Is Legal Expenses Cover Worth Having?

When you are looking into arranging car insurance there are a number of optional extras one of which is Legal Protection Cover. However, is this type of cover really worth adding into the policy and thus increasing your premium?

Legal Expenses Cover may help with your legal costs incurred in trying to recover expenses from an at-fault driver – Image credit: Ronnie Macdonald.

Well, as with most insurance policies, it isn’t until you really have to make a claim that many people tend to feel that it is worthwhile paying the premium although there is a lot to be said for having it just for peace of mind. After all, you are under no legal obligation to arrange Legal Protection Cover.

How much does it cost?

The cost of this type of additional cover may vary between insurance companies and you may find on occasions that it is automatically included at an additional cost so, if you decide that you don’t want it, you need to opt out.

You could expect to pay anything between around £20 to £30 per annum for Legal Protection Cover.

What does it cover?

You should read the policy conditions.

When included in your car insurance policy, it is designed to help you recover expenses that you have incurred from the driver of the other vehicle that was at fault for the accident. So, this could include such things as transport costs that you may incur such as the hire of a car, taxi, train or bus fares.

You may also be able to claim for loss of earnings if the fact that your car has been taken off the road to be repaired means that your income is negatively affected.

If you have had to pay an excess on your car insurance then you may be able to use the legal expenses team to claim the excess back from the at fault driver.

You may have suffered an injury due to a car accident caused by the other party that has required hospital treatment. This could be a significant sum and you may be able to claim on your Legal Protection Cover for the expenditure incurred.

How much cover is provided?

Again, this may vary between insurance companies but may tend to start at around £50,000 to £100,000.

How do you make a claim?

In the first instance, you would usually contact your car insurance provider who will put you in contact with the legal team.

Do remember that the cost of employing the services of someone in the legal profession is usually considerable but, ultimately, you must decide whether this type of cover is worthwhile.