All of our Car Insurance policies come with Legal Expenses cover included, but why do you need it and why don't we charge you any more money for it?
It's included
First things first, we include it as standard. Most other providers will charge an additional premium to cover you for legal expenses, usually £20 to £30 but sometimes up to £40.
This is extremely profitable for them because the cost value to them will only be about £2. We include it because we see it as invaluable for our clients but don't think they should be charged any more for the cover.
What does it actually cover?
It's probably best to think of car insurance legal expenses as uninsured loss recovery as that is its fundamental purpose.
In the event of an incident you may suffer losses that your insurance policy does not cover you for but that you have a claim at law against the responsible party – for example, loss of earnings and travel costs. Therefore, in order for the legal expenses to help out:
- The loss can not have been your fault
- There must be a known third party (because you can't sue yourself!)
- There must be evidence to prove that the known third party was a fault
Other requirements
Legal expenses policies will not guarantee legal pursuit of losses, there are a number of conditions. A few of them are here but you should consult your policy wording for the full detail of your cover:
- There must be a reasonable prospect of success
- You must leave the insurer and the solicitor to handle and control the claim
- You must leave any decision about agreeing solicitor's fees or accepting settlement offers to your insurer.
This is a very brief overview and we stress that you should read your policy wording to gain a full understanding of the cover, conditions and exclusions that exist.
