About Sheilas' Wheels
All together now, ‘For ladies who insure their cars, Sheilas’ Wheels are superstars…’ Come on, you know the words!
Since Sheilas’ Wheels shook up the women’s car insurance market in October 2005, the Sheilas’ Wheels brand has gone from strength to strength with its catchy jingle and iconic pink, sequin-clad Sheilas. Its popularity and ‘cult status’ even encouraged legendary pop producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman to regroup for the first time since 1993 to launch The Sheilas’ into the pop world with the single: (I’m so) Happy Happy (You’re Mine).
Due to popular demand, the three Sheilas - Cathi Ogden, Carly Romain and Emma Robbins – also have an official fan site for all things Sheila with photos, lyrics, downloads of the adverts, the jingle and lots more. Visit www.ilovesheilas.com.
If you haven’t heard of Sheilas’ Wheels – where have you been? No, we're not Australian and we don't sell insurance in Australia.
When we were thinking about launching car insurance designed especially for women in the UK we were struck by the fact that Australia is one of the only places in the world where one woman's name is an expression used to refer to all women. We also liked the rhyming feel of "Sheilas' Wheels" and the scope for a great ad. So the name was born.
Did you know that Sheilas' Wheels is actually a brand of esure - one of the UK's leading direct insurers? esure offers not only car insurance, but home insurance, pet and travel too. esure has always recognised the importance of ensuring that women get a great deal when buying insurance. In 2004, esure strongly opposed an EU directive that would have seen women forced to subsidise men through their car insurance premiums.
The idea for Sheilas' Wheels grew from research we carried out at that time. We found that women claim less, are responsible for far fewer driving convictions and have attitudes towards cars, driving and other road users that are often more considered than those of their male counterparts. We wanted to reward these differences and decided that we needed a new brand and a whole new look for car insurance for women to make it happen. Through esure, Sheilas’ Wheels is also part of the HBOS Group (Halifax Bank of Scotland) - the UK’s 5th largest bank.
When we were designing the Sheilas’ Wheels car insurance product we wanted to offer a great deal to women buying car insurance - in terms of price, benefits and service.
Sheilas’ Wheels recognised that women are far more likely to carry a bag containing their purses and valuables with them when driving. Our handbag cover is offered as part of our standard car insurance policy (comprehensive cover only) with a limit of up to £300 – which is in addition to a ‘personal belongings’ limit of up to £200 – for handbags stolen from the car.
Repairers were another bone of contention. That’s why Sheilas’ Wheels exclusively uses ‘female-friendly’ car repairers who receive additional guidelines and advice to be more receptive to women’s needs. They follow a code of practice to better meet the individual requirements of female motorists, such as helping with child car seats, arranging visits to fit around school runs, offering flexible drop-off and pick-up times during daylight hours, and so on.
As part of our standard car insurance policy we also give access to a dedicated counselling line run by trained professionals to help women cope with driving issues such as road rage or the aftermath of an accident (comprehensive cover only),
In 2008, we followed on from the huge success of our car insurance by launching Sheilas’ Wheels home insurance. True, your home isn’t exactly on wheels but as so many people had responded so well to the Sheilas’ Wheels brand we felt that they’d probably like us to offer home insurance with similarly enlightened benefits. Sheilas’ Wheels home insurance includes some great female-friendly benefits such as new-for-old cover for clothes. When you purchase a Sheilas’ Wheels home insurance policy you can also register for free online access to identity fraud detection and assistance.
So...all in all, a fabulous brand, tailored benefits and competitive cover designed from the bottom up with women in mind. That's Sheilas' Wheels!
