Do i need legal assistance on comprehensive car insurance?

Answers:
If you are caught in a legal wrangle and have legal assistance then the fees are covered. If you hurt your back at work, I believe you can use the legal assistance there as well.

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Your question doesn't make sense??

Comprehensive coverage on an automobile policy protects you from theft, vandalism, and "acts of God" (like if a tree branch fell on your car in a storm) and a few other "non-collision" incidents.

Can you explain more about your situation?

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I don't have legal cover with my insurance, although I do wonder if it would have helped a few months ago when a pedestrian stepped out in front of me and I had to make a claim on my policy even though it wasn't my fault.

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I would say yes, definitely and always specify to your insurance company that you want it included in your policy. Some companies have a devious way of not including it and charging you extra.

Apologies for my long answer, bear with me because I may have useful information for you!

I once had a comprehensive policy and I wasn't aware that it didn't come with legal insurance. One night some idoit backed into my car when I was at a petrol station in my vehicle whilst waiting to fill up with fuel. We exchanged details, insurance companies etc and I informed my insurance company of the accident. The man that backed into my car, very kindly decided not to report it to his insuracne company. When I called to ask what I could do about it, I was told I would have to make a claim on my policy, therby losing my excess and no claims bonus, so that they could then pursue the claim against the other driver and IF they were sucessful, I could claim back my excess and no claims bonus. They told me that I would have to do this as I had no legal protection on my policy. Had i taken out legal protection, they would have fouhgt this for me and I wouldn't have lost anything.

I took the decision at the time not to pursue the matter as it would cost me more in the long run.

I would now always include legal protection, just in case. I believe it would also cover you if someone made a claim agianst you afetr an accident. Eg, your passenger claiming for an injury caused in a collision.

Hope this helps.

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Further to the above answer, please note that with most insurance companies the motor legal insurance will only cover you if the other driver is at fault.


Direct Line's official statement is : Motor legal insurance gives you up to 拢100,000 worth of legal cover to help you persue a personal injury claim or recover uninsured losses following a road traffic accident which was not your fault.

So, if you cause the accident, the cover does not apply.

If someone else hits you and damages your car then you can use the legal insurance to possibly claim back any costs you incur. So let's say you get whiplash and have to go to hospital once a week for a month for physio. The legal cover can help you claim in a small claims court for the loss of earnings, cost of taxi's etc... while you can't drive and any other associated costs. It will also provide you with a legal team to discuss your case with you and even present it in the small claims court if you want.

I think that it is useful to have in your policy as it gives you that back-up if you ever need it.

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If you have an accident that is not your fault, your insurance company will pay for the material damage to your car under your own insurance. (Or pay its market value if a total loss).

However you may suffer other losses that they will not cover - these are known (unsurprisingly) as uninsured losses. Examples are:

The excess under your policy.
Increased transportation costs
Cost of hiring a car.
Time off work
Personal Injury

These uninsured losses have to be claimed back from the negligent driver (who usually seeks protection of his insurance company). However the costs might be difficult to quantify and there may be a dispute over liability and you may find it difficult to pay ongoing expenses.

Legal assistance AKA ULR insurance should be an insurance policy to cover you against the legal and other costs you incur in proceeding with your claim should you be unsuccessful in recovering them from the other person.

The cost of these policies is not great (拢15-拢20 these days) and is definitely worth considering. Beware of After The Event companies doing no-win, no-fee as their costs on a succesful recovery could be substantial. (Even though they are now regulated)