In all personal injury claims, the first meeting is free and all funding options will be discussed at that meeting.
If you are not able to make a claim under your car and house insurance, then MKB Solicitors may act for you under a “no-win-no-fee” agreement backed by a separate insurance policy. This arrangement ensures that there are no up-front costs and, if you win your case, our costs and expenses are paid by the other side’s insurer.
In the unlikely event that your claim is unsuccessful, you do not have to pay our fees under the “no-win-no-fee” agreement. Our expenses and any costs incurred by the other side can be covered by a separate insurance policy. In cases started after April 2013 the cost of that insurance policy (the premium) cannot be recovered from the other side. However, other rule changes, again for cases started after April 2013, also mean that you are much less likely to have to pay the other side’s costs if you lose.
There have been a number of changes in how cases are funded and costs dealt with generally. At MKB Solicitors we will advise you fully on the funding options available under the new rules.
Legal Expenses Insurance
When you take out or renew your car or house insurance, once you have filed away the paperwork, you do not want to look at it again as this usually means a claim is being made.
When you have an accident your car insurance (for motor claims) and house insurance (for other types of accidents) may provide cover for your legal expenses to make a claim against whoever you believe is to blame for your accident.
Often this type of insurance is a free add-on or available as a low premium.
If you do need to check your policy for legal expenses cover it may suggest that you have to use lawyers chosen by the insurers. This is not necessarily the case.
At MKB Solicitors we believe that people who need legal advice after an accident or in any other situation where cover might be available, for example, employment issues or boundary disputes, have the right to choose their own lawyer.
Regulations dealing with this type of insurance provides for freedom of choice of legal representation throughout the process and a recent court case has confirmed this view – unfortunately, insurers often challenge that view.
One of the reasons why insurers want to use their own lawyers (known as panel solicitors) is that those solicitors often pay a fee to those insurers for each case taken on, although the rules have changed from April 2013 to prevent such payments.
MKB Solicitors can advise on your funding options including legal expenses cover.
Even if your own insurers, when first contacted, insist on using their own panel solicitors, we may be able to persuade them otherwise. It is often important and beneficial for you to have local solicitors acting who you can meet and instruct properly, rather than the insurers’ own solicitors who may be in a different part of the country and whom you can only speak to on the telephone.
In any event, MKB Solicitors can still act on a “no-win-no-fee” basis where there is legal expenses cover to enable you to instruct your chosen solicitor rather than one chosen for you.
We would be happy to discuss all your funding options at a free initial meeting to discuss your potential claim.
