Worthless Insurance
by Resident of Petawawa on Jul 23, 2024
1 out of 5 stars
From my experience, they are by far the worst company to deal with for a claim. Setting up the claim was straight forward. They were too busy to take a look at the car and wanted it released into their own yard and threatened to charge us storage fees. Many phone calls to them with promises of callbacks, nothing returned. One of the guys who called was very rude on the phone.
Had the worst experience with them after filing a claim (not at fault)
They made me call the body shop and wouldn't deal with them directly.
They wouldn't answer emails, calls for weeks on end.
Failed to tell us my car was fixed 2 weeks after the fact.
Absolute garbage company, switched right after this experience.
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My wife had an accident with our vehicle, she was at fault. Up to this point, it’s all good. The problem was that my car was worth $20K and they spent $24K to fix it. Does that make any sense? Needless to say, my car’s value dropped to nothing. I called them to enquire and after a really bad customer service the guy literally said “We judge whether or not it’s a write-off.” Again... it’s simple math, why spend $24K in something that’s worth $20? Please, stay away from them.
A truck hauling gravel and rocks with loose back door debris hit the front of my brand new car causing damage to bumper emblem and windshield. It took three months to get Economical Insurance to fix the car. They denied my claim a few times in the beginning. The bumper had few rock chips due to the incident, Economical's adjuster claimed that a couple of scratches at the bumper were not related to the incident even though the bumper had to be painted. Anyways, they made me pay 10% out of my pocket just because they decided that out of 20 rock chips at the bumper 2 were not related to the accident... Scammers... I got my car fixed and cancelled the insurance! If you visit a HUB insurance broker or Family insurance broker make sure to ask who is the insurer and if it is Economical Insurance make sure do not sign up with them!
They are the worst insurance company! I have full coverage! And my truck Abs electrical went on the highway there was a fire and I paid 400$ to get my truck towed to my mechanic. They told me he can’t even look at it that they will tow it to their shop and start an investigation. They waited a month and a half to tell me my claim didn’t go through! I use my truck for work so I needed a rental so far paid 2000$ for the rental while paying for my truck payments and car insurance. They never got back to me even my broker had a hard time contacting them. This is my first claim in 15 years of driving. They are not reliable customer service! I’m annoyed! My broker even set me up with this insurance company. I have 0 clue where my truck is if they damaged it more or what. They tried to get me to back out of my claim looked for any way for them not to pay or help! I would never ever insure anything with them! A horrible service! They should loose their license to insure anyone! I have a year left on my finance paid $60,000 into it! Why would I make fraud or false claim! I still can’t believe they put me through this just to say no. Always get your car looked at before they take your car. I am scared to find out what the deal is with it. Think twice before insuring with them.
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They only get one star because I can't do 0. Do your future self a huge favour, and don't bother with Economical Insurance. Not only they have terrible customer service, their assume guilty policy punishes good drivers who act in good faith while allowing or even rewarding bad drivers who lie about insurance claims to get off with only a slap on the wrist. No wonder insurance fraud is so high, with that policy. I have been a customer for years with no claims. I've driven 10 years with no at-fault accidents. The first time I submitted a claim this year, things went downhill fast. Not only did the insurance agent insist I go to their auto shop, across town from where I had an appointment already booked, but she also didn't even give me the right address. I'm glad I called the shop to confirm ahead, because I found out that she had also given me the wrong time, Monday afternoon instead of Friday, making my time off work nothing but lost hours and income. (Apparently, this was not the first time this had happened according to the auto shop.) Next, we come to the claim itself. I had a police report with a clear not at fault, a clear recounting of the events, and photos of vehicle damage on my left / driver's side. The other 'honest' driver (who insisted we should not do insurance and was 'very honest,' we could settle with cash!) made a false claim to their insurance saying I turned right and hit them, instead of what happened, they turned right and hit me. Their story is physically impossible while travelling in the same direction given the physical damages to my vehicle. But, the lie did not match, so apparently, it was an automatic 50/50 - now, not only was I being given bad customer service, they weren't even trying to help at all, and I was treated as guilty in each subsequent interaction. Nobody wanted to do any real work to help or make sure that things were done right. They are currently trying to finalize my claim without even bothering to wait for the police report on their end to be delivered - pure laziness, and it makes me wonder if that part is even legal - I gave them proof and they can't even be bothered to read it? Clearly, it was far easier (and more profitable) to just hit the 50/50 button than do their job. This policy of treating their customers like dirt, and guilty until innocent not only punish those drivers who do things right but by allowing the false claims to stand it condones and even rewards bad drivers who lie to avoid a penalty, with no burden of proof on their side. I can almost guarantee that the other driver, if they keep driving like what I saw, will go on to be in another accident and next time may not be lucky enough to escape with no injury. The first agent I spoke to argued up and down how I could have hit the other person, in fact, taking their side! (and the first story I heard was not identical to the second story either - different stories from the other insurance agency would also make things a bit suspicious too!) This lack of oversight might be why insurance fraud is so high if their agents just accept lies at face value while deliberately ignoring proof from their own customers.
