# Warning About The Personal Insurance Company - CF Members Posted to Edmonton



## Western Acorn (29 Jul 2005)

By way of background, I'm a serving Army officer at CFB Edmonton and am currently insured with The Personal Insurance Company of Canada (and have been for over 10 years). I'm sure that there are a number of other CF personnel currently serving in the Edmonton area or who are posted into the area this APS who may also be dealing with The Personal for automobile or home insurance. Following a conversation with The Personal today regarding my automobile insurance policy, I feel compelled to warn my fellow CF members about what I believe to be rather spurious conduct on their part. My wife and I have lived in St Albert, a community northwest of the Base, for the past five years. We have just sold our home and are moving approximately 1 km into a newly constructed home in another sub-division in St Albert. I contacted The Personal today to square away insurance for our new home and to change the address on our automobile policy. At this point I was advised that The Personal and some other insurance companies had recently adopted a new practice of calculating insurance premiums based upon your postal code, rather than upon the area you lived in as a whole. In our case, moving 1 km from the sub-division of Deer Ridge to the new sub-division of North Ridge was going to result in a premium increase on our two vehicles of $811.00 per year! Yes, that's correct, $811.00!!! We currently pay approximately $2,200.00 per year to insure our two vehicles so this represents an increase of close to 30 percent over what we are paying now. I should point out that both my wife and I have perfect driving records and have both been insured continuously for over 10 years. I was shocked and appauled by the increase and couldn't believe that this practice had been adopted throughout the industry. When I got off the phone with The Personal, I opened the Yellow Pages and phoned the first company I came across, which happened to be Allstate. Ten minutes later I had a quote from Allstate of $1949.00 to insure us with the same coverages provided by The Personal. I've never dealt with Allstate in my life and they've quoted me a rate that's $250.00 cheaper, in North Ridge, than what I'm paying The Personal now for coverage in Deer Ridge. I found out from the Allstate rep that they consider St Albert as a whole, hence the lower rate. After receiving the quote from Allstate, I called The Personal back and asked to speak with a manager, thinking in my head that if I had a lower quote from another company, that at the very least they would try to match it. No joy. All I got was a "we're terribly sorry but the rate quoted is the best we can do, and we understand if you choose to purchase insurance elsewhere." Talk about trying to secure customer loyalty. I've never seen such a poor effort in my life. What is most shocking though, is that I've been with The Personal for over ten years and have always thought that they provided better rates to CF members than any other company on the market. Please don't believe this - I've seen first hand that this is not the case. My advice to anyone planning to move to St Albert is to shop around for auto insurance. You'll be glad you did.


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## beach_bum (29 Jul 2005)

It's not just in Edmonton.  I've had issues with them before as have others I know.  Just a case of buyer beware.  Always look around before buying.


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## George Wallace (30 Aug 2005)

I had a wood stove in my house in Petawawa.  The Personnel was going to revoke my Insurance on all my policies unless I removed the stove or did major improvements to it to meet the Code.  This was the second time an inspector was sent by them to inspect the wood stove and the second time I had to make improvements.  There was no 'Grandfather clause' to cover stoves installed prior to changes to the building codes, which seem to be constantly changing.

Anyway, I have since moved and sold the house to a Fireman.  Hopefully he has not the grief I have had with the Personnel and their practices.

It sure keeps the building/remodelling trades in business.


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## Gunner98 (31 Aug 2005)

Getting a quote from Allstate doesn't mean that is what you will end up paying once they send an inspector around.  Once insurance companies attract you they often slowly creep rates upward.

I was sued the other day over an accident - the Personal has been great for the last 10 years for me as well.  I will let you know if they continue to provide good service and rates after this case is resolved.


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## Fdtrucker (31 Aug 2005)

Earlier this year after getting back fron  Afghanistan and moving from LP to Bon Accord my insurance for both my both wife's and mine vehicle went up slightly due to the amount we were travelling (over 20 kms vice under under 10 Kms). Still paying less then we were we paying in On, Yu have to shop around here. I am with Primmun Insurance Company out of Calgary. I saved $1000.00 on 2 vehs and $220.00 from my motorcycle the first year.


