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Economical Insurance Auto Insurance Reviews

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(229 reviews)
Economical Insurance
1.4 out of 5 stars:
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Sub-standard Service

by James on Apr 7, 2017
2.5 out of 5 stars

I had 2 vehicles insured with economical for a few years before realizing I was paying too much! Possibly my broker should be blamed! Nonetheless I have cancelled my policies and moved to better rates and customer service.

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Penalties

by plain language on Dec 9, 2016
1 out of 5 stars

Since economical rates increased to a ridiculous rate I requested my broker explore other options prior to resigning for a new term and let me know the cost. this was not done. Then rates increased again so I asked what would be any penalty I may incur if I switched and to please find a better provider.
The broker was no help so I switched myself to TD as it had the best rates and user friendly language. I was told the penalty for cancelation by my broker and when the final bill arrived it was double that amount. Although I had prepaid for the final month they claimed "the time at risk" was not actually covered by my pre payment and the penalty now had an additional 50% that would be charged. I had been with this broker, now bought out by RJ Gallagher, for thirty years never a missed payment, however when the bill arrived it had threatening collection notice language in large print and no explanation for the additional costs.

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Horrible insurance

by Shannon on Jul 21, 2016
1 out of 5 stars

I had my car/home/company insurance with these ppl, and they are horrible. They charged me extra amount for moving, without me even getting the notice of new assessment. Stay away from it.

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WORST COMPANY EVER

by Allison on Jul 5, 2016
1 out of 5 stars

Don't ever get involved with this company. They put your rates through the roof and try to charge you way more money than you should be paying! I am paying over $300 less per month with Desjardins than with Economical for the same car in the same address with the same work distance and the same drivers. Economical comes with two hour long holds and unexpectedly high rates which they will refuse to explain to you. I have spoken to managers and still they offer no explanations for any changes in price other than vague statements. I have also been hung up on by brokers they use in KTX. (Whose customer service is horrific as well by the way) NEVER trust this company for your insurance. EVER! Absolute bullshit service. I'm very pissed off at this company.

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Economical - Liars & Scammers!

by Sherry on Mar 24, 2016
1 out of 5 stars

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!

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Disgustingly Incompetent

by In Disbelief on Dec 2, 2015
1 out of 5 stars

My parents put me on their insurance policy so that I could practice for my G2 while I had my G1. Not only was the insurance ridiculously pricey, but they tried to scam my parents into paying for my insurance after I switched companies. My parents called in to ask about the process for removing me from the insurance, and even asked if they needed to change ownership before or after. Then, they wrote on their first bill after their term was up that I was no longer on their policy and had my own. Now, two months later they are trying to charge my parents the cost of insuring me for 2months as primary driver on my vehicle. First, this is crazy as I own the vehicle now, and it is impossible for my parents to insure it since they do not own it. I do not live with my parents, I live 30 mins away. Also my parents informed them I was to be removed from the policy TWICE- in writing, and on the phone two months ago. Now they are demanding proof of my new insurance or they are going to charge my parents almost $600. I sent in a copy of the pink slip to my new insurance policy with the date and company and my name and vehicle description showing. I blocked off my address and policy number because I do not think that is their business. They told me that was sufficient, and it would be dealt with, then the next day called and said they needed my policy number. I asked why and what they were going to do with it and they said nothing. I asked to speak to a manager and 5 days later have not been able to talk to one. This company is a scam. Choose someone else for your car insurance! It is really expensive and the customer service is abominable!

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Bad driving record? Your insurance rates can be double the standard insurance rate. Let us help you get the better auto insurance rate without breaking the bank.

