Elephant Auto Insurance launched in 2009. (BizSense file photo)
Continuing a shift to remote and hybrid work that it started pre-pandemic, Henrico-based Elephant Insurance has reduced its local office footprint and found new stomping grounds in the county.
The auto insurer is moving its headquarters from the Allianz-anchored Deep Run I building near Innsbrook to Park Central, an office park along East Parham Road just east of the planned GreenCity development
The company is leasing 16,000 square feet in the Park Central V building at 8801 Park Central Drive. It moved in over a month ago and is holding a grand opening this week.
The new space is considerably smaller than the 76,000 square feet it subleased from Allianz on the third and fourth floors of Deep Run I, part of the former Circuit City headquarters campus off Mayland Drive. It had been in that space for about a decade.
CEO Alberto Schiavon said the downsize is due to a switch to remote work during the pandemic that continues today in a hybrid form, with the company’s 550 local employees coming in to the office a few days a month, depending on job role and seniority.
Alberto Schiavon
Schiavon said Elephant moved into remote work even before the pandemic with its Texas office, which it has since closed. The company sells insurance in eight states and has 600 employees companywide.
At Deep Run I, Schiavon said, “We had an office that was designed to be for 100 percent of the employees, 100 percent of the time, and with that, there was a higher cost. There was some of the space that wasn’t used. Frankly, it was a very comfortable, nice office, but it wasn’t necessarily prone to collaboration and teamwork. Not enough meeting rooms.”
With its lease there set to run out, the company worked with Colliers in its search for a new office, which it found in the single-level Park Central space.
“We knew that we wanted to go to a lower space. Also, space that we could really do the most that we wanted and have a little bit of character and make it our own,” Schiavon said. “In the prior office, we had a great time, but there were some limitations because we were part of a bigger contract, and now we don’t have those.
“The place is great. We’re not that far from the old office. We didn’t want to move that much, mostly because many employees have also bought houses in the proximity of the old office. We didn’t want to make them commute or make it too hard,” he said. “We explored a couple options and this is the one that worked best.”
Elephant is leasing the space from a division of New York-based The Baker Cos., which owns and manages the park. The 100-acre park is planned for a 14-acre addition and is near the massive GreenCity site, where an arena-anchored mixed-use development is in the works.
Schiavon said the proximity to GreenCity was a consideration in its selection.
“It feels like it is an area that in the years ahead is probably going to be in a better spot than it is today, so we’re lucky to be on the ground floor,” he said.
The Park Central V building totals 40,000 square feet. (Photo courtesy Elephant Insurance)
While the space serves as Elephant’s home base and sole office, the company has expanded its underwriting service area in recent years to include Ohio and Georgia. It’s also licensed to sell auto insurance in Maryland, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee, in addition to Texas and Virginia.
Schiavon said Elephant insures about 56,000 vehicles locally, up from over 28,000 in 2018. He said its annual revenue last year was projected to reach $320 million, up from $207 million in 2017.
In recent years, Schiavone said the company has made investments in its website and improved self-service capabilities for customers. He said economic forces that came with the pandemic have proved challenging but said the company has managed its way through it.
“Inflation was hitting cars particularly heavily, so we are seeing some of that,” he said. “But we have managed the challenge very effectively, and according to some benchmarks, somewhat better than the market as well, so we’re pretty proud of that.”
A subsidiary of United Kingdom-based Admiral Group PLC, whose brands include a UK version of Elephant and locally based Compare.com, Elephant entered the U.S. market in 2009, quickly outgrowing an office near Innsbrook and moving to Deep Run I in 2014.
The length of its Park Central lease and other terms were not disclosed.
Elephant Auto Insurance launched in 2009. (BizSense file photo)
Continuing a shift to remote and hybrid work that it started pre-pandemic, Henrico-based Elephant Insurance has reduced its local office footprint and found new stomping grounds in the county.
The auto insurer is moving its headquarters from the Allianz-anchored Deep Run I building near Innsbrook to Park Central, an office park along East Parham Road just east of the planned GreenCity development
The company is leasing 16,000 square feet in the Park Central V building at 8801 Park Central Drive. It moved in over a month ago and is holding a grand opening this week.
The new space is considerably smaller than the 76,000 square feet it subleased from Allianz on the third and fourth floors of Deep Run I, part of the former Circuit City headquarters campus off Mayland Drive. It had been in that space for about a decade.
CEO Alberto Schiavon said the downsize is due to a switch to remote work during the pandemic that continues today in a hybrid form, with the company’s 550 local employees coming in to the office a few days a month, depending on job role and seniority.
Alberto Schiavon
Schiavon said Elephant moved into remote work even before the pandemic with its Texas office, which it has since closed. The company sells insurance in eight states and has 600 employees companywide.
At Deep Run I, Schiavon said, “We had an office that was designed to be for 100 percent of the employees, 100 percent of the time, and with that, there was a higher cost. There was some of the space that wasn’t used. Frankly, it was a very comfortable, nice office, but it wasn’t necessarily prone to collaboration and teamwork. Not enough meeting rooms.”
With its lease there set to run out, the company worked with Colliers in its search for a new office, which it found in the single-level Park Central space.
“We knew that we wanted to go to a lower space. Also, space that we could really do the most that we wanted and have a little bit of character and make it our own,” Schiavon said. “In the prior office, we had a great time, but there were some limitations because we were part of a bigger contract, and now we don’t have those.
“The place is great. We’re not that far from the old office. We didn’t want to move that much, mostly because many employees have also bought houses in the proximity of the old office. We didn’t want to make them commute or make it too hard,” he said. “We explored a couple options and this is the one that worked best.”
Elephant is leasing the space from a division of New York-based The Baker Cos., which owns and manages the park. The 100-acre park is planned for a 14-acre addition and is near the massive GreenCity site, where an arena-anchored mixed-use development is in the works.
Schiavon said the proximity to GreenCity was a consideration in its selection.
“It feels like it is an area that in the years ahead is probably going to be in a better spot than it is today, so we’re lucky to be on the ground floor,” he said.
The Park Central V building totals 40,000 square feet. (Photo courtesy Elephant Insurance)
While the space serves as Elephant’s home base and sole office, the company has expanded its underwriting service area in recent years to include Ohio and Georgia. It’s also licensed to sell auto insurance in Maryland, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee, in addition to Texas and Virginia.
Schiavon said Elephant insures about 56,000 vehicles locally, up from over 28,000 in 2018. He said its annual revenue last year was projected to reach $320 million, up from $207 million in 2017.
In recent years, Schiavone said the company has made investments in its website and improved self-service capabilities for customers. He said economic forces that came with the pandemic have proved challenging but said the company has managed its way through it.
“Inflation was hitting cars particularly heavily, so we are seeing some of that,” he said. “But we have managed the challenge very effectively, and according to some benchmarks, somewhat better than the market as well, so we’re pretty proud of that.”
A subsidiary of United Kingdom-based Admiral Group PLC, whose brands include a UK version of Elephant and locally based Compare.com, Elephant entered the U.S. market in 2009, quickly outgrowing an office near Innsbrook and moving to Deep Run I in 2014.
The length of its Park Central lease and other terms were not disclosed.
Holy COW that is an almost 80% reduction in office space and it is not due to revenue or staffing reductions. Landlords, bankers, and brokers in the commercial space have got to be nervous as I don’t see an full return to office ever happening. I wonder how many other spaces across RVA are going to see similar changes in the next few years as leases and subleases expire.