Law & Order: Defending Your Rights with Comprehensive Legal Cover

Legal issues can be challenging to navigate alone. They can also happen without warning, leaving you scrambling to orient yourself while dealing with life's everyday demands. If the time comes when you have to take legal action or are presented with action against you, you don't want to have a lack of resources to compromise the quality of help you get. That’s the reason why you need to have Comprehensive Legal Insurance like Dialdirect's Legal Cover.

What is Legal Cover in South Africa?

South African law is detailed, complex and diverse. It's also changing all the time. When you are facing legal action, like a third-party claim, you will need legal representation. This can become quite costly, especially if you need to hire a lawyer or legal team for an extended period of time. Due to the protracted nature of legal issues, it becomes difficult to predict the costs of your legal expenses, which is why insurance for legal purposes becomes a good option. 

In exchange for a set monthly fee, Legal Cover gives you access to legal advice and representation, covering the fees of hiring lawyers, paying any other necessary expenses (such as court and filing costs) and most importantly, covering the cost of any payout or settlement you may need to make. 

Moreover, you can customise most Legal Insurance plans depending on your risk with Legal Cover. For example, you may be a freelancer who wants someone on call to review contracts before signing them. Alternatively, you could operate a Pilates studio and want advice after a client injured themselves on your property and is threatening a third-party claim. 

Why do I need Legal Cover?

If you have dealt with a legal issue before, you may not know how time-consuming and costly the process can be and how often these costs and delays are out of your hands. The issue will proceed to court if a matter can't be settled between both parties' lawyers during mediation. It can take up to three years alone for a Road Accident Fund case to get to trial and about twenty months for a civil case to reach this stage.

During this time, your case circumstances can change, or you may need to submit additional paperwork or make certain filings. This will require considerable time and effort — even if you have the money to pay for the associated costs yourself. Legal Insurance plans ensure you have a team at your disposal to do this on your behalf.

Another reason to invest in Legal Insurance is that it gives you a fighting chance when going up against companies or individuals with more money, power and resources than you. Without this cover, you would have to settle these expenses yourself. A lack of insurance for legal expenses could also force you to accept an outcome that isn't favourable to you purely because you can't afford to pursue it any further.

Benefits of Legal Insurance

While the nature of the legal assistance will depend on your issue and its circumstances, you can expect it to fall into one of four categories of Dialdirect’s Legal Cover. You may want or need one or more of these benefits:

• Basic Benefit — When you sign up for insurance for legal expenses, you get unlimited telephonic advice on any personal legal and labour issue you may face, even if it took place before you took out the cover. An example of this is a giant tree that is growing on the boundary of two different properties; you could call to find out what steps to take to determine who is responsible for removing it. 

• Mediation Benefit — This gives you unlimited access to informal mediation advice, provided it takes place after you take out coverage. Mediation is a legitimate tool that helps you resolve legal issues without involving the court. Legal Insurance plans that include mediation representation can occur via email, telephone, letters or face-to-face meetings. An example of this can be deciding to end your marriage amicably. In this situation, a mediator can help you file the necessary paperwork, execute your prenuptial agreement, divide any joint assets, and formalise child custody arrangements.

• Tax Benefit — Here, you can access basic advice from registered tax practitioners with annual tax submissions and returns as well as more complex issues involving creating or executing a will, making compliant investments and ensuring yourbusiness is using any applicable tax benefits.

• Litigation Benefit — If an issue cannot be mediated or amicably resolved, it can require criminal, civil or labour court litigation. This cover typically has a specific limit (regarding what payout it will cover) and a waiting period.

 What’s Not Covered?

Like all forms of coverage, there are a few exclusions to remember. While you can get advice on issues predating the start of your coverage, you may not get actual legal assistance on these existing issues. You'll also not get assistance with any intentionally illegal act you have undertaken.

High-risk and speculative legal actions aren't covered under Legal Insurance. This means any act that's deliberately undertaken with the knowledge that it could lead to a legal issue or wrongdoing. It could also include issues arising from deliberate wrongdoing (such as unethical or irresponsible behaviour). 

Get a Dialdirect Insurance quote for Legal Cover

Legal Cover is a worthwhile investment for any individual in today’s unpredictable business and personal climate. The best way to ensure legal issues don't disrupt your life and finances too much is to ensure you're covered for these risks. Dialdirect can customise a level of Legal Insurance to meet your individual needs, so request a Dialdirect insurance quote today to start protecting your future.

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Disclaimer: The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or medical advice.