Economical Insurance Auto Insurance Reviews

I was rear-ended by one of their policyholders from Canada while they were visiting the US. Ever since then every day has been an absolute nightmare. This insurance group is awful. 72 hours over the phone in a week mostly on hold or in transferred calls and I still have no more information or assistance than I did the day of the accident. They haven't even sent anyone out to look at the car. They refused to offer rental assistance and could care any less about the loss of use or injuries.

I was a customer with Economical for 4 years. Never made a claim, only had minor infractions, and never paid less than $200/month for bare-bones liability only. It's worth noting I never missed or was late on payment either. At the time of renewal, I cancelled my policy for a better rate elsewhere. Cancellation in itself was a mess as Economical was difficult about releasing my information to my new provider. Also, if you've ever been on hold with Economical, you know it's a long, physically painful process. The waiting music (that you'll listen to for an average of 30 minutes per call) sounds like someone recorded elevator music over a car radio. I wasn't notified of any outstanding balance on my account when I cancelled the policy but was sent a letter with the remaining amount on my premium. No big deal, Economical has been taking money automatically from my bank account every month for 4 years now. Surely they'd do the same this time around? Except no -- I was expected to manually pay, which would have been great information to provide when I called to cancel my policy. I paid it online once Economical jumped the gun and threatened me with debt collectors less than a month after my policy expired. Confusingly, Economical promptly returned this final payment to me. According to their letter, I actually didn't owe any money. This was annoying since I was threatened with debt collection just the week before, but I got my money back so no harm is done. Just kidding. Economical forwarded my information to debt collectors for failing to pay my bill. The debt collectors were just as confused as me when I explained that I did pay my bill and the money was returned. I had to forward the debt collectors 7 different documents to prove that I did not, in fact, owe any money. Also, while I don't know this for sure, I think those debt collectors sold my phone number to telemarketers because I've been getting phone calls from mysterious numbers non-stop since this all started. Really great, Economical, I appreciate that. Essentially what happened is that Economical's automated system didn't detect I was making a payment on my 2018-2019 premium and instead attributed it to the 2019-2020 renewal that I cancelled. Let's be clear here: Economical doesn't have a real, living human review your account before sending your information to debt collectors. Even a cursory glance at my account history could have prevented this issue. By this point, I've been dealing with the ramifications of cancelling my policy for three months. Three months. All I wanted was assurance that changes would be made to their system to prevent this from happening to others. That's all I wanted and I would have been satisfied. However, Economical couldn't even lie to me about promising that. At the end of my experience, I spoke with three different Economical representatives about getting this resolved so it wouldn't happen again. Instead, all three representatives echoed the same sentiment: "We're sorry! Have you considered speaking to our billing department to pay the balance (again)?" There was no assurance anything would change to prevent others from having debt collectors called on them for system errors. The apologies did not seem genuine and all Economical was concerned with was getting their money - again. In fact, to re-make this payment I had to call and make the payment manually because even Economical couldn't trust their online system to not mess up again. If you have the option, do not associate with Economical. They don't care about their customers, they only care about their customers' money. They're the embodiment of opportunistic bottom-feeders. If their system messes up, you'll spend three months navigating yourself through a resolution to the problem or face the call of debt collectors - probably both.

