Legal Expenses Insurance, sometimes called Family Legal Protection, Legal Insurance, or Family Legal Expenses Insurance, is an insurance product that people (or businesses) can take out to protect against the cost of legal expenses, such as solicitors fees, Court fees, Experts Fees and Barristers costs.
LEI insurance is typically bundled into Home Insurance, more usually these days as an additional cost. The cost is very little though, often around £20-30 per year. While we cannot provide advice on insurance, it does appear to represent good value given that the typical hourly rate of a recommended specialist solicitor is likely to be £250 plus VAT.
Legal Expenses Insurance generally provide cover for the following types of disputes:
- personal injury
- contracts for goods or services
- property
- employment
In order to use your Legal Expenses Insurance, a solicitor will need to assess your case and give the insurance company a report on the "prospects of success". This is a percentage change of you winning the case, and usually LEI insurers are looking only at claims that have a higher than 51% chance of success.
Legal Expenses Insurers will often try to convince you to use their own solicitors, like DAS Law, or their appointed legal panel. They have agreed low rates with such solicitors, often at £90-100 per hour. However, if you are looking for an expert solicitor or want someone local, then you can ask to choose your solicitor - every client has the freedom to choose their own solicitor.
Steven Mather is a Solicitor in Leicestershire and has handled hundreds of disputes with Legal Expenses Insurance. If you have a dispute and want an expert solicitor on your case, or a solicitor more local to you, then please get in touch.
Written by Steven Mather, a business solicitor acting on company sales and purchases. This is general information about the law, not legal advice on your situation.
