What Is Pre-paid Legal Insurance?   by Fred Williams

in Insurance    (submitted 2010-02-23)

Reality bites. You're getting divorced. You got a ticket for over speeding. You've got a problem with your credit rating. You look for an attorney. You found one! Yet, you can't afford their hourly rate. What do you do? Never fear, prepaid legal insurance is here! What exactly is prepaid legal insurance service?

Prepaid legal insurance service works like as a legal insurance to minimize the cost of protection for a group of policy holders who pay a monthly premium. While you pay a retainer's fee or an hourly fee for your regular insurance, prepaid legal insurance lets you pay a monthly amount. You get unlimited legal consultation with a network of participating attorneys in your state or city. For a minimum monthly premium of roughly around $15-30, you get free phone consultations, will or document reviews, large discounts on legal services, written fee agreements, and grievance procedures.

There is also what you call "add-ons" where you get to pay $1 for each extra service, like a 24-hour on call service plus other services in addition to the prepaid plan itself. As in other types of insurance, prepaid legal insurance service requires its policy holders to pay a small fee per month to receive coverage on a wide range of legal services.

What do you get when you purchase a prepaid legal insurance service? You can get free consultations by phone or in the office. Members can call or meet with the attorney regarding almost any personal legal matter for up to 30 minutes at no charge or a very low rate. You can have as many consultations as long as each consultation is entirely a different situation with the other. You get free follow-up services.

Some cases can be solved by just one phone call or letter that the attorney needs to do on your behalf. You also get a free document review where an attorney will review personal documents such as leases, insurance policies, or sales contracts at no extra cost. The attorney will also answer specific question regarding your documents should the need arise. You also get a 25% or more discount off regular hourly rates or fees such as real estate purchases, criminal defense and divorce. Everything is confidential. All matters are handled between you and your attorney on a strictly confidential basis.

If you consider signing up for prepaid legal insurance service, what's the catch? Well, for one, simple legal services are usually free or they're offered at very low prices. You have an access to a wide network of attorneys with a variety of specialties. You annual legal costs are set so you don't have to worry about having to pay so much, at least in the case of legal fees, that is.

One of the benefits also includes an access to a database of legal documents. You can pick up legal documents almost anywhere, although the real score is having a lawyer's trained eye to review them. Because most prepaid legal insurance services offer unlimited phone consultations, it can anticipate possible legal issues. If you're not sure of something seemingly minor, you can just call up you lawyer and ask for advice.

On the other hand, prepaid legal insurance service may have its disadvantages as well. First, you can't choose your own attorney, and if you don't like the person handling your case, there might be no other attorney available in your area to take your case. Sometimes you may find that the plan doesn't cover all the types of services you need for your business, so you will have to pay extra in addition to the monthly premium that you're already paying for. Even if you don't use the service, you still pay the monthly premium. It's the classic buffet vs. ala carte.

To prove the company's authenticity, try to check the company with the Better Business Bureau and by checking the attorneys with the American Bar Association.

Remember, not because they're prepaid, they won't have any exemptions. They do. If some health insurance doesn't cover pre-existing clauses, pre-existing legal problems are not covered by many of these plans. Of course, if you are driving under the influence of liquor or drugs, even if you have prepaid insurance service, the plan will not defend you. To be or not to be protected on prepaid legal insurance service is your call. So, whatever choice you make is entirely up to you. Remember, justice should be for everybody. Not just for the can afford, yet also for the common Joe.

About the Author

Fred Williams RunRight Insurance www.RunRightInsurance.com (888)RUN-1120 runright@att.net