You can express the concept of "21st Century Insurance"
in American Sign Language using a combination of the following
signs:
21
AUTO
"-st"
The number 21 is pretty straightforward, you just do the typical
version of 21 that starts with an "L" hand (and looks as if you are
holding a "gun") and bends the thumb (at the large knuckle) twice.
Sure, there are some people who do a ""V"-"1" to mean "21" but I
don't recommend that version in this situation.
The sign for "century" is done by holding a "C" handshape in the air (palm forward, as if spelling the letter "C"). Then you draw a small circle with that "C" hand as if you were standing before a blackboard (or whiteboard or smartboard) and drawing an 4-centimeter diameter (couple inches) circle with your thumb.
To sign "company" (in this situation) you just spell the letters "C-O."
The concept of "insurance" is signed by holding up an "i" hand and shaking it a couple of centimeters side to side. The movement distance is "very" short. The point is to show an "i" in the air not to wave it around. Do not move it forward and back, nor in a circle. Remember in the old days when people used pencils with erasers? Remember how it felt to erase something with a pencil? That rapid back and forth little scrubbing movement used to erase a single word on a piece of paper. That is sort of what it feels like when doing the sign for "insurance." The "i" hand is held upright, palm-forward (as if spelling the letter "i").
Now, regarding how to handle the "-st" portion of "21st." You have a couple of options. Option 1 is to ignore it and simply sign "21 CENTURY INSURANCE." If the person has any prior knowledge of that company then he or she will know what you mean and you will have successfully communicated.
However, if you are describing the name of a business or company for the first time and you want to be precise then you can go ahead and sign 21 then fingerspell "st" and then sign "century" and "insurance." I would also begin the whole phrase with "QUOTE" marks to make it clear that I'm deliberately being very precise.
Also, while discussing this topic you may find yourself in need
of the sign for "auto." You should either fingerspell A-U-T-O or do
the sign for CAR. (Or spell car.) I
recommend you spell "auto" at least once near the beginning of the
conversation. Personally I would just spell "auto" each time
and not worry about signing "car" -- unless for some reason my
conversation partner didn't know that "auto" means car -- in which
case I would spell "auto" then quickly follow it up with a slight
forward tilt of the head, a near imperceptible sideways shift of my
body, a direct gaze into the eyes of my conversation partner and a
very, very slight raising of my eyebrows as I signed CAR. All of
those small body movements (non-manual markers) are simply part of
the process of saying that what I just spelled and signed are the
same thing and confirming with my conversation partner that he/she
is following my meaning.
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