The old Legal Expenses Insurance Scam/TV Claims Companies
Discussion
If anyone here has had an accident envolving personal injury in the past, you may have reported the matter to your insurers(as you are legally obliged to do) and then been told that they have a wonderful lawyer who would be delighted to deal with your claim.
A few months later you realise that what you actually got was either an 'Executive' ,'Paralegal', or even an unqualified person apparently supervised by a solicitor who you can never seem to get hold of.
You may be surprised at what your insurance company has done. You may be less surprised when you find out why they have done it.
Most insurance companies offer Legal Expenses Insurance and either make no charge or add about £20 on to your premium. You are rarely if ever asked if you want the insurance. Unknown to you your insurance company will in the past have concluded an agreement with a firm of solicitors (who will have paid the insurance company a lot of money for the privilege) to send all of their customers claims to that firm.
Some insurers and insurance brokers also charge the solicitors an additional fee for sending them the case! This fee could be as much as £500. Of course you are never told about this.
Because a lot of legal expenses insurers are connected with the insurers who provide your bike insurance they then ensure that your claim is settled as quickly and as cheaply as possible. If you don't like the offer to settle then they will threaten to withdraw your legal expenses cover.
The whole system stinks and is designed to benefit insurance companies and not those who have had their bikes damaged, or those who have been injured.
Also beware of claims management companies advertising on television, normally fronted by a well known celebrity. They will charge you an administration fee which you will not be able to recover.
No-one has to use these people. Any decent, experienced lawyer will offer you a No Win No Fee agreement and when court proceedings are issued you do have the right under European Law to nominate your own solicitor to deal with your claim.
There are plenty of lawyers who specialise in bike accidents-see Motor Cycle News or contact the BMF Biker Legal Line Service.
A few months later you realise that what you actually got was either an 'Executive' ,'Paralegal', or even an unqualified person apparently supervised by a solicitor who you can never seem to get hold of.
You may be surprised at what your insurance company has done. You may be less surprised when you find out why they have done it.
Most insurance companies offer Legal Expenses Insurance and either make no charge or add about £20 on to your premium. You are rarely if ever asked if you want the insurance. Unknown to you your insurance company will in the past have concluded an agreement with a firm of solicitors (who will have paid the insurance company a lot of money for the privilege) to send all of their customers claims to that firm.
Some insurers and insurance brokers also charge the solicitors an additional fee for sending them the case! This fee could be as much as £500. Of course you are never told about this.
Because a lot of legal expenses insurers are connected with the insurers who provide your bike insurance they then ensure that your claim is settled as quickly and as cheaply as possible. If you don't like the offer to settle then they will threaten to withdraw your legal expenses cover.
The whole system stinks and is designed to benefit insurance companies and not those who have had their bikes damaged, or those who have been injured.
Also beware of claims management companies advertising on television, normally fronted by a well known celebrity. They will charge you an administration fee which you will not be able to recover.
No-one has to use these people. Any decent, experienced lawyer will offer you a No Win No Fee agreement and when court proceedings are issued you do have the right under European Law to nominate your own solicitor to deal with your claim.
There are plenty of lawyers who specialise in bike accidents-see Motor Cycle News or contact the BMF Biker Legal Line Service.
jmn said:
If anyone here has had an accident envolving personal injury in the past, ..........Unknown to you your insurance company will in the past have concluded an agreement with a firm of solicitors ........Because a lot of legal expenses insurers are connected with the insurers who provide your bike insurance they then ensure that your claim is settled as quickly and as cheaply as possible. If you don't like the offer to settle then they will threaten to withdraw your legal expenses cover.
The whole system stinks and is designed to benefit insurance companies and not those who have had their bikes damaged, or those who have been injured.
And did you honestly expect anything better, when insurance companies and lawyers are involved? Did you expect caring, communicative, sympathetic bikers, dedicated to fighting your case for you?The whole system stinks and is designed to benefit insurance companies and not those who have had their bikes damaged, or those who have been injured.
jmn said:
No-one has to use these people. Any decent, experienced lawyer will offer you a No Win No Fee agreement and when court proceedings are issued you do have the right under European Law to nominate your own solicitor to deal with your claim.
There are plenty of lawyers who specialise in bike accidents-see Motor Cycle News or contact the BMF Biker Legal Line Service.
Yep, that is the answer I guess. It is a good move to make this info public so people are aware of it.There are plenty of lawyers who specialise in bike accidents-see Motor Cycle News or contact the BMF Biker Legal Line Service.
