Economical Insurance Auto Insurance Reviews

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.

I have been waiting almost a year for my truck to be returned to me in pre-accident condition. Economical's preferred shop returned my truck to me with a repair that was incomplete and then proceeded to argue with me when I voiced my concerns. After months of repeatedly ignored emails from me, they finally agreed to have a reputable repair shop inspect my truck. Now that their appraiser has seen it for the 3rd time, and been made aware of discrepancies in the original repair, Economical has not responded in writing as required.

The accident was almost a year ago. Their Ombudsperson has not assisted. Their claims manager has regularly ignored written requests from myself and my broker, the president has not responded at all.
Both FSCO and GIO have been aware of this claim since last year and have advised me of my rights, which I have reminded Economical of several times.
Economical has taken what should have been a straight forward, simple claim and turned it into an added source of stress and trauma.

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.

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!”

I had an accident 8 months ago. My vehicle is still sitting in the driveway not drivable. The insurance company's preferred shop did not repair properly and Economical has not followed up. Rather, they have ignored emails and calls. They are the worst company I have dealt with for insurance in over 20 years.

I had an accident where the other driver was 100% at fault. I was hit from behind and rear-ended. The claim process was a nightmare. The insurance company took forever to agree for repairs and throughout the entire process, I just felt terrible. Then at the end of the insurance, they decide to drop me! I had no additional claims, no tickets, just one accident that I WASN'T at fault for (the other driver was assigned 100 percent responsibility). This by far is the worst company ever, they are not there when you need them and will drop customers from policies whenever they feel like it even when accidents are not your fault. These guys give you a good rate, but why have insurance if when you need them, they aren't there for you and drop you after many years of being a loyal customer. Look elsewhere

My daughter recently got into an accident that was 100% not her fault. The problem started when the car was written off, and they lowballed me on the offer. I did some research online using the Canadian Black Book and found out they were offering less than half the value. When I pointed this out to them, I was told that they were sticking with their process (I think they find the 10 cheapest comparable cars and give you the average price) and that they would send me forms to submit a dispute. I had receipts showing that I had spent more on repairs in the last 18 months than what they were offering me. Didn't matter. No discussing it with them. With previous insurance companies, there was always some back and forth discussion, and some compromise. Not here, just a take it or leave it attitude. The worst insurance company I have ever dealt with. Since the payout is so low, my daughter cannot even get another comparable car.

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.

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.