Desjardins Insurance Home Insurance Reviews

Hello everyone. I'm not used to posting this type of post but I have no choice and I don't want any other person to be deceived and go through the same unfortunate events that my family went through with @DesjardinsInsurance.

On February 10, 2023, we had a fire in our home, which we were luckily able to put out, although the damage was great due to the fire being in the kitchen and the smoke affected the entire first and second floor, as well as the entire ventilation system throughout the home.

We took the first step and called Desjardins and reported the incident immediately. Once the report was written up, the officer who would be in charge of my process was assigned to me.

The next day the emergency cleaning team that was put in charge showed up and removed everything that was affected by the fire and smoke. So far everything seemed to be going ok.

After the cleanup crew came by, there was almost no communication as my "affected party" called the office of the assigned officer and I was given the unpleasant news that he was on vacation and I had no choice but to wait for him to return (a whole week went by without an answer and without any person working on the deep cleaning stage of our home.)

After the officer returned from his vacation, he showed up at my home with another representative of the company who presented the budget and how the work will be carried out. After several attempts and persistence to get a hold of someone, after a week they finally sent me the budget and this is where the problems and the nightmares begin, which I will list and summarize for you so as not to make this too wordy:

1. The person they assigned and sent to prepare the budget does not have the slightest idea of the extremity of damage that was caused and all the things that must be done to repair it.
2. The date they gave me to start the repair was May 1st (which was 3 months away). And due to the safety of my family who was still living in the home, I decided I couldn't wait 3 months and found my own contractor who was willing to do the work much sooner so my family can resume our lives in a clean home.
3. Every time I spoke with the Desjardins representative, I explained to him the severe respiratory problems that one of my daughters and wife have, to which he completely ignored and refused to take into account the safety and well-being of my family.
4. Once they finally gave me the budget (and this is where I want everyone to pay close attention) because it is where they end up with us, the prices they used to come up with the budget are contractor-only prices because they consult with the contractors that work for them. For example (one of the many pricing issues) they quoted painting at $0.74 /sqft and it is well known to anyone that the average price of interior paint in Toronto and Barrie is between $3 and $4.50/sqft. They refused to budge and offer a fair amount and they maintained their position until the very end and we were not even given the opportunity to negotiate or revise this.

It’s very evident that the personnel who work for @Desjardins Insurance in the Claim Services department do not possess the proper knowledge or common sense to diligently and fairly perform their duties, and unfortunately the same goes for the contractors who work directly for them.

Further to exemplify Desjardins’ inefficiency and ineffectiveness, after doing some research and investigating I came to find out that the repair of the kitchen (including cabinets, replacement of damaged equipment and painting) had an approximate cost of $14,000, however, Desjardins paid contractor roughly $13,000 for cleaning up my home for 7 days of work which was not even done correctly.

I escalated this situation to the highest authority of Desjardins, hoping for a positive and helpful response during this very stressful and tragic time.
Nevertheless, the response that I received was that their offer was final without the opportunity for professional analysis of repair costs or even having called me to discuss my reasoning and points.

In short, I highly recommend that you think twice before signing with Desjardins insurance, in my case I would never trust the safety of my home and family under Desjardins and I would never recommend such a company to any of my family or friends. This has been an absolute nightmare that simply doesn’t seem to end and unfortunately, my family and my home are the ones who ultimately suffer.

I do however want to thank the brokers who served me as a client and guided me through this difficult process and assisted as much as they possibly could have.