What does free attorney choice mean?
If you have legal expenses insurance, you will get help in the event of a legal conflict. Sometimes a conflict can already be resolved with a letter from the insurer or with the help of a mediator. If the conflict has already escalated too far, legal action in the form of a lawsuit may be necessary. For this, you will need a lawyer. Insurance companies employ their own lawyers that they will offer to you. However, you are not required to actually choose this lawyer. You may always choose your own lawyer. This is called the right to free choice of lawyer.
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Lawyer of your choice
In a legal conflict, using a lawyer is not always necessary. Therefore, the right to free choice of lawyer only applies if your legal expenses insurer decides to conduct legal proceedings. During legal proceedings, you are always entitled to your own lawyer. An insurer can never deny you this right to free choice of lawyer. However, you should always ask your insurer for permission. However, this is only a formality because the insurer is not allowed to deny you this if you have legal expenses insurance. So you can always choose your own lawyer.
Taking out legal expenses insurance? Calculate your premium!
When to hire a lawyer?
Whether it is necessary to hire an attorney depends on the type of conflict you are involved in. Is it a traffic dispute, such as a traffic violation? Then the case will go before the district court and a lawyer is not required. If the case goes to a civil court, however, hiring a lawyer is mandatory. When taking out insurance, legal expenses insurance is often not immediately considered. Yet it is a nice insurance to have. A legal conflict can happen just like that, for example in traffic or at work. With legal assistance insurance you are always assured of legal help.
Up to what amount covered under free attorney choice
Each insurer has a maximum reimbursement for external expenses. This can vary from one insurer to another and can always be found in the policy conditions. A legal expenses insurer distinguishes between necessary costs and non-necessary costs. The moment the costs are not necessary, the maximum reimbursement will decrease. So the moment you choose a lawyer yourself, while your insurer provides one, they see this as not strictly necessary costs. When you choose your own lawyer, it is more expensive for your insurer than when an in-house lawyer handles the case. Therefore, when you hire your own lawyer, less expenses are reimbursed. However, this is not the case with every insurer; with some, the amount remains the same. Always check the conditions of your legal expenses insurance to see how much they will reimburse you.
Take out legal expenses insurance with free lawyer choice through Alpina right away!
Don't wait too long to take out legal expenses insurance. This is because most insurers apply a waiting period of 3 to 6 months. This means you cannot use the insurance immediately. They try to prevent that the insurance is only taken out when legal help is already needed. Ongoing conflicts are therefore also excluded from coverage. Take out legal expenses insurance with free choice of lawyer? At Alpina.nl you can easily compare legal expenses insurance and then take out insurance directly online.
Also view
- Is there any legal expenses insurance with no waiting period?
- Is my family covered by my legal expenses insurance?
- What is the best legal expenses insurance?
- What is the cheapest legal expenses insurance?
- Does taking out legal expenses insurance still make sense during a conflict?
- What does the deductible for legal expenses insurance include?
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