Shopping Discussion

Home insurance from Co-operators Group Ltd

  • Last Updated:
  • Nov 5th, 2015 10:08 am
Newbie
Nov 1, 2015
2 posts
Roxboro, QC

Home insurance from Co-operators Group Ltd

Has anyone had their home or car insured with The Co-operators Group insurance .I am looking at a quote from them and would like feedback from anyone who has dealt with this company.
Thank you
9 replies
Newbie
Nov 1, 2015
2 posts
Roxboro, QC
Has anyone dealt with The Co-operators Home insurance Co.?
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jun 26, 2011
1689 posts
399 upvotes
No need to start multiple threads - for this you might as well ask in the auto sub forum. Co-operators are a big company. With all companies there will be people with good and bad experiences.
Sr. Member
Dec 16, 2010
537 posts
113 upvotes
I've been with the cooperators for about 6 or 7 years now for both home and auto.

I've never had a home insurance claim but I did have two vehicle claims for vehicle theft and the service was near perfect.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Aug 20, 2005
11320 posts
3868 upvotes
Nowhere
I had Co-operators when I first started driving as my father had been with them for years. I never found their rates to be that good but when I went to them before no fault in Ontario, they weren't taking new customers so you only got insured if through a family member being a customer. I was a new driver so at that time, you went with who would insure you. I had a not at fault accident with them right after no fault insurance came in. I was not at all happy with how they handled the claim. It took 6 months to get my car fixed. They insisted that I pay the deductible and I refused since I was not at fault and a poor student who knew I wouldn't be seeing that deductible back anytime soon. The claims person made no effort to do anything on the claim so it was left to me to get the police report etc. When my car was finally repaired at their recommended shop, they only did half the work so I had to take it back. It was a bumper and a cracked taillight and they didn't bother to fix the taillight because the insurance company told them not to. That experience definitely turned me off.

They also lied to me on several occasions including telling they didn't offer deductibles that they did even though I actually had that deductible. They wouldn't even look at my policy to confirm. Then they quoted me at one rate with one set of deductibles then tried to raise it when I went to get the policy before picking up a new car. So the day I was getting my new car, I had to go out and find a new insurance company. I did that and when I went back to cancel suddenly they had the lower deductible I wanted with the same premium and begged me to stay. Too little, too late. I ended up getting better rates elsewhere.
Member
Feb 27, 2014
339 posts
84 upvotes
Co-operators sell directly to consumers, compared to buying insurance from xyz company who are brokers that offer insurance from more than one insurance company. So when you go to Co-operators, they will only offer you insurance only from their own company which is Co-operators. Because there is no middle man/broker involved, their premiuim in theory should be lower.

Here is the biggest problem about Co-operators. When you get a quote from them, they want to a credit check. If you allow the credit check, Co-operators will offer lower premiums. If you refused the credit check, the premiums quoted are high. Co-operators claimed the credit check will not affect your credit score and it is not a hard hit. I do not know if this claim is true and leave it to those who have consented to credit check by Co-operators and have access to their credit file to comment.

So if you are shopping for insurance and want to compare premium from several insurance companies, the credit check by Co-operators could be a problem. If you don't care about hard hits or if you don't mind giving up personal information to facilitate the credit check which you may or may not buy the quoted product, then you can let Co-operators do the credit check.
Member
Feb 27, 2014
339 posts
84 upvotes
Becks wrote: The Co-Operators do a soft credit check on you, fyi.
Good to know it is a soft credit check.

The other hurdle is giving up personal information in order to get a quote which you may or may not buy the quoted product. It will be better if Co-Operators can provide the quote first before doing the credit check. If the quote is acceptable, then people can proceed to buy the insurance and let Co-Operators do the credit check.

That will depends on what/how the soft credit is about/done. If there is only one rate, then providing the quote first before credit check is not an issue. If the actual quote depend on the person's credit worthiness, then Co-Operators should provide a range such as people with 800 score get this price, 700 score get this price etc.
Deal Fanatic
Jul 4, 2004
9473 posts
2650 upvotes
I've been with The Co-Operators for 3 years now and am pretty happy with them, no issues. The credit check doesn't bother me if it helps them to protect their business and client base from potential fraud.
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Sr. Member
User avatar
Apr 13, 2010
659 posts
424 upvotes
Napanee, ON
My wife worked for Cooperators for almost 10 years in sales and later in the claims office. The only reason we haven't shopped around elsewhere is because she is still getting the employee discount. It also helps to know the people handling your file when there's a claim. :)

But I know they aren't the cheapest. With any insurance company, you have to know your policy. Your policy is your contract by which both sides are bound to. So any agent can tell you anything they want, but it doesn't mean a thing unless it's in your policy.

Also remember that insurance companies are responsible to government agencies. So just because you go up the ladder within the company and everyone refuses to abide by your policy, doesn't mean you have no options. Every province will have a complaint process. For example, here's Ontario's: https://www.fsco.gov.on.ca/en/insurance ... fault.aspx

Usually, when you say you'll contact the ombudsman, people start scrambling to make you happy. But don't be a jerk about it. Insisting on getting something that is not in your policy will just be a waste of everyone's time.

From what I've heard, Cooperators is decent about paying out when they have to. It depends on the adjuster you end up getting of course. From the anecdotes that my wife has heard, people have had a much harder time getting the "State" companies to pay out (State Farm, Allstate). Your mileage may vary.
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