is legal cover for car insurance worth it?

lisyloo

All of the services are simply outsourced

Who foots the bill for cases where fees are not claimable from the 3rd party e.g. solely uninsured loss recovery?
If the "service" pays for these cases then what action do you think an outsourced firm would take when they knew the firm that was meant to be paying them was bankrupt?

OnanTheBarbarian

lisyloo wrote: »

Who foots the bill for cases where fees are not claimable from the 3rd party e.g. solely uninsured loss recovery?
If the "service" pays for these cases then what action do you think an outsourced firm would take when they knew the firm that was meant to be paying them was bankrupt?

The solicitors for example run cases on a no win no fee basis, so if they don't win, they don't get paid. If they lose, they have to write their fees off. This is how it is a free service. They make money on the successful cases and they absorb losses on the ones they lose

This is what happens even when you have a paid for policy. The lawyers on the panel never get paid by your legal expense underwriters. Trust me, I have been part of large tenders for major UK insurers as a panel solicitor where we were clearly told not to expect payment of fees on small claims cases or cases we lost.

This is what goes back to the rants I have had earlier about how these policies you pay £30 for only cost £0.50p each. The reason they cost 50p each is because the underwriters never pay out any legal costs. The approved solicitors get asked to sign a "hold harmless" agreement, saying they won't claim on the policy.

So the solicitors are funding your case when you have legal cover. Well this is how a free service works too. I refer cases to solicitors, they make money on the good cases, they sometimes lose money on the base cases/ small claims cases. Rough with the smooth.

lisyloo

I've just had a very unsatisfactory response from TotalMotorAssist who say that despite offering FREE services including Uninsured loss recovery in their terms and conditions, they have confirmed to me that they wouldn't cover this element alone for free and there would be a success fee.


I'm afraid Onan that it is not transparent what you are entitled to in the terms and conditions, at least of some of these FREE companies.

This is what goes back to the rants I have had earlier about how these policies you pay £30 for only cost £0.50p each.

You can rant all your like about YOUR issues. People making money is not an issue for me per se. If they have a good business idea (that is fair) then good on them.
MY issue is that I want to know what I'm entitled to and want to be entitled to get it (I understand that is subject of course to criteria).
With an insurer I'm entitled to cover that I've paid for. I don't CARE how they manage or fund that internally or what arrangements they make as long as I get the cover. I don't really care if they make £29.50 profit on £30 as long as they do what they say.

It doesn't matter to me if the solicitors fund my case. What matters is that I get the cover and it appears that companies like TotalMotorAssist are not at all transparent and only take the smooth.
You appear to be confusing YOUR issues with the industry with the concerns of consumers of like me and they are not the same thing at all.

OnanTheBarbarian

That's fair enough and i appreciate your perspective on this.

rs65

OnanTheBarbarian wrote: »

Quentin, you really must forward your invoice for your consultancy services along with RS65.

No thanks. I don't frequent this forum for personal gain.

rs65

OnanTheBarbarian wrote: »

I understand this does not fully mirror a full blown underwritten product for this area

My only issue with what you do is that anyone asking if it is worth buying legal expenses is told that a free service is just as good. Clearly it is not.

Perhaps you should simply refrain from commenting at all on such matters unless by way of your official status.



For clarity I would declare that I have no personal/commercial interest whatsoever in MLP, CMCs or anything connected with motor accidents/claims. I do not buy MLP nor do I avail of any free services.

OnanTheBarbarian

Touche:A:o

rs65

OnanTheBarbarian wrote: »

If they were already being assisted at the time of any demise, they would already be in the hands of our service providers (solicitors , hire co etc) and given there is no policy to claim against as the lawyers deal no win no fee etc, there would be no detriment to anybody who already had a claim ongoing.

What about people who have joined your club for life and have an accident 10 days or 10 years from now. They could contact you to find that you went bust. If that person buys MLP, they have the comfort of an insurance policy for 12 months and FSCS protection if the insurer goes bust.

OnanTheBarbarian

If we were to go bust, every member is contacted by email to be informed the service can no longer be provided and they are advised to make alternative provisions. So either they explore other free services (which don't sound as good as our offering) or they buy from a standalone.

lisyloo

This sounds highly unusual.
Most companies don't have anybody working at them after liquidation.
There's a note on the door and the place is locked up and that's it.
How come you gave plans in place for liquidation?