Car insurance, optional legal cover. Need this?
- Thread starter bledd
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Associate
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u dont have to take it but it takes away a lot of hassle if u have a accident
my mates mrs used to work for CAB and she said its worth it
my mates mrs used to work for CAB and she said its worth it
Soldato
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Sort of.
If you are not at fault and require a solicitor for any reason, and if you don't have legal cover, they (the solicitors) will deduct up to 25% of any remuneration to pay for their services. Having legal cover avoids this.
If you have home insurance with legal cover then having motor insurance with legal cover is somewhat superfluous.
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That isnt true is it? An accident management company will take their fees from the third party, not from your payout. At least that is my experience of them?
Soldato
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That isnt true is it? An accident management company will take their fees from the third party, not from your payout. At least that is my experience of them?
No. Reforms in April 2013 meant solicitors were unable to recover the success fee from the at fault party's insurer.
In the event of a non fault accident without injury and no other losses this is pretty straight forward - no solicitors are required. You simply get a replacement vehicle or the money that it's worth if it's written off. Accident management companies manage this and claim their costs through extortionate hire prices and then invoice the at fault party's insurer for £200/day for hiring a Corsa (some exaggeration in the cost there).
In the event of a non fault accident with injury and/or other losses a solicitor will likely be involved, and they must recover their costs from your motor insurance legal cover (this does not effect your no claims on your motor insurance); or your home insurance legal cover (this might effect your no claims on your house insurance); or you agree to pay up to 25% of any compensation to your solicitor.
The solicitors somehow insure themselves against loss in the event of a no win situation in a no win no fee agreement.
This means solicitors are now not taking on ambiguous whiplash cases - they've started to take on clear cut ones where the third party are clearly at fault (significant rear end damage etc).
I'm no expert in the matter but that's the current state of affairs as far as I'm aware.
It was all meant to clamp down on those silly ambulance chasers which drive up insurance costs.I used to advise against legal cover - but for the sake of an extra £20 to the premium, and change in law, I now advise for legal cover.
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I'd always take legal cover to be honest - and I work for an insurance broker!
It's all well and good saying "if it's a third parties fault then you can just claim off them" but in reality, how many among us would even know where to start - let alone make sure you get all that you are entitled to!
Worth it just for the peace of mind and ease of use imo!
It's all well and good saying "if it's a third parties fault then you can just claim off them" but in reality, how many among us would even know where to start - let alone make sure you get all that you are entitled to!
Worth it just for the peace of mind and ease of use imo!
Soldato
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Never had it, never had problems with claiming back my excess.
Just more money for insurance Co.
Just more money for insurance Co.
I didn't think the legal cover stuff had anything to do with regular claiming from a third party or using accident management companies, I thought it was for the dodgy ones where you end up in court for ultra contentious accidents or where you've been accused of dangerous driving etc. as well as claiming for an accident.