Economical Insurance Auto Insurance Reviews

They deserve less than 1 star, but unfortunately 0 stars is not an option!

I was involved in a hit and run accident in which my car door was dented. I spoke to people at the insurance company 4 times, while I was debating whether or not to make a claim. Each time, they promised me that because it was a hit and run, my rates would not go up. I was responsible for the deductible but that was it.
I asked them if I could just try and knock the dent out myself, and they said that I could definitely not do that because then if it didn't work, the adjuster might deem it to be not from the accident and it wouldn't be covered. They advised me to get it fixed as soon as possible.
I went ahead on their advice and got it fixed.

The day I was due to pick the car up, someone from Economical called me and said that they were wrong, and that now they had decided that I was at fault in the hit and run, and that my rates would go up accordingly because I had made a claim. I told him that I never would have put in the claim knowing that, and that they promised me this wouldn't happen. I asked him if he could go back and review our phone calls as they were "recorded for quality assurance". He said he would. I asked him if he could send me a copy, and he said he could not do that as they were for internal use only. I asked about the "Quality assurance", and he responded "that is for OUR quality assurance, not your quality assurance".

I then told him what one of his workers had said about the knocking out of the dent, and he directly contradicted what I had been told by someone else. He said that I should have tried to knock the dent out myself, and they still would have covered it.

They basically encouraged me to make a claim, promising me that it wouldn't make a difference to my rates, and then directly went back on their words. I am immediately switching insurance companies, and I will forever suggest to my friends that they do not use Economical!

My rate went up dramatically because I moved. Now they want a $600 cancellation fee.

Economical Insurance is a company that should not exist. Over a year ago I was in a car accident and I am still dealing the aftermath with my Insurance. I have made only one claim with them because of my accident. Just recently they send me a letter in the mail stating that I have exceeded the "allowable risk factors" and I can no longer be insured with them. Note that I only ever made one claim. Customer service is dreadful as they do not explain their policy's right and the only way to find clear answers is to speak with management.

Ever since I have been insured with this company I always felt like I was being robbed. Before the accident I was paying around $250 a month to insure my vehicle which was a 1999 Chevy. After the accident I had to purchase another vehicle. It took a lot of hassle just to get the company to give me money for my old car which was a total loss. After my new car was purchased ( a 2013 Chrysler) my insurance went through the roof. My premium changed drastically. They adjusted it to be almost $700 a month!!!! What was really bizarre is this was adjusted because of the change of vehicle. The accident wasn't even accounted for yet until the next renewal period. I called to complain about this, and it was actually their fault because of false information in their file.

Any adjustment were sent to me in a very untimely manner. I would receive adjustments to my policy in the mail toward the end of the month when my monthly payment was due. It was ridiculous.

Overall the experience I had with Economical's auto insurance is so below standards that I wish it didn't exist. I actually had more stress dealing with these people than dealing with my well-being after my accident. It was a nightmare. I suggest anyone to stay away from this un-economical and unsatisfying auto insurance company!

I switched over to Economical because my wife's company got a discount. Apparently, it only lasts a year because when I got my renewal (Home and Auto), it increased by almost $1000 annually! We have perfect records and absolutely nothing changed. Potentially an issue is where I live (Brampton/Mississauga) but I've never in 20+ years of driving had an increase like this without a reason. I was told by other insurers that Economical took on A LOT of high-risk drivers and guess who's paying for it... EVERY ONE of their policyholders. My broker was also useless saying it was happening all over Ontario but I was able to get another policy elsewhere for the same premium!

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!

Middle of August I had taken a car off the road and purchased a new vehicle. They wouldn't allow me to remove the car not in use of my policy until I sold/scrapped it. Fine. He also provided me with an approximate amount I would be paying in insurance on my new vehicle. When he emailed me my policy slips it ended up being $100 higher than stated. Again irritating but I accepted it. Then being 7 months pregnant and having to abruptly go on sick leave due to complications in my pregnancy needed to switch my payment dates from the beginning of the month to closer to the end of the month I ended up just choosing the 20th. When choosing the date the horrible agent I was dealing with NEVER advised me that because my policy is up for renewal February 18 and they wouldn't be able to charge me for that month that they would double-bill be for the month of September having to pay over $400 in car insurance that I couldn't afford. Of course, if I would have been advised especially given my situation I never would have agreed to this. When speaking to billing they even told me he should have advised me of this. Instead, he just sent me an invoice that came with my new policy papers that on the 2nd or 3rd page states the amounts that would be withdrawn from my account in September. And unless you are purposely looking for that never would have noticed or realized especially when you are trusting in your agent to not screw you over. He then tried to defend himself stating he was unaware that I would be double-billed for the month of September and there was nothing he could do for me. Isn't that his job? I don't work in insurance or billing how would I as a customer be aware of this unless I am advised. Horrible horrible service. I will be cancelling my insurance with them come to my renewal date and DO not recommend this company to anyone!

