Legal expenses insurance

With basic legal expenses insurance, you insure the costs of smaller disputes and traffic cases, as well as legal and other expert mediation. In the event of a conflict, a lawyer from the legal expenses insurer will initially handle your case. If an outside expert or lawyer must be called in by the insurer, this is also covered, as are the costs of court proceedings. Should you be sued yourself, the insurance also provides assistance in this criminal or civil case. With legal assistance insurance, you do not have to hire an expensive lawyer in the event of a dispute, whose hourly rate is often higher than the annual premium of the legal assistance insurance.

Legal expenses insurance is usually modular, so you can tailor it to your own needs.

No one expects to need legal aid. Yet it is more common than you may think. Whether it is necessary to take out insurance depends on your personal situation. A conflict is sometimes in a small corner. For example, if you have a job, spend a lot of time on the road with your car and own a home, the chance of a conflict is greater than if you are retired and spend a lot of time at home. Unfortunately, legal conflict cannot always be avoided. Resolving a legal conflict is sometimes very complex and can also be quite expensive. You may have to deal with litigation costs, attorney fees and costs of independent experts. Legal aid insurance can also be useful for an entrepreneur. There is special business legal expenses insurance for this purpose.

Legal expenses insurance coverage is always modular. There are four modules in total, namely Consumer & Housing, Income, Traffic and Tax Law & Property. Are you on the road a lot for your work? If so, you might consider turning on the Traffic module, for example. When determining the right modules, you can also look at the insurance policies you already have in place. Do you already have legal assistance insured with your car insurance? Then you do not need to select the Traffic module. This way you can choose which modules you take out and you are not accidentally double insured. We have briefly explained the four modules below:

Traffic module

The Traffic module ensures that you and your family are always insured for legal assistance worldwide, in all traffic situations. So you are not only insured by car, but also as a (moped) cyclist or pedestrian. As soon as a traffic accident occurs, you can report the damage to us. We will then contact your legal expenses insurer, who will take the matter completely out of your hands and make every effort to recover your damages, even if this requires legal action.

Consumer and Housing Module

With the Consumer and Living module, you and your entire family are insured for legal assistance within the European Union in a variety of consumer matters, such as purchases (in-store or online) and problems with a supplier of energy, telephone or Internet. Has damage been caused to your home (in the Netherlands), or are there disputes concerning your home (such as buying/selling/renting/maintenance/renovation)? These are also insured on the legal assistance insurance. As well as disputes with neighbors or family. Divorce is excluded on most policies because this is a dispute between 2 insureds on the same policy. In some cases it is possible to take out additional insurance for mediation (a form of mediation outside of court).

Income module

The Income module provides the whole family with legal assistance in disputes concerning, among other things, the employment contract, a social insurance benefit/provision or pension entitlements. For example, if you are made redundant, or the amount of your benefit is in dispute, your legal expenses insurance can provide legal assistance.

Tax and wealth module

The Tax and Wealth module provides coverage for the entire family in the Netherlands in the event of disputes with, for example, the tax authorities or a securities transaction. Disputes regarding your second home are also covered, provided it is located in the Netherlands or the European Union.

If you are considering legal expenses insurance, it is good to consider a few points:

1. Is there a need to take out legal expenses insurance? For small disputes it does not pay to pay premiums for years;
2. Overlap: Check whether you have overlap with another insurance company, this can save money;
3. Coverage: Take a good look at the coverages and the different modules you may need. This may affect the premium you pay;
4. Insured persons: with most insurers, you also insure your family (if they live with you);
5. Waiting period: some insurers have a waiting period after taking out insurance. They may also not consider disputes if the dispute has already started before the insurance is taken out;
6. Insured amount: to what amount are you insured? Insurers often have a maximum insured amount. If you exceed this amount, you may have to pay extra;
7. Cancellation: always check with your insurer how you can cancel;
8. Compare: Compare different insurers well. This can save you money and help you find the right insurance.

When you take out legal expenses insurance, in many cases there is a waiting period. This means that you cannot call on your legal aid immediately. Suppose you take out insurance on July 1 and you get into a nasty dispute with your employer at the end of August. However, the terms and conditions of your insurance policy state that there is a six-month waiting period in the field of employment law. You can't claim on your insurance then because your in the waiting period. Usually, the waiting period for legal expenses insurance is about three to six months after you take out your insurance. Incidentally, this varies by insurer, but also by coverage. There are also insurers that have no waiting period for legal expenses insurance.

The cost of insurance depends on a number of factors:

• The coverage
• Your family situation
• The own risk
• The maximum coverage for external costs

The amount of the insurance premium is influenced, among other things, by your family composition. Are you single without children? Then with most insurers, you pay less premium for your legal expenses insurance than a family with children. By indicating the family composition when taking out the insurance, everyone in the family is covered, even children living away from home or parents living in the house.

In addition, the costs depend on the deductible that you take out. The higher the excess, the less premium you pay per month. Finally, you choose a maximum coverage for the external costs. A legal conflict can involve legal fees. Many insurers have a limit on the reimbursement of external costs. If you want to use your own lawyer, the insurer will only reimburse a certain amount. If you want to increase this amount, you pay a higher premium per month.

What all is covered under legal expenses insurance depends on the modules you take out. You choose what you want to be insured for. In addition, it is of course important which persons are covered by your legal expenses insurance. When you take out insurance, you provide your family situation. Once the insurance is taken out, your entire family is insured for legal assistance. Family includes not only partner and live-in children, but also:

• Children living away from home, e.g. to study
• Resident parents or parents-in-law
• Resident staff, such as an au-pair or a skin-keeper

Do you already have insurance but your family situation is changing? For example, because you are getting married, divorced or have a child? If so, always inform your insurer.