Legal expenses insurance - FAQs

Excess

Q: I've been a member of the Forum since 2007 but have been told that my LEI has recently changed and now includes an excess for all claims after my first. I've previously claimed on the insurance, so does that mean any future claims will be subject to an excess?

A: For members who joined before 1 September 2011, the new rules regarding the excess apply from the date your LEI changed, which will be your (post-1 September 2011) renewal date. Any claims made before that date will not be counted. The first claim you make after your insurance changes will not be subject to an excess, but any subsequent claims during that period of insurance* will.

* The period of insurance refers to a single year of Forum membership. At your membership renewal date each year, your insurance will renew and your claims record will effectively be reset. So, you'll be able to make one claim every year without incurring an excess, after which, subsequent claims made in that period of insurance will be subject to the excess specified in your policy documents.

Note: for members who joined the Forum on or after 1 September 2011, the rules regarding the excess apply from your join date.

Limit of indemnity

Q: The limit of indemnity has come down from £75,000 to £50,000. Why is that?

A: With insurance premiums rising, we needed to look at ways to make our policy more cost effective. One of the ways in which we achieved this was by reducing the limit of indemnity. Our records show us that this amount is more than adequate for our members as we have never received a claim on the policy for more than that amount.

Importance of being protected

Q: Why do I even need LEI for my business? I've never had any problems before with my staff.

A: In today's litigious society, the LEI that comes as part of your Forum membership has never been more important. Employment Tribunals received a total of 218,000 claims between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011 and, while this signifies a small decrease on the previous year's figures, it's still a 44% increase compared to 2008-09.

But our LEI covers your business for much more than just employee disputes. There are 10 heads of cover, including tax enquiries and disputes, jury service and even personal injury.

While we hope our members will never need to make a claim on the policy, our LEI provides you with peace of mind and the reassurance that help – and financial protection – is available for you in a range of circumstances.

When to contact us

Q: At what point should I contact you if I have a problem?

A: It's important that, as soon as you become aware of any incident that could lead to a claim against your LEI policy, you call the telephone helpline on 0845 130 1722. Failure to contact the helpline at the outset, and then follow the information given, could in some circumstances lead to a claim being rejected or restricted.

In any case, as soon as you have a question regarding your business – whether it's something that's covered by your LEI policy or not – we urge you to call the member helpline immediately on 0845 130 1722 and we'll do our best to help you. The sooner you call us, the better.

More information

If you have a question that we haven't answered above or on the main LEI page, please call us on 0845 130 1722.