Insurance Cover: Understanding Legal Expenses!

If you have or are about to take out car insurance cover, you will undoubtedly be asked “would you like legal cover added” and it’s probably safe to say you are not alone in thinking, I don’t really know!

So we thought it would be a good idea if we explained what legal expenses are, and why you should think about adding this to your policy or maybe purchase a standalone policy.

Legal expenses insurance is designed to protect you against potential legal action and its associated cost, whether it is brought by you, or against you by another party.

For car insurance, legal expenses cover is usually sold for each car, which means you could only make a claim for incidents or accidents affecting the specific car that is listed on the policy. For multi-car policies through Vint-tro Cover, we cover all cars listed on the policy under the same legal expenses cover.

The policy will cover the cost of making a claim for things like uninsured losses, medical expenses and any compensation etc.

If for example you have been involved in a ‘non-fault incident and you’re needing to go to court and want to recover your losses, the legal team will carry out all the necessary work involved in preparing your case by collating the evidence.

Depending on the situation, the policy would likely cover the legal fees involved such as, your solicitors or barristers cost and any court fees. Plus, most policies provide access to a free legal helpline which could be a very useful source of information and advice.

Earlier this year there were changes made in regards to whiplash claims. These changes meant that for any personal injury claims valued under £5,000, representing solicitors could no longer recover their fees so this means you can look to submit your own claim via the OIC portal yourself, but the importance of legal cover remains paramount to ensure you are guided through the process with quality advice.

By having legal expenses cover in place and providing the claim happened after the policy was taken out, you would get help with your claim and it would cover the costs involved when going to court.

As with any insurance policy that you take out, you hopefully may not need to make a claim against it, so it can be viewed as a waste of money, however we know unfortunately the worst can happen and suggest you protect yourself against any potential financial losses. What you’ll need to weigh up is the potential expenses you’d incur if someone took you to court, or if you wanted to take someone to court to recoup your losses.

Most legal expenses policies have a claims limit of £100,000 which may not cover the cost of complex or drawn-out claims, so it’s always worth speaking to our insurance experts here at Vint-tro Cover to find out what’s covered and what’s not.

Talk to us – 0333 4042 007

Our friendly, knowledgeable insurance advisors are there to help you with any queries you have about a legal policy, or if you’re looking to take out a policy and need to know more.

Alternatively, fill in your details on our website here, and we’ll be happy to make that call to you 🙂

Peace & Love as always.