yes, to some degree. Check if you received an advisory email from Elephant Insurance, then contact their customer service hotline.
If your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) was stolen, this can be used to obtain more crucial information like your bank accounts number, credit card number, or social security number. Cybercriminals routinely sell this data to other hackers or use it to commit other crimes. The FBI can give you a clearer picture of what cybercriminals do with stolen data.
First, don’t panic. A data breach can be worrisome, but there are measures you can take to protect yourself:
While these measures can be effective for safeguarding your personal data, you must also take similar measures to protect your business from cybersecurity threats.
Elephant Insurance was established in 2009 in Richmond, Virginia. At first, the company operated mostly within Virginia, then expanded to Maryland, Illinois, and Texas in 2012.
In 2016, Elephant Insurance ventured into Indiana and Tennessee, then on to Ohio in 2020 and Georgia in 2021. The company specializes in homeowners, renters, and car insurance, including excess liability or umbrella insurance.
Elephant Insurance also offers other products such as condo insurance, life insurance, motorcycle insurance and insurance for off-road vehicles.
An umbrella insurance policy is one that covers damages or liability that can go over the limits of traditional insurance policies. Also called “excess liability insurance”, umbrella insurance can help pay for any liabilities an individual may incur.
Umbrella insurance prevents the policyholder from paying damages out-of-pocket, taking out money from their savings or even selling off assets.
As an unconventional form of insurance, umbrella insurance is beneficial to individuals with a high net worth who own a number of assets, including highly valuable ones, and are at a high risk of incurring lawsuits.
Small businesses also benefit from umbrella insurance, as this can cover damages that may arise.
Elephant Insurance, or Elephant LLC, is wholly-owned by the American subsidiary of Admiral Group PLC, a large and reputable insurance provider in the UK. Admiral Group is based out of Cardiff, Wales, and has businesses all over the world. Admiral Group’s UK insurance brands include Admiral, Elephant, Gladiator, Diamond and Bell, and Veygo.
Elephant Insurance is primarily auto insurance. They offer typical car insurance options: comprehensive insurance, collision coverage, and even roadside assistance.
Apart from the usual services, Elephant Insurance also offers car rental reimbursement. This added feature helps clients pay for a rental car while waiting for their claim to be approved.
Also called “other than collision” coverage, comprehensive car insurance helps pay to fix or replace cars that are damaged, wrecked, or lost due to an event that’s not a collision.
Comprehensive auto insurance effectively fills the gaps of collision coverage by covering loss or damage due to theft or vandalism. Loss or damage to your car due to unforeseen events like fire, flood, cyclone, earthquake, or falling objects like hailstones, trees or debris are also covered.
This also covers damage to another person’s car, should your car accidentally damage theirs. This type of car insurance likewise covers personal injuries that you or any other person may have sustained in the accident.