My car got destroyed by someone running a red light nearly 3 months ago and I haven’t received a dime from them yet. There was a witness who testified on my behalf but Economical Insurance wanted to make me 50% at fault because there is conflicting stories between me and the guy who ran the light. This is ridiculous because most people who are at fault deny it, therefore having a witness who nearly got hit by the same driver, should make it a slam dunk case. I couldn’t imagine how unfortunate it would be to have this happen without having a witness. I had to threaten them with a lawyer to get them to budge and reduce my fault down to 0%. I went to the garage of their choice the day after the accident to get a damage assessment but here I am still waiting on the money I’m owed. In these 3 months, I’ve paid them nearly $1000 from my monthly payments. I’m not sure what service I’m paying them for?
I got hit on a Saturday night - badly. They claim to have 24 emergency claim support - NOPE! People are at their most emotionally vulnerable - but if you get hit after 5 pm on a Friday - guess what? You'll be waiting for 3 days. They have an answering machine that DOESN'T record messages. It's been like that for 2 years and NO ONE CARES ENOUGH TO FIX IT! I called on a Monday morning - go through to a representative - she put me on hold after a 5-minute chat and my call was disconnected. Did she call back? NOPE! I got an assessment and it's been 4 days - my shop still hasn't received it. I'm driving around in a smashed-up car. Terrible company.
Long story short, they told body shop to start the work and then halfway through, they denied the claim. Now I'm stuck with a 20K bill which I can't afford. I have no choice but to have my car taken away by the sheriff and lose it. Now my credit with BMW is destroyed and my credit score will be tanking. I never missed a payment, any claims, an excellent driver. When I told friends about my experience, they also mentioned that they've been played around by Economical as well for 100% at fault no accident. This insurance company is a huge crook. I had another friend who told me she was under investigation. They came to her house for her to prove she lived there. Inspected her belongings and clothing etc. This company literally has to sniff through your underwear to insure you are not committing any insurance fraud and you are living where you say you are. I thought this was a joke but a disgusting and true story. Insurance companies need to be investigated!
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On April 4th, 2024, I was involved in an accident in Montréal. It takes my insurance company, Economical, almost a month to have my car evaluated at a garage. An agent was in charge of working with their adjuster. It's significant to note that my vehicle is a 2005 Lexus with 480,00 kilometers. Their decision to spend so much money on fixing a 19-year-old car with 480km of mileage is simply unimaginable. I was given a rental for a one-month period by them. But they left me without a vehicle since May 25th until today, July 23rd. I still don't have my car and took back the rental because according to them, my policy is to provide only one month of rental. Additionally, they brought my car to Ottawa from my small town, which is 200 km away. My situation is not valued by them. I have a family and work, and being without transportation in a small town is excruciating. I advise everyone to avoid this worthless insurance called Economical. For the past 30 years, I have owned multiple insurance policies, and this company is by far the worst and does not provide any benefits.