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What is legal expenses insurance?
Legal expenses insurance, often seen as a crucial safeguard for businesses, covers costs associated with legal action. This includes, but is not limited to, fees for solicitors, barristers, and expert witnesses. The primary goal of such insurance is to provide financial support in the event of legal disputes, thereby reducing the potential burden on businesses.
Moreover, this type of insurance includes a range of additional services, such as legal advice helplines, greatly benefiting the policyholders. Investing in legal expenses insurance is a proactive step towards protecting your business’s interests and ensuring your business can continue in the event of any legal cases.
| Tax investigations (including IR35) | |
| Jury service attendance | |
| Criminal defence | |
| Health & Safety investigations | |
| Employment disputes |
Why do I need legal expenses insurance?
Businesses, regardless of their size, can encounter various legal challenges. Employment disputes, contract disagreements, and tax investigations are among the common issues that might necessitate legal representation. By securing legal expenses insurance, businesses ensure that they have the financial backing to address these challenges without compromising their financial stability.
The insurance is particularly beneficial for small to medium-sized enterprises that may lack the resources to manage expensive legal battles.
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What does legal expenses insurance cover?
Our legal expenses insurance covers a range of legal costs of pursuing or defending against a range of legal actions (please check your policy terms and conditions for full conditions), following:
What can be covered:
| Contract disputes – such as pursuing a client when they have breached a contract | |
| Tax investigations (including IR35) – such as having representation if HMRC investigates your business’ tax affairs | |
| Jury service attendance – such as earnings lost from taking time off work | |
| Criminal defence – such as covering the legal costs in defending a claim by a third party | |
| Health & Safety investigations | |
| Employment disputes – such as defending against allegations brought by former employees |
What cannot be covered:
| Claims made against your organisation as a whole – explore professional indemnity insurance to safeguard your business. | |
| Employee injuries – such as if your actions cause any of your employees to have an accident. To protect your business against employee injuries, consider employers’ liability insurance. | |
| Third-party injuries – such as if your actions cause a third-party to have an accident which results in injury. To safeguard your business in the event of third-party injuries or damages, consider public liability insurance. |
Who needs legal expenses insurance?
You should consider arranging legal expenses insurance if:
- You are a small business owner
- You are a consultant or freelancer who produces work for clients
- You are a tradesperson who could benefit from protection against any claims or disputes
This includes a wide range of occupations such as:
Surveyors
IT contractors
Architects
Fitness professionals
Creative professionals
Business consultants
Teachers and tutors
Engineers
Marketing consultants
Accountants
Roofers
Scaffolders
Example policy documents
Below you will find an examples of the documents provided.
| Terms of business.pdf |
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Frequently asked questions
These frequently asked questions are designed to help you and include questions relating to policy cover, pricing and ‘technical’ terms.
Browse all FAQsLegal disputes can arise unexpectedly, and securing legal expenses insurance as soon as you start your business can protect you from the financial burden of legal costs. It is important to review your insurance needs regularly as your business evolves and grows, ensuring you have adequate coverage.
Legal expenses insurance covers contract disputes, helping to protect businesses from the costs associated with legal action taken against or by them in contract-related matters.
If you have any questions, contact one of our insurance experts, here.
Further reading for legal expenses insurance
