Car Insurance Claim
by Eva K on Nov 25, 2020
5 out of 5 stars
It started back at the very beginning of July. My vehicle was stolen from my driveway on the night of July 1st. I immediately reported it stolen to the police and called my insurance company. They informed me that if the vehicle hadn't been recovered in 2 weeks that the issue would be settled and the vehicle would be paid out after an investigation was complete. They assured me it would all be completed in a timely manner. A few days after that, I made my official statement to an employee of Sonnet Insurance Company. Two weeks rolled on by without hearing once from my assigned adjuster. I called the office, left 3 messages over 3 days. I emailed her several times over the next coming days. I still did not hear a word. I called Sonnet insurance directly as I had not heard when to return the rental they had approved. No one there seemed to want to help me, they just informed me that I must speak with my adjuster who they promised would contact me within the day. Big surprise, she did not. I asked to speak to a supervisor on another occasion, they said I had to wait up to 48 hours to hear a call back from a supervisor. No one ever called me back. I knew my policy only covered 30 days, and as this was fast approaching and passed by, I was getting worried about costs incurred to myself. Still, I had not heard from my adjuster. On day 36 of driving the rental vehicle, I decided to return it, because Enterprise called me and told me that the adjuster had called them and informed them that they would only be covering the first 2 weeks of the rental. I was shocked because my policy clearly states 30 days. Also, I was upset that my adjuster took the time to call the rental car company to cut off the rental but didn't have time to call me. If they were only planning on covering 14 days it would have been nice to know at the very latest on day 14. Not day 36. Enterprise Rental Company wanted to charge me on drop off, but we came to the solution that they would give me a week to sort things out with Sonnet, which was fair. I called and emailed Sonnet and my adjuster again, I was told I would have to talk to my adjuster directly and customer service could not do anything to help me. Finally, the adjuster emailed me, briefly apologized and asked questions that were already previously answered by me during my initial interview. She also required more documents to be filled out, but she did not address my immediate concerns about the charges for the rental vehicle. I emailed her again, I called Sonnet again, I even called the Office of the Ombudsman for Sonnet. They assured me they would have a supervisor contact me within 48 hours. Again, that never happened. We are up to August 18th at this point, and I've had no access to a vehicle, I couldn't work. Being a single mother and not being able to work was extremely difficult for me. As you can understand I have bills to pay. So, on August 18th, I get a phone call from a customer service representative in the total loss unit. He tells me he is the one in charge of deciding the worth of my vehicle for a settlement payment. We discuss payment of $8073.00, minus $500 for the deductible which was satisfactory for me. He mailed me the cheque. Meanwhile, I desperately looked around for a vehicle, found one, put a deposit of my own money down on it to hold it for when the insurance settlement came in. I received the cheque, deposited it, got a bank draft for the vehicle purchase and went out to buy it. I was so relieved that everything was finally settled and I could work again. But, I was wrong, everything was not settled. I received a call yesterday from my adjuster saying they just confirmed with the police that the vehicle had been recovered on August 12th. I had never heard a word from the police or anyone else about this. Then the adjuster informs me that they have put a stop payment on the settlement cheque because now that they have the vehicle they are going to reassess it, test it for mechanical issues. If they find it to be mechanically sound, they will be giving me back the vehicle with no payment. Also, if the vehicle is unsound, and they find it to be worthless money than they originally gave me, that's what the new cheque will be. I am furious about this. My bank account is now in an overdraft because of the cancelled cheque. How can they agree on the settlement, cut a cheque to the customer and then just change their minds? Also, how can they fairly reassess the vehicle when they have no idea the condition it was in before it was stolen? Also, last Friday I received a call from Enterprise saying they hadn't heard anything from Sonnet yet about the money owed and now they were charging my credit card $1683.00. So now, my bank account is in overdraft, I have no money, my credit card is billed $1683.00. Sonnet has screwed me for $9256.00, and according to my adjuster, now that the situation has changed I am expected to be patient and keep waiting for them to get everything sorted and figured out. If I never went out right away and bought a vehicle I would still be out of work waiting for them to figure things out. Meanwhile, I've again contacted a supervisor which, surprise, I still haven't heard from. It has been on an ongoing battle and huge stressor for me for 2 whole months now, with still no solution!
