Meet Esurance Canada
Esurance has been offering home and auto insurance online to Americans since 1999. It expanded to Canada in 2015, first in Alberta, and then Ontario two years later. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Allstate Corporation.
In July 2018, Esurance ceased offering new business in Canada and announced it sold renewal rights to Ivantage, a brokerage within the Allstate group of companies.
Esurance was an early player in the industry offering insurance policies that can be totally managed online by the policyholder — no need to “sit on the phone or dig through file cabinets,” the company guarantees. The company was part of an emerging category of insurers offering what’s known as direct insurance, meaning that everything you need to manage your policy can be retrieved through esurance’s members-only site. In January 2018, the company announced that new policyholders in Ontario would get a 10% discount upfront for choosing Esurance.
Esurance aimed to make filing a claim as streamlined a process as possible: just upload all the required documentation online. If you had a question you can’t find the answer to online, you could always call one of their claims agents, who were available 24-hours a day.
Esurance’s goal was to simplify the insurance process and to empower consumers to better understand how their rates are calculated and how the claims process works. That’s why most of the content on their site was written in plain English.
Beyond coverage for private passenger vehicles, for Esurance offered insurance for RVs, motorcycles, ATVs, and snowmobiles.
The Esurance advantage
Esurance offered a number of ways to save on auto insurance. Here are a few.
- Multi-vehicle discounts: You could qualify for a discount if you insured more than one car with Esurance.
- Driver training: Another discount was available for new drivers who completed a driving course.
- Online Shopper Savings®: You could get a discount for completing an online quote from Esurance.
- Switch and Save®: Esurance promised extra savings to customers who switch to Esurance from another insurer.
- Paperless discounts: Esurance clients in Ontario received a 10% discount upfront on their auto insurance for choosing a direct insurer.
Coverage Counsellor® - Esurance offered a special web tool that allowed drivers determine the exact amount of coverage you need. The tool took you through a questionnaire that asked questions about your auto and home insurance needs.
What If® Calculator - Customers could ask this tool hypothetical questions and receive an answer. Some questions it answered included, "Will an accident raise my premium?" and "How much will I pay if I change postal codes within my province?”
No, Esurance doesn’t have an app for car insurance in Canada. It does have one for U.S. customers, which enables users to manage, file a claim, and track a claim, as well as request roadside assistance.
Esurance still offers an app for home insurance that’s immediately available in Canada: with the DIY Inspection app, you can submit videos of your home (as a new customer, you'd be immediately qualify for a $50 discount on your policy for downloading it).
How to submit a claim with Esurance
Claims are filed and managed online through Esurance’s members-only website. After you file a claim, a dedicated claims rep will contact you to gather more information. The rep will then schedule a vehicle inspection and help you with other aspects of the claims process, including helping arrange for a rental car. Though the company is no longer taking new customers, current policyholders can still contact their claims line.
Call 1-800-378-7262
Hours of availability: 24/7 claims assistance
What else does Esurance do?
In addition to car insurance, Esurance specialized in home insurance, which you had the option of bundling with your auto policy for additional discounts. Renters insurance was also available.
