LEGAL EXPENSES INSURANCE: Funding a Professional Negligence claim with LEI
If you pursue a professional negligence claim under our “No Win-No Fee” scheme and don’t already have Legal Expenses Insurance (“LEI”) then you may be able to take advantage of an “after the event” legal expenses insurance policy.
We have access to most of the UK’s leading LEI providers and are currently working with the industry to develop specialist schemes specifically designed for the Professional Negligence claims market.
There is no obligation on you to take out LEI, but you should bear in mind that the legal system in England and Wales is based on the “loser pays” principle (unless it is a “Small Claim” worth less than £5,000). This generally means that most of the winner’s legal costs are paid by the loser. Obviously if you win your professional negligence claim this is good news because it means that you should be able to recover most of your legal fees and costs. However if you lose you could be ordered to pay your opponent’s costs; and it is this risk that we advise people to insure against.
Premiums are quoted on a case by case basis and we will be able to advise you on the availability of a suitable policy once your professional negligence claim has been assessed.
Obviously we cannot guarantee that an insurer will be willing to underwrite a case and insurers will often need to see an advice on the merits of the professional negligence claim from a barrister. We work closely with a number of specialist chambers including 4 New Square, Lincoln’s Inn and can arrange for a written opinion on your professional negligence claim to be obtained.
Although LEI for professional negligence claims can be expensive, insurers are frequently prepared to offer a deferred premium. This means you will not have to pay the premium until after the case has been concluded. Premiums in professional negligence claims are also generally self insured, so the premium only has to be paid if your professional negligence claim is successful.
Although the courts have the final say on all issues of legal costs, a winning claimant can usually expect to recover all or most of the cost of an LEI policy from the other side if their professional negligence claim succeeds.