I was a customer with Economical for 4 years. Never made a claim, only had minor infractions, and never paid less than $200/month for bare-bones liability only. It's worth noting I never missed or was late on payment either. At the time of renewal, I cancelled my policy for a better rate elsewhere. Cancellation in itself was a mess as Economical was difficult about releasing my information to my new provider. Also, if you've ever been on hold with Economical, you know it's a long, physically painful process. The waiting music (that you'll listen to for an average of 30 minutes per call) sounds like someone recorded elevator music over a car radio. I wasn't notified of any outstanding balance on my account when I cancelled the policy but was sent a letter with the remaining amount on my premium. No big deal, Economical has been taking money automatically from my bank account every month for 4 years now. Surely they'd do the same this time around? Except no -- I was expected to manually pay, which would have been great information to provide when I called to cancel my policy. I paid it online once Economical jumped the gun and threatened me with debt collectors less than a month after my policy expired. Confusingly, Economical promptly returned this final payment to me. According to their letter, I actually didn't owe any money. This was annoying since I was threatened with debt collection just the week before, but I got my money back so no harm is done. Just kidding. Economical forwarded my information to debt collectors for failing to pay my bill. The debt collectors were just as confused as me when I explained that I did pay my bill and the money was returned. I had to forward the debt collectors 7 different documents to prove that I did not, in fact, owe any money. Also, while I don't know this for sure, I think those debt collectors sold my phone number to telemarketers because I've been getting phone calls from mysterious numbers non-stop since this all started. Really great, Economical, I appreciate that. Essentially what happened is that Economical's automated system didn't detect I was making a payment on my 2018-2019 premium and instead attributed it to the 2019-2020 renewal that I cancelled. Let's be clear here: Economical doesn't have a real, living human review your account before sending your information to debt collectors. Even a cursory glance at my account history could have prevented this issue. By this point, I've been dealing with the ramifications of cancelling my policy for three months. Three months. All I wanted was assurance that changes would be made to their system to prevent this from happening to others. That's all I wanted and I would have been satisfied. However, Economical couldn't even lie to me about promising that. At the end of my experience, I spoke with three different Economical representatives about getting this resolved so it wouldn't happen again. Instead, all three representatives echoed the same sentiment: "We're sorry! Have you considered speaking to our billing department to pay the balance (again)?" There was no assurance anything would change to prevent others from having debt collectors called on them for system errors. The apologies did not seem genuine and all Economical was concerned with was getting their money - again. In fact, to re-make this payment I had to call and make the payment manually because even Economical couldn't trust their online system to not mess up again. If you have the option, do not associate with Economical. They don't care about their customers, they only care about their customers' money. They're the embodiment of opportunistic bottom-feeders. If their system messes up, you'll spend three months navigating yourself through a resolution to the problem or face the call of debt collectors - probably both.

In December 2018, I had a trip to Montreal with my friends. On the way back, an 82-year old man changed his lane without checking the blind point and hit my car. We reported this case to the Montreal Police. And contacted Economical Insurance. This company tried everything not to solve this problem, and simply pay money to the old man, put all the responsibility on me. Due to this case, I repaired my car by myself and my insurance rate went high. February 2019, I cancelled the policy with them. Now is May 2019, they had $390 payment on my credit card. I was so shocked, if I didn't check my credit card transactions, I won't find out it. I tried to contact them, the thing is that they won't take your call forever. Friends, simply suggestion, just don't be a customer of them. They are a horrible company!

You would think that being with a company for 3 years and being diligent each month making payments would make a difference, but they literally don’t care at all. Firstly, good luck calling these people. You’ll be waiting at least a half an hour for someone to pick up, which is absolutely pathetic. Secondly, I called to see if I can have an extension of ONE DAY for my car insurance, as I know it’ll come out tomorrow and due to having to fix my car, I won’t have the funds in my account. Trying to avoid an unnecessary NSF fee, I called to see if I could have a one-day extension as I get paid in one day and will have the money! Told me there was nothing they could do for me, and that the payment will be coming out and I will likely get an NSF. Sad that there’s literally nothing you can do about it, even when you try to reason with people for something that seems pretty reasonable. Will be looking at other insurance companies, this one is pathetic.

I found that they accommodated me when I was a high-risk driver, but after I was conviction-free for five years, not shortly after I had an accident. Seeing as the accident was between hours I had to call the "after hours" line. I called that morning for a claim and one was started with no issues. Problem was, I didn't have all the information at the time due to the accident being on a highway. I was told that she would send off my information and I would receive a call from an auditor to get the rest of the info. I waited two weeks, because it was xmas time, still no call. I called every week for 10 weeks following an hour on hold, each time. Wasted 10 hours of my life on hold with these folks. I was 15 mins away on this final call before I was actually going to head to the main office and demand someone help me. Finally got a hold them a couple of weeks ago, only to be told that the tow yards usually charge $60 / DAY for storage fees. So to aid my now +$2000 bill with the tow yards, the CSR sells them MY car to pay for it. I then had to pay the Tow bill, which was another $600 because I wasn't covered for weather. Now that I have a new car, and new coverage (for the time being), they are still charging me $250 a month for my OLD car on top of the payments I am making for my NEW car! Sneaky people, with next to none customer service skills. I hope you miss my money

