Bristol West Insurance Reviews

I'm so mad. I'm just now looking for reviews. This company is a SCAM. I signed up because I was at a car dealership and needed something right then and they had decent rates. I paid $200 to start my policy. I was told the Lien holder's name will be added after a payment was made. It didn't sound right then either but I figured whatever. Then I get told after they can't edit the policy within 24hours and they also couldn't find me in the system yet so give it some time. That was a huge red flag to me. Not to mention I physically couldn't leave the dealership since they failed to list the lien holder. So I had to buy ANOTHER policy with a new insurance company and figured I will just cancel Bristol West and get a refund because I hated their customer service.

I was hit by someone on 4.6.26 and when I reported it to Bristol West, they DID NOTHING to investigate the situation. The other insurance company said it was a no-fault accident but yet Bristol West wants me to come off 1k for a deductible. The lines in the car, the dent in my door are ALL noticeable that someone hit me but yet, Heather my claims provider did nothing to help or circumvent the situation. I felt alone and pissed because Bristol West DOES NOT AND DID NOT have my back on the situation that was not my fault.

This was the most costly cheap auto policy I ever bought. Approximately a month after I prepaid Bristol its quote ($600) for 6 mo of auto insurance I discovered BRISTOL had, without notice, (NOT coincidentally) withdrew TWICE more that amount from my bank account for the SAME auto policy and time period; in effect Bristol's "bait and switch" tripled the cost of the prepaid auto policy for my 14 year old car without tickets, accidents or claims). Next, Bristol (NOT coincidentally) has no written refund policy. I called Bristol and Zebra (its paid cohort) SEVEN times (including hang ups, no call backs and department transfers) for help to terminate my auto policy (with no claims) until I set a deadline date for Bristol to end my policy and send my refund.

Had the pleasure of speaking with Shiaraillis today, she was very helpful and got the documents I needed sent over to me quickly. Never had a issue with this insurance. Highly recommend for younger/ high risk drivers.

I had a very disappointing experience with Bristol West Insurance. My policy was cancelled due to alleged nonpayment, and I was told that a notification had been sent on February 10th. However, I carefully checked all of my email folders — inbox, spam, and trash — and I never received any notice at all. Because of this, I was completely unaware that my policy was at risk of cancellation. When I called to resolve the issue, I asked if the policy could be reinstated without a lapse, since I was never properly notified. The representative refused to make any exception or show any flexibility, even though this situation was clearly not caused by negligence on my side.

I have had the worst experience ever with the claims department. It has been 39 days today and I haven’t received my claim money. I try to call everyday with no response. They lie to me saying they call me and they don’t and they said they mailed then check out on 3/6/2026 and to wait 5 business days. It’s way past that now and now he changes it to 10 business days which is today. He saying wait till Friday. I have paid out the pocket for my repaired so I can drive my car and I will be contacting everyone I can to make it known how poorly I have been treated

Horrible company. I paid everything on time and they kept making up payment notices while I paid everything on time in full. You shouldn’t be charged for cancelling your policy unless maybe you were late.

Bristol West is the worst insurance company I've ever had. You pay all this money and then you get hit at a red light and guess what. You have to do their job. You do the inspection and pics and videos and paperwork. Then after they send the check to your credit union gap insurance reaches out to them to finish paying your car off. They don't ever answer. So I call and ask why and they say they was never contacted. That's bull. Then the guy says, "You do know you can do this." "No dude. This is your job! I've literally done all your job for you. You can do this 1 thing." Very lazy and unprofessional and I'd never recommend to my worst enemy. The call center people are rude and unprofessional and sit there and argue with you like they are children. Way overpriced for what you get. I wouldn't go with them if they offered me $25 a month insurance.

