Every day you run the risk of becoming involved in a legal conflict. Sometimes you can work matters out, yet often that is impossible without legal assistance. Legal Aid Insurance provides you with legal support in those cases. Often coming out of the blue, a conflict usually results from something unpleasant that happened to you or your family. On your own the cost can be very high, unaffordable to most of us. Most people do not want to go to court; conflicts can be difficult and often stressful situations. Legal Aid Insurance has been created for these situations; the threshold to justice has been lowered…
Imagine:
- You are waiting for a red light in foggy weather when suddenly a car drives into you from behind… The other driver claims the light had turned green but your car is destroyed and your neck still hurts.
- At home, the new TV you ordered comes out of the box in many more pieces than you bargained for…
- During last week’s storm some scaffolding from the construction site across the street hit you on the head… the ambulance driver closed the door on your foot, broke it, but you just got the hospital bill for chest X-rays you don’t remember having.
- Your car has been towed from its usual parking spot for the fourth time… the municipality claims your permit is forged because a dead bug on the windshield makes the license plate number on the permit appear to have been altered.
- Your neighbours’ trees are overshadowing your whole house…he doesn’t think that is his problem, but he thinks your satellite dish is an eyesore that needs removing.
GENERAL
You will receive legal support from a team of over 350 lawyers and claim collectors working for DAS Rechtsbijstand, the leading legal aid insurer in the Netherlands and in Europe. A member of DAS International Group, which originated in Munich in 1928, DAS Rechtsbijstand has been in the Netherlands since 1963, handling about 75,000 claims every year. DAS will usually be able to negotiate a full settlement of a claim, or will refer the matter to outside legal experts if the situation warrants. Unlike the practice in certain other countries, this legal aid insurance does not allow you to select your own lawyer and then invoice the insurance carrier.
COVERAGE
Coverage includes you, your family, including studying children not living at home, and even the people travelling with you while on holiday. You select basic coverage as a private person and you can include expanded legal protection by selecting the ‘plus package’. This plus package includes legal aid in the event of tax or asset management disputes, one-time mediation during divorce, and elimination of the deductible of € 100, which otherwise would apply to each claim for an insured event. Your coverage will begin after a waiting period of three months has elapsed. The waiting period does not apply when the policy immediately succeeds a policy providing the same cover; this provision includes transferring your legal aid insurance from a foreign insurance carrier. Legal aid extends in many cases to Europe and countries around the Mediterranean, this cover includes recovery of loss related to travel, bodily injury and criminal cases. ANNUAL PREMIUM
You are required to pay the premium. Non-payment causes coverage to lapse. Coverage will usually commence after a waiting period of three months has elapsed, but the event that gives rise to a dispute must fall within the period of coverage. The cost of the annual premium is almost always lower than a visit to a lawyer for a consultation.
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION
You can call Adriaanse Assurantie with your usual questions, or if you are not sure how to proceed. We of course will assist you in every possible way. If you require prompt legal aid we will advise you to speak directly with DAS Rechtsbijstand. This will avoid unnecessary delays or miscommunication. In any event, you can always contact the DAS Rechtsbijstand customer service centre during working hours with your specific legal questions. If you think there may be a problem, the staff of professionals at the service centres can help you straight away. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and can save you a great deal of trouble in the future. You will be assisted in preventing a legal dispute if this is feasible. In addition to paying legal fees, the legal assistance you receive includes the cost of court proceedings up to the highest court applicable, expert witnesses, enforcement, travel and accommodation in connection with a foreign court proceeding, and your opponents cost to the extent the court has imposed them on you. You will be consulted in an analysis of the likely outcome of the case, the cost/benefit relationship and the best strategy to be followed in pursuing legal redress.TYPICAL INCLUSIONS
- Legal assistance, free of charge, whether or not a dispute (already) exists (Adviesservice).
- The policy will always require that the event that gives rise to the dispute falls within the period of coverage and must not have been foreseeable. It must also affect the persons covered by the policy.
- Events that fall within the waiting period, if you can demonstrate you could not have foreseen them.
- Compensation for your legal expenses incurred in your defence in a criminal matter, after you have been acquitted or the matter is dismissed.
- Bail or surety deposits invoked by a foreign government, in the form of an interest free loan.
TYPICAL EXCLUSIONS
- Events that fall within a three months’ waiting period or that are not reported within a reasonable time period.
- Events resulting from war, terrorism, nuclear reaction, your bankruptcy, etc.
- Wilful misconduct, criminal acts or negligence committed by the insured.
- If your interest in the case falls below a threshold of € 225, except traffic related disputes.
- Events included in the plus package for which you did not obtain coverage, e.g. mediation during a divorce.
DISPUTES WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANY
If you and the insurance company disagree on, for example, the handling of your case or the likely outcome, there will be a mechanism to have the dispute arbitrated by an independent party. The insurance company pays for this and agrees to be bound by its decision. Complaints can also be brought before the Foundation for Complaints against Insurance Companies in The Hague.
TYPES OF INSURANCE
In addition to standard cover we can also offer you an expanded additional cover – the Plus-Package – which offers additional coverage for tax and asset management disputes, mediation during divorce, worldwide coverage subject to a threshold of € 450, as well as defence against claims resulting from an unlawful act. The experts at Adriaanse Assurantie will be pleased to review the options available with you.
