Car Insurance Legal Expenses Cover

Mycroft221B

Is it worth paying the extra for Legal Expense Cover when taking out car insurance?? - PLEEEASE will MSE include an opinion on this in their 'car insurance' article(s)!!

I've looked at numerous Forum discussions today and it really seems to be 50/50: Half say they would always pay the extra for this... and half say that it's not worth it, as you can just get a no-win-no-fee solicitor if you require legal assitance following an accident.

Aaaargh!!:mad:

Quentin

There is no right or wrong answer. It depends on whether or not you want to have the "comfort" of having the cover. But note that when referred to as "legal expenses cover" the impression is you are covered against solicitors bills for any driving litigation you are involved in.

As you will have read this is not the case, and this should be more accurately known as "uninsured loss recovery". They don't provide you with a solicitor to deal with all litigation at all.

And help is only provided if you they deem it likely you will win your argument for reimbursement and the third party has the funds to reimburse you if you win.

vaio

An other thing worth considering is that insurance companies seem to make much more money by selling add-ons like this than they do from the straight car insurance.

As Quentin said above, they will be picky about the cases they will proceed with and will only take it on if you are going to win (when they will get the costs back from the other party).

If you are going to win then either the TP insurance company will realise that and pay or there are any number of no win no fee legal firms who will be happy to take it on without you paying an up front retainer/premium so really the money you pay is for a telephone advice service. As a member of MSE do you really need that?

lisyloo

there are any number of no win no fee legal firms who will be happy to take it on without you paying an up front retainer/premium

I don't think this is entirely true.
If you had a personal injury then there are indeed many firms who are interested. This is because they claims their fees from the other insurer, so they make money out of it.
There are other types of claim where they would not be interested. For example if you didn't have an injury but wanted to claim back your excess. They would not get fees from the other insurer for writing letters on your behalf.

so really the money you pay is for a telephone advice service

No.
There are cases whether they would help you recovery uninsured losses by dealing with the other insurer on your behalf.
This might involve using the correct legal spaek to threaten court with an insurer who was being very tardy with payments.
Legal training will help here, so it's not just a telephone service.

As a member of MSE do you really need that?

I'm sure some are thinking - "well surely you coudl google it and write your own letters".
Maybe.
What if you are bedbound in hospital or dealing with life changing injuries and rehanilitation/physio.
What if someone died even?? and you have to deal with a funeral, house sale and all their possessions.
Does legal research and chasing up an insurer sound appealing?
Of course I appreciate that's a very unliekly event.

It's all about risks and consequnces and that's why you'll get 50/50 answers.
The risks are relatively small, the consequences could be quite big.
Do you want to pay £30 to cover those unlikely consequences for peace of mind or would you rather take the chance.

My honest advice (my opinion obviously) would be, firstly nail down all bills where there is no sacrifice/compromise before you worry about those where you do have to compromise some service/value.
So for example if you change gas/electricity, there is generally no compromise, you still get the same service.
After that if the £30 (or whatever it is) will make a differnce to your life, then consider taking the chance of going without. As other say most cases can be handled after the event by no win/no fee (I jsut dispute it's all cases).
If you are concerned about the consequences and £30 annually doesn't make a difference to your life, then personally I consider the peace of mind is worth having.

Crinz

do you have legal cover on home insurance? that can usually be used for any reason

not entirely sure but i think it will provide the same service as you would get with car insurance. anyonje confirm?

Richard_Paremain

I am a personal injury specialist Solicitor. I clearly have a vested interest in the answer I give so take it with a pinch of salt if you will.

If you wish to utilise your Legal expenses policy then the insurance company , or rather the Solicitors they engage for you will carry out a simple risk assessment. This essentially asks whether you will win or not. If your prospects are greater than 50% they will usually proceed. If you wish to utilise the legal expenses when you have no prospects of success they will not back you.

This is precisely the same risk assessment made by a Solicitor when deciding to proceed on a "no win no fee" basis. If you have a legal expenses policy you pay no legal fees. If you proceed no win no fee you pay no legal fees. The difference with Legal expenses is you have paid for it, even if it is a small add on fee.

With many legal expenses Policies there is a restriction of your choice of solicitor. Following an accident you might prefer to visit a local personal injury specialist, rather than simply discussing it over the phone with someone at the other end of the country that you may never ever get to see. The best person to deal with your claim may be a couple of miles down the road, will see you at home, in the hospital or are convenient for you to travel to. They will build a personal relationship with you so that they really understand the case. For me its a question of the level of service.

I always decline legal expenses insurance.

lisyloo

Do you have legal cover on home insurance? that can usually be used for any reason

Generally home insurance excludes something along the lines of "an accident whilst a driver or passenger of a motor vehicle".
This means you would be covered as a pedestrian or cyclist but not a driver or passenger of a motor vehicle.

Of course you need to check your own policy, but every one I've ever had has said something along those lines.
So car & home are generally mutually exclusive I'm afraid.

lisyloo

This is precisely the same risk assessment made by a Solicitor when deciding to proceed on a "no win no fee" basis.

Would you agree Richard that "no win no fee" solicitors will not take on all cases for free e.g. recovery of a £120 excess?

I agree with your points BTW.

Following an accident you might prefer to visit a local personal injury specialist

Just to re-iterate also. Uninsured loss recovery is not just about injury.
It also includes excess, time off work or any items (clothing, sat nav etc.) that might not be insured.
I appreciate that's your line of work Richard and therefore what you can comment on, but I feel it's important to point out that it's a subset of the coverage.

I have a family legal protection policy and that also provides legal expenses for a defence against a driving conviction.
(I'm not saying they all cover that).

Mycroft221B

Many, many thanks to everyone so far for your responses.... I really appreciate you taking the time to help me! :beer:

The subject is becoming slightly clearer now... I think!! :undecided

Could I be really cheeky - while we're kind of on the subject of personal accident stuff - and ask if any of you knowledgeable peoples could also have a look at my other question on the forum, re Car Insurance Personal Accident Cover:

"I thought Personal Accident Cover was, on the whole, included as standard when purchasing car insurance?

So how come, when getting a quote from Hastings Direct, it appears as an 'extra' i.e. You pay an additional £19.99 for £15K of personal accident cover.

Should I add this to my cover? Is it worth it?"


Thankyou thankyou again!!

MackT

Personal accident cover is a separate policy to your car insurance. Personal accident cover is often sold as an add on, just like legal cover.
The cover is for certain injuries in certain situations. There are good explanations on the sites of the Financial Ombudsman and the insurance advice section at yourkey.info.

When you insure your car you are insuring for the damage you do to third parties through your fault, and if you have fully comprehensive you are insuring your vehicle in most circumstances regardless of fault.

Its the add-ons that cause confusion. The insurers have to quote cheap to get your business, then they try to sell the extras to make some extra profit.

Hope that helps.

SRD

Lisyloo. Who are buying the family legal protection from? I have has this product from "Composite Legal Expenses". But they have stopped selling directly to individuals, so I am looking for a new provider.