Square One Insurance Home Insurance Reviews

Not sure if this is common experience.
I got a home insurance quote from Square One via Kanetix. Then I contacted Square One via Kanetix. My final quote became much more, as much as 50% more. Liability and deductible are the same. I did not choose any optional offer.

My tenants experienced water damage from a dishwater leak. The bottom of the kitchen wall needed to be replaced as it was wet despite emergency cleaning. Square One/All Perils Claims told me not to do anything until they decided what was covered. Almost a month later, they denied my claim because of "mould growth" inside the kitchen wall, which somehow they had seen when they visited the suite 4 days after the incident. After 3 weeks had passed, the project escalated as there needed to be mould remediation and the entire wall had to be replaced along with the kitchen cabinets. I also had to prorate rent for my tenants who moved out as the kitchen became unusable during the repairs.

My claim was wrongly denied because Square One/All Perils Claims conducted a flawed and inaccurate assessment. The insurance's contractor did not do any assessment (e.g., no thermal camera to assess water damage, did not open up the walls, did not look behind the kitchen cabinets) but decided somehow there was mould INSIDE the kitchen walls without having seen it. Moreover, the contractor stated that this mould was not from the dishwasher leak but "had been there from other previous leaks." He lied as there was no way to determine this. However, it was not surprising to find mould once the kitchen wall was opened up during the repairs 3 weeks after the incident as these were ideal conditions for mould growth (mould grows after 48 to 72 hours in damp dark spaces). It is my opinion that Square One/All Perils Claims knew the high likelihood of mould growth in this situation and delayed their decision making to make sure that mould would grow in the 3 weeks.

After 4 months of going back and forth, I settled with Square One for half of the project costs. They offered me a settlement "on good faith." My only option was to take them to small claims court, which was not feasible for me as I work full-time on Vancouver Island. I am also so completely worn down by this process, that I needed to settle the matter for my own emotional wellbeing. However, I am greatly dissatisfied with their service, the inefficiencies in handling my claim, and the lack of accurate evidence they provided. I hold Square One and All Perils Claims entirely responsible for the full extent of the damages. My claim was initially denied given a poorly conducted and grossly inaccurate assessment. Insurance must cover all damages, not just part of the damages, especially if damages were aggravated by the length of time taken to deal with the matter. If this had been dealt with in a timely and efficient manner, there would have been no mould growth and my tenants would not have had to move out for an extended period of time. This issue has caused me and my tenants significant stress. I have also spent a considerable amount of my personal time coordinating services to ensure that the repairs were expedited, especially as the 3 weeks following the water damage incident were wasted waiting for their decision.

If you carefully read these reviews, you will see that most of them refer to customers valuing the lower deductibles compared to what is offered by other providers. Reviews also refer to the "great" customer service offered by this company when convincing people to buy their insurance. There are NO reviews of big claims being positively resolved. Although going through insurance providers will likely always be a stressful experience, stay away from this small company who will do whatever it takes not to pay up when it counts.