Legal Expenses Insurance
Where you have a policy of legal expenses insurance at the time of your accident they will seek to appoint a solicitor for you.
Unfortunately, you will be taking pot luck on the solicitor you get. Some are very good, some are absolutely appalling and there is a fair group in the middle. To a lot of them the only concern is settling the case so that they can be paid.
In straightforward cases where the injuries are minor they can often provide a perfectly good service. However, quite often the person handling the case will not be qualified or even have a law degree and will have a very heavy level of cases on them. Costs in lower value claims up to £10,000 are fixed and will often be given to the least qualified person capable of handling them because they cannot afford to provide a quality service. We have recently come across a firm that seeks to settle a claim having spent a maximum of 4 hours only on the case. It is our view that you cannot properly represent a client and resolve a case within that little time.
In more serious cases the problems caused by this "dumbing down" can become much more apparent. Clients get advised to accept responsibility for the accident or a level of responsibility much greater than they should. Items of damage get missed. Injuries are undervalued. For higher value cases you need a specialist lawyer.
The insurer will probably advise you that you have to use the solicitor appointed by them. This is simply not true. You have an absolute entitlement to instruct any solicitor you wish and if you are not happy with the solicitor they appoint then you should change.
If the case is tough, some legal expenses insurers are quite likely to withdraw cover. They are happy to take your money, but do not want to risk having to pay out on the policy. Often the rejection of the case will be on the advice of your solicitor. Do not be fooled by this. Just because they are not prepared to back your case does not mean you have no case.
We offer a no-obligation initial consultation. If it goes no further there is no charge. Ring us to speak to the real experts on 01296 664 044