Car Insurance Reviews

Belairdirect Auto Insurance Reviews

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(511 reviews)
Belairdirect
1.8 out of 5 stars:
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Not As Advertised

by Almost Shafted on Jan 18, 2017
3.5 out of 5 stars

Belair Direct advertises that "your first claim will not affect your rates". That's not true.

My first (and only) claim. I was parked on the street. Someone backed out of a laneway, hit my car, and took off. The incident was captured on a restaurant's surveillance cameras, but we were unable to get a licence plate number from the video.

I submitted a claim to Belair Direct, and almost immediately, they responded, saying this was an "At Fault" accident. (I wasn't even in the car, so it puzzled me how I was "at fault".) But the people I spoke with were adamant, and they were quick to point out that my "rates would go up" because of this accident. (What happened to their advertised statement of "your first accident will be forgiven"??)

As it turned out, I had to go to the police reporting center so that the accident could be "evidenced" as being a "hit and run". How was I to know? I don't get into accidents on a regular basis, so I'm not instinctually familiar with the process. But once I did this, and had it submitted to Belair, I received a letter saying that my rates would not change.

The bottom line is that Belair was "gung ho" to increase my rates based on this "first accident claim". You might say I was held "guilty without jury". They had the virtual noose out before I was able to even attest to my case. I was "attacked" by this company before my situation was heard.

In my opinion, this is despicably poor treatment by an insurance company, especially given the nature of their advertisements. Given the way I was treated, their advertisement of "your first accident will be forgiven" is a total lie. I would not do business with this company given their dishonest nature.

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Roadside assistance seems affordable but is a lie.

by Painfully left aside on Feb 6, 2023
3 out of 5 stars

THIS IS FALSE ADVERTISING!
THEIR ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE ADVERTISING IS UNTRUE.
It took from Noon until 9:51 p.m. for them to even acknowledge and accept the request for roadside assistance. In that time another company showed up within ten minutes and towed the vehicle within another eleven minutes. In this weather, leaving someone stranded in a precarious situation is not an acceptable practice. Belair Direct is an insurance company that could have easily dipped into a larger pool of accepted roadside care trucks for just a small increase in outlay $$. They chose not to. Unacceptable.

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Beware of Getting Quotes

by Melissa D on Oct 22, 2019
3 out of 5 stars

I've been a Bellair Direct client for 2 years. I called in to get a quote on an additional vehicle for insurance. I spoke about using the new car for business. The representative wrote down all my quote information and sent it to an underwriter who declined the coverage for commercial use. They told me I could call in to cancel coverage if I go with another company. A few days later I call in to ask for a quote on personal use of the additional vehicle instead of business use. They told me they can't cover the new one, and my coverage on the OLD car is set to be automatically cancelled within one week because I am "using my vehicle for business". Quotes are not just quotes at Bellair. If you inquire, they can and will cancel you on the spot. I now have to find regular insurance elsewhere.

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Great, until a claim is made

by Tibbs on May 23, 2018
3.5 out of 5 stars

I loved having Belair as an insurance provider, for almost 4 years. They were easy to talk to and friendly, their rates were great. Then, our vehicle was broken into, so we made a claim. It was like dealing with a different company. They were stingy on the coverage and tried not to have to pay for much, which was a car rental and glass. We made them cover it, as full coverage was our plan, they did, then forced us to find another insurance company. Nice. Never again.

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excellent service but expensiv

by GTA Driver on Sep 23, 2016
3 out of 5 stars

I have been with belair for 10 years. When I have just joined they did offer competitive rate for my car, but were gradually increasing it year after year, despite lack of tickets, claims etc, so I am not happy about that part.
Interesting fact is when I had claim they have actually decreased my premium, but given they were raising premium every time I had no claims I find it quite logical.

When I got my first and only claim (car was hit on parking lot, I wasn't in car but I have managed to catch the guy and get his insurance info before he drove away) belair shown exceptional customer service.
I was first offered by guy to cover my repair, but then he started pulling back, not returning my calls etc, so I have filed the claim only 6 days after the fact. They said that my situation is quite common and that they will do verification and will proceed. End story: They covered my rental, let me select the body shop of my choice (not that I wanted any particular body shop, but I heard horrible stories about some other insurance companies that send you to particular place). Body shop fixed everything, but delayed by 2 days as they had to repaint few times, but again I did select them myself. The Belair extended rental for 2 more days, no questions.

My experience with them during the claim was exceptionally great. I am sorry to leave belair, but they are just way too expensive now.

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New Driver

by New Driver on Jul 21, 2015
3.5 out of 5 stars

I am a 21 y/o new female driver and went with BelAir Direct after a couple of recommendations. I have done a couple comparison quotes with other companies and was not surprised when they gave me a quote for my premium. ($405/month). However, I am reading some pretty bad reviews about them after spending 45 minutes on the phone with them and eventually signing on with them. I hope my experience with them is a decent one and I don't run into any discrepancies. Other than that the girl I spoke with for almost an hour was unbelievably courteous and understanding considering my lack of knowledge on the subject. Any feedback on them would be appreciated :)

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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.

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by Anonymous on Apr 11, 2012
3 out of 5 stars

I did not file any claims but changed because I found a lower rate.

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Amazing with Claims, terrible afterwards

by Robert WIlks on Apr 10, 2024
3.3 out of 5 stars

Have both home and auto for two cars. I made two home claims as a result of a Windstorm one year, then a fish tank water damage the next year. The claims process was very good, fast, and handled perfectly. However, afterwards, they would not renew my home insurance because of having two claims, then my vehicle insurance went WAY up. They could not reduce the cost of the auto, so I got car insurance significantly cheaper elsewhere. The problem was, I could not get the auto renewal to not happen because I could not get through to an agent on the phone - been on hold for well over an hour, numerous times, trying and get it cancelled. And you cannot do it online, it tells you to call. I'm still trying to get through on the phone and get it cancelled. Ridiculously long wait times on the phone to speak with anyone, and they have no call back feature set up..

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Best rate, bad cancellation

by jsilver on Oct 27, 2020
3.5 out of 5 stars

I had liability only, another driver hit me, and their insurance company declared my vehicle a total loss and gave me a small payout. Now I don't have a vehicle, so I called Belairdirect to cancel my liability insurance. Their agent couldn't tell me exactly what the cancellation fee, said it was small ("around $20"), and said there might not be any fee since the cancellation reason was a total loss. I calculated it and the fee amounts to 10% of the payment for the remaining time, $39.20 in my case.

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Unprepared

by Tootall on May 10, 2019
3 out of 5 stars

I believe Belair should be more informed of what the facilities they send clients to are capable of and what care these facilities take with vehicles. My truck went in for a front bumper and came out with a scratch across the tailgate. A better screening process of these facilities would be more beneficial for Belair and it's clients.

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