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## X Royal (2 Sep 2005)

Its been my expierience that many insurance companies (read agents) will give you a better deal to get you to change to them. After a few years the rates start to clime. My best advice is if you feel your rates have jumped to much - shop arround for a better deal. The reason for the rates jumping is most will believe the agents bull & bend over and take it.

Good Luck


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## danny1222 (9 Sep 2005)

i have recently taken out a policy with the personal insurance company in august.   my previous insurance company (johnson insurance) had cancelled me for 2 NSF payments.   i tried calling AMA and they wanted a vehicle inspection report, bill of sale among other documents that i could not provide at the time (i was on course in borden and all these documents were in edmonton).   i heard about personal insurance through a co-worker and decided to call for a quote.  All they needed to start a policy was a claim experience letter (stating that i owe no money to my previous insurer), VIN number, drivers licence #, bank account #, previous insurance policy #, and my military service #.    very easily done.  my insurance papers were faxed out in 2 hours.  i now am paying $90.00 less per month for the same insurance coverage.
have i had any problems with the personal insurance company?  no.........    but one thing i have learned is that all insurance companies are the same so i wont be surprised when problems arise

i hope this helps to anyone who is reading


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## Infanteer (10 Sep 2005)

Western Acorn said:
			
		

> When I got off the phone with The Personal, I opened the Yellow Pages and phoned the first company I came across, which happened to be Allstate. Ten minutes later I had a quote from Allstate of $1949.00 to insure us with the same coverages provided by The Personal. I've never dealt with Allstate in my life and they've quoted me a rate that's $250.00 cheaper, in North Ridge, than what I'm paying The Personal now for coverage in Deer Ridge.



Ahh...the wonders of capitalism.


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## retiredgrunt45 (14 Sep 2007)

I came across this topic and thought I'd leave my 2 cents. Over the past 15 years I have used the Personal Insurance Company to insure 2 cars and my house, even after I retired and went on the Sub reserve list I still use them. I've had two accidents in 15 years, both were not my fault. The company was quick to get my vehicle fixed, gave me a rental while mine was being repaired, provided taxi's for my family etc. In all its been a very good experience thus far. no red tape one phone call and all was taken care off. 

My 2 cars cost $1700.00 annually full coverage on both with 3 drivers on each.

More out of curiosity than anything, I phoned AllState they quoted me at $2250.00 for both vehicles because my daughter is under 25
 State Farm was $2050.00 for the same reason.

Because my daughter was taught how to drive professionally and not by "dear old dad", the Personal gave me a break on her coverage insurance, the other two companies refused.

 I think I'll stay with the Personal, Thank You. My rating with them would be 8/10, this ecompasses rates and service.


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## exgunnertdo (14 Sep 2007)

The Postal Code thing is not new to the industry - our home insurance in Winnipeg (not the Personal) was based on postal code.  We were paying significantly higher insurance than those on the next block, since we were on the north-most corner of what is considered "North End" (translation - high crime) of Winnipeg.  Our neighbours a block over were in West Kildonan and paid much less.

In the Personal's favour, my car insurance rates went down significantly on posting from Borden (living on base) to Ottawa (living in the 'burbs of Barrhaven).  The discussion I had with a co-worker was that she was told by her insurance company that Borden/Barrie is considered "Toronto" for insurance purposes, hence the high rates (obviously hearsay not verified by me).  This posting was this year, so maybe the Personal's postal code policy helped me?  Don't know, didn't ask why, just was happy when I saw the rates.  

And - our insurance on our house in Ottawa with the Personal is about half of what we were paying with Red River for our house in Winnipeg.  Real dollars, not even adjusted for inflation!  $90,000 house in Wpg, 10+ years ago, $300,000 house in Ottawa today, and the insurance is about half of what we were paying back then.

I'm happy with the Personal - I've had no claims, so can't comment on their service in that regard.


