Motor legal cover...Does it it really mean you will get 100% compensation

Jlo31

Hi All,

I normally have never bothered with motor legal protection but I understand now that if you use a no win no fee solicitor you normally will pay 25% of your compensation plus you may have to pay for your ATE (After event legal insurance which could be £100-£200)

It got me thinking that I should buy a policy but on further investigation many of the policy's (I am looking at the RAC legal plus cover) do not mention anything about keeping 100% compensation. I have messaged the RAC re this.

**(Edit: Found this answer in the FAQ section after posting this thus I have my answer 'If I am injured and use your solicitors, will they take any fees out of my compensation?
No. We’ll put you in touch with a specialist solicitor to support you following an injury and unlike some providers, you get to keep 100% of your compensation.')**

Can anyone else clarify whether this is true. If you still end up being charged 25% legal frees then the only advantage of buying legal protection in advance is to avoid having to buy a ATE policy which would probably save you £200...not really a big deal?

Obviously if it does cover all fees and you keep 100% compensation then I think these legal insurance products could makes a lot of sense?

Looking forward to hearing other peoples views?

Cheers

James

Jono111

So in your eyes the only reason people get insurance is to get compensation.

Jlo31

For legal cover that would be the main reason for its use if you are badly injured in an accident. Some policies offer help to if you are prosecuted.

I have never made a claim and hope not to ever need to but I would like to fully understand how these policies would benefit us.

Can you shed some light?

lisyloo

Legal cover only helps you if the 3rd party has the means to pay e.g. is insured.
So if you are injured by a tramp then you won’t get anything.

Legal expenses insurance do not keep any money.
As a caveat they will process your claim in a normal back office fashion.
No win no fee have the advantage of being aggressive because they don’t get paid until there is a payout.

Insurance has some advantages.
They don’t cherry pick and have an obligation to provide a service whereas no win no fee will cherry pick lucrative cases e.g. personal injury.
Insurers are also regulated.

I use these guys.
https://memonline.co.uk/
Never claimed but they meet my criteria for being authorised and regulated etc.

Scroll down and it will tell you everything it covers.
I also use them for home for legal.
The problem with add-on policies is that you can’t use them to help with an issue with your insurer, so for that case stand-alone is better.

Jlo31

Thanks Lisyloo for your helpful reply.

I was looking at the RAC one as it covers up to 5 family members living at home on any vehicle they are driving for £15. Handy for my motorbike and car's.

I will report back if I get an answer from the RAC regarding would a 25% fee be applied by the panel solicitors in the event of an injury claim.

lisyloo

Thanks, useful to know as we have 5.

Jlo31

I really should use my eyes more LOL.

Just found the FAQ section on the RAC website which states 'If I am injured and use your solicitors, will they take any fees out of my compensation?
No. We’ll put you in touch with a specialist solicitor to support you following an injury and unlike some providers, you get to keep 100% of your compensation.'

So I have have my answer at least for the RAC policy.

Thanks for the advice!

Jono111

Great, so I am probably not covered for the main reason I took it out, to protect me from someone suing me.
Do we really have to read all the contracts we sign up to.

Jlo31

Hi Jono111

You would be completely protected from being sued via your normal motor vehicle insurance (provides unlimited cover for personal injury and 20 million for property damage normally) so don't worry about personally being sued!

Marvel1

Jlo31 wrote: »

For legal cover that would be the main reason for its use if you are badly injured in an accident. Some policies offer help to if you are prosecuted.

I have never made a claim and hope not to ever need to but I would like to fully understand how these policies would benefit us.

Can you shed some light?

Not sure on the injury side, but they helped me claim back my £400 excess when my vehicle was hit and wrote off parked outside my home.

lisyloo

Marvel1 wrote: »

Not sure on the injury side, but they helped me claim back my £400 excess when my vehicle was hit and wrote off parked outside my home.

The kind of case a no win no fee firm won’t be willing to take on.