New Insurance Products, your thoughts appreciated.

[TC]

I am after peoples thoughts on a new form of legal expenses insurance that is about to come onto the market and will be available through a select number of outlets and which could replace Legal expenses Insurance (motor) as we know it.

First of all the product is absolutely "FREE". The insurance product indemnifies an individual and their family against the cost of legal litigation.

It also covers any passengers in or on a vehicle which is covered by the insurance.

It covers road traffic accidents, accidents at work, accidents in a public place and when playing sport.

It can be targeted to specific groups as a scheme product such as bike clubs, dealerships for their customers or special interest groups such as members of a forum like this one.

Reciprocal arrangements can be provided for the repair and hire of replacement vehicles in the case of road traffic accidents.

There is no catch.

Unlike some schemes that are currently available, the scheme only uses approved law firms who have had to show that they are above a conveyor belt type law firm and are not simply an accident management firm, and the scheme will run exactly the same as it would if you were to instruct solicitors on a Conditional Fee Agreement (No win no fee).

The biggest bonus over a normal LEI is that with someone like DAS you have to go to the law firm appopinted by them and in some cases you may get a non specialist firm or as mentioned a firm where you are simply a number on the conveyor belt.

The insurance company underwriting the project are a recognised player, and the reason the product can be offered for free is that with the normal risk assessments that are carried out, there is a better than average chance that the case will be won and the legal and insurance costs will be born by the other side.

I have gone through the small print with a fine tooth comb, and I really cannot see any catches. It is free, it covers members of the family and vehicle passengers, it allows you access to legal representation as a group scheme, and it could save you money as you will not have to pay the LEI premium as part of your motor insurance (even though they say it is free, you still pay).

I will be going out over the coming months and talking to groups about the scheme in more detail, but I would be interested in your initial thoughts bearing in mind that I cannot cover everything here.

[D-Rider]

I guess it sounds fine.

Presumably we will all pay for it in our premiums - based on what you've said about the costs being awarded against the looser .... but as I guess this will always be the case, if we get a better quality of service, it has to be a good thing.

[lazarus]

No such thing as a free lunch! In this case, the fees the lawyers earn on successful cases will covers their costs on the failures, which in turn will mean that its the lawyers deciding whether a case goes to court / how far it goes. In effect, its a promotion scheme for the rest of the lawyers that arent included in the packaged legal insurance you get bundled into most policies these days.

So how is it different to approaching a no win no fee lawyer directly?

[BikerGran]

As seen above, I think the probl;em will be that no-one believes you can get anything good for free.

From what you say TC, it sounds too good to be true!

[TC]

As seen above, I think the probl;em will be that no-one believes you can get anything good for free.

From what you say TC, it sounds too good to be true!

The whole point about this scheme is that it can be offered as a club or group incentive, so for example it could be branded as the "Ridersite Legal Assistance Scheme" and it will be branded as such, and to be honest it is designed more as a group policy rather than individual, although each individual is covered.

It could be used as an incentive to induce new members, it can be used as a 1 stop scheme for all members thereby ensuring continuity and consistancy, the scheme can decide what garages they want to use for the repair of their bikes.

The policy like any LEI is paid by the law firm and then claimed back on successfull conclusion of the case, but if there was an unfortunate situation where the case was lost, then the insurance would cover the third party legal costs and disbursments.

Like many people, when I first looked at it, I was a little sceptical having had quite a bit of experience of dealing with legal expenses schemes through my work, but really there is no catch and more importantly there is no risk.

The other point that may be worth mentioning is that unlike the majority of LEI schemes, this one has been designed by solicitors rather than insurers, so the policy is designed to maximise the cover for the claimant rather than for the benefit of the insurance company.

[Kwackerz]

I like the idea, will have to re-read this thread later, but quick scan, yep, seems to look like a great idea.

[HowardQ]

Certainly looks interesting TC, let us know how it goes, I think people on here would be interested in the idea of a "RiderSite scheme".

[TC]

Certainly looks interesting TC, let us know how it goes, I think people on here would be interested in the idea of a "RiderSite scheme".

In the next week or so, there will be a link that I will post up which will answer all the FAQ's and explain the scheme in more detail.

As soon as everything is ready to go up, I will let you know.