Car Insurance Reviews

The Personal Insurance Auto Insurance Reviews

This page has been viewed by: Please wait... consumers
(190 reviews)
The Personal Insurance
1.6 out of 5 stars:
Customer service:
Value for Money:
Claim experience:
Share your own experience
Write a review

I'd rate lower if I could

by Gemma on Jul 19, 2019
1 out of 5 stars

We lost three vehicles due to flooding. Two were insured by The Personal, the third by another party. While the initial response was fairly good (as soon as the water dropped a local tow company came to fetch the vehicles), it's been downhill from there. The assessor took a week to see a car that had been *underwater* and decide it was a write-off but didn't assess the car that was parked up right next to it for another week because someone hadn't told him he had to both. We had full, for-new replacement insurance. It took another two weeks to get the settlement figure because they couldn't check a website to get a comparison cost correct. We finally get the settlement figure (which is the exact price on the website), and they forget to send the payment. Twice. They tell us that it's been sent to our bank as a direct deposit and will clear in three days. Only this was a lie and it was never sent to the bank. First we're told both cheques were couriered, then both mailed, then only one couriered - and that it had been signed for at "reception" so why didn't we have it (as though we'd lie about not having a cheque for $30k?) Turned out they had couriered one cheque to the wrong address, so we have to run around town trying to find who had it because they couldn't tell us. There was no "reception", it went to an old address that we had changed with them online, corrected over the phone when it didn't update, and then specified to them on three occasions was the wrong address. Luckily, we know the people who live there, and they were home for us to pick it up. They claim they mailed out the second one via Canada Post on a Sunday, but as of Friday, it's not arrived despite the mail having been delivered. They won't even confirm where they mailed it to, so that's fun. It also wasn't registered or tracked so I can't find out where it is. They lie to you constantly. They say anything to get you off the phone, with no respect to your time or the truth. Good luck if you want to speak to a manager to make a complaint about the constant lying because they will claim it takes 48 hours to reply and then never contact you. I won't shout at the call centre staff as it's really not their fault that their company is incompetent, but I've been lied by so many of them that it's hard to find anything positive to say about the experience. Actually one thing. They have agreed to pay us out, so that's nice. It would have been nicer if we had actually received the money as promised when promised. I'm starting to doubt the second cheque was ever sent in the first place. We are now without vehicles as the rental allowance has run out (technically it ends the moment you agree to accept the settlement figure, so in our case a week ago) NOT when they get around to paying you. So now we're out of pocket on top of everything else. Huh, turns out I don't have anything good to say about them after all. Avoid like the plague - we're recommending to our employers that they no longer work with this company.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

YesNo

Terrible Experience

by SoulMo1976 on Jul 16, 2019
1 out of 5 stars

A truck cut my vehicle off and while doing that he hit my car. Personal Insurance did nothing but making it more painful for me. First, they gave me a 50% at fault as they were too lazy to review the pictures and statements. Then I followed it up and said no way I will accept that. They eventually had me 0% at fault and now that I went to change my insurance to a new company there is a 50% at fault in the experience report which increases the price by 30%! I am fed up with Personal Insurance. The agent taking care of my claim was confrontational, brutal to deal with and just simply incompetent. I am trying Inova now and hope that it will be better.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

YesNo
Review topics

Poor claim experience

by Guy on Jun 12, 2019
2 out of 5 stars

I have been a customer of the Personal Insurance company for almost a decade now. I am a member of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), and this insurance company advertises itself to the CAF community that it takes extra care of the CAF members. I put in a claim for a car accident and after a week it was still radio silence from the claim adjuster. Every time I called the claim adjuster I got a voicemail that she would call back and she never does.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

YesNo

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.

Claim agent won't return call

by Trouble Claim Response on Apr 2, 2019
1 out of 5 stars

I had an accident and totalled my car. Estimate deemed the car is a total loss. An initial agent took down claim information was good and helpful. Once the claim was assigned to the claim agent, this is where the communication breaks down. My coverage includes car rental, so I had it for a week and I did not hear any word from claim agent, so I thought I'll call and check to see when I can expect the result but could not get a hold of agent, so I left her 3 voicemails three days in a row, no callback. Weekend went by, called her back to check again, still could not get a hold of her, asked for help with another agent, which she told me, she will put comments on the claim to have my claim agent call me. A couple of days went by, still no phone call. Really frustrated, it seems they don't really care. It would be nice to call and tell your client what to expect and how much it would take....once the renewal comes, I'm done with this insurance company. Hope this helps those people that want to buy insurance from this company....stay away... unless you have the patience to wait.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

