It is just over 12 months since FMB members first received the DAS Commercial Legal Protection Insurance cover as part of their membership benefits, it helps you to meet the cost of taking legal action or defending your rights if you have a dispute with another party.
Working in collaboration with Aon, FMB negotiated a tailored product with leading specialist insurer DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company, to provide cover that goes way beyond the limited legal defence cover that you may find under your liability insurance.
BENEFITS
FMB members have seen the benefits which this area of insurance has to offer, saving them thousands of pounds in costs for the provision of access to justice and just generally giving peace of mind. This has included employment disputes, securing the payment of debts from customers, and reimbursing adjudication fees in the resolution of contract disputes.
As we enter 2011, we are pleased to advise that this valuable membership benefit will continue, and with some additional areas of cover included:
NEW!
The DAS Commercial Legal Protection insurance already offers all the areas of cover which you would expect to see from a comprehensive Commercial Legal Expenses Insurance. It is further tailored to sit alongside the FMB Adjudication process, with the enforcement cover also offering an extra level of help.
Given the tremendous success of this scheme we have now enhanced the cover further to provide protection in relation to motoring prosecutions, and also further cover for expenses that you currently pay under the FMB adjudication service.
MOTOR PROSECUTION
Owning and running a vehicle comes with many legal requirements, with increased obligations in the case of business vehicles. Both the business and its employees could be prosecuted for various reasons including;
- Dangerous driving
- Use of a mobile phone whilst driving
- Failing to maintain the vehicle in a roadworthy condition
- Over laden vehicles
- Speeding convictions.
The policy will now provide representation when dealing with the police over alleged motoring criminal offences. (As you might expect, parking and obstruction offenses are excluded).
A solicitor will also be appointed on your behalf should you be prosecuted in a criminal court.
This cover applies in Europe, and with the same £100,000 limit of indemnity.
Many of you will buy Motor Legal Expenses cover alongside your Motor Insurance, which aims to recover your uninsured losses in the event of an accident which was not your fault. This may include lost earnings, the need to hire an alternative vehicle, recovery of your excess, or compensation for personal injury. However, such policies are unlikely to cover the defence of prosecutions as outlined above.
FMB ADJUDICATION COVER
This section of cover reimburses the adjudication fee which you may be ordered to pay by an FMB appointed Adjudicator. This is calculated at £110 per hour up to the capped maximum of 10 hours.
We have now agreed some extra cover for expenses which the Adjudicator incurs in handling the case up to a maximum of £100.
This enhancement to the cover aims to eliminate costs such as mileage expenses, train fares, parking fees and photocopying charges, which up until now you would have to pay for in the event that you are ordered to meet the Adjudicators costs.
A REMINDER OF THE OTHER BENEFITS
Commercial Legal Protection insurance will support you in various legal related scenarios where you have not been able to resolve a dispute amicably with another party. DAS will appoint a solicitor on your behalf to review your case and advise on the prospects of successfully defending or pursuing your legal rights. Providing that you have a good chance of success, DAS will settle the legal costs of their appointed solicitor up to the maximum limit of £100,000.
NOW YOU DON’T HAVE TO JUST HOPE FOR THE BEST
We sincerely hope that you will never need insurance like this but, now you don’t have to just hope for the best. Here we give you some examples of how this policy has helped businesses like yours:
BODILY INJURY
Our policyholder’s employee tripped and fell badly whilst unloading his lorry andsustained a serious fracture to his ankle. The policyholder contacted DAS to make a claim of negligence against the third party. Medical reports obtained from the orthopaedic surgeon concluded that the employee would never again have full use of the ankle and would always experience some degree of pain. The third party refused to accept liability and the case went to court. The case was won and a £13,000 compensation payment was ordered. Legal costs of £3,500 were met by DAS.
DEBT RECOVERY
A policyholder contacted us after they were unable to recover £1,156 for renovation work they carried out on a hotel. Despite numerous demands for payment, the debt had not been settled. We appointed a solicitor to pursue the debt on their behalf. The hotel settled the debt as soon as court proceedings were served on them. The legal costs of £941 were paid by DAS.
TAX PROTECTION
During a routine inspection by HM Revenue & Customs, an incorrect return was discovered and our policyholder subsequently became the subject of a Full Enquiry. Following our appointed accountant’s investigation of the policyholder’s business, bank accounts and property matters, a settlement was reached. This entailed two minor technical adjustments but no interest or penalties. DAS paid the accountant’s costs incurred during this complicated case which amounted to £8,929.
PROPERTY PROTECTION
Following a period of heavy rain, a warehouse rented by our insured became flooded. The roof had been reported to the landlord as leaking several months previous to this. Our insured, a building company, filed a claim for flood damaged building materials to the value of £19,000. We appointed a solicitor to act on their behalf. The solicitor entered negotiations with the landlord and liability was admitted resulting in full payment for the damaged materials being made to our insured.
THE COVER
