With legal protection insurance you always have an ace up your sleeve in legal disputes? That’s what many people probably want. But the policy is by no means an “all-round, worry-free package” for everything that has anything to do with a lawyer or court, says Claudia Frenz from the Association of Insured Persons (BdV).
But what it does ideally: in the event of a legal dispute, it covers the costs of the insured person for legal prosecution or defense – and only for the insured area. According to Philipp Rehberg from the Lower Saxony consumer advice center, this primarily includes the fee for your own lawyer as well as the procedural costs for court, witness expenses and expert reports. If the insured loses in court, this also includes the costs of the other side.
“But what exactly is covered is regulated by the respective tariff and conditions,” says Rehberg. It is not uncommon for all sorts of exclusions to occur. “In some cases, the insurance only covers the costs of the legal proceedings and not the pre-trial costs – especially in the area of tax and social law.”
This is one of the reasons why consumer advocates and the BdV do not consider legal protection insurance to be absolutely necessary. “We recommend that you primarily insure against dangers that threaten your existence, such as illness, liability and employment risks,” says Rehberg. “It is better to build up reserves for less threatening risks such as legal disputes.”
Check the contract contents carefully
However, there are cases in which consumers can still consider taking out such a policy: “For residential legal protection, for example if you have an older, cheap rental agreement or a difficult landlord,” says Rehberg. Or labor law protection if dismissals for operational reasons occur more frequently in your own industry. Likewise, for frequent drivers, traffic legal protection or private or contractual legal protection could make sense when taking out occupational disability insurance.
But then you should think carefully about your needs before signing the contract and only sign contracts that make sense for your personal situation, says Frenz. Otherwise, you run the risk that the very risk for which you actually wanted the policy is not covered.
Some insurance companies also exclude certain things, says Rehberg. In particular, basic tariffs exclude frequently occurring and costly disputes, such as those that could arise during the planning and construction of a property. The reason: “Construction delays and defects harbor considerable potential for disputes and sometimes entail high costs.” However, special tariffs can cover this risk. Further exclusions sometimes apply to claims for damages, disputes within the family and in connection with investments.
Sometimes personal liability insurance is enough
Good to know: Legal protection is not really necessary for every legal dispute. According to Frenz, for example, private liability insurance protects you if you injure someone else and are sued by the injured person for compensation. “This protects against unjustified claims for damages from third parties, if necessary also in court, and provides compensation for legitimate claims.”
If a legal dispute is already imminent, it is often too late to take out insurance anyway. “The insurance must already exist when the reason for the dispute is established,” explains Rehberg. In civil law disputes, this is often the point at which the contract is concluded.
Compare costs and services
According to Rehberg, the costs of legal protection insurance depend on which risks are insured. That’s why it’s definitely worth comparing the costs and services of the tariffs from different providers. There are sometimes significant differences, says Frenz: “The range of annual premiums for a recommended legal protection insurance for the service areas of private, professional and traffic legal protection is between 130 and 230 euros – with a deductible per claim of up to 1,500 euros.”
If the insured person takes advantage of such insurance one day, there may be a risk of termination: According to Rehberg, insurers are entitled to premature termination if two insured events for which there is protection have occurred within twelve months. “But regardless of this, the insurance can be terminated with three months’ notice before the end of the contract term.” If this is the case, it can be very difficult to obtain legal protection insurance elsewhere, explains Frenz.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:231115-99-953589/3
2024-01-19 15:30:53
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