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## Northern Ranger (14 Sep 2007)

I used a broker and the rates that they gave me with ING, beat the personal by 200.00+ a year for 2 cars, house , sled and boat.  Might not seem like much over the year but its two wings nights to me.


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## Rusty_Poth (14 Sep 2007)

I too believe that the Insurance industry uses the "Postal Code" system to get rates. I know an individual who moved here to Airdrie from Calgary and his rates are quite a bit lower.

We have been using them for several years now, we have our home, Truck, minivan, 5th Wheel trailer all insured by them, my son had been insured with them for a few years as well. The only problem we had was they canceled our glass coverage years ago due to the fact that we had two windshields replaced twice within three months. On a recent cross-country trip we clipped the roof of the trailer and so far they have been good, mind you the trailer hasn't gone on for the replacement of the rubber roof yet, but we should find out what kind of service they give when I drag the trailer in to get fixed.


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## Greymatters (17 Sep 2007)

The crime here is the price of the insurance!

A friend is moving to Nova Scotia and there he got quoted as paying $990 bucks a year for: A large pickup truck, medium sized car, trailer, and a goldwing motorcycle.

Now thats WTF!


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## Strike (17 Sep 2007)

I used to be with a broker, until I moved to Ontario.  The people I was with wanted to cancel my policy and then start a new one because I was changing prvinces (was NS).  Their excuse for the exorbitantly high rate was that I was moving to the country and the accident rate was higher.  ????

I got a quote with Meloche Monex, who gives a discount to members of the RMC Club, and it was drastically lower than what I was paying in NS.  To top it off, I got a bigger discount because I also insured my house with them.  Moving to Kingston, my rates went down even more.  More cars and higher chance of accidents, but closer to work.


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## a78jumper (18 Sep 2007)

The Personal was the pits. In 1996 upon release from the Reg Force on FRP I wanted to travel around North America (which I did. Given I had no fixed address they dropped me, despite having an unblemished driving record, the letter being sent to my Gagetown address from which I had moved. About three weeks later it was forwarded to my parents place and I found out I had been driving around with no insurance for the interim. Finding a new policy was not difficult, though I had to come up with an address. I also was not impressed with their adjuster who inspected damage done to my truck in the parking lot around the corner from NDHQ; the other guy left me a note acceting full resonsibility(honest John) but this fool somehow made me feel like it was my fault I had chosen to pay to park there that day.


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## medicineman (18 Sep 2007)

exgunnertdo said:
			
		

> This happened to me when I moved to Borden - they consider it part of the GTA and now I'm paying more for one car than I have since I bought my first car at 21 in Borden.  Strange, I thought my rates were supposed to go DOWN with age and lack of experience with accidents and police pullovers...
> 
> MM


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## startbutton (19 Sep 2007)

medicineman said:
			
		

> exgunnertdo said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## maniac779 (10 Oct 2007)

I agree with the original poster... The Personal is junk.

My insurance just came up and I shopped around before hand. Ever hear of Belair Direct? Well, I switched, as they offered me over 40% less than I was paying at The Personal, and they didn't do a damn thing to try and keep me. Needless to say I jumped ship.


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## x-grunt (10 Oct 2007)

I had the good fortune to come across this nifty site, perhaps it will be useful to others here.

http://www.insurancehotline.com

I had shopped around considerably for my auto insurance, and had what I considered a darn decent rate.
This site coughed up a broker with a rate about $200 lower, with more coverage.

I was skeptical, but it has turned out to be a valuable resource. It's free at the consumer's end, they charge the brokers for the referrals.


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## BinRat55 (7 Nov 2007)

Here's my "Personal" horror story...

