Portage Mutual Insurance Home Insurance Reviews

Had a house fire in September. FINALLY
4-5 months later they give money for the claim. And now they want a good portion back!!! The adjuster was impossible to get a hold of either by phone or email. Together a horrible experience and not recommended to anyone!!!

Neighbors had 100% damage claims on their roofs. Adjuster called 20 min out and wanted to look at the house, said she can’t wait for me as she was busy. Climbed up took some pics left a paper saying next to zero damage that the repairs would be less than the deductible and my shingles were old.
I called in irate and told them to add up my premiums for the last 6 years and mail them back to me. They changed over the phone to 50% coverage on the roof, facia, and chimney. Simply over the phone re-looking at the pictures

I cancelled my insurance at the beginning of March and here we are at the beginning of April and they're still taking money from my account. Not only are they taking money out that they shouldn't, but they put it through my account again 2 days later. 2 NSFs and I'm out 90 because they didn't cancel it. My original cost was 16 and some change the new payments they're putting through are 32 and change. If you cancel you might as well close your bank because they will keep pulling from your account. I don't even live at that address anymore and explained that when I cancelled it LAST MONTH!

We switched to this insurance company based on a 'better quote' through a broker. After a year and a half of going back and forth between Portage and the broker, and receiving ever-increasing premiums in the mail over the year and a half, we have come to the conclusion that Portage is a poorly run insurance company. Do not trust Portage la Prairie Mutual Insurance Company.

We have gone back to our original insurance provider, and are very happy.

They increased my deductible without informing me. This insurance company was recommended by MIG and apparently is the best one that suits my needs as a new home buyer. I guess they take advantage wherever they can. More than likely I will be switching to a different insurance company.

After I contracted a policy with them, I received to billings for paying extra money within the first three months of that policy. I decided to cancel that policy but I only got refunded with a third of the total. This company is a waste of time and money.

We have waited over a month to hear back on a claim, the first claim we have ever made, in 10 years of house ownership, on our two-story deck that collapsed. They just said a flat-out - no! We didn’t build this house, how were we supposed to know that 20 years ago, when they built the deck, that they didn’t build it properly. And now that expense is on us? After all the money we have poured into our insurance company and we have no right to any of it back. Shame on you greedy pigs. When the guy came out to look at the deck, he said: “well, it was all nailed in instead of screwed, but that’s just how they built stuff back then”. Point and case.

After being claims-free for over 10 years, we had roof damage due to a wind storm that affected 100's of homes around ours. The first call for some roof repair work was completed in a timely fashion but no further response to my inquiries on what they would cover on the damage for over 2 months. The lack of response also caused a further delay on having the roof work completed. It ended up with the neighbours around me receiving prompt full coverage replacement on their roofs. As for Portage, we only paid for the patchwork even though the patches were all over the roof and as the workman would walk to do the repair, other shingles were being damaged. We decided the 20 patches all over the roof would decrease the home's value and paid ourselves for a complete new roof. Portage then decided to increase our payments by another $100 per month, even though the home now should have been decreased with the structure being more solid. As this was a first-time claim and we had a shrinking deductible, the large monthly increase was a surprise.

1) Policy almost doubled in price in two years. (indoor oil tank, Outdoor wood Boiler)
2) Charged $500+ for OUTDOOR Wood Boiler which was over 80ft from home and only brought HOT water to the house for heating. Clause states that if a solid fuel furnace is used to provide heat source then you get a surcharge. They are narrow minded on this when a system a great distance away from the house cannot start a fire using hot water, as far as I'm aware.
3) Had home inspection and when the inspector realized that the Outdoor Boiler was not in Operation for 13 Mos did not refund or remove Solid fuel surcharge. When I contacted their office directly in St Catharines, the person on the other end said He could not talk directly with the clients. I had to use my broker. They are very quick to add surcharges based on your verbal confirmation but will not remove them based on verbal confirmation.
4) House - 1000 sq per floor Cape Cod with attached DBl car garage was assessed at $675K+ replacement. I think that is high off the charts.
5)Policy has been cancelled for over 4 weeks and still no refund. Surcharges appear to have been removed at Cancellation. Will let you know.
Better insurance providers out there so shop around. I will say the Personal was not much better on a quote, find a provider which understands the equipment in your house and your property and you'll be happier with them.

The biggest crooks ever. I am a single mom, my house burned down caused by my dryer. Because I had a tent garage in my yard they denied my claim flat out after making leave everything that was salvageable in my house for a month while they made this decision to be robbed and destroyed more by weather.