Wrote my truck off, gave me maybe %80 of the value and refused to even consider my concerns, resulted in me needing to finance a vehicle that didn't suit my needs at all (going from a 7000lb towing capacity to 1500lbs) They use an appraising system that assumes selling prices off of AutoTrader from within 100's of km from your area. Trucks in the rural area I live, in the condition mine, was in are not cheap and hard to come by, I am not driving 300kms to look at a truck that might be as nice with 280K on it when mine had 160K on it. They write things off and send them to auction with minimal damage as they know they'll recoup more of their loss at auction and they won't let you buy your vehicle back once they've decided this(which seems illegal to me, I intend on contacting FSCO about this) The ONLY thing they were efficient with, was setting up a rental car, that was quick and easy. They are not a good company, rates are good currently, but if I had to choose, they would be on the bottom of my list, pay a little more, go to Aviva, Intact, ANY Mutual, even CAA. Economical is right in the same category as TD, Desjardins, Sonnet, Bel-Air, yes they're cheap, but trust me, you're paying for it, one way or another.

Spoke with the agent on getting a second vehicle insured over the phone, she said 350 per month. When I received the email - it said 475 per month. This is very disturbing. If calling, please, record your conversation with them. They claim all calls are recorded which is not true. Very dishonest people. I will cancel on my next renewal.

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!

Please think it over, and choose a different provider, this is a great product until you need it. They really tried to screw us but I think we avoided the worst of it by continuing to push back. It does take its toll on you. This is an abbreviation of events we experienced, sorry for the long story, We’ve been with this company for two years with home and auto. The price was better than anybody as a result of an employee discount provided to the Airline that I work for. My wife was hit by a car while crossing an intersection. She was not at fault. Her car was drivable if you crawled in from the passenger side of the vehicle. Not knowing what to do with the damaged car she returned home after the police report was completed and called the insurance to begin the claim process. A message was left, and a day and a half later no reply so we called our broker and shortly after a claims advisor returned the call. We have vehicle loss of use insurance but were told a rental would be given until our car was under repair. I was told to go get some estimates. Got 4 then was told the estimates were no good because the shops charge more than $77 an hr. Still no rental car, and I feel like we’re being run around. After a lengthy argument about the purpose of loss of use coverage and insurance itself, they agreed to provide a rental car...almost a week after the accident. In exchange, we must leave the car at a repair facility. A repair shop was chosen and the car was left there in order to get the rental. Then, Economical didn’t like the estimated cost of repair and sent there own field adjuster to write up an estimate. This took a week and a half and there was a difference in costs due to the shop rate and what comical will pay. Economical wanted us to pay $3200.00 to cover the difference in charges. Unbelievable! So, remember that we did get a rental, they place a time limit on it, and we are now into the 3 weeks of 4 weeks allowed. The car hasn’t even begun to get fixed. As a last resort, I asked for the claims advisor for the at-fault party (another Insurance) and picked up the phone, explained the problem to her, I said there is a shortcoming of about $3200 from what economical will pay due to labour charges. She put me on hold and came back and said: “we’ll cover that go ahead with the repair”. That easy! The car begins to be repaired, parts ordered, etc. Now over a month since the accident. Rental car company calls and says, they need the payment for the rental car or return it, Economical only pays $ 900 worth of the rental. Again I call another insurance company advisor and ask to have that covered by them... No problem! Why is it I’m the one that had to do all these steps. I don’t do insurance for a living, that's why I bought insurance! You’d think that that economical would take care of the details like these. Nope! I did call them multiple times and never, never reached a live agent on the first try, always leave a message and we’ll call you back! Almost 2 months since the accident the car is fixed and we are back to driving our car. I now have an uneasy feeling about our current situation because we are still covered by this company and can’t switch companies until it expires without incurring a large penalty for cancelling in the middle of the policy year. Bottom line “You get what you pay for!”