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Every now and then it happens that conflicts cannot be resolved between parties. Whether it is the constant dilemma with the neighbors, or things are not going as they should at work, the tradesman has not carried out his job properly, or no agreement has been reached in the event of an accident. Sometimes it is better to let a lawyer find the right words. Often a single letter from your lawyer is enough to resolve the inconvenience promptly. If that is not the case, however, it is better to have legal protection insurance. Normally, most legal disputes do not threaten your existence, but you can still incur considerable costs if you become involved in a legal dispute. Legal protection insurance covers these costs. Your independent financial advisor will be happy to advise you on finding a cost-effective and suitable insurance policy.
If it is important to you to be able to exhaust all options in case of doubt, then yes. If you repeatedly find yourself in situations where the support of a lawyer would be beneficial, then taking out legal protection insurance is a sensible investment. Do you deal with people who like to sue in your job?
You should be aware, however, that customers of legal protection insurance who are particularly prone to suing are also particularly likely to be canceled by the insurance company. Finding a new legal protection insurance policy will then definitely be a challenge and very expensive. Also note that numerous cases are not covered, for example divorces, maintenance disputes, house building and capital investments are not included in legal protection policies. Check whether you already have legal protection insurance through membership of an association or union.
High-performance legal protection insurance for families costs around 130-500 euros per year. Family legal protection insurance covers the areas of professional, residential, traffic and private law. Officials and public sector employees usually receive a ten to twenty percent discount. Single people must expect to pay around 80 euros per year for traffic legal protection insurance with correspondingly good insurance benefits.
When choosing legal protection insurance, you have to decide which areas you want to insure.
Traffic legal protection is used in legal conflicts in road traffic. After accidents on your bike, in your car, or when you were on the move as a pedestrian. In court, compensation for pain and suffering and damages are often demanded from the opposing party. Legal protection insurance companies offer tariffs for families with several vehicles or one car. Tariffs are offered for singles with just one vehicle. Make sure that all family members are insured in a wide variety of situations in road traffic when you take out the policy. Special legal protection policies also offer driver legal protection, so you are also insured as a driver of other people’s vehicles.
Many insurance companies adjust their contract conditions on the first of October each year. As a result, prices are often increased too! So if you need traffic legal protection, you should take it out in September.
Private legal protection covers the costs in private law disputes. Since most legal protection insurance policies require a deductible of 150 euros for private legal protection, it is not worth including legal protection insurance in disputes with a low monetary value. For example, an expensive glass vase has been delivered broken and the dealer does not want to cover the costs. It is hardly worth using your legal protection. However, if large sums are involved, such as in the case of medical malpractice and you want to sue your doctor, it is good to have legal protection insurance. Because in addition to legal fees, there are also high expert costs.
Professional legal protection should be taken as an addition to your private legal protection. It assimes you work in a crisis-hit industry or you work for a company that makes you suspect that a legal dispute could arise. Professional legal protection is essential, especially when companies are dealing with personnel restructuring or their personnel policy is sometimes not quite so trustworthy. In the first instance before the labor court, you always have to cover your own costs. Legal protection then covers the costs incurred for you. The most important labor law cases are warnings, dismissals and severance payments, vacation and Christmas bonuses, unpaid wages, youth and maternity protection. Disagreements relating to employment references are also included. Disputes over occupational disability pensions can quickly involve five-figure amounts that you have to sue for. Providers often try to reduce payments or refuse payment demands. So if your occupational disability insurance refuses to pay, legal protection insurance offers you the financial backing to assert your rights.
Landlord and residential legal protection offers homeowners advice and reimbursement of the costs incurred in disputes. As a resident of your own property, taking out residential legal protection is sufficient. The following disputes are covered by residential legal protection: eviction proceedings due to personal use, tax-related issues, utility bills, rent increases, claims for damages, administrative offenses, non-payment of rent, and property legal protection for owners.
In order to get a good legal protection policy, you should compare the contracts offered to you. Some add-ons are recommended, others you can choose according to your personal preferences.
Free choice of lawyer means that in an emergency you can hire a lawyer you trust without having a financial disadvantage in the policy. Even if a mediator could be called in to settle disputes, it is also better if you can choose him yourself. Some legal protection insurers only offer cooperation with lawyers associated with the insurance company. If you want to choose one yourself, you will notice this in the deductible.
