Economical Insurance Auto Insurance Reviews
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After a car accident, I suffered a herniated disc. I was unable to walk, sit, stand, dress, perform any sort of activity of a normal life. I contacted my physiotherapist as I do not have a doctor who will listen. I was told to ask my pharmacist what to do. In order to get to my physio appointments, I had to lay down in the back of my car as I couldn't sit upright at all. I was not at fault for the car accident. I was granted coverage for physio. Thanks to COVID 19 my clinic ended up closing down for 4 months dramatically hindering my recovery. Any compassionate human would take this into consideration but not Economical! I have been repeatedly harassed by a representative demanding my full medical history for the past FOUR YEARS which is not relevant to this case. He continues to harass me and demand sensitive medical information and accuses a "pre-existing condition" for my need for continued care. I will not hand over those files as they are none of their business. My physiotherapist has all the evidence required and should be enough. I would not need continued treatment if I had not been set back 4 months thanks to COVID. Apparently, that doesn't matter. He's looking for any excuse possible to get rid of my claim. I'm being harassed and treated like a criminal.
Nobody likes insurance companies, but Economical is in a class of their own. We had a single-car accident that they refused to pay out or even cover car rental ($45,000 car value). You have to book a phone call a few days in advance via email. When you finally get to speak to a representative, they are evasive, manipulative and dishonest. They had us running around picking up the police report for them and filling out excessive and redundant paperwork, anything to discourage the claim from moving forward. They even threatened that our claim would "go on the back burner" if we didn't comply with their demands quickly enough. They raised our rates by $1000 per year and messed up the details on the paperwork for our policy. Economical is a predatory insurance company that illustrates why car insurance should be a publicly held institution. You pay in, but you cannot collect.
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DO NOT TRUST THESE THIEVES! I am a 60 years old male that has one accident non-fault in 1978, perfect driving record. Was with the same broker for 23yrs+. Home, Buss. three vehicles full coverage. Claim free. Four years ago was switched Economical Insurance without my consent. Though a lower rate was offered, I had reservations. Since then the rate has doubled! March returned home discovered large dent on drivers door 2 years old truck . Upset, but not surprised in too days society. Contacted broker. Not to worry full coverage we will take care of it. Contacted 4 days later by Kelly. Was basically interrogated rude condescending attitude for 45min. Insinuated that it was I that had slid sideways into another vehicle and failed to contact police file report informed Kelly that it would be up to the adjuster to determine. Contacted broker informed agent of conversation, was told that we have no control who the adjuster will be. Emailed photos of the damage, statement. Waited for response & waited & waited. Contacted broker 2nd week May. No problem we will take care of it. Call not returned. Contacted Kelly 5 times by email no less than 10 phone messages & to other Economical representatives that just blew me off, between June & Aug. 30. Numerous attempts to resolve this matter was ignored by my trusted family broker, one excuse after another over a three month period! During this time I got a price from two body shops $3300& $3600. What kind of Corporation would offer forgivable first claim? Insult the client to the point of legal action. Not even inspect, asses the damage. Would it not be a good buss. payout a minor claim of $3600 ($500 deduct) and keep the premiums flowing in. Guess not at Economical Insurance. Received renewal on Sept 2 and to insult me more Economical attempted to raise my premium by all most 30 %. I had already contacted another Insurance provider in July and received a substantial $ 1000+ lower rate. I have had the repair done at my own expense. Cancelled home buss. vehicle coverage by Broker, Economical in a total of $4400 annually. Just before deciding to warn others, and my 5-star negative experience with unethical business practices of Economical Insurance. My broker that I considered family friends, contacted me wanting to know if the service I received prompted me to seek other Insurance providers. YES!
As far as I am concerned, this company is an absolute scam. My car has been hit almost a month ago at no fault of my own and we have gotten absolutely nowhere. They don’t even have the common decency to answer my calls, emails or even letters. They wrote my $12,000 car off as a “total loss” due to $1,500 worth of damage and have offered me less than half for my car. I have gotten the car appraised by another appraiser as well as multiple quotes from autobody shops and they all have said that the damages do not exceed $1,500 and that in no way is it a write-off. However, their appraiser claims the damages are higher than $5,800. In the beginning, they assured me a rental until my car was fixed (which was originally supposed to be middle of the month) but once they wrote it off two weeks before my rental was due to go back, they insisted that I had one day to return my rental. Despite all of that they even tried to tow my car off of the autobody lot before they even told me that it was wrote off. I so frustrated with this company and have no hope that this whole process will be settled soon based on their behaviour. This company does not care about their client's wellbeing. Insurance is supposed to be there as a “just in case” to assure the client's protection in situations such as accidents. I can’t even fathom the way I have been treated throughout this whole process, especially from the representative in the total loss department.
Had an accident. Had some injuries and they offered me physio and massage, but never followed through, and never sent me the forms. On the vehicle side of things they were of no help, wouldn't call the body shop back or the tow truck company or me. I have been with this company for almost 20 years and my family has been with them for over 40. They used to be ok, but now the company runs things more like scam artists.