Several years ago I was insured with The Personal (approx 10ish)  Like some, I was going through a divorce and a tour at the same time.  Time passed and I made it through both.  When I arrived back in Canada, I collected my mail from the orderly room.  Remember when you could go through the OR for a pay allotment for the Personal?  Not sure if it's the same still, but I digress.  In my mail were 4 "notices" from the Personal telling me I needed to add $120.00 more a month to my insurance (see, my new ex-wife had taken the car and informed the company that it was now in a different town, so the insurance went up)  The problem I had when I called them was that I was no longer insured by them - yup, I had been dropped for non-payment.  I tried to explain to the higher-up there that I had been deployed and was not aware of all that had transpired.  They were quite sympathetic and offered to take me back, conditionally of course.  I would have to pay the arreers (fair enough I said) and the remainder of the year PLUS all of next year up front.  The total bill to get re-insured through the Personal would be approxamately $4000.00.  I was appalled mostly by the comment - I was told that if I had a better grip on my personal life and chose NOT to go on tour while being divorced then I would still be insured!!!  I wrote a letter to the chairman of the board of directors for the Personal.  I'll bottom line the reply - tough luck, so sad and go away.  I then found out the hard way that if any insurance company finds out you were "dumped" due to non-payment, they either won't touch you or charge you all up front and the highest rate possible.  I went two years not being able to get insurance anywhere.

Needless to say I would NEVER send a friend to the Personal Insurance.

Sorry for the rant!!


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## Panzertech (9 Nov 2007)

I used to be insured with The Personal till about 4 years ago (I live in Edmonton, Lake District) They quoted me some retarded price for my car insurance after buying a house and moving from the Q's to Edmonton. On the advise of a friend I got a broker and Whoa I am saving over $1K just on my two vehicles alone and my house insurance is very low as well. I think the theme in this thread would be just because a company advertises within the military well doesn't mean it is the only game in town. That and a lot of big companies like the personal really could careless if a few customers jump ship to another company because they beleive that for the most part the have the big portion of the pie.


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## mmishra (2 Oct 2013)

The Personal Insurance Company (Desjardins Group) – I have auto insurance with this company for last 12 years and house insurance for last 10 years. Never made any claim. 

First time I made claim against my property theft last month. I provided all the information required but they informed that I can claim max $1000 against all loses. When I asked them that I never knew my coverage is only $1000. They informed me that it’s standard unless you specify. I said you never asked me or disclosed me about this coverage. They said they sent me detailed policy in 2003, where it was mentioned. They don’t send any detail policy on annual renewal. When I enquired in detail, I realized that they deliberately minimized the coverage everywhere to lower my monthly premium unless I ask them. That’s why you will see most of us like their lower premium. I found other insurance providers, who disclose everything and confirm with you when you sign the policy but The Personal plays the trick to get new customers. BEWARE of this DIRTY TRICK.

Once you are trapped, they never listen to you. They also don’t provide any proof that you agreed with that. Simply they will say: “Our record shows this is your coverage”. 
I have recommended everyone in my contact not to go with the Personal Insurance (Desjardins Group), one of the worst insurance company in north America. I heard earlier about them but now I realized it.
 :rage:


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## mba2011 (2 Oct 2013)

I also had a major problem with The Personal as well. After 2 years of coverage for my truck, they hiked my rate up by $110 a month after I moved at university. Like the OP, they told me that it was based on my postal code. I obviously asked how a move to an adjacent street in the same town (population 7000>) would cause a $110 increase and they gave me a bs line about how they have no control over what the actuaries evaluated the risk at. I had never made any claims, been late on a payment or any action on my part that would make me more of a risk. 

After I got quoted $50 less than the original Personal Quote (by Allstate), I told The Personal I was planning to walk away. They made no effort to keep me or even explain how this actually happened. 

 When I first got insurance with them, I  was 17, across the country from my family and saw them advertised with SISIP and Canex. I didn't do as much research as I should have, and assumed because SISIP advertised them, they were somewhat credible. Not the case at all. Bottom line is stay the hell away from The Personal.


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## Halifax Tar (2 Oct 2013)

I dropped the Personal 2 years ago after a decade of doing business with them because the wouldn't insure my house on account of we owned two SPCA mutts and couldn't guarantee their breed. 

Phoned TD Meloche Monnex and 20 mins later all was good again and our rates dropped.


