What is family legal protection?
When you’re faced with a problem at work or you’re having problems with your neighbours, family legal protection can help. Find out what it could offer if you or your family find yourselves in a difficult situation.
When you’re faced with a problem at work or you’re having problems with your neighbours, family legal protection can help. Find out what it could offer if you or your family find yourselves in a difficult situation.
What is family legal protection insurance?
Family legal protection (FLP) is a type of legal expenses cover that you can get with your home insurance. It protects you against the costs of being sued or having to make a claim against someone else for problems like:
- Property disputes
- Employment issues
- Boundary disputes
- Personal injury claims.
Some insurance providers include family legal protection in their policies as standard, but most offer it as an optional extra that you can add to your home insurance for an additional cost.
How does family legal protection work?
What you’re offered can vary among insurance providers, but most FLP policies include:
- Cover of between £25,000 and £100,000 worth of legal costs
- No excess to pay
- Expert legal support and advice – often with access to a 24-hour legal helpline
- Access to downloadable legal templates and documents.
It’s important to know that to get legal representation, you’ll need a strong case. You should only expect your costs to be covered if your claim is ‘likely to succeed’.
Did you know?Most FLP insurance providers include a 24/7 legal helpline for advice on any private legal problem. Whether you want legal guidance or just want to understand your rights, this valuable feature alone could make family legal protection worth it. |
Who is covered by family legal protection?
As family legal protection is attached to your home insurance, it covers you and any members of your family living at the same address. This could be your:
- Partner, spouse, civil partner or cohabitee
- Children
- Parents
- Siblings.
What can I claim for with family legal protection?
You can use family legal protection for a whole range of situations where you might need legal assistance. For example, it could cover legal costs for:
- Property disputes – issues with your neighbours over problems like excessive noise, boundary disputes or damage to your property.
- Employment disputes – anything to do with your employment rights, like unfair dismissal, harassment, discrimination or if an issue goes to tribunal.
- Consumer disputes – if you want to make a claim for faulty goods you bought or need defence for a claim against something you sold.
- Personal injury – help to claim compensation if you’re injured and it wasn’t your fault. For example: clinical negligence.
- Tax problems – accountancy costs if you face an HMRC enquiry.
- Personal identity theft – if you’re the victim of someone stealing your identity.
- Jury service costs – if you’re called for jury service and you lose income that can’t be recovered from your employer or the court.
- Probate issues – if you want to dispute the will of a family member.
What isn’t covered by family legal protection?
It’s unlikely that family legal protection will cover legal representation and costs for:
- Problems that started before you bought the policy.
- Any legal costs you paid before your claim was accepted.
- Claims that you’re likely to lose.
- Anything specifically excluded from your policy – that’s why it’s always a good idea to read the small print.
Is family legal protection worth it?
Family legal protection could be worth it if you want the peace of mind that legal assistance is there if you need it. However, it’s your choice whether to get FLP.
Before you decide, check to see if you have some form of legal expenses cover already with your bank account or employment package. And check your home insurance policy – some insurance providers include legal cover as standard.
There’s no point in doubling up if you already have legal protection that you can make use of.
How can I buy family legal protection?
You can buy family legal protection when you take out a home insurance policy.
When you compare home insurance with us, we’ll show you the policy features for each quote so you can see which providers offer legal cover.
Frequently asked questions
Is family legal protection the same as legal expenses cover?
When it comes to home insurance, yes, family legal protection is the same as legal expenses cover.
However, legal expenses cover that you can get with your car insurance is different. Also known as motor legal protection, it only protects you against legal costs to do with motoring disputes and claims.
How do I make a family legal protection claim?
Call the helpline number given to you by your insurance provider and they’ll guide you through what to do.
Remember, if you want to make a claim for legal costs, it will typically need at least a 51% chance of success to be accepted. And in some cases, you might have to wait before you can make a claim – for example, 30 days from the start of your policy.
Can I choose my own lawyer?
You should check your policy, as some insurance providers will only cover you if you use their preferred lawyers. Using your own lawyer might invalidate your policy.
Can I remove family legal protection from my home insurance policy?
It should be easy to cancel FLP. Check with your insurance provider in case there’s a cancellation or administration fee to pay.
Think carefully before you cancel, though. Solicitors can be expensive and FLP could potentially save you thousands in legal fees.
Can I use family legal protection for a property I’m letting?
No, you can’t use FLP for a property you’re letting. It only covers matters regarding your main home.
If you want legal expenses cover for a rental property, you’ll need landlord insurance.
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Anna McEntee – Home, travel and pet insurance expert
Anna’s all about delivering fantastic insurance products at a great price. Value is the most important thing for Anna, as she cuts through the jargon and finds what’s most important and worth your hard-earned money.
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Rachel’s a self-confessed money nerd who’s been writing about personal finance for more than 20 years. She spent 17 years writing for Moneywise, including a few years as Editor, and likes making complicated subjects like insurance, pensions, investing and tax, easy for people to understand.