Yaletown Insurance Services

I would not return to this place again… Let’s just say there is room for improvement for customer services…

Went in today for first time ever to do renewal on auto insurance. Even tho all 4 attendants were tied up they made an effort to acknowledge me bein there and assured me I’d be attended to right away. Not even 30 secs later I was in a chair redoing my insurance. The lady was extremely fast and got everything done in less then 4 – 5 mins. She can definitely relate to customers level that we don’t wana be there doing this. so I applaud her for her fast and efficient service. I’ll definitely be back

I used Yaletown Insurance Services for my tenant insurance. When I bought my apartment, I asked them to cancel my tenant insurance that I shared with my roommate and provide homeowners insurance just for me at my new apartment. When the documentation finally arrived, I saw that they had just put tenant insurance, with my roommate I no longer had, on my new apartment. I then called to have them fix the mistakes, and I had to then get my old roommate to sign off on the policy. When the new policy arrived more than three months later, just weeks before the policy was up (and almost a full year since my first request for a homeowners policy just for me), they had back-​dated the change to before the sign off of my roommate and had charged me an additional $ 101.00 that they never advised me of in any discussions. I made several attempts to discuss this with the Customer Service Representative, Sheila Edmonds, but she just said that Intact was the one exception to being more costly (which if I had been informed of either when I first asked for a new policy, or when I tried to correct their mistakes, I could have made an informed decision for a different policy) and refused to answer any of my later emails.
I have been absolutely stunned by the number of mistakes made in this simple transaction and the lack of professionalism.

We were surprised to see a one star review about Yaletown Insurance Services as we have been customers of theirs for 15 years. We have been satisfied with their service each and every year.
For example, today with the help of Fred and Rick, we put our car in storage as we are travelling for two months, got the recommended storage plan, and got the required air care.
Rick realized that we would need air care due to the age of our car and thus saved us the frustration of several steps on our arrival home: getting a temporary permit, rushing off to get the car air-​cared, and then going to the office again to renew for a year.
We were very happy with the patience and explanation that Fred gave so we could make an informed decision and also, the teamwork displayed when we returned and Rick completed the transaction was very efficient. Thank you Fred and Rick. You will continue to receive our business.

came here basically because of the location. service wasn’t especially great but they do get the job done. i’ve been with them since 2009 and haven’t experienced any problems.

Good location and there was no wait while I went to renew Autoplan. They will try to up sell you on insurance and other products but they aren’t pushy and every other place does it as well. Didn’t offer any useful suggestions that might benefit me but was fast an painless.
Not much else can be said about an insurance place. Would use them again if I was in the area and needed to renew.

I contacted this Agency last fall when I was moving back to Vancouver after a 23 year absence. I had purchased a condo and needed it insured. They provided a quote which I understood to be the best, and I completed a series of forms they gave to me which I had never seen before. I stopped by their office and paid the premium and it took the better part of a month to get the actual policy. I also had my car safety inspected and purchased the insurance through them. i was never made aware that there may be options which could save me money from what coverage they had sold me. My understanding is that the roles of a Broker is to shop your insurance requirements around to find you the best coverage at the best price.
I found out part way through the year that there are combination ICBC/​private insurance options that can save quite a bit of money from an all ICBC policy. I made note and months later I get a renewal policy from Yaletown which prompted me to do a little shopping on the condo and car policies policy myself as there are usually additional discounts if they are placed with the same provider, at least that’s the case when dealing with all private insurers. Both the car and the condo policy quotes I received were less expensive than my existing policies. Hence, I gave the new insurer, instructions to bind the policies on the expiration date of my existing policy. I then need only to renew and reduce my ICBC coverage to the basic minimum by the effective date of the new policy.
I wrote a letter to Yaletown Insurance to provide written notice on the condo policy that I would not be renewing with them and had placed the coverage elsewhere. The agent called me stating he was emailing a Waiver of Interest to be signed by both my partner and myself or they couldn’t cancel the new policy. I was surprised as my partner was only supposed to be listed as an Occupant, but found out they had made in a co-​insured on the existing policy. After admitting they must have made a mistake, I said I would attempt to reach him as he is away. I thought that my letter should suffice but he argued that having both of us sign the Waiver is was a legal requirement. I reviewed the BC Insurance Act and Regulations and both the existing and proposed next term policy. There is nothing that states we need to do anything other than provide written notice of our intent to cancel an existing policy. The Act is clear on that point. I contemplated, did my research and responded two days later that I would not be signing anything other than the letter I provided and that the issue of my partner being on the policy was their mistake and they needed to rectify that between themselves and the insurer, but their mistake did not compel my partner to sign anything. By this time, becoming increasingly aggravated, I also reminded them that as the Broker, they were supposed to represent me and it felt like they were an Opponent, rather than my Representative.
With considerable thought, I give my first 1 Star Rating, for the following reasons:
1. I was not made aware of any choices other than ICBC for car insurance and therefore paid more than I needed to for coverage;
2. I was not contacted or asked if I needed to review or change anything for the next term prior to receiving a renewal contract in the mail.
3. They made a mistake on my condo policy by adding my partner as a Co-​Insured rather than an Occupant which then would require me to obtain his signature on a Waiver of Interest on the next policy or it could not be cancelled.
4. The Waiver of Interest that they provided was presented to me as a legal requirement, to cancel a policy they knew I was not going to enter in to.
5. This was the first Broker I had ever dealt with which I feel in no way represented my interest at any point through our one year relationship, and in the end felt much more like an Opponent.
.