Peter, one of our freelance reporters, doesn't like it when people hit his favourite car. No, he doesn't use his 14 stone of well-trained muscle to get back at people and he doesn't have road rage. Sure, he has full insurance on his car, but he's also covered in another way. He is covered by the law. He added as a free extra to his car insurance. This extra coverage lets him make a claim for costs and losses that aren't covered by normal comprehensive and third-party...
Peter, one of our freelance reporters, doesn't like it when people hit his favourite car. No, he doesn't use his 14 stone of well-trained muscle to get back at people and he doesn't have road rage. Sure, he has full insurance on his car, but he's also covered in another way. He is covered by the law. He added as a free extra to his car insurance. With this extra coverage, he can make a claim for costs and losses that aren't covered by standard comprehensive and third-party policies. So, when his car was hit from behind at a set of traffic lights four months ago, lawyers got to work. Not for free, of course. Who has ever heard of a lawyer working for free? Peter's insurance company paid for all of his legal costs, so it didn't cost him anything.
Even though the shop his insurance company chose to fix his bent MX5 did a great job, his comprehensive policy didn't usually cover claims for injuries or lost wages. So Peter's extra GBP2 a month for legal expense cover turned out to be money well spent. He's already been paid for the broken wrist he got, and talks are going well about what he'll get for lost wages. He took a month off because one-handed journalists aren't very useful in our office.
Legal expense insurance helps people who have been hurt in an accident that wasn't their fault get back their losses and get compensation. The losses can include the cost of renting a car while yours is being fixed and, if you don't have full coverage, the cost of getting your car fixed. Just like in Peter's case, legal expense insurance will pay for claims about injuries and lost wages.
Coverage for legal costs is one of those types of insurance that people don't think much about until they need it. The insurance company will handle the claim for you and send you a check for the settlement at the end. All you have to do is write down the facts on the legal expense claim form, talk to the lawyer your insurance company has chosen, and be ready to answer a few more questions. If the case goes to court, they will represent you and fight for you, but you may have to be there as well.
Most car insurance policies sold on the Internet don't include legal expense coverage by default. It's usually an extra that you can choose to add on. Because there is so much price competition on the Internet, insurance companies like to keep their headline premiums as low as possible.
You'll find that the cost of legal expense coverage is different from one insurer to the next. More Than costs GBP17.85 per year, Direct Line costs GBP19.95 per year, Churchill costs GBP21 per year, and Budget costs GBP24 per year. Only a small number of insurance companies, like Admiral, cover some legal costs for free.
So, when you buy car insurance, don't forget to include legal expense coverage. Complex claims for compensation can take years, especially if there was a serious injury, and the final settlements can be worth millions of dollars.
