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What is legal expenses cover?
Legal expenses insurance protects you and your family if you face a legal issue.
From problems at work to trouble with your neighbours, the cover gives you access to support and advice to help fix matters in the best way possible.
Legal expenses insurance is included in our Home insurance policy and is provided by ARAG, the largest Legal Expenses insurer in the UK, offering award-winning legal support to families for over 40 years.
Example legal expenses insurance claims
Contract dispute
A customer buying a new house gets a building survey report. Based on the report, she buys and starts work on the property. As soon as the work begins, it becomes clear there are major structural issues that the report did not show.
A third party confirms the initial report was too generic and that the surveyor should have found more issues. She rings the ARAG helpline for legal advice and begins a claim.
The customer’s solicitor advises that a claim could be made against the surveyor for not completing the report as agreed in their contract. This type of claim is covered in the contract disputes section of our Legal Expenses policy. They get expert structural engineering and valuation evidence.
The defendant’s insurer offers £65,000 to settle the case. However, the customer’s solicitor rejects this offer as it doesn't cover the cost of the damage or getting expert reports and surveys. A new offer of £115,000 is received and accepted by the customer.
Personal injury
A customer is working on a tower at work and is attached by a safety cable. The cable fails, and he falls 35 feet, causing life-changing injuries, including spinal damage. He needs major surgery and ongoing care.
The customer uses his Legal Expenses Insurance to claim against his employer. A solicitor is appointed who gets several medical reports and a 100-page forensic accountant's report to assess the damages the customer might receive.
The employer offers £3.8million, but the customer’s solicitor rejects this. The reports are sent to the employer, who makes a new offer of £4.5million, which is accepted by the customer.
Property damage
Soot and watermarks have appeared on the walls of a customer’s home following work to the property next door. She tells the owners, but they do not want to carry out repairs and suggest that she claim on her insurance.
The customer calls ARAG for legal advice and submits a claim against her neighbour. This is covered under the property protection section of her Legal Expenses Insurance. A solicitor finds evidence of the damage and official plans from the Land Registry. They send a ‘letter before claim’ to the neighbour, offering them the chance to make the repairs or face legal action.
After receiving no response (and with the agreement of ARAG), they get an independent building surveyor report. The report is sent to the neighbour, and the customer is told repairs will be made to their chimney, which stops any further damage to her property.
The customer is also given £15,000 for the damage already caused.
Conditions of cover
When you make a claim, it is important to be aware that the following conditions apply:
- Chance of success – the ‘reasonable prospects’ clause. Your solicitor will assess your case to check you have 51% (or higher) chance of winning. The likelihood of success can change throughout a case, which can cause a claim to stop. If this happens, ARAG will pay for all agreed costs up to this point.
- Costs that ARAG has not agreed on. Costs that have not been agreed upon will not be covered under your policy, for example, costs that you incur before your claim is accepted. We strongly recommend contacting ARAG before speaking to a solicitor yourself.
- Incidents before policy inception. Claims, where the event happened before your Legal Expenses Insurance commenced, will not be covered.
If you have a legal issue, before finding a solicitor or doing anything else, please make sure you speak to ARAG.
Ecclesiastical is responsible for paying your claims, and ARAG manages these on our behalf.