Ref the Claims companies.
I was run down by a drink driver 2 years ago. I wasnt intersted in paying a lawyer to write letters blah blah.
I went to claims direct, they called me i had to give them all the details over the phone & the crime reference number.
They did all the work all the forms, letter writing to the drink driver & his insurance company.
I ended up with whiplash & concussion from being hit head on and going over the top of the car.
I had to attend 1 x doctors appointment of which i claimed my expenses back.
I ended up with £1600.
£1600 i wouldnt of had if i hadnt answered a couple of phone calls!
I was run down by a drink driver 2 years ago. I wasnt intersted in paying a lawyer to write letters blah blah.
I went to claims direct, they called me i had to give them all the details over the phone & the crime reference number.
They did all the work all the forms, letter writing to the drink driver & his insurance company.
I ended up with whiplash & concussion from being hit head on and going over the top of the car.
I had to attend 1 x doctors appointment of which i claimed my expenses back.
I ended up with £1600.
£1600 i wouldnt of had if i hadnt answered a couple of phone calls!
I've had this argument on here before, and couldn't seem to get through to people!
DO NOT TICK THE LEGAL EXPENSES COVER OPTION with your insurance. It often costs £20 extra and is completely pointless. As stated above - your usual solicitor (or a dedicated bike solicitor) will do all the work for 'free', and claim his expenses through the 3rd party.
Nobody seems to realise this though.
DO NOT TICK THE LEGAL EXPENSES COVER OPTION with your insurance. It often costs £20 extra and is completely pointless. As stated above - your usual solicitor (or a dedicated bike solicitor) will do all the work for 'free', and claim his expenses through the 3rd party.
Nobody seems to realise this though.
To be honest, the claims direct claimed their cash form the drink driver who hit me.
If he'd gone to court and been ordered to pay me compensation then i wouldnt of gone through claims direct.
But the police were all really helpful until they got a conviction.
The guy got a driving ban for 3 years and a small fine.
Its common sense you dont speed through a busy high street at nightclub kicking out time when theres pubs and clubs either side.
Nor do you do it whilst speeding, trying to change a cd & driving up the wrong side of the road!
If he'd gone to court and been ordered to pay me compensation then i wouldnt of gone through claims direct.
But the police were all really helpful until they got a conviction.
The guy got a driving ban for 3 years and a small fine.
Its common sense you dont speed through a busy high street at nightclub kicking out time when theres pubs and clubs either side.
Nor do you do it whilst speeding, trying to change a cd & driving up the wrong side of the road!
lawrence567 said:
But the police were all really helpful until they got a conviction.
The guy got a driving ban for 3 years and a small fine.
Unfortunately Lawrence, the sentence is out of the Police's hands. I'm sure they would have liked to see a more appropriate sentence being passed.The guy got a driving ban for 3 years and a small fine.
Lawrence
Are you referring to the old 'Claims Direct' which went bust a few years ago, or the new company which is actually a branch of a firm of solicitors?
If the former then you will almost certainly had some part of your compensation kept back for an insurance premium.
I dont know how long it took you to recover from your injuries but if the £1600 was purely for your injuries then this is the sort of sum which is appropriate for a whiplash injury where full recovery is made in about 6 months.
Having said that I assume you would have claimed for damage to your bike, riding gear,etc?
If they were not solicitors then they could not recover your legal costs and they would have deducted these from your compensation. On the other hand solicitors will recover your legal costs in addition to your compensation.
Are you referring to the old 'Claims Direct' which went bust a few years ago, or the new company which is actually a branch of a firm of solicitors?
If the former then you will almost certainly had some part of your compensation kept back for an insurance premium.
I dont know how long it took you to recover from your injuries but if the £1600 was purely for your injuries then this is the sort of sum which is appropriate for a whiplash injury where full recovery is made in about 6 months.
Having said that I assume you would have claimed for damage to your bike, riding gear,etc?
If they were not solicitors then they could not recover your legal costs and they would have deducted these from your compensation. On the other hand solicitors will recover your legal costs in addition to your compensation.
It was claims direct.
I asked them how they deal with it and they said that when someone applies to their site they forward my details to personal injury solicitors who were called horwhich farrelly or something & then the solicitors pay claims direct a fee for this which is how they make their money.
I was crossing the road as a pedestrian and was 2 foot from the curb on the otherside of the road when it ahppeened.
