Equitable Life of Canada Health Insurance Reviews

I purchased Health Insurance (medication) after losing my job in July 2017. I received a letter from Equitable Life stating I could continue coverage if purchased within the first 3 months of being laid off. I called and spoke with agent and finally decided to purchase insurance as I needed it for heart and diabetes medication. I ask the agent what it would cover and the agent told me that coverage would continue "as it was" with former employer. So I agreed to purchase for $146 per month. After about 4 months I was told by my pharmacist that my limit had been reached for the year when trying to get my medication. I called Equitable Life to inquire what was going on. The agent I spoke to then said to me that I had a $1100 "cap" for the year in which I was NEVER TOLD when I purchased. After phone calls back and forth with a few different managers, I was told that I should have basically had "read the fine print" before purchasing. I even told the manager why would I spend almost $1800 a year to get $1100 in coverage? She "denied" that I was never told. In any case, it was never resolved and I cancelled immediately. This is by far the worst company to deal with and would not recommend to anyone. Lowest star rating was 1, but I actually give this company a -5 star rating. Avoid, Avoid, AVOID

Our plan was previously with green shield never had any issues with them. Got my orthotics for my work boots as I usually do every year this year my claim was denied. They told me even with my prescription they do not cover orthotics for flat feet I asked what they do cover orthotics for and they refused to tell me. I spoke to two different agents on different days both would not tell me what medical conditions were covered by my insurance pertaining to orthotics. I asked for this policy in an email to show my plan administrator we’ll see if that email ever comes through. Really disappointed. They send out paper benefits cards cheap from first impression to last.

I had health insurance with this company and it has been the worst experience ever. These people took money for a coverage for more than one year and when I finally called to use my coverage, I was informed that I did not have a coverage with the company due to having residents coverage elsewhere. Entirely false: that was the only coverage I had. So I went on to ask the customer service rep why take my money then provide no service and blatant reply was... I should go ask my employer. I have requested getting my money back because this is the highest level of fraud, leading a customer to believe there was a service provided when that was not the case. So many questions are rumbling through me... what if I was seriously injured or sick, and I thought I had coverage paid for????? These people are the scum of the earth, words can't describe how disgusting they are. I have seen the matter with them and the only thing I was told is that I should try to send in a claim form for whatever I did in the past. They are just trying to cover their track because they are so wrong. And at this point that can't help me, when I needed the service, it was not there and those people already let the cat out of the bag. I need my money, you people are thieves. I would encourage anyone with a plan to use it often so they can't scam you and make sure to keep detailed logs of when you call service reps because they will hide the call logs. And I definitely recommend everyone to find a different insurance company because this one doesn't like to pay out... only to collect.

I had to select 1 star as that is the lowest allowed rating. They provide no reason for claims denied. You have to call their claims department. You are not allowed to speak with the Judicator. The 1st level help desk is middle person to the Judicator.

They do not help you with your claims, just send you off on wild gooses chases. They are not here to help. They are here to profit. You are not important. Your checkbook is. Equitable Life are villains.

I will NOT RECOMMEND this insurance, especially their Group Health and Dental Benefit due to:
1.Their booklet does not reflect the full requirement esp with custom made orthotics (please read another review here by dee on 24Jan2017);

2. Don't respect doctors prescription or find the medical judgement unsatisfactory;

3.They issued me a statement stating my condition "does not warrant treatment" though they have not seen, nor assessed my condition - the statement was plainly based on all the paperwork they received.

4. You get what you pay. Before they pay up, they will ask for too much paperwork. They think, our MD's or health service provider can make letters after letters to explain further your need for treatment.

Please avoid or spare your company and your employees complains, embarrassment, headache and grief just avoid this insurance as stay with the big names.

On hold for hours, they don't cover much in the way of medication means that this is one of the most useless insurance companies out there. The premiums must be cheap because the service is horrible. Avoid these guys like a plague!

Their policies are a lot worse than those of other insurance policies, for example: 90 days to submit all claims after you terminate (and who wouldn't). Their systems are archaic and when you call in, nobody knows how to direct you properly. Any employer who is using them is simply trying to go 'el cheapo' on their employees. I lost 1500 because of their policies that they did not disclose until it was too late. Frauds.
When I was trying to get my orthotics approved, it was a joke. We went through 3 cycles with Paris Orthotics (the biggest orthotics maker in Vancouver, Canada). They couldn't believe it. Equitable kept rejecting the claim (due to the fact that Paris didn't specify the manufacturing process with enough detail, and I saw the level of detail they prepared! In the end, on the pre-approval form Equitable wouldn't confirm if they will cover the orthotics 'for sure'. Paris Orthotics have been in business for years and never have problems with any Insurance companies. That was until they met Equitable life. In the end, I didn't want to risk $500 so I had my old pair of orthotics fixed (which they didn't cover, at 1/8th of the cost). This was typical. Don't use them, don't buy them.

Overall I would not hold a policy with this company again. I found that the company did little to no communicating and made customers jump through many hoops and did not provide up front coverage.