Economical - sure they're cheap - but believe me when I say, when you need them the most, they'll simply leave you hanging.
Only when you are faced-off against the insurance company, will you realize how powerless we as consumers actually are - laws written by the insurance industry ... for the insurance industry!
Of all the complaints of home and auto claims, from people I know, about 20 in total, all but one was with Economical.
For one case, a near fatal car crash by an impaired driver.
It took 5 yrs to settle - fighting with their own insurance provider - Economical!
Economical will try to hold out to force the insured into taking a far lesser settlement. Economic duress is just one of the tools they employ - all very legal - naturally! All very sneaky - all very calculated and deliberate!
Horrible experience - they try every angle to wiggle out of liability.
I imagine most of the insurance industry is similar - but the vast majority of complaints I am aware of was with Economical - including family members.
If you have an older vehicle, say more than 5 years - and happen to be in an accident, no fault of your own, Economic provides little regard to anything other than the blue-book price - no matter how good a condition the car was prior. The same vehicle that you could have driven for years to come, with only maintenance costs, will see you forced you into a new/used car payment - in the end be prepared to loss money - again no fault of your own.
The province sold the farm when no-fault laws were passed ... by the insurance industry, for the insurance industry ... on our kind behalf!
Know the fine print and be sure to reference feedback by other consumers. Full credit to this website serving as a consumer forum.
Experiences, comments, and opinions of the author.
Be forewarned - cheap isn't cheap - when it comes to insurance!
Total loss on my car, not my fault. They wouldn't cover for my storage at the body shop it was at, wouldn't pay for my repairs that was done on my vehicle (e.g. new engine & transmission).Wouldn’t pay for my child seats that was in the car. They didn't care about my injuries that I sustained in my accident and was only concerned about cutting costs on their end which ever way they can. Adjusters Ricardo and Shalini (extremely rude) and the whole company was just trying to take advantage of me on my first accident example by asking me "if I'm injured why do I have a rental? "You should return it if you not going to use it. Why does it matter if I have a rental I'm entitled to it under my policy and I can have it parked the whole time at my House or drive all over with it. It’s up to me on what I want to do with it.
Claim #1193XXX
I got in a no fault accident on my side. The car was brand new - I literally bought it 27 days before the accident. I paid $23,500 for the car.
The car was totalled - air bags went off etc. I asked for a cash out so I can buy a new car. Yet I was refused.
Instead of getting a cash out for 23,500 plus tax ( about 26,000). The insurance company repaired the car for about $23,000 plus paid $3000-4000 of rentals etc. Which totalled more than what the car was worth.
This insurance company is by far the worst I had to deal with. The basically steered me to go to a "preferred shop" by claiming that my repair claim wont be guaranteed or that I may not be fully covered and extra prices might be charged to me.
So I went with the shop that they suggested and when I received the car it was so poorly reassembled and they didn't do all the work. They also used a non certified aftermarket part even though I was told verbally that it would all be OE and everything would be fixed to my satisfaction. They played the "You signed the agreement" card to try to wipe their hands clean.
When I complained the insurance company told me I was ungrateful and selfish for complaining. They didn't take my complaint seriously until I told them that I was forced to go there and that if they don't restore my car to pre-accident condition that I would be following suit for both them steering me to a preferred shop and approving non certified parts onto my car. Not long after they agreed. I know its mostly the body shop I went to that should be blamed but I have to blame the insurance company for forcing me to go there and not taking responsibility and pushing the blame over to me.
I have since changed companies and even though most companies are the same the one I am with now is a little better.
Remember to always go to a dealership with their own body shop that only uses OEM parts. NEVER agree to use a preferred shop.
After being injured in a car accident a claim was filed for my physiotherapy treatment. I suffered extreme whiplash and a herniated disc which required me to need help with every single aspect of living. I lost 4 months of treatment due to the pandemic closure. Things were going fine with the company until we got close to the end of my benefits. I have not recovered from my injuries due to the pandemic closure and require more time. My adjuster decided to cut me off early. He refused my physios treatment plan. He claimed to have spoken with my provider which my physiotherapist can confirm is a lie. He claimed that my treatment plan would be approved. Another lie. He continued to send harassing and threatening emails stating "let me tell you upfront that this is not the end of the story". This felt like an absolute do what I say threat. He demanded I attend a medical exam with a doctor of his choosing. I was advised by my physiotherapist not to do this as it will not be beneficial to my cause. I am also immune-compromised and have no desire to enter a medical facility during a pandemic. It is not safe for me. I requested that he drop this and leave me alone. I do not need the added stress and anxiety. Today my fiancé received a message from Direct IME, a medical examiner in Markham demanding that I return the call. The adjuster does not have permission whatsoever to give out my fiancé's details to anyone. He was told by multiple individuals to back off and leave me alone but he went ahead with this anyway. This is now just pure harassment on his part. He clearly enjoys making other people stressed and miserable. The audacity of this man is just appalling. Extremely unprofessional and incredibly abusive.