Amazing with Claims, terrible afterwards
by Robert WIlks on Apr 10, 2024
3.3 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.
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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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.
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.
It was dealt with, but the experience was bad. They made dealing with this somewhat of a hassle. Why should I beg to get help? They really gave me no assurance. Like I said, it was dealt with, wasn’t the best outcome but I am satisfied
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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.
Claim disaster; my car was hit by a city snowplow while my car was legally parked, the city employee left a note with his name EE# license etc., Insurance dragged their feet claiming that the city was uncooperative, the city employees were very cooperative, understanding with me. The provincial policy is clear: claimant's insurance pays. I made a formal complaint against my insurance company's tactics but since Belair complaint procedures are nonexistent - they sent the complaint to be resolved by the advisor who was dragging it out initially, I had to re-complain to speak with a supervisor. Daily calls and 50 days to determine liability (did I mention my car was parked). Then they low-balled the estimate, insulted my chosen mechanic and told me that because he does not have a fax they won't deal with him, recommend that I don't do any business with my trusted mechanic. They finally twisted my arm to send my car to their insurance approved garage. Who then wanted to charge me directly because the estimate was so poorly done. Stay away from this company.
I have been with belair for 5 years and have called around for cheaper quotes which I didn't find. I had 3 tickets, it was no problem. Every time I call for questions or to add a new vehicle, they are hard to communicate and half the time don't even know what they are talking about. Or you can' t understand them. I've actually had a lady argue with me and start telling me I said something- that I didn't - that was going to cause them to drop me. Absolutely ridiculous service and stupid people. Don't try to call and ask questions here because they take words out of your mouth and mock you.
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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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..