Worst insurer ever

by tay.b on Sep 28, 2015
1.5 out of 5 stars

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

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Really went to bat for us

by Raff on Sep 24, 2015
5 out of 5 stars

We insured our Nissan Xterra Off-road with economical after a big blowout with AMA (they cancelled our insurance (& didn't notify us) because they tried to take whole annual premium out at once, instead of monthly payments. Obviously it was NSF.)
About 4-5 months after signing with Economical, my husband had his first accident (ever) when he had black ice, slid off the road and hit a tree.... On December 22 at 10pm. Economical (and everyone else) was closed for the holidays so we filed police report and waited until they reopened to file a claim. They were polite to deal with and were understanding of the situation. They took time to explain the process to us and make sure we were comfortable as we had never had to do an insurance claim before and really had no clue what are were doing. They recommended we deal with one of thier preferred garages (Boyds Autobody) for the repairs so we agreed and the vehicle was picked up by a flatbed in January when the shop opened be the adjustor gave his numbers.
From that point on, we lived a nightmare. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The shop had trouble finding parts, then the new hood they ordered was cracked, they couldn't find the special tools they needed, the paint shop was overbooked, they found extra damage to the vehicle frame....

Eventually it has been over 2 months and we still didn't have our vehicle back. The rental cars through insurance had run out and the repair shop "doesn't do loaner cars anymore" so we're were stuck borrowing a family members car. We were also supposed to be getting weekly updates from the shop, and tha just want happening so we would pop in every once in a while to get an update (for the first 1.5 months, the vehicle didn't move. Husband marked the tire with chalk because he didn't believe their BS).

Finally got our SUV back after 2 months after a pop in visit & they said they "forgot to call to say it was ready". We got the keys, got in, started it & looked up to see them lock the door & turn the lights off. We then spent 2 days using a vehicle with no heat in -30*C weather waiting for the shop to open on Monday. They told us they forgot to reconnect something with the heater so that was fixed but it still was running way to high - 1000rpm at idle....
Apparently that was due to the engine being cold....

We were extremely leery about it so about a week later, husband took the vehicle to our Nissan dealership to have their repair guys give it a boo. Turns out they put a n improperly sized fan belt on....
Husband called me from dealership and said they were refusing to let him drive it off the lot, I called insurance claim person (side note, during this whole thing, were actually got swapped out to 3 different claims people, but everyone left really good notes so it wasn't a problem) and asked what to do, they said call Boyd's and listen to those instruction; Boyd's said dealership were idiots and to drive out over, even agreeing to all liability of anything happened on route.

On route to Boyd's, the belt blew on the highway, causing a loss in all power steering and braking. The belt ripped off the fan, smashed the radiator and generally undid everything they had just fixed. By sheer luck , husband drifted it into a roadside turn out were I had a very loud, vey heated conversation with Boyd's and they sent a flatbed. Next call was to insurance claims person who immediately apologized and said she was escalating it internally.
The next day, I got a call from the Western Canada VP or Economical Insurance who apologized profusely & essentially asked what we're wanted to do. We weren't comfortable with Boyd's touching the vehicle again so he arranged to have it sent to our dealership for the repairs, a complete review of all of Boyd's work and said that they would be pursuing Boyd's for reimbursement of the cost of this, and Boyd's would be providing us with a rental vehicle until the dealership finished the work.
He also asked for my permission to have a rep from Boyd's get in touch to get details directly from me, which I agreed to. The next day, I spent about 2 hours in a conference call with the Western Canada VP of Economical and the VP of Boyd's Autobody's Canadian branch.
When we picked up our vehicle from the dealership, we found out that they don't actually deal with insurance companies, but Economical had explained the situation and had a money write sent over that morning to pay them before we picked it up.
I was later informed that the manager at the repair shop had been fired over the mess and Boyd's was on Economical's s**tlist as a result.

Couldn't believe how hard the insurance company fought for us, especially only after a couple of months on the policy.
Ooh, and did I mention when it came time to renew the policy the next year, out premiums actually went DOWN!

We have since added a second vehicle to the policy and have our house insurance with them as well.

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NOT at a economical company!

by roccojo22 on Jul 17, 2015
1 out of 5 stars

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!

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Punishing Experience

by KMR on Mar 19, 2014
1 out of 5 stars

I was insured by Economical on both home and auto. After accepting them as my insurer they made some adjustments which was noticeably more than the quote. I made some changes and received a torn statement with a boot mark on it! The following year my premiums were increased substantially. I gave up on them and went to Meloche Monnex who was much lower. Never made a claim with them.

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