worst insurance company ever
by mozhgan on Jul 30, 2015
1 out of 5 stars
Stay away form this company at all costs. Had been a long time 20 year customer with them. Found a way cheaper rate $1100.00 per year for better coverage, and they charged us $250.00 to cancel our policy. They ripped us off for years with over rates, and then charged us to leave. Will never use them again.
It's been two months and counting and I haven't been issued my payment. Even after the claim was excepted and signed. I will be cancelling my insurance once I, finally, receive payment. Stay away from this company. The reviews are correct! This company is a scam! They will postpone your claim, so you get a bottom dollar for your vehicle.
I have been with this company for 15 years. Initially, I had great service with them until I made a second at-fault claim within 5 years. I had not been informed that they changed their policy to not renew after 2 at-fault claims in 5 years instead of 3, the industry standard. They did not take into consideration the fact I had been with them for 15 years and had only 2 at-fault claims and no traffic violations. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. Let everyone know. Unethical companies need to know that these business practices are not OK and that we have power as consumers to demand better treatment.
Agent penalized me for cancelling after the renewal date, which was a lot more than expected. Again called to confirm cancellation and got different numbers from another agent. For my satisfaction, they told me it’s the date when you cancel the insurance matters and the premium but we can’t calculate, it’s the system that tells us. Do not fall prey to this bad service where initially they give less amount and later rip off customers.
Last month I inquire about the penalty if I cancel my insurance with them and the customer service agent told me it will be $20 to $30 and I asked them to confirm me twice before cancelling and after cancelling today I was charged $216. When I call their customer service today their agent told me that total penalty will be $250 and rest of the money they will deduct in few days. I told that agent that before cancelling the insurance I asked your staff and the agent didn't inform me that in total I have to pay $250 for cancellation. In return, I get the response from that agent that we are sorry for inconvenience. Their customer service agents have poor knowledge, what will their 4 words (sorry) give me in return???
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.
Called them for a quote for a newer vehicle we purchased. Very high price. Asked them if the could do any better since we had been with them for many many years. They told me no. Found cheaper insurance by $800 same coverage. Called to cancel the vehicle insurance which they had to talk to myself and my husband. Found out then that there is a cancellation fee plus our house insurance jumped up $300.00. Asked to talk to a manager regarding the cancellation fee and they would not put me thru to one. Bully corporation and high robbery.
Been with this company for many many years. Purchased a new vehicle and asked for a quote for the new vehicle. Outrage price, asked if they could do anything to lower the price. No I was advised. Took three calls to get the letters for the new insurance company. They had to talk to myself and my husband to cancel the auto insurance. Then we found out there is a canellation fee as well as our house insurance went up $300 since we cancelled the auto insurance. Asked to talk to a manager regarding the cancellation and they would not put us thru to one. Bully and Robert from this company.
I was a customer with this company for 13 years, and recently I had the last of a string of very shady experiences with them.
I saved $500 a year just by switching insurance companies to another one today and I am getting even better coverage with my new company.
As far as their dishonest and shady dealings:
Most recently I received a speeding ticket for doing 76kmph in an 80. Apparently the section I was in was a 50, however the sign was removed for construction over a month and never replaced. I was not from this area so I was unfamiliar with the speed limit sign. Under the highway traffic act the zone is an 80, however the police officer still charged me, knowing they were in the wrong and the whole incident was documented on dash cam with GPS data. I also went to the police station and the captain admitted to me that they were in the wrong but could not reverse the ticket. I ended up having to pay since the amount of money to fight the ticket was not worth it. They lawyer would of been $400, and I would have had to attend court in the town where I got the ticket, which would of costs me $300 in gas and about $400 in lost wages. So instead of $1,100 out of my pocket I paid the fine, since the officer who knew she was in the wrong bumped it down to the minimum fine. So I had no demerit points and it should have been forgotten there. Now with any normal insurance company a no point ticket does not effect you, but not these scammers. Three weeks later I got a letter in the mail informing me my insurance would be increased $250 additional dollars per year, even though I did nothing wrong. The insurance company did not give a crap about my word and they did not care about my evidence. It took me three days to get in contact with anyone to even explain my situation, since they laid off everyone and shut down the offices here and moved it all to a mega-call centre in Toronto. So I did finally get in contact with someone who was unsympathetic and did not care. So after 13 years they could not be bothered to give me the benefit of the doubt. The company I am now switching too is only two thirds the price. I am accident and claim free, and have no demerit points, but Johnson treats me like garbage.
I also had an other incident a couple years ago where someone did a hit and run on my car. Johnson were unsympathetic and treated me like I was a criminal. They would not pay out even a third of what it was worth. The car basically suffered from nothing but a dented quarter panel which could of been fixed for under $2000. So after 10 years of full coverage They tried to write off my car. When that happened I just dropped to basic coverage and fixed it myself. I then drove it for another year and a half before I sold it.
All the good reviews on this site about Johnson from three or four years ago, however they have changed a lot. What a damn joke Johnson has become. I felt that their company was the bane of my existence, so today I stood up and finally switched companies.
This place is ridiculous. I had one speeding ticket and after being insured by them for 8 years they automatically put me into their high-risk category with a rate increase of over 200%. They quoted me $600 per month for insurance. Are they crazy? Sure... let me just get out my chequebook and pay for that, no big deal.
The customer service is horrendous. If you call and your 'service advisor' is not there, they send you to random people all across Canada who know absolutely nothing about your file and what you are talking about. When we purchased a new car I spent over 2 hours on the phone being transferred around until someone eventually helped me, although not pleasantly.
A lesson to anyone who wants to be insured through these "big guys"... go through a broker. I was able to get my insurance down to $125 a MONTH vs. the $600 per month they quoted me. As soon as you have an accident/ticket, they take that opportunity to screw you. I will be letting everyone know of this terrible experience.
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 was with Johnson for more than 3 years. No accident, No claim and no charges for Johnson Company during these years until my daughter had an accident. It was a very mild car crash to the point that neither my car nor the front car was damaged but according to the Police my daughter was 100% guilty. My daughter was 21yrs old at the time of accident with 3 years of safe driving experience with no accident and even not a ticket. So they; Johnson Company, evaluated her as a high risk driver!!! and to my very surprise changed our policy and put her as the main driver ( while she was the second driver) and increased our monthly payment by 500 dollar and our total became $916.84 per month. Immediately after receiving a letter from them about the increased payment, I called and asked for the reason and because they were very rude and aggressive and didn't want to explain and convince me, I just asked them to cancel my policy from the beginning of the next month since we were in the middle of current month. I knew that there will be a cancellation fee because the policy is terminated in the middle of the term but they didn't tell and explain to me that the cancellation fee will be $916.84. They should have told me that because the prime has increased from the next month so the cancellation fee will be the same amount. But they were not only rude and aggressive but also dishonest people who just wanted to deceive clients to get the most advantage of them. If they had told me about the cancellation fee, I would have cancelled the policy right away. But because I neither accepted the increased amount nor paid it even for a month so I assumed that they will reduce the regular monthly payment. But without my consent they withdrew $916.84 from my account. I talked to other insurance companies just to make sure about what happened to me and they told me this is an unfair and illegal behaviour and not acceptable. I just wanted to share this with other customers to help them stay away from companies like Johnson that most likely won't be of any help especially at the time of accident let alone before that.