Motor insurance "legal cover"

[xjay1337]

Just realise when I took out a new policy for my lease car that the legal cover was enabled by default. But I have 14 days to cancel.

Turn out it cost me £24.99 on top of my policy for the year.

Is it worth having or is it a gimmick? I was under the impression that I wouldn't be liable for any legal fees etc should I have a bump anyway? Or am I wrong.

TIA.

[DuraAce]

Never paid for it. Had a couple of claims against third parties that were sorted with no issues at all, including hire cars, personal injury and recovering my excess.
Not sure what is for to be honest! What does that £25 actually get you?

[99dndd]

It covers the court costs if you make a claim against someone and lose. I queried it when I last renewed but thought it was worthwhile when I knew what it was.

[MorganP104]

xjay1337 said:

Just realise when I took out a new policy for my lease car that the legal cover was enabled by default. But I have 14 days to cancel.

Turn out it cost me £24.99 on top of my policy for the year.

Is it worth having or is it a gimmick? I was under the impression that I wouldn't be liable for any legal fees etc should I have a bump anyway? Or am I wrong.

TIA.

Paid-for legal cover on car insurance policies is a total rip-off. If they throw it in for free, fair enough, but NEVER pay for it.

I would strongly recommend exercising your 14-day cooling off period, cancelling the cover, and signing up with this lot:

www.freemotorlegal.co.uk

Their service is completely FREE, and will provide exactly the same service as the £24.99 add-on your insurance company is charging, in the event of an accident (regardless of fault).

ETA: I don't work for Free Motor Legal, but I have signed up with them (a while back now, but luckily never had to call them for help!)

[xjay1337]

Thank you, I will call them tomorrow to cancel.

I thought it was a bit of a con!

[Gavia]

That's an Accident Management Company, they just want to give you a "free" car and only relevant if you're in a non-fault accident, so won't help you if there's a split liability decision. Legal costs for any injury that would be covered under your legal expenses policy are now taken from your settlement up to a max of 25% of what you win.

£30 seems like a good deal if you actually need it.

[anonymous-user]

after a tt hit my jag on the m25 while on the phone he decided to tell his employers it wasnt his fault.

my £25 insurance got me the support to get me £9k back when it was me against the employer and their bank rolled lawyers

well worth it in my case

[KungFuPanda]

True there are no win no fee lawyers out there and AMCs which will take on your case for free. Remember however that if you sign up to a Conditional Fee Agreement with After the Event insurances, the lawyers can take 25% of damages which they recover own your behalf.

If you have legal expenses insurance which you've paid £25 for, they normally won't take the 25% of your damages.

£25 now or 25% of your damages later? It's your choice.

[JQ]

keirik said:

after a tt hit my jag on the m25 while on the phone he decided to tell his employers it wasnt his fault.

my £25 insurance got me the support to get me £9k back when it was me against the employer and their bank rolled lawyers

well worth it in my case

Why didn't your insurers deal with the claim?

[can't remember]

Having legal costs awarded against you can be financially crippling. Unless £24 is the difference between feeding your kids and having legal cover have the legal cover. On second thoughts the kids can skip a few meals keep the legal cover.

[55palfers]

I get free legal cover on a classic policy.

Does the team think I will be able to use this service in the event of a situation with another vehicle?

[JQ]

can't remember said:

Having legal costs awarded against you can be financially crippling. Unless £24 is the difference between feeding your kids and having legal cover have the legal cover. On second thoughts the kids can skip a few meals keep the legal cover.

Under what circumstances is that likely to happen?

[Andehh]

I tick the damn box & pay the monies every year on both house & car policy. No idea what/where/when I might need it for, but I am too scared of the year I don't have it & need the bloody thing!

[xjay1337]

55palfers said:

I get free legal cover on a classic policy.

Does the team think I will be able to use this service in the event of a situation with another vehicle?

I was told on mine that it's only for this policy / car

I don't have legal protection on my Scirocco policy. But with this being a lease car I had assumed I wouldn't want any issues if anything happened....

I'm still in two minds whether to cancel it or not as some people have said I should and some people think it's good!

[KevinCamaroSS]

xjay1337 said:

I was told on mine that it's only for this policy / car

I don't have legal protection on my Scirocco policy. But with this being a lease car I had assumed I wouldn't want any issues if anything happened....

I'm still in two minds whether to cancel it or not as some people have said I should and some people think it's good!

How about this: Talk to your insurance company and find out exactly what it covers and then make a decision based on the facts?

[xjay1337]

They told me it covers the court/legal fees .

It's outlined here on their website.

https://www.providentinsurance.co.uk/car-insurance...

But I thought all of that stuff you had anyway with normal insurance?

[Gavia]

xjay1337 said:

They told me it covers the court/legal fees .

It's outlined here on their website.

https://www.providentinsurance.co.uk/car-insurance...

But I thought all of that stuff you had anyway with normal insurance?

Uninsured losses is the key phrase here. It covers you for the costs of getting your excess back and the fees for an injury claim. Neither of those is covered in a normal insurance policy.

[xjay1337]

Ah I see
thanks for the explanation.


So I could cancel it, save £25 and then sign up for the below?

MorganP104 said:

Paid-for legal cover on car insurance policies is a total rip-off. If they throw it in for free, fair enough, but NEVER pay for it.

I would strongly recommend exercising your 14-day cooling off period, cancelling the cover, and signing up with this lot:

www.freemotorlegal.co.uk

Their service is completely FREE, and will provide exactly the same service as the £24.99 add-on your insurance company is charging, in the event of an accident (regardless of fault).

ETA: I don't work for Free Motor Legal, but I have signed up with them (a while back now, but luckily never had to call them for help!)

[DuraAce]

Gavia said:

xjay1337 said:

They told me it covers the court/legal fees .

It's outlined here on their website.

https://www.providentinsurance.co.uk/car-insurance...

But I thought all of that stuff you had anyway with normal insurance?

Uninsured losses is the key phrase here. It covers you for the costs of getting your excess back and the fees for an injury claim. Neither of those is covered in a normal insurance policy.

I'm not so sure to be honest.

I've never paid for this "cover". Had a claim (non fault) that took a while to sort out (four cars involved) . I paid my excess as my car was fixed and I wanted it back to use it. Liability was still being argued at this time.

Eventually my excess was repaid, injury claim paid and settled. All done by my insurance company (Aviva if it matters). I never paid out or lost a penny.

What else would this "cover" have done for me?

[Gavia]

Only if you have a non-fault Accident. If you have a 50/50 then they won't help you and you're going to lose up to 25% of any injury claim you get.

Just google DAS and buy one of their policies for a tenner, it will cover everything you need for all cars.