Aviva Canada

Oh man... I have a bone to pick with Aviva Insurance Co. (purchased through RBC Insurance) as I feel they are ripping off possibly thousands of Canadians if my case isn't isolated. Here's what happened:
We got this letter in the mail a few days ago (image attached).
They said that they were unable to charge my credit card, and they are charging me a $50 NSF fee? The monthly insurance is only $35.66. When we called them to dispute this ridiculous fee, they said that we had to contact our bank (RBC Visa) and find out why the charge was declined. They would only return the $50 IF the bank accepted responsibility for the error. Very odd customer service, but on to the next step.
I called my bank, and while there was plenty of room on the credit card, they said that Aviva had been using a credit card that had a 2017 expiry date on it for the past 3 years of charges. The Aviva rep explained that they had some sort of agreement with RBC/Moneris that expired cards will still be honored, which is why it was still working for 3 years. Well as of the last charge, it stopped working for them. Aviva told us it was due to "insufficient funds", but the bank says it was because they used a 2017 expiry date that was no longer accepted.
I believe what happened: RBC Visa just issued me a new card, and the 2017 old old one stopped working. The weird part here is it looks like Aviva may have recently updated their system because when I first called in they told me that had the card on file with the 2024 expiry (which we never provided to them), which PROVES that they have an agreement between RBC Insurance and RBC Visa to automatically update the expiry dates when new cards are issued.
My concern here is not so much over the personal $50 charge, but is for the thousands of Canadians that are being charged $50 NSF fees by Aviva / RBC Insurance when a credit card doesn't work. Through our company, we have over 100 monthly credit card charges that come through, and occasionally, they bounce for whatever reason. Not once have I see a company charge us anything for that... they simply send us a notification and let us know they will try the card again in X days, or warn us that service may be interrupted after a certain date.
Does anyone know the name of the government bureau that I can write to about this?
Does this $50 fee for an expired expiry date seem ethical? Yes, I know that when you get a new card, it is up to you to reach out to all of your vendors, BUT every single other vendor simply lets me know they need the new #, and I've never once been charged an NSF fee for that.
Any recommendations on home insurance providers I can switch to that have more ethical payment policies?

Good service when i had a motorcycle accident 5 years ago, they also have the best rates for insurance,

I recently replaced a vehicle on my policy. As I phoned in I expected a long drawn out experience. Happily I spoke with Judith Ralph who made everything so easy and professional and answered all my questions. Great experience

Horrible company to process a claim with STAY AWAY.... I wish I had checked ratings on these guys before doing business with them.

I didn’t listen to the reviews and that was a huge mistake. Should be zero stars. Think you’ll save money with AVIVA? You won’t. Customer service representative tells you one thing and approves you for a tow, then a year later AVIVA sends a bill saying they won’t cover it. But not to you. Nope, you’ll get your first inkling when you get a letter from a collection agency. Total rip-off company. DO. NOT. INSURE. WITH. AVIVA. PLEASE. Protect yourself from being abused. Better to have no insurance then AVIVA.

Was in a not at fault accident and had to send them the highway traffic act and dashcam video and was still called at fault until the other party's insurance saw the video and took full fault. The woman dealing with my case was so rude. When I had issues with how it was all being handled and the rental car I was told by their manager that "if I didn't like the rental car a bus pass could always be supplied." I have never had such a horrible experience with a company, let alone one I'm spending $4000+ at a year. When my year is up (which can't come fast enough) I'm getting away from this corrupted company forever!!

fire loss mid December still looking at the mess in my yard and no communication on when the process will start terrible company

I have had a couple ligetimen claims and there was no questions asked that were not reasonable . Repairs were done quickly and no repercussions.
They may not be the cheapest, but I did not have to haggle with an unreasonable adjuster. At no time did I even hear from an adjuster.
I would like to see lower prices on second vehicle especially when insurer is single and principle driver of both vehicle.

Don't use Aviva insurance. Very unprofessional and terrible customer service!

I've been with Aviva insurance for about 6 months now. When I signed up with my visa debit card, just like I did with my last car insurance company, I also pay several other bills without any issue. Well in August I couldn't figure out why my payment hadn't been taken out on the 16th. So I waited a few days thinking their just late taking my payment out.

So on August 20th, I call to find out it wasn't taken out yet. The guy says it's against their policy to accept Visa Debit they needed my checking account info. I said that was fine, however I disputed my 50$ nsf fee. Because I had the funds in my account and it was their mistake to not inform me that they don't accept Visa Debit when I started the account. So he said he'd wave the 50$ fee.

So in September I called to give them to give them a change of address and give them my bank info. The agent informed me that my that my policy would be an extra 500$, which is ridiculous to begin with but I agreed. As far as I'm concerned thats a verbal contract. I get my new policy today and it's a 546$ increase. That's an extra 46$ more than I agreed to. Continuing with that 2nd agent, at the end of the call she told me my amount owing for September was 50$ more than usual. Without getting a chance to respond, she hung up.

So I called back immediately, realizing the mistake. Fyi, the first 2 calls I got through to an agent in less than 20 min. I waited an hour before I could speak to the next agent. So, they've obviously flagged my number now. Anyways, I finally talk to an agent and informs me that I still have the nsf fee from August. She tells me they can only way to wave the nsf fee if I show the bank documents. She didn't give me an email address or anything to send the bank documents. Something the first representative should have said to me in August and it would have been delt with. Being very frustrated now, I asked to speak to a manager to straighten this out. She informs me that she doesn't have a manager available. I said to her I pay good money for your services and it's unprofessional not to have someone to deal with this. She said the only thing she could do is make a note and have her manager call me back. Being a Friday Monday was the soonest I could get a call back. Monday was when my insurance was due. So I ended up paying the 50$ fee.

Waited all week for a call back. I had one voicemail that I couldn't understand, which must have been them. So today I got my new policy in the mail with the extra 46$ added to my policy and still having paid the extra 50$ last month.

So, I called today to deal with it again. Another one hour wait on hold. As soon as I get an agent, I insisted that I speak to a manager. Apparently the manager isn't available again. The agent I was speaking to was one of the most condescending people I've ever spoken to. Spoke to him for about 30min. By the end of our conversation he was literally mocking me. I worked in customer service and sales for a couple of year. I know my rights as a consumer. If it was anyone else besides the insurance company I would be compensated with free services. Which I've done several times in the past! Not to mention I would have been fired on the spot if I talked to anyone like that.

If someone knows a good place where I can post this I would really appreciate it. This kind of customers service should not be tolerated.

after being a member for 15 years the renewal process was impossible. I went else where.

Worst garbage company .believe me u will never get ur claim when needed.

Extremely disappointed with the service level in relation to our 100% not-at-fault claim. Have been with Aviva for years. We were lied to, mislead, low-balled and generally mistreated when we needed assistance the most. Stay clear of this company.

Absolute garbage company. Got my notification in the mail for my renewal. Come to find out they INCREASED my premiums for home and auto insurance. After 6 years with them, this is how they treat my husband and I. He had 1 MINOR traffic ticket and they tried to blame it on that. Normal insurance companies DECREASE your rates over time. Not RBC Aviva... Not a chance. The representative then informs me that they applied to whomever to be able to INCREASE everyone's premiums.. they increased it alright.. They got approved to increase their premiums by 20%!! This is absolutely absurd. My car insurance increased by almost $100 and my tenant insurance increased by $20! Unreal. It's almost criminal how they're allowed to get away with this. Ever since they partnered up with Aviva everything has gone to crap. Stay away from them. Save your money and go elsewhere.

I had been a loyal customer for over 15 years. They informed me this year that in order to be renewed by them I would have to re submit an application and if my application was approved they would no longer take monthly payments (I have never missed a payment in 15 years) and I would have to pay my premium up front. So I went out and got some quotes from other insurance companies and they were all substantially lower than the premium I was paying at Aviva. I feel ripped off and disrespected by Aviva so never again will I go to them for my insurance needs.

For anyone that has auto insurance from Aviva Canada I strongly suggest you find a new provider and for anyone who is contemplating using them for insurance to stay well clear of them.
They are a horror story and only want your money and will find any excuse to avoid payouts.
Here is my horror story.
I have had them for over 10 years as my auto insurance provider and dutifully paid the premiums on time, every time, even when I heard others had cheaper premiums with other companies.
Stupid me.
On July 2018 I was involved in an auto collision. The other driver was at fault and was charged with careless driving by the police officer. It was my bad luck that he also had Aviva insurance. I reported the accident in same day. Aviva quickly wrote off the vehicle, even though the damage did not seem that extensive, and low balled me on the payout. Less than half of what I paid 2 years prior. I argued that I had done some major repair work on it 6 months prior and should be at least partially compensated for that as well. According to Aviva that is apparently where I committed a sin. It seems we cannot question been ripped off by them. After 1 months of no definitive answers from them, in frustration I cancelled my multiple auto and property policies with Aviva. They lost a total of $6,600 annual premiums because of their unprofessional approach. And really for a mere $12,000 claim. That appeared to have been my second mistake. I believe that they thought it was now payback for cancelling my policies.
They took over 6 months to make a case that the work was not done as detailed in the receipts I provided. They put me through a phone and an in-person interrogation (the gestapo could not have done a better job). The end result was that they declined my claim including the car rental I used for 1 week after the accident. While it may be true that the auto shop cheated me on the work done in the bills they should have simply declined the receipts and maintained their original offer, low as it was. Talk about adding salt to a wound.
I have now retained a lawyer and proceeding with legal action against Aviva.
Stay away from this scam of a company.