I woke up up in a neck brace, headblocks and strapped to a spinal board.
I didnt know what'd happened to me and i had to endure 2 hours or skull, neck & spinal x-rays.
My friend witnessed the whole even and was crying her eyes out in casualty.
It was also witnessed by 5 policemen & about 200 people.
As said already i was hit in the shins, landed back first on the bonnet, smashed the w.screen with my head, my shoulder hit the top of the windscreen which sent me into a flip, i then smashed the back window with my elbow and landed head first in the road and crumpled into a pile.
I luckily received some whiplash & concussion, which was a b
d as it wasnt cleared up until a couple weeks later.
I had 2 weeks off from my day job & 2 weeks off from my par-time job at the weekend.
The only other injuries i incurred were cuts and brusinng to my hands and shins/legs & i cracked my head open.
I think the majority of the claim came back from my digital camera and watch being smashed when i landed in the road & loss of earnings.
I waited a few months before i persued it as i was seeing if i would of got a written letter of apology or a phone call but i didnt.
To be honest i dont think i was in the wrong, i never milked my injuries, i told all the doctors it cleared up in a couple of weeks but it had stopped me doing stuff i enjoyed for that period, being able to bike, DJ, work, socialise etc, which was the truth.
The upside i suppose was that the guy was insured, although i think he got off quite likely!
I asked them how they deal with it and they said that when someone applies to their site they forward my details to personal injury solicitors who were called horwhich farrelly or something & then the solicitors pay claims direct a fee for this which is how they make their money.
I was crossing the road as a pedestrian and was 2 foot from the curb on the otherside of the road when it ahppeened.
I woke up up in a neck brace, headblocks and strapped to a spinal board.
I didnt know what'd happened to me and i had to endure 2 hours or skull, neck & spinal x-rays.
My friend witnessed the whole even and was crying her eyes out in casualty.
It was also witnessed by 5 policemen & about 200 people.
As said already i was hit in the shins, landed back first on the bonnet, smashed the w.screen with my head, my shoulder hit the top of the windscreen which sent me into a flip, i then smashed the back window with my elbow and landed head first in the road and crumpled into a pile.
I luckily received some whiplash & concussion, which was a b
d as it wasnt cleared up until a couple weeks later.I had 2 weeks off from my day job & 2 weeks off from my par-time job at the weekend.
The only other injuries i incurred were cuts and brusinng to my hands and shins/legs & i cracked my head open.
I think the majority of the claim came back from my digital camera and watch being smashed when i landed in the road & loss of earnings.
I waited a few months before i persued it as i was seeing if i would of got a written letter of apology or a phone call but i didnt.
To be honest i dont think i was in the wrong, i never milked my injuries, i told all the doctors it cleared up in a couple of weeks but it had stopped me doing stuff i enjoyed for that period, being able to bike, DJ, work, socialise etc, which was the truth.
The upside i suppose was that the guy was insured, although i think he got off quite likely!
Edited by lawrence567 on Friday 8th August 15:49
lawrence567 said:
Yeah i know its out their hands & luckily i had minor injuries!
Thing is though is a driving ban isnt that much of a deterrant.
If it was a prison sentence or a life ban im sure they'd think differently..
I read one fairly recently, a guy was on something like his 20th ban, and got caught for no paperwork, whilst driving on a ban. He was sent to court, where they......... Thing is though is a driving ban isnt that much of a deterrant.
If it was a prison sentence or a life ban im sure they'd think differently..
........gave him another ban.
Utter, utter clowns. Nobody can argue any reason the prick should not be behind bars, as he obviously has NO respect for the law and absolutely NO intentions of staying off the roads.
Hyperion said:
I've had this argument on here before, and couldn't seem to get through to people!
DO NOT TICK THE LEGAL EXPENSES COVER OPTION with your insurance. It often costs £20 extra and is completely pointless. As stated above - your usual solicitor (or a dedicated bike solicitor) will do all the work for 'free', and claim his expenses through the 3rd party.
Nobody seems to realise this though.
Have you ever been injured in a motorcycle accident and tried claiming for compensation? DO NOT TICK THE LEGAL EXPENSES COVER OPTION with your insurance. It often costs £20 extra and is completely pointless. As stated above - your usual solicitor (or a dedicated bike solicitor) will do all the work for 'free', and claim his expenses through the 3rd party.
Nobody seems to realise this though.
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff