Churchill insurance, do I need legal assistance?

nilrem_2

For at least the last 10 years my car has been insured via Churchill and each year I have paid an extra amount for Churchill legal Assistance Service. This year it is £26.50 extra on my premium of £188.

Not sure what this is actually for or whether it is really worth having or is necessary?

In the past when I have questioned it with the innsurers they have always insisted that it is most essential.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

dacouch

You would if you're a thirteen your old pedestrian walking along a dark road at night and are hit by one of their customers.

InsideInsurance

Its other name is uninsured loss recovery which possibly makes it a little clearer.

So if you have an accident which is not 100% your fault then the legal expenses will cover the cost of recovering any losses that are not insured from the third party. The most common one is your excess but may also include a hire car, loss of earnings, if some jewelry was lost/ damaged in the accident etc and also personal injury.

Now, if there is personal injury then for anything more than a few scrapes or a bit of neck ache for a day or two then a no win no fee solicitor will take on the case and include the other uninsured losses because the threashold for solicitors fees is much lower for injury cases.

Where legal expenses does become useful is mainly where there is no injury but other losses other than your excess (but below the £5,000 limit for Small Track). To a lesser case where the other party is only a minority to blame and a solicitor may not want to take on a case where you're likely to be 80-90% to blame

terrylamps

I'm with Churchill at the moment and currently going through a non fault claim (though 3rd party is lying and trying to go for 50/50). They have told me that if i need to pay any excess i can use the legal cover to claim the excess back from the third party and any other uninsured losses like taxi's, prescription charges, physio fees etc. Have also put in a whiplash claim (genuine claim) and they have appointed a solicitor and will cover the costs involved. So in my opinion, for the sake of £20 odd pound it's worth having.

BertTheRaccoon

It is by no means essential.

Your options generally are:

1- Buy the cover from Churchill
2- Look for someone that sells it as a stand alone product (typical premiums seem to be around £12.50 a year - a google search for motor legal protection will probably reveal some companies.
3- Search to see if you can get it for free
4- Don't take anything out and sort your own affairs if you are involved in a collision that was not your fault.

Bangton

I personally think it's a minimal amount to pay each year to avoid having to faff around sorting legal expenses/personal injury/loss of earnings on my own...should I need it. Plenty of people I know dont purchase it and decide they will go through a no win, no fee solicitor (unsure how that works).

Last November my partner was innocentally driving down the road and someone failed to stop at a junction, hitting our car side on (passengers side) and sending my partner and car through a wall and into a car parked at the other side. Churchill did a very good job with the claim and the solicitor we were appointed has been very on the ball (although it was immediately accepted that the other driver was liable in our case). I have definately found the legal cover to be worth it's cost this year but I pull back the cost not protecting my NCD which personally I feel is a bit of a waste of time!

nilrem_2

Many thanks for all the helpful replies.

Seems that the consensus is that it is worth paying for the peace of mind.