This is a RIP off the way these people do business.
Terrible encounter after taking my money then cheated me.

FIND INSURANCE ELSEWHERE!! AVIVA ARE NOTHING BUT PIECES OF S***!!! MY STUPID BROKER SAID THEY WERE BEST FOR TRAILER INSURANCE!! tHATS A BIG NOOOOOOO!!! RUN AND GO ELSEWHERE!! THEY DO NOTHING BUT TAKE YOUR MONEY AND WHEN YOU NEED THEM THEY TAKE MONTHS ON A CLAIM AND THEN DENY YOU!!!

Worst company to deal with when you submit a claim.

2 months since a car accident where the other driver was at fault and charged and I still have not received a penny for my vehicle which Aviva wrote off.

On July 27, 2018 I was involved in a car accident where the other driver came out of a side street and side swiped my vehicle. Police was called, and the other driver charged since he was clearly at fault. Police filed a report, and, in turn, I submitted a claim with Aviva Insurance same day. Found out other driver has same insurance company. Aviva wrote off my vehicle though damage did not seem extensive to me. They low balled the value of my vehicle ($8,000 CDN). I made an argument that it should be more ($11,000 CDN) and submitted repair/upgrade bills to make my case. They responded that they will investigate but also pressured me into giving up my rental car within 5 days after the accident though rental cost were way below what I was entitled to. I was subjected to 2 lengthy interviews by Aviva that were more like interrogations questioning the accident and costs. Asked for a detailed written report from me and asked for a witness signature, Commissioner for Oaths, which resulted in lawyer fees. Before I obtained the signature, I sent a filled-out form (that had no instructions) to Aviva requesting a review to ensure it was completed correctly so it would not be rejected. Review came back good. I got the signature and submitted the form. It was rejected within 3 days by Aviva. Reason: "said loss was caused by" should have said "Collision" while I wrote in "Improper left turn by other driver". I refilled it out and got a new signature which resulted in more lawyer fees. 2 weeks since I submitted and still no response. I phoned the Aviva representative several times. No response and left voicemails. It is now Sep 19 and almost 2 months since accident and no compensation from Aviva.

Next stage is to get a lawyer and start litigation.

I have had insurance from Aviva for just over 10 years and paid them over $60,000 CDN in fees and this is how they treat you when you make a claim, and not a large one at that.

I have since cancelled my cars insurance, house insurance and cottage insurance with Aviva.
DO NOT BUY INSURANCE FROM AVIVA.

First off they hate motorcycles!

The woman literally is telling me what bike I should be riding ?

I had a dual sport insured with them for a year with no claims no changes to my address or my license etc. and then the next year I had to reapply and they want double now ?

They won’t even insure my super sport at all?

I’m 54 with perfect driving record and get this I’ve been insured with these guys for 30 years !!!

Serious crappy management and what always happens when a company is bought out it turns to total **** !

When are insurance company is going to start facing their premiums on an individual not a number ?

Just because some jerk off rides down the 400 on super sport raising hell doesn’t mean that I’m going to?

I have a car or van house and a boat all insured with these guys ....and that’s gonna change ...Statefarm is way way better !!

Been with them for years. Got a letter saying that they won't renew me unless I do a new application and send it back to them. No claims or tickets. I don't understand. Never had a company ask me to re-apply.

It's been over a year since the fire, my parents have been without a home and work has not been started yet. The preferred vendor gave up after chasing them for payment to begin work. Now I'm told I have to look for another contractor to provide a quote and start the process all over again. Meanwhile, my parents are on the verge of losing their home because they haven't received any compensation. What is the point of insurance if this is how they treat people when they need it. This can't be legal.

Save a bunch of dough on my tenants insurance. Stoked!