ATE insurance

Martin_R

I have a long running no win no fee case that will be heard eventually at the high court.
My solicitor suggested ATE insurance, explained it to me and said it should cost around £1000 and that she would shop around for the best deal.
The letter i have received from her now tells me that ATE she has found would cost £3000 and she hasn’t looked for any other companies.

I want to reply to my solicitor but need to know what to ask please.
Is the amount of ATE based on what i might lose or the defendants claim, what if i’m awarded less than the ATE costs, etc etc.
Can someone please help me with what i should askmso as i don’t look like an idiot or end up out of pocket?
Thankyou for any help

[Deleted User]

Martin_R said:

I have a long running no win no fee case that will be heard eventually at the high court.
My solicitor suggested ATE insurance, explained it to me and said it should cost around £1000 and that she would shop around for the best deal.
The letter i have received from her now tells me that ATE she has found would cost £3000 and she hasn’t looked for any other companies.

I think you need to simply be posing any  questions you may have to your solicitor. 

If the original  estimate she gave was around £1000 and the actual bill is £3000 then you can surely query this  without appearing an "idiot"?

Ask for a copy of the policy terms and read them carefully before agreeing to anything. 

You are also surely aware that you may lose this "long running" case and so be completely out-of-pocket?  

brettcta

It might be a mixture of kids TV, home schooling and general switched off-ness caused by being in the house for the last 3 weeks clouding my mind here but if the case is no win, no fee why are you buying insurance? Are your potential costs that high that even if you win you’ll be out of pocket?

dunstonh

It is typically sold where the case is not very strong and ensures the solicitors will get paid regardless of outcome.   

It makes a mockery of no-win-no-fee firms who then try and sell this.

[Deleted User]

dunstonh said:

It makes a mockery of no-win-no-fee firms who then try and sell this.

Well it certainly makes a mockery of these firms describing themselves as "no-win-no-fee"!

Incidentally, the OP of this thread has asked about ATE insurance before in 2016:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5458804/no-win-no-fee-advice-please#latest

I wonder is this the same case? 

Tocono

Why not ask this question of  solicitors-register/ or the Law Society?  You need to know what you are getting yourself into. If it were me I would feel very uneasy. If you find a solicitor you can trust you are very, very lucky.

Thrugelmir

Taking a case to the High Court doesn't come cheap.