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.
If you have a good driving record in AB, you should pay around $110/month (women - $105/month and men - $113/month). Do you overpay? Get an Alberta car insurance quote to start saving.
The only reason they got 2 1/2 stars is when I phoned my call was answered quickly and professionally. Economical insurance gets zero stars for their Covid-19 driver's relief program. Like everyone else, my vehicle sat in the driveway for most of March, April, May & June. I phone Economical looking for a rebate on my insurance because of this. They offered a $165 discount, which I thought was quite low for a $1,400 premium, but I accepted it. Now they send me an invoice for $78 explaining as far as they are concerned, Covid-19 restrictions ended on July 31st and the $78 is to cover my policy till January. THANK YOU Economical for giving me a $4.05 per week rebate for not driving my truck.
Fast on taking your money but very long wait on waiting for your money when you do the claim. Took me a month to get a hold of the adjuster. Had to go through the management. They wanted me to do all the work and police reports when they have to do it. They have the right to do a 2-month investigation but you are covered for rent only for a month. While they do the investigation they don't pay for your rent and even after the investigation is over I still have to hunt them for rental money that I paid. The case happened in the middle of January. Still don't have the money for rent...
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!
Did you know that on average Ontario drivers with good driving records pay $1,805/year in auto insurance? Is your insurance rate higher? Get a free car insurance quote and start saving today.
I've never had a claim, I paid what the invoice billing schedule to me to pay and they cancelled me for non-payment because they wanted more money than what they billed me for. If they can't get their billing straight how could they ever get someone's claim looked after? But they will sell me a new policy for an additional $800 per year that sounds more like a scam. Just save yourself the aggravation and stay clear of these frauds.
They are the worst insurance company! I have full coverage! And my truck Abs electrical went on the highway there was a fire and I paid 400$ 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.
When it comes to claims this company is cheap. I'm in the midst of a no-fault run-in with them. They will fight you every step of the way to avoid paying you what they owe. They are fully aware that they have the upper hand due to available resources, experience and pocket depth and will use this to their full advantage to try and intimidate you into walking away with compensation less than you are entitled to. If you're unlucky enough to have to make a claim with this company expect to come out of the ordeal less than a whole. There are far better options out there that do not go out of their way to try and kick you while you're down.
I wish I had looked into this insurance company before agreeing to have them as my Insurance company. This company currently handles my home and auto insurance. I have had auto insurance with them for approximately 10 years and have never had a claim. I have held house insurance with them for just over 5 years ( I am leaving this company but currently still use them ) This company is not on your side, their customer service is beyond the worst I have seen. I am currently in the middle of dealing with their ombudsperson. I was hit in a parking lot while exiting my vehicle by a woman with no sticker or registration. My car was off, and I was exiting my vehicle when she pulled in very fast beside me and took the door off of my car ( my foot was on the ground as I was getting out) I had a witness and video of the women who was very erratic. I never received a rental car (which is in my policy). I am still working and was carless for over a week with no answers or callbacks from anyone (including smart coverage my broker) I was then deemed 100% responsible for this claim because my car door was open. Even though I had a witness who saw me exiting my car when the woman pulled in and hit me (very fast). This happened at the end of March and I just received an email back from the ombudsman person today. They do not work for you and are not on your side. After looking and reading about this company I see how many unhappy customers they have. I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong but this claim is absolutely absurd. I have never been more disappointed or disgusted by a company. Do yourselves a favour and stay far away from these crooks
Secure and Certified
Your information privacy and security is very important to us. We use the same 256-bit encryption and data security levels as all major banks. Our practices are monitored and verified by VeriSign and Digicert.
Independent
InsurEye is not owned by any bank, insurance company, insurance brokerage or any other financial services institution. We collect, validate, and analyze insurance experiences of real consumers.
Insightful
We aspire to equip you with insights, data and knowledge to help in making informed decisions around personal finance, insurance quotes, and other important matters. We are always open for your comments.
I initiated my claim in the morning and by afternoon I was contacted by an Economical Insurance Representative who arranged everything for me including my rental car which is ready for pickup. The experience I had was friendly, supportive, professional and with kindness. I highly recommend Economical Insurance.