Car Insurance - optional legal cover?

CompletelyLost

Hello,

Bit of an amateur question, but when purchasing car insurance it also given an option of legal cover for an extra £60. What is this? And do I need it?

Would a policy without this legal assistance, cover things like personal injury claims? I only ask as in 2016 I had a car accident and the other party claimed personal injury, it went to court, etc. Would a normal policy (comprehensive) cover this sort of scenario?

Thanks.


ETA: if it helps, I was looking at Esure specifically as they're coming out as £260 cheaper than my current insurance renewal quote (Admiral) who I've been with for 3 years.

forgotmyname

£60?? Who charges that much for legal cover? I thought £20 was expensive.

EdGasketTheSecond

I think all they do is point you to a no win no fee outfit so you may as well select your own if you had to and save £60. The 'legal cover' will only take on cases they know they can win anyway; not help you in 50/50 situations.

facade

The reason that you might need legal cover nowadays is that Insurers don't seem to care anymore, and they won't bother pursuing your uninsured losses- policy excess, 'bus fare home etc. from the third party. If you can stand to pay these in the event of an accident, don't have it.
If you do have it your insurer just refers you to an Ambulance Chaser anyway.



There are any number of Ambulance Chasers who will pursue an injury claim for you (for a % of what they get, but so what?) if you don't have any legal cover.



If you want legal protection, you can buy independent policies for under £20.

AdrianC

CompletelyLost wrote: »

Bit of an amateur question, but when purchasing car insurance it also given an option of legal cover for an extra £60. What is this? And do I need it?

NEED it? No.
Want it? Perhaps. It depends entirely on your own attitude to risk.
£60? Probably terrible value, and it can be bought elsewhere.

Would a policy without this legal assistance, cover things like personal injury claims? I only ask as in 2016 I had a car accident and the other party claimed personal injury, it went to court, etc. Would a normal policy (comprehensive) cover this sort of scenario?

Usually, yes. But if there was a legal claim outside of your policy, a legal cover policy may be invaluable.

Note the "usually" and "may".

Marvel1

£60 is expensive, i normally pay £20.

Was worth it for me, nom fault claim, car written off payout was minus excess, used the legal cover, filled in simple document, few weeks later cheque for my excess.

debtdebt

Marvel1 wrote: »

£60 is expensive, i normally pay £20.

Was worth it for me, nom fault claim, car written off payout was minus excess, used the legal cover, filled in simple document, few weeks later cheque for my excess.

To be fair, you could do that yourself by contacting the third party insurer directly.

The only benefit of having LEI is avoiding the cut that most solicitors take out of your damages if you sign up to a now win no fee firm post accident.

As others have mentioned, even if you have LEI, they won't take on a claim if they think you won't win.