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## Occam (2 Oct 2013)

Halifax Tar said:
			
		

> Phoned TD Meloche Monnex and 20 mins later all was good again and our rates dropped.



One thing to be aware about TD Meloche Monnex is that they do group policies, and have two underwriters; Security National and Primmum.  

Because of their great rates compared to nearly everyone we called several years ago, we were initially with Security National by virtue of my wife's university alumni association, but when I pulled the pin and took a PS position (which required me to be a member of IBEW), I was surprised to find out that made me eligible for a different group plan through Primmum.  And the rates were even cheaper than with Security National!


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## Eye In The Sky (2 Oct 2013)

mmishra said:
			
		

> The Personal Insurance Company (Desjardins Group) – I have auto insurance with this company for last 12 years and house insurance for last 10 years. Never made any claim.
> 
> First time I made claim against my property theft last month. I provided all the information required but they informed that I can claim max $1000 against all loses. When I asked them that I never knew my coverage is only $1000. They informed me that it’s standard unless you specify. I said you never asked me or disclosed me about this coverage. They said they sent me detailed policy in 2003, where it was mentioned. They don’t send any detail policy on annual renewal. When I enquired in detail, I realized that they deliberately minimized the coverage everywhere to lower my monthly premium unless I ask them. That’s why you will see most of us like their lower premium. I found other insurance providers, who disclose everything and confirm with you when you sign the policy but The Personal plays the trick to get new customers. BEWARE of this DIRTY TRICK.
> 
> ...



I assume by property theft you mean "stolen out of your veh"?  This isn't only limited to the Personal, my wife had her own insurance before we got married and the same thing happened.

I've dealt with The Personal for years, have made a few claims WRT accidents and have never had any issues.  I'd go as far as to say they do a better job than any of my previous companies.  They are like political parties;  it is really more about finding the one that is "less bad" than the others.   >


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## GreenMarine (2 Oct 2013)

Good to know as I'm in Edmonton, was going to switch to the personal for Auto and Home. 

The Summer floods in the south have me leary about changing home insurance at this time, and I'm not clear that changing auto will really save us money...(God I miss ICBC as I'm from BC.)

I did have the personal for Home at one point however there policies weren't clear when it came to minor flood damage (basement leaking) and I dump them in part of my error when I switched banks and forgot to notify them of the change the other being as said before their lack of customer care support and loyalty incentives.


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## Pat in Halifax (2 Oct 2013)

I have The Personal for cars and have to say no issues. Oddly, when I moved a quarter mile down the road in 1995 (I can see my old house from my current one), I crossed some imaginary line in the Insurance Atlas and my car insurance was halved!
On another note, we have Aviva on the house and the day after Hurricane JUAN (I was not planning on making a claim), an adjuster showed up unannounced and as I was on the roof replacing shingles, he immediatley waived my deductable. I got about $2K back for some roofing and siding damage, $300 for the fridge/freezer contents and he even offerred to replace a shrub that was torn out. What was scary was how willing he was to cover anything and how people would take advantage of it ("Oh yeah, roof was replaced last year!").
Even when I was posted back home last summer (from Ottawa to Halifax), my Silver Wheels insurance on my old 66 Mustang was halved as well.
They say it is expensive to live down east and though we pay rediculous provincial sales and income tax, sometimes I wonder if you don't get it back in other ways.


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## bridges (29 Oct 2013)

Halifax Tar said:
			
		

> I dropped the Personal 2 years ago after a decade of doing business with them because the wouldn't insure my house on account of we owned two SPCA mutts and couldn't guarantee their breed.
> 
> Phoned TD Meloche Monnex and 20 mins later all was good again and our rates dropped.



That's strange.  Unless maybe The Personal felt the dogs had some aggressive (or perhaps banned in that province) breed in them, I can't think of any reason why they would take that stance re. house insurance.  I've heard that mixed-breed dogs as a rule tend to be as friendly and well-balanced as most purebreds, if not more.  Anyway, good for you for shopping around, and for giving a good home to a couple of rescue dogs!     Cheers.


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