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Belairdirect Auto Insurance Reviews

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(527 reviews)
Belairdirect
1.8 out of 5 stars:
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Cancellation Fees

by Billy on Dec 4, 2015
1 out of 5 stars

Horrible.

I'm a driver with no prior accidents, no parking tickets, I put snow tires on my vehicle every year, and I also participated in their Automerit tracking program.

After a year with Belair, I was forced to move. My new apartment is 4km away from my previous apartment. My car insurance rates shot up over $700/yr. There was no way to reduce the rate.

I shopped around for a new insurance provider and spoke to a Belair rep about what was involved in cancelling. At no point was 'cancellation administrative fee' mentioned. I found a better rate with TD Insurance and called Belair to cancel. You can imagine my surprise when I was charged over $250 in cancellation fees.

It seems odd that they can change rates as they see fit, essentially changing the terms of a contract, but when I'm unhappy with this and need to find a better rate, I'm penalized yet again. I guess I would have had to stay with Belair for another year to cancel with no penalty?

They also charge an interest rate when you pay monthly. Not all insurance companies do this.

What a horrible way to treat a customer.

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What a hassle

by Jwalsh on Oct 21, 2015
1.5 out of 5 stars

I moved from Alberta to Ontario. Had lived in Ontario previously. Belair direct wouldn't accept my Alberta abstract that was a few months out of date and made me get a new one which was a complete hassle as I was in Ontario. I have been driving since 1970 and they wanted proof. My insurance was with their partner firm Canadinn Direct for past 15 years,but they told me that I had to obtain proof though that is contrary with what I had been told by Canadian Direct. Though the price for insurance was double what I paid in Alberta they said it was discounted if I insured my home with them? I agreed, but when applying for the insurance they said they won't insure it because I have a wood stove. Also they tell me I must use a GPS tracker in my car! This is after they sign you up! Terrible service!

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Joke of a company!!

by Shan on Sep 23, 2015
1 out of 5 stars

This company is a joke when it comes to pay out your auto claims also their customer service is the worst, not once has anyone called me and it has been a month. You have to call them over and over to find out what is happening and not one person from reps, to adjustors, to the manager has the courtesy to pick up a phone and call you to tell you what is going on. On top of it they went 50/50 on a rearend which clearly showed that I was rearended, but because there were no witnesses they concluded there was not enough of evidence, when clearly everyone from collision centre to police said it was the other parties fault.
Beware of this company because once my claim has closed I do not want to have anything to do with them, I just cannot wait to have my claim closed who knows how long that will take now.

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Awful Experience

by kkid on Sep 10, 2015
1 out of 5 stars

I recently received a quote that I was somewhat pleased with. I called them back within a couple hours about adding my boyfriend on as an occasional driver and they told me that they would have to cancel my insurance as they deemed him an unsafe driver (had 4 speeding tickets in the last 3 years). I carried on and found insurance elsewhere but noticed that they had not put the first double payment deposit back into my account. I called them about this discrepancy and they told me that they actually insured me for the random number of 20 days (WITHOUT EVER TELLING ME BECAUSE I FOUND OTHER INSURANCE ELSEWHERE AND FEW DAYS LATER). Infact, they told me that I should be considered lucky because I could be charged 13% of my quoted total for the year. Having to pay for a service I did not use (and did not even know I had), is wrong on so many levels. I will never insure with this fake scam of a company ever again, even if they offer the lowest rate. I advise YOU to STAY AWAY from belairdirect.

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policy change

by Tra on Jul 9, 2015
1 out of 5 stars

I had been with Greypower for six years and at 2015 renewal time recieved a letter stating my policy was now with Belair Direct. My renewal premium was lower by $300 so I was happy. One month later my daughter kindly bought me a new car. When I contacted Belair to make the change I was treated like a criminal. They wanted another $200 for an accident that was not my fault and happened 9 years ago! . After 2 hrs on the phone, a conference call with my former insurance company for confirmation that the accident was not my fault and fault was not attached to my driving record and checking with BC insurance (the at fault driver's insurance), they finally agreed not to charge me for that accident. We finalized my policy application, which was approved, I paid the full premium by credit card and confirmed that I would receive a letter detailing the credit for the first policy on my old car. I asked him "are we finished now, is everything good?" The reply was yes. The very next day, the same agent called me saying he had forgotten to include the premium for another accident in which I was parked at a gas station putting air in my tires when another driver backed into me. His insurance covered all repairs, but again I was being penalized for something that was not my fault!! For this they want another $63! Unreal!! I too am looking for a new insurance company! No way would I ever recommend Belair Direct!!!