Bristol West Auto Insurance has been the worst insurance company I have ever had. I deeply recommend not signing up with this company. After I wanted to cancel my agreement with this company they told me no if I wasn't going to pay the cancellation fee and that they would still charge me. Then after being told this information from a customer representative named Chadly, he gave me a very hard time about speaking with a superior representative. They give you an amount of cancellation fee but then tell you that this price may change tomorrow depending on after reviewing your policy. I am still currently waiting for my cancellation request to be approved.

I had my policy for the month of may-November. I didn’t like how they charged me an insufficient funds fee for a payment that they charged me TWICE for. They cancelled the 2nd payment but not the late fee. Then a month after that incident I paid the month of October and called AND emailed that I no longer wanted to keep my policy because of what had happened, then a $7 charge came up and I called and asked what for. The guy told me it was a CANCELLATION FEE. I paid it. Then a few weeks later I get a reminder that my November payment was coming up for $170. I called because I had already canceled them. The man said, "Yeah don’t make the payment ,"and I said ok.

I was up for renewal, on MLK day. So, I paid the premium Saturday, January 17. I kept checking the site and app for updates and it said FUTURE EFFECTIVE and gave me a scheduled payment timeline thru July 2026! Then, Monday MLK Day, Bristol tried to autodraft the payment I had already made, and charged me for x2 insufficient funds. Since that $70 wasn't on the card, they cancelled my insurance- WITHOUT NOTIFYING ME, and the refund minus BOTH insuff funds is scheduled for January 29- So, I will get it back AFTER rent is due. HORRIBLE COMPANY, NO WAY TO CONTACT ANYONE WITHOUT HEARING AD AFTER AD. POOR EXCUSE FOR A BUSINESS.

I requested a quote from Bristol West upon receiving the quote I entered the information to accept the quote and the policy. When the documents were sent for me to sign and had an incorrect address of another state but my Florida street address I did not confirm the address or esigner documents and Bristol West refuse to return my deposit. I called for 3 days and up on the third day they decided that I could cancel the policy that I have not signed for and did not confirm that address and they gave me part of the initial down payment back for account that I did not confirm or sign, east side. This should be illegal but they said if I did not cancel and take partial payment back the policy would continue and they would continue to take money off my credit card until I agree to the cancellation, of a policy that I never assigned or confirm the address which was incorrect

Agent is lying so much. Soon as you pay is something Else completely then she have to call customer care to fix anything. Just don't do it specially in Michigan. Let her send you papers before you pay.

I've been with this company almost 2 years. I always have billing problems. And I say this cause I've been trying to change my auto pay card for about 3-4 months with no results but I keep getting a $15 fee because they keep using the wrong card. Which I added cards on there and they don't even try them. On top of that I pay the same day about an hour after I get an alert of payment declined. No alert was sent about the extra $15. Until I opened my new policy and there is notice.

Just found 857.40 was taken out of my account by Bristol West Insurance out of Cleveland, Ohio to cover a premium for a man I do not know. It was set up to be taken out on a monthly basis. I had to close my entire account to keep from being cleaned out!!! I do not own a vehicle and have never received a traffic citation in my life! If I needed vehicle insurance I would not seek to get it from a company who is set up to cover high risk drivers!!

Their website will not allow you to pay your bill, and the auto pay never works, I think this is intentional as if they continue to cancel your policy, you will never get a better company to insure you! Customer service is the horrible, every month I have to call to pay my bill and I'm on the phone for over 30 minutes to get a link sent to pay my bill.

Is there a star less than one! This company is a scam. Pay your bill early they charge you more. WORST company ever. Never ever use these CONS. I'm not sure what else to say except be aware very aware. They will screw you!!!

They tripled my premium because I submitted proof of health insurance late (which they actually had on file already). When trying to figure out why my payment went from $300 to $900 a month, they said "you're not eligible to go paperless, but if you were you'd be able to see all of this information". So essentially, I'm not eligible to receive accurate information on why I'm paying 3 times more than I was.

Horrible company to do business for car policy. They cheated on my refund when it was money they owe me by overcharging. So don't let them fool you. Do what you need to do to fight it so you will get your money back that belongs to you.