YesNo
Review topics

Stay Away

by staceyg on Mar 4, 2019
1 out of 5 stars

I would give 0 stars if I could. I have been insured with The Personal for 4 years now and they increased my rate by 27%/$40 per month because of a minor speeding ticket I received 2.5 years ago (first and only conviction). When I called to find out why the increase was so steep, the broker actually told me I should be grateful that the ticket was only discovered now and began listing a number of factors as to why else my premium increased. The most ridiculous one was that because I drive such a common vehicle and there are many of them on the road; there's a higher % chance that the same make & model would be involved in an accident. I shopped for better rates and found 2 companies offering a cheaper rate than I am currently paying (Costco & Sonnet). When I called The Personal to see if they could match my quote they said "No." and offered absolutely nothing to keep me as a customer. Absolutely terrible customer service, especially towards a loyal customer.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

YesNo

Customer Contact Centre

by Tanuj on Mar 2, 2019
1.5 out of 5 stars

TERRIBLE! Customer Service experience over the phone. The guy I talked to was very rude over the phone and didn’t even make sense of what he was saying. I did a modification on my auto insurance a month ago. I added my Mercedes and removed Nissan Sentra from my auto insurance. I was paying 136/month for Nissan Sentra and a month ago they said if I have both of vehicle on insurance, I would pay 340/month but I just went with only Mercedes for 283/month. A month later now when I called back to add my Sentra onto the insurance, the guy said they would charge me 405/month for both vehicles. He raised the price of my insurance by $65/month just in a month. When I asked him to talk to a manager and the response was “there are no managers working on Saturday and I need to call back on Monday" which is ridiculous. Terrible experience!!!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

YesNo
Review topics
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.

Home and Auto Insurance

by John on Oct 2, 2018
4.5 out of 5 stars

I've been insured with The Personal for several years now. Originally it was only auto but eventually added home too. My first claim was for my car after it was sideswiped overnight. I filed a report with the police and had to do some legwork on my own to track down the vehicle and driver that was responsible. DO NOT be lazy when you're filing a claim, no one cares about your own money as much as you do. I had a bad rep from the Personal who would not return calls, and after 3 weeks of going back and forth this agent went on vacation and I was lucky enough to speak with one of his colleagues. Within one day of speaking to this new agent, my claim was filed and everything was taken care of. With any business, there are going to be some bad apples and although the first agent was awful, the second one made up for it. I think in general all insurance companies are going to make it difficult for you to get your money back but The Personal did come through for me in this instance. If anyone knows of an insurance company that lets you file a claim easily and works with you instead of against you, please let me know, I'd be grateful. The fact that this got resolved and I got my money back/rental paid and was able to engage with a competent agent (the second one) is enough to give this company a positive review.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

YesNo

Unknown high Cancellation Fees

by CalgaryConsumer on Sep 21, 2018
1 out of 5 stars

The most horrible experience when I tried to cancel my policy. Highly disappointed. Agents don't know how that cancellation fee is being calculated. Spent 2 hours with 5 different agents and no one had any idea why $120 is being charged. Next day an agent called me and did some math which made absolutely no logic. No respect for the customer, no explanation. I was with this insurance company for 2.5 yrs but this doesn't matter to them at all. Other Insurance company provided a better policy at a much cheaper rate and no charges on cancellation if I stay with them for 1 month. (With Personal I was for 2.5 yrs...)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

YesNo

2018 Claim positive

by MC on Aug 2, 2018
3.5 out of 5 stars

I was in a no-fault accident in June 2018. During the claims process, I dealt with a very efficient agent at The Personal, who was accessible by text as well as by email and phone. It was initially hard to reach the company via their toll-free line at the time of the accident, admittedly, but in the end, it did no harm. I felt that the claims process went fairly smoothly. They sent my vehicle to be assessed at a local body shop (in Etobicoke) that they trusted, and that body shop was also easy to deal with. They covered my rental vehicle, not for terribly long but without issue, at least. My own vehicle was determined to be a write-off. The value assessed for my vehicle wasn't unreasonable. I received payment in our bank account once I completed my end of things - the agent gave me clear instructions on what I needed to do. This is my recent take on their claims process. Can't comment on the cost of the policy, except to say that it may not be the cheapest.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

YesNo

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.

Horrible Experience

by bewildered on May 8, 2018
1.5 out of 5 stars

I think they hire complete idiots. Let's assign you a Claims adjuster that DOESN'T call you or even call you back after 5 attempts. Oh wait, let me WORK FOR YOU and not the other way around. What kind of insurance company makes their clients chase them around for assistance? Am I on some strange planet where customer service is non-existent? One more thing...oh let's have your car towed to a Speedy Auto Glass that doesn't actually do glass repair. I'm simply annoyed. I am switching. Don't bother with THE PERSONAL - unless you wanna deal with idiots and spend half your day chasing them around.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

YesNo