I spotted an interesting article on CityWire the other day discussing whether the Legal fees insurance, which many of us have attached to our household and other insurance policies, could perhaps, take the place of Legal Aid in certain cases and therefore fill the “GAP”.
It would seem however that a number of consumers of such insurance policies have tried to obtain access to the legal system through such policies but been denied for one reason or another (caveats in the small print!!) and have also been denied their choice of solicitor. This latter issue goes against the Solicitors code of conduct which upholds the view that every client is entitled to their own choice of solicitor.
You may know little about legal expenses insurance, but chances are you are paying for it within (at least) your household insurance policy premium, if not via a number of other insurances. However, although these may act as a “litigation” policy eg pay out on your litigation fee expenses to defend a claim to which you may have become subject, it is unlikely that such policies would cover the loss of legal aid in family law and divorce matters.
Still, it may be worth reading the small print of your household insurance policy to see just what, if any, litigation cover they may have included and of which you are currently unaware.
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