Legal expenses insurance
Being right is one thing
Getting justice is another. People often forego their rights out of fear of high legal costs. Legal expenses insurance can be very useful in asserting one's rights legally.
However, there are also some exceptions in which the legal expenses insurance does not pay. Legal expenses insurance only covers court costs, lawyers' fees and expert's fees if there is a good chance of success.
The basics
Whether you are involved in a traffic accident, have a dispute with your employer or a craftsman does a bad job - if you want to enforce your good rights, going to a lawyer or to court can become unavoidable.
But if you lose a legal dispute, you pay lawyers' bills, expert fees and court costs out of your own pocket - which quickly adds up to large sums.
Solid legal protection is therefore important. The legal protection insurer provides expertise and financial support to ensure that you get your right without financial risk; in the event of a dispute, it pays all costs up to the amount of the agreed sum insured.
Scope of services
Legal disputes are expensive - even in smaller lawsuits, lawyer and court costs quickly run into the thousands. In addition, there are often costs for expert opinions and witnesses.
You can protect yourself against these financial risks with legal expenses insurance. This is not only important if you have lost a dispute in court and have to bear all the costs, including those of the opposing party.
Even if you have won the legal dispute, you may still be stuck with your legal fees if, for example, your opponent is insolvent.
Financially protected even in conciliation proceedings
In addition: often only partial successes are achieved in court and the costs are divided between the parties accordingly. Settlements are also not uncommon - here the plaintiff and defendant each bear their own costs.
The costs for out-of-court conciliation proceedings, which are mandatory in various federal states before a lawsuit is filed in court, are also usually paid by your legal expenses insurance.
Power restrictions
Legal expenses insurance protects against financial risks in many areas - but it cannot cover all conceivable cases if premiums are to remain affordable for customers.
Certain disputes can therefore not be insured, such as proceedings for parking violations in road traffic, disputes around house construction or in the law of commercial companies, disputes around gambling and betting contracts as well as speculative transactions.
In inheritance law, the costs of legal advice are usually only covered if a change in the legal situation, for example due to the death of a testator, makes this necessary. The same applies to family law. Disputes between persons jointly insured in a policy are also not included in legal expenses insurance.
Typical cases of damage
Labour, traffic and tenancy disputes
Legal disputes in the areas of employment, transport and housing are particularly frequent. For example, if you want to take action against a dismissal by your employer, you must file a lawsuit with the labour court within three weeks.
Incidentally, it is important in labour disputes: at first instance, each party bears its own lawyer's fees - regardless of the outcome of the proceedings. So even if you win a labour court case at first instance, you will still be stuck with your lawyer's bill if you do not have legal expenses insurance.
On the safe side with legal protection
Disputes between tenants and landlords are also frequent - key words are notices of termination of owner-occupancy, utility bills or payment arrears. Both as a tenant and as a landlord, you are on the safe side with the right legal protection if you do not want to pay the costs out of your own pocket in the event of a dispute.
Even if you are involved in a traffic accident, whether you are at fault or not, you often have to resort to legal action. The property damage alone can run into the thousands, not to mention the claims for compensation in the event of serious injuries with permanent consequences.
Topic Costs
Insurance costs money - and some people advise saving on legal expenses insurance. But a traffic accident, the termination of your job, bodily injury by others or trouble with your landlord can neither be foreseen nor avoided.
If you do not want to give in in such cases, you cannot avoid a legal dispute. So it's good if you have legal expenses insurance. Private legal protection for a 30-year-old single employee can be had for about 100 euros a year. If traffic and rental disputes are also insured, the premium (depending on the deductible chosen) is around 170 euros.
The right contract
Which legal protection do I need?
As with other insurances, there are also different benefit modules for legal protection that you can take out and later also adjust depending on your professional and private life situation.
You can include all problems related to your vehicle in the insurance cover (traffic legal protection); as a self-employed person, you can decide whether you want to insure only the private or also the professional area.
In the event of disputes arising from an employment relationship - for example, if you are dismissed or your employer owes you money - the employment legal protection will take effect. You can also insure yourself in rental and property matters or, if you are elderly, you can exclude insurance for the professional sphere.
Inform yourself well before taking out insurance
Tax disputes, contract disputes, compensation issues, criminal or social court proceedings and inheritance disputes can also be covered.
Before taking out a legal expenses insurance policy, you should obtain detailed information and advice on what protection you personally need.