When you buy an insurance policy for your car, whether online, in person (can you still do that?) or over the telephone, you will most often that not be presented with the opportunity to buy legal expenses cover, and most websites will have this option checked by default, and many brokers and insurers over the phone tell you the price includes legal cover, whereby you can remove it if you wish.
Well, should you save yourself the cost (usually between £17-25) and remove this option?
NO. Make sure you get this cover as part of your insurance policy, as it can be extremely useful. Obviously most people expect not to have accidents, not to lose their no claims bonus and not to have to pay more next year. But, this is the real world, and statistics prove otherwise. So even if the accident is not your fault, your excess, or third party cover only, may mean that in an accident a law firm will take up your cause (as long as there is reasonable chance of success and you have not compromised yours/their position with correspondence or admittance of any important points) and fight for your losses.
Another instance where this cover has been extremely useful was where in an accident that was the third parties fault, a claim on your own insurance policy is not desirable, say for example due to NCB loss if you were unable to reclaim from the third party. The legal cover would usually assist you to make a claim against the third party.
This includes gathering of DVLA data, witness statements and any other relevant details. For such a small sum of money, would you REALLY want to be without?
There are hire car companies who will also take on your cause if they deem your accident was not your fault and the third party has been identified and is insured. But beware that one or the other should really do with the case, the hire company would most likely have it as part of their terms and conditions that the case is passed onto them. Please read our page regarding hire companies and legal assistance, some work on the basis that if they cannot recover the costs from the third party, then you will be liable.
