Motor Legal Protection Insurance - Do I need it? - Should I buy standalone policy?-

EdGasketTheSecond

As the title says.

My insurer wants £31 for optional 'Legal Protection' but the terms say they will only take on cases they have a reasonable chance of winning. Therefore is this just a charge for appointing a no win, no fee outfit which I could choose myself for nothing?

Also I have two cars so I presume if I decide to take legal protection, I should ideally take it on both car policies which adds up. Alternatively I see there are some standalone policies that will cover two cars for around £12.50 e.g. memonline:

http://memonline.co.uk/motor-legal-protection-insurance-new-customers/

or £15 by DriverGuardian:

https://www.driverguardian.co.uk/products/motorlegal

Either of those worthwhile?
So would that be better? I can't seem to find any reviews of standalone legal protection insurance so don't know what to make of it.

Neither of my cars are worth much so it is likely any claim I need to make would be through the small claims process anyway rather than using solicitors except for personal injury but then lawyers are falling over themselves to take on those cases. Seems like I answered my own question but any views and advice welcome.

tasticz

My current insurer includes it with my policy, however, I have always bought it when not included and it has come in handy when I had to claim injuries/excess.

I would say pay the little extra and go with the add-on from your own insurance company.

If you have a legal cover, the solicitors won't take 25% + vat on your claim.

ThePants999

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

Therefore is this just a charge for appointing a no win, no fee outfit which I could choose myself for nothing?

No. A no win, no fee outfit will charge you a big fee if you DO win, AND will only take it on if they think they can win. With the legal cover, the insurance pays the legal fees, win or lose.

Quentin

ThePants999 wrote: »

No. A no win, no fee outfit will charge you a big fee if you DO win, AND will only take it on if they think they can win. With the legal cover, the insurance pays the legal fees, win or lose.

You will find that motor legal cover will have a condition that they only fund you if their opinion is you have a reasonable chance of winning - usually they say your prospects must be at least 51%

Crazy_Jamie

Personally I don't think motor legal expenses insurance is worth the money. As you have correctly identified, it is a term of such policies that you must have reasonable prospects of success in any claim, which is the same threshold that a 'no win no fee' solicitor will use. As such in the majority of cases where you do need to claim, the legal expenses policy wouldn't actually cover you in situations where a 'no win no fee' solicitor wouldn't act for you. It is a fair point that most 'no win no fee' solicitors will take a percentage of your damages if you win, but not all do, and with a bit of hunting around you should be able to find one that takes a lower percentage or none at all.

Even if you are resigned to losing a percentage of your damages in the event that you do instruct a 'no win no fee' solicitor, it is still highly questionable to my mind whether the cost of the policy represents good value for money. You are unlikely to need to make a claim in the grand scheme of things, and even if you do you will receive the same benefit from a 'no win no fee' solicitor whilst retaining the majority of your damages. There is still a degree of risk there, but for me motor legal protection isn't worth it on the whole.

I will say for completeness that I take the exact opposite view with home insurance legal protection. That covers a much wider range of cases that 'no win no fee' solicitors will generally not go near, or will deal with in more limited scenarios, and also generally includes cover for employment disputes. So home insurance legal protection, particularly for those who are employed (as opposed to self employed) is essential in my view.

EdGasketTheSecond

Any view on whether Driver Guardian is worthwhile compared to the insurance add-on? For two cars it would save me about £40

OnanTheBarbarian

Before I shine any more light on my previous post and, in response to your post Quentin, can you please state what your credentials are when it comes to motor legal protection policies?

Have you experience in either the underwriting of them, or the retailing of them or perhaps the handling of claims arising after the purchase of BTE motor legal expenses policies?

I agree with everything Jamie has posted by the way.

Quentin

Bit rich you asking for credentials bearing in mind your vested interest in dissing motor insurance add on legal cover.

OnanTheBarbarian

Could you answer my question please,

OnanTheBarbarian

Quentin wrote: »

Bit rich you asking for credentials bearing in mind your vested interest in dissing motor insurance add on legal cover.

Are you going to reply to my question or is it safe to assume your experience in this field is purely as a consumer/lay person?