Why
In today’s “sue or be sued” world, where for the latter you may have proverbially ‘pissed someone off without knowing or even meaning to, Legal Expenses Insurance (LEI) covers the gaps ready to step in and take on legal costs regardless of fault. LEI holds particular relevance in today’s ever-litigious environment and can add another valued dimension of protection to your insurance program.
Current Environment
With the number in litigation quadrupling over the last 3 years both here in Australia and overseas, this leaves businesses and individuals open to the need to understand and be able to defend or pursue their rights.
As to the unprecedented changes occurring over the past 18 months, the employment mind field for both employee and employer is like we have never seen before. The stress and challenges within the workplace potentially raises employment issues due to work from home (WFH) Covid, job seeker, etc. We are all in uncharted territory. Most businesses do not have in-house HR or legal counsel in fact most small businesses would outsource this cost as is then needed.
Prepare
For those seeking advice or dealing with real legal matters, it’s critical to have access to legal counsel to understand the options as well as the short- and long-term implications of each.
Q. SO, WHAT EXACTLY IS LEGAL EXPENSE INSURANCE?
A. Provides coverage and protection for the costs associated with all insured events that may result in a pursuit or defense action against you, or by you, for matters such as but not limited to;
- Criminal Prosecution & WHS Investigations
- Residential landlord cover
- Employment disputes
- Financial Loss
- Damage Property disputes
LEI cover provides access to specialist legal experts for insured events including access to a dedicated helpline and legal document center for both private and commercial matters.
Fun-Fact: LEI covers DEFENCE and PURSUIT
It provides affordable access to legal advice and representation when individuals or businesses are faced with unforeseen legal issues. Without it, they might otherwise not have the resources to exercise their legal rights due to the crippling cost.
Q. WHO NEEDS LEGAL EXPENSE INSURANCE?
A. Everyone! Anyone can be sued, so anyone can benefit from having it. There is no predicting when it will actually be needed.
Q. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LEI POLICIES
A. The cover is taken as precautionary and is known as Before The Event cover or (BTE) insurance. There is a range of products available for Private (individual & family) and businesses. There are also a number of bespoke products such as Residential Landlord, Hospitality, and High Net Worth individuals.
Q. WHAT DOES LEGAL EXPENSE INSURANCE COVER
A. LEI covers all the legal costs associated with an insured event these may include:
- Lawyer Fees
- Expert witness Fees
- Report Fees
- Accountancy Fees (for audits)
Legal Helpline is available so you can hopefully avoid making a claim.
Approved legal documents for all policyholders.
Fun Fact: People in Europe have LEI, like we in Australia, have Health Insurance *
Q. SO WHAT TYPE OF MATTER WOULD BE COVERED
A. Most LEI policies would include
- Contractual disputes (with contractors & supplies)
- Employment disputes
- Consumer disputes
- Business contract disputes
- Tax Investigations
- Landlord/Tenant disputes
- Neighbour and trespasser disputes
- Bodily injury disputes
- Defamation claims
- Identity theft claims
- Criminal defence & WHS Investigations
- Inheritance and some family matters cover *
Q. WHAT WOULD NOT BE COVERED
A. Common exclusions to most policies would include
- Pre-existing cases
- Fraudulent and/or criminal acts (by the policyholder!)
- Matrimonial or family disputes, though some products include up to 10 hours of legal advice for these matters
- Mis-selling or mismanagement of Financial Services (by the policyholder)
- Directors and or shareholder disputes
*Please contact us to find out more or do refer to any underwriter’s Product Disclosure Statement before deciding to purchase