I recently moved to Ontario from Australia, where I have been driving for 5 years and consider myself to be a well-experienced driver, and began a policy with Economical. At first, it seemed like a great policy and everything was fine. About a week ago, I received a letter in the mail that explained that my insurance policy was being cancelled due to a failure of payment. The letter was dated the same day that the payment was due. I immediately contacted the company to clear things up and make sure I could pay my "failed" payment and continue my policy. However, when I called and was connected to one of the customer service agents, I explained my situation and asked why it wasn't possible for the company to contact me in regards to my failed payment in any other manner than a letter in the mail, keeping in mind that they had both a phone number and email on file too. The representative informed me that I had been sent three letters about the payment, which was false as I never received any other form of communication, and would not explain to me the process or what I could do to fix it. After trying to reason with her and get my policy back on track, she very rudely told me that there wasn't anything that could happen. I never received a policy package from the company, which is vital for every insurance company, and was never informed that something like this could happen. I am extremely disappointed at the level of customer service behind the company and am appalled that they would treat any "valued customer" in this manner. I was under the impression that companies like this would try and do whatever in their means to keep customers instead of pushing them away. If you are looking for a well-communicated insurance company, I would recommend looking absolutely anywhere else, even if the premium cost is higher!

I only wish there was an option to leave a 0-star review. This insurance company is a bunch of crooks! They are only decent if you never have to contact them or make a claim. BUT, the purpose of insurance is just-in-case, right? So you want a company that answers the phone or email and provides the service that you are paying for... I filed a claim for a fairly minor accident that I was not at fault for. It took 2 weeks to get a claim number and begin the process. They required I get an estimate at their partnered shop that is not even qualified or set up to fix my car. In the meantime, I got an estimate at a qualified shop and provided it to Economical for approval (still not approved). 8 weeks later after trying to contact them countless times, they reach out claiming the other insurance company wants me to admit fault. I referenced them back to the police report, detailed witness statements and the other drivers statement all admitting the other driver at fault. They backed off. 2 Weeks after that Economical called and said my car was a write-off (sight unseen). I asked how a car worth $36,000 with $6000 worth of damage could be a write-off and they replied, "it's just easier this way." I asked how much the settlement would be and they said it needed to be evaluated but probably around $4000-$6000. I said: absolutely not! It's now 6 months later and I haven't been able to get in contact with them since. What a joke of a company! I have read my contract in detail. A lawyer has reviewed my case and what they are doing is in fact illegal. Read other reviews, you won't find a single positive one.

This company should be awarded “THE WINNER OF THE WORST IN CUSTOMER SERVICE” If you had to deal with this company when you needed customer service, you would have had them all fired. Its as if your company seeks and hires only the laziest people on the planet. No one returns calls, no one picks up their phone when customers call, and absolutely no one reply to emails. It has been 7 weeks without my car and no communication as to why there is a delay. I drove by a dealership on the weekend and noticed my car parked in their parking lot and can’t find anyone to explain why AND why after seven weeks I don’t have my car back. I have called and called, emailed back to back every day and NO ONE has contacted me. I figured I’d leave my very first review in my life before my fingers fall off. I have not missed a penny paying my premiums. I am not going to continue this relationship longer and after reading all these reviews I would suggest that others do the same. You should fire all those lazy people you have working for you. If they can’t do the job, then get someone who can. In my forty years of driving, I’ve had 4 claims. This claim takes the cake!

I have been waiting for 48 minutes on a call where they said over 10 minute wait time. They were right! So far 40 minutes and still no answer...the service expectation is less than desirable.