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Unprofessional & deceitful now

by Opt out on Jun 20, 2015
1 out of 5 stars

I've been a customer with Belair (home and auto) for more than 20 years. Never had a home claim. But I've had a few claims on the car. In each case, the other party was at-fault. My PAST experiences were all good but ... Recently, a fellow damaged my car in a parking lot. A church parking lot. He confessed at the rectory. The honourable gentleman decided to put it through insurance (he was also with Belair.)
I got a fool for an adjuster and the others I had to deal with were rude and insulting.
Asked by the insurance rep if my car had damage other than from the accident, I said 'no.' Four year old car, 30,000 km, kept in a private garage, my car was spotless. Customer 'service' rep said dismissively 'yeah, everyone says that.' Has she ever seen my car?
Several days into the process, I was asked if I thought the other guy had been injured! Gee, let me check my medical degree! Furthermore, I wasn't there, I was in the church. Furthermore, he's a Belair client, too. Surely they had his contact info already, why ask me?! Utterly irrational.
Nearly a week later, I was told I should go to the Collision Reporting Centre, which flabbergasted the officer on duty. Hearing the details, he said any other insurance company would not have wasted time on such a thing.
A technician at a repair place (insurance company approved) told me they have a lot of trouble taking care of cases for Belair (and Intact - same company) now that they pad their bottom line by hiring cheap, less qualified adjusters. The adjusters do not listen and, apparently, don't think they need to.
Another insurer informed me that Belair had assigned me some blame for this incident even though Belair's MyProfile page indicates otherwise! Sneaky Belair tells ME one thing while committing deceit and attempting to sabotage me so that I wouldn't change insurers or would have to pay much higher rates. Nice duplicity buddy, but my police report says otherwise. And so does my witness, the Reverend.
And so does my new insurer.
Beware reviews from people who are happy with Belair and have never had a claim. Remember why you have insurance? Consider what happened to me with what must be the simplest of cases.
p.s. I don't pay more with my new insurer (despite Belair's conniving and their trying to raise my rates this year, undoubtedly because I dared to complain to them about the way this claim was handled). Also cancellation fees are a pro-rated percentage of your premium. It cost me $35 (6%) to get rid of Belair. A bargain!

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impossible to deal with

by unhappy on Mar 20, 2015
1 out of 5 stars

I was moving from Hamilton to Whitby and I called to get a quote as to what my premium would look like after, quote said it would go down 40$/month - great - moved called a week later to change address - got a guy named Trevor L. who actually had the worst phone manners I have ever encountered in my adult life at one point telling me "I have had a hard day" after snapping at me more than once. He tells me my rate is only going down by 4$ with no explanation why - I call back get another agent who fixes what he did and apologized for Trevor's behavior. However next day Trevor himself calls me says he doesn't appreciate me going 'above his head' and put my account back to the premium he set it at take it or leave it….makes no sense.

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0 stars would be more accurate

by Nicole on Feb 17, 2015
1 out of 5 stars

I was a happy customer for 3 years.
Because of this, I decided to quote tenant insurance with Belair Direct.
Note: I was moving out of my parents house, leaving my car at home for times when I visited and eventually sell the car when it was no longer useful.
Belair Direct processed my quote request for tenant insurance, then called to inform me my car insurance would be increasing by $500 because I was moving to a different neighbourhood. I told them that I had no intention of moving the car, it would actually be driven less, I had not leased a parking spot at my new location and would sign any documentation necessary to avoid the increase. I was told that I had "implied the vehicle was moving" through my quote request, and there was nothing they could do.
Instead of providing them with additional money for an additional service, they tried to force me to pay more for the service I started with.
I ended up paying to cancel my car insurance because I was so frustrated, and I sold my car much earlier than I had expected to.
Now, they continue to email, mail and phone my parents house to discuss "important updates to my car insurance", even though it's been 2 years since I've cancelled.
They're a great company until you have any type of problem. Then, you can't get the same person on the phone no matter what you try, and you have to explain your situation to every new person.

Stay away. Far, far away.

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$350 increase after 1st year

by JayD on Aug 26, 2014
1 out of 5 stars

We switched to belairdirect in Sep. 2013 because their rates were lower than the competition. We're now in Aug. 2014 and were just notified our premium was going up by over $350/year for bogus reason ("the company increased the premium due to where we live, the kind of car we have; blah, blah,blah").

Needless to say we're shopping around for a new insurance company.

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Increase insurance

by golaghagolgolak@yahoo.com on Jul 17, 2014
1.5 out of 5 stars

After 5 years payment to Belair at the time of Renewal I would expect to see the rate going down because of no accident ,no fine and no claim !
BE Lier increase my car insurance more than 30% !!!!
one customer said :I’d guess, someone has to pay for people who get into accidents on the road, and that someone is You, not Belair.

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