Deductible means that with some legal protection insurers, a higher deductible does not bring any price advantage. When you compare tariffs, start with the highest possible deductible. If you then adjust the amount downwards, you can see which legal protection insurers adjust their premiums accordingly. You should not settle minor disputes and low lawyer bills through your insurer anyway, as they may then cancel your policy. It also makes sense to choose a tariff that does not require a deductible if a case is settled after the initial consultation with your lawyer or a partner lawyer. To avoid losing your bearings in the jungle of legal regulations, your independent financial advisor will help you compare.
No waiting period, many tariffs stipulate a waiting period of three months from the start of the insurance. If you already had legal protection insurance and are simply changing providers, the mandatory waiting period does not apply. In traffic legal protection, there is usually no waiting period at all. This is an advantage, especially if you know in advance that you will need traffic legal protection.
Unlimited coverage at no extra charge, some tariffs offer unlimited coverage, which of course is reflected in the annual premium for an additional charge. But! Experience has shown that a coverage of at least 300,000 euros is completely sufficient! The coverage applies to each case that the legal protection insurance covers. A legal dispute can include several legal disputes. Nevertheless, the amounts in dispute rarely reach six figures.
Legal advice by telephone, most tariffs offer advice by telephone for simple legal questions. When taking out insurance, you should make sure that this advice applies to all legal areas, including potential disputes that you have not insured in advance. If you only have private legal protection, questions about tenancy law should still be included in the legal advice by telephone. In addition, you should be able to use your legal protection insurer’s hotline as often as you want to.
The subsequent event theory: if your legal protection insurance is regulated according to this principle, you will have legal protection even if the reason for the conflict occurred before you took out your legal protection insurance. Most insurance policies now adhere to the subsequent event theory.
Pay premiums by direct debit; some tariffs can only be taken out if you agree to direct debit of the premiums due. You can save around five percent if you decide to pay annually by SEPA direct debit.
Your legal protection insurance covers more than just lawyer’s fees. If a legal dispute arises and your legal protection insurer has assured you that it will cover the costs, it is not just the lawyer’s fees that will be covered. This can also include court costs, fees for witnesses and court-appointed experts, costs of the opposing party if you lose in court, interest-free loans for bail abroad and translations, as well as expenses for expert opinions and enforcement of the judgment.
It is not just the costs of court proceedings that will be paid. Some legal protection insurers also cover out-of-court legal disputes. The costs of a mediator, i.e. a neutral person who settles a dispute out of court, are also paid. Fines or other expenses resulting from a court judgment are generally not paid.
Legal protection policies are not a general cover for all disputes. All conflicts that existed before the legal protection insurance was taken out are excluded from the cover. A waiting period of three months when concluding the contract is common practice for most legal protection cases. This is how the insurer also ensures that dispute-mongering companies in particular do not arbitrarily turn trivial matters into legal disputes. Exceptions are usually traffic accidents, which are covered immediately.
There are many legal issues which legal protection insurance does not cover the costs for. For example, disputes in the area of construction, construction financing, and house, apartment and property ownership, copyright infringements, intentional criminal offenses and administrative offenses, defense against claims for damages – this is covered by your motor vehicle liability insurance or your private liability insurance – disputes in connection with self-employed, freelance or commercial activities – for this you need special commercial legal protection insurance.
Some so-called „special topics“ can be taken out optionally with legal protection insurance companies or only under certain conditions. These special reasons for disputes include marital matters and maintenance claims. These are usually only covered in the initial consultation or with a low reimbursement amount. Taxes, social law, administrative law and capital investments are also among these special topics for legal protection insurance.
Check the insurance terms and conditions carefully. Make sure that tax and administrative court matters are already covered in the pre-trial objection procedure. And to what extent the legal protection rate applies to capital investment disputes.
A tip: In the general insurance terms and conditions, paragraph two lists the scope of benefits and paragraph three lists the exclusions. A high-performance legal protection insurance is generally recommended. In order to find the right insurer for you, you should seek comprehensive advice from an independent financial advisor.
As a layperson, it is not easy to find the right legal protection insurance for your personal needs. There are many different providers available online. But it is not always possible to find out which one is the right one. The cheapest legal protection plan may not be the best choice in an emergency, nor may the most expensive one. The happy medium may be confusing with all the additional options.
Get the support of an independent financial advisor, who will work with you to find the right legal protection insurance. So that you do not have to experience any unpleasant surprises with your insurer in the event of a dispute.
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