Legal expenses cover. Is it worth it

[Boris]

I'm fully comp insurance for the varadero and my renewal has just come through for £83 but they also would like me to pay a further £26 for legal expenses cover.

Question to those in the know.
Is the legal cover actually beneficial to me or is it just like those extended warranties you get offered at Dixons?

[Boris]

One broker I have just spoken to (Swinton) has offered me for £30 (normally £60) a legal protection policy that, as well as the usual legal protection stuff, would also pay back any excess regardless of whose fault the claim was. I asked if I dropped the bike performing a U turn would the compulsory excess of £300 be repaid (I have nill voluntary excess) and the answer was a resounding yes. It also covers me for things like my satnav and intercom and a loan bike.

He couldn't email me details which I thought a bit odd and got my cynical bone twanging. So does this sound like a good deal or a too good to be true deal?

[Zenarchy]

From what I can gather the legal expenses is important, as it'll cover you against legal expenses that might otherwise leave you out of pocket in some situtions (such as being hit by an uninsured driver if you're third party or fire and theft only). I'm not sure of all of the details and advantages and disadvantages (Wheallie will probably be along soon to tell you as he knows a lot about insurance) but for what little extra it costs, it seems worth it just for a little extra peace of mind to me.

As to the differences of differnet levels of legal cover I haven't got much of a clue, but when it's offered I've taken it.

I've noticed sometimes when getting quotes at certain places (last year at least) that some of them offer you free legal cover for the year just for asking for the quote (haven't seen that so much this year though as I used price comparison sites to get quotes). I got offered a couple of times free legal cover when I got quotes last year though I'm not sure how good they would actually be.

[Whealie]

It is a fine line. The lawyers will say you don't need it because you can get what is called After-the-event insurance, but as solicitors make disproportionate amounts of money from this system (because they can get win fees that equal your damages), they would say that wouldn't they?

If you have before-the-event legal expenses cover then the lawyer only gets paid for their time

In a cut and dry case, they take an ATE policy with an insurer giving them a good rate of commission on the product, write one letter demanding damages, win you £1,500 and then claim at least £1,000 for themselves and get the cost of the insurance back as a legitimate expense.

You get what you would have got had your legal expenses paid the lawyer £150 to write one letter. The lawyer gets ten times as much for the same work.

This does matter because all our premiums are affected by the rising cost of dealing with claims, many of them small value but with disproportionate costs.

ATE is great in that it does give you aces to justice you might not otherwise have had, but the law of unintended consequences applies.

I have the legal expenses policy, personally, even though I would be covered by Thompsons and I am on very friendly terms wth them.