Cancellation Fee
by Disappointed Driver on Jan 12, 2016
1 out of 5 stars
I had just recently got a criminal record and to my surprise Belair decided they can't insure me because "people with criminal records have a higher risk of making claims". That is the most disgusting superficial thing I've ever heard. My criminal record has NOTHING to do with driving and they still decide not to insure me. Anyways stay away they're to expensive and have pretty dumb policies...it's more of a circus then a business
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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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 Belair direct wouldn't accept my Alberta abstract that was a few months out of date and made me get a new one which was a complete hassle as I was in Ontario.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!
Former Grey Power client. I was on a monthly payment plan. When I got my new policy documents from Grey Power I called to say I just wanted lump sum because of the new surcharge for monthly. Then Grey Power rolled over to BelAir. Didn't think it would be a big deal but was in for a surprise this month to find BelAir has charged my visa for a month of both home and auto insurance one month my policy is set to renew. I called to get the charges reversed and was told the charges were for my previous year's policy - after 10 minutes of going through my policy info with the BelAir rep that was finally cleared up. Then he suggested the pre-payment could just be charged to my policy renewal. I told him I had no intention of pre-paying anything and had not decided if I would renew with them. I was promised the charges would be reversed. Just back from a week of holidays and still no reversal. Will see what happens with the next phone call but thus far I am not impressed with the way BelAir is doing business.
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!!!
I have never felt so taken advantage of in my life. What I was originally quoted at almost tripled because of a clerical error by my previous insurer – not even my fault. And by the time I found this out it was too late, I was already enrolled and had no choice but to accept their increase. I spent A LOT of time on the phone to try and get the problem fixed and ended up canceling the policy… not surprisingly even the cancelation process was frustrating. I personally cannot in good conscious recommend this provider to anyone after my experience with the company.
I may just be another internet review but my advice is: Avoid at all costs. If you give them a crumb they will take a pound of flesh. I shudder to think what they must be like when you have an actual claim.
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.
I wish I could give them a 0 star rating.
Everyone that is so happy with their insurance, just wait till you have a claim. For an accident that wasn't even my fault (someone ran a red light) I had originally thought everything was going to be easy our first insurance adjuster was fantastic everything was moving along. And a few weeks in she quit. (I Wonder why) We were assigned a new adjuster who to say was (is) incompetent is an understatement. Not sending proper documentation, saying he never received paper work when it was sent so many times. It's at the point now that we are faxing the documents daily, the same ones over and over again. Because it's been 10 months. He was caught in lies with our chiropractor and physiotherapist. Saying he never received paper work, when she had called 20 minutes prior and talked to another person who said yes all the paper work has been documented and is in the file, blatantly 20 minutes later he said no it wasn't there. It wasn't until she said well that's funny because i talked to so and so 20 minutes ago and says its in the file on the computer. They also got told the cheque was in the mail. A month later, no cheque still. Never returns calls, it literaly takes weeks and weeks of calling and leaving voicemails, and talking to other representatives to get this guy to do his job. This is just the short jist of the run around Belair has been giving me. I wish I could be this incompetent at my profession and still maintain a job. The only reason I haven't cancelled yet is because i cannot afford the cancellation fee since I've had to pay out of pocket for all treatments from this car accident. This is how they treat a 10 year customer.
Side note i moved across the town ( same town outside the GTA) and my insurance went up 92 dollars a month. For the same insurance policy I still drive to the same place of employment the car is still parked in a private driveway. Another person who lives in the house is with another company and insurance didn't move a penny. Talk about a scam.
November 1st Belair is being cancelled in this house.
Stay away from belair direct. They are extremely over priced. They change your renewal date without notifying you (because I made a switch on a vehicle), the cancellation fee is huge and they cannot even explain how they calculate the penalty. And when asking to speak to a supervisor, we were told she was too busy and would call us back at her earliest convenience (4 days later). Horrible service and way overpriced product!
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After being unable to provide both my roommate and I with tenant insurance (for the sole reason that we were roommates), I was forced to take my business to another company that could package my home and auto insurance together.
I was charged 200 dollars as a cancellation fee for administrative costs. I'm assuming this is to mitigate any money I might save by moving to another insurance company? When I asked if I could speak with someone who could explain the charge in depth, the operator informed me that no exceptions would be made and the fee was to be paid or I would be put into collections.
A really overall unpleasant experience with a company that I not only felt I could trust, but in whose hands I had been placing my livelihood in the case of an accident. Yuck.