Bristol West is the worst insurance company I have ever had to deal with. I had a car accident where I was NOT at fault. Bristol West was my insurance. I recently switched to them without looking at the reviews. I have never been treated so poorly in my entire life! They are so rude. They are making my life a living hell and the accident was no fault of my own, I am getting a lawyer ASAP. Please don’t get this insurance!!!

On October 21, 2025 I was T-boned. Although my vehicle was repairable, Bristol west deemed it a total loss. They didn't give me a chance to get any estimates at all. They sent a tow truck out the day after I called to take my vehicle to CoPart in Milwaukee, WI (it's an auto auction). I also paid $600 for a hitch and the hitch to be installed on my vehicle. I was told that I could drive the 5 hours to go and get my hitch. Mind you, my vehicle is sitting in their lot, TOTALED.

I find this company to be really shady. They give a low quote but if you don't pay before they "generate" an invoice, they charge you a $10 invoice fee. The billing statements aren't clear either so you can't get a breakout online but you supposedly get a discount for online billing. At my renewal, I had a $20 processing fee for renewal plus a $10 invoice fee, even though I had JUST paid in advance to avoid that dumb fee. Got into customer service and got bumped to a 2nd agent to start all over with platitudes and no real answers. I was done.

I am currently insured with Bristol West and communication has been a headache! My car is currently in the shop. When I made my initial claim, I was sent a link to take photos and stuff... They made arrangements for me to get a rental (cool) and then sent me a check to get the car fixed for less than half of what is needed to fix the car. The collision company has been having so many problems getting in touch with BW. I've even been calling and not getting my calls returned. It has now passed the 30 days for my rental to be covered, so I sent it back. My mom came in town since she was furloughed so I could drive her car, but now that the government shutdown is over, she has to return to work... meaning I am carless! I can reserve another rental at a discounted rate... but my car could've been done today had BW communicated properly with the collision center. This is ridiculous!

When it comes to a claim they cover ZERO so why even pay them? Purchased roadside and rental coverage for problems and they cover nothing nothing nothing. If you want insurance so you can say you have insurance, go for it otherwise worthless.

I thought Progressive was bad, Bristol West is by far the worst auto insurance I've came across. They simply do not want to pay for adequate repairs on your car. They fight tooth and toenail, even on small claims. I've been in the auto body business for years, I've now learned that when Bristol West is the insurance company, I pass on th

Do not get scammed. Do your research on review by other customers that have been scammed by this insurance. You are wasting your money. I been giving them $400 a month for full coverage ... for nothing. My car got hit while it was parked. Spoke to my claim broker once and never received a call back. Been calling several times and spoke to people but kept getting the runaround. I got my insurance from fiesta insurance and they don't help either.

Worse insurance company, worse customers, I DO NOT recommend this company. They will cancel your policy no notice, increase premium without notice and give you the runaround. I repeat DO NOT get insurance from this company. It will be worse decision you ever made.

I work for the Federal Government. I’m not getting paid and have not since the 1st of Oct. I called for a extension and explained my situation. They told me my insurance would be cancelled if I could not pay. This is disgusting to be treated like this. I have no money and apparently no car insurance now. What am I suppose to do. Don’t go with a company like this.

Stay away, company makes it incredibly hard to cancel a policy, does not return unused premium and has absolutely no customer service, cannot contact them and stuck with a bill for a car I don't even own. Stay away away away. Not worth any amount of "cheaper".

Bristol West is horrible, my payment went up 800 dollars I had no accident or tickets. So I called and canceled my policy and the next month I see they withdrew 1260 dollars from my account. For the month following my cancellation and now I received a letter saying I owe them $910.68. I called and asked them how and why and they have no answers. I have been transferred over 4 times now. Told to call back another day to get the right person. Don’t get Bristol west. I never even received insurance cards or proof of insurance.