Legal protection insurance

What would you do if you had a legal dispute with a contractor, neighbour or tenant? Would you contact a lawyer? Would you have the financial resources to cover the costs of securing advice and going to court? Legal protection insurance is designed to provide you with access to legal advice, assistance and cost coverage for just this situation and for many other common legal disputes. Continue reading to learn more.

What does legal protection insurance cover?

We offer several legal protection insurance packages that include a combination of the following:

Legal advice helpline

With our legal protection insurance you can discuss any personal (non-automobile related) legal or tax matter from 8 AM until midnight, seven days a week. When you’re dealing with an emergency situation, help is only a phone call away and it’s available 24 hours a day.

Employee legal defence

This coverage will pay legal costs you may incur to defend yourself against an alleged criminal offence arising from your work as an employee. For example, if you’re a nurse, and a patient is accidentally killed as a result of an injection you administered, you could be charged with manslaughter. This coverage would pay to defend you against this charge.

Property protection

This coverage will pay the legal costs to pursue your legal rights in a civil action relating to your home when there is damage to your premises, or a legal nuisance. For example, your neighbour cuts off the tops of your trees to save their view (which happens more often than you’d think). Or, your neighbour’s teenage son plays loud music till 3 AM and has not responded to your requests to stop.

Tax protection

This coverage will pay any legal costs you may incur as a result of a tax appeal or tax audit relating to your personal tax affairs. In order to qualify, you must have taken reasonable care to ensure your tax returns are correctly completed and submitted.

Contract disputes

Optionally, you can add this coverage, which will pay legal costs you may incur to pursue or defend your legal rights in a dispute relating to an agreement that you entered into for: buying or selling goods; or, obtaining services. For example, you hire a contractor to renovate your basement but the contractor fails to complete the work agreed in your contract, and does not return your payment.

Employment disputes

This coverage will pay legal costs you may incur to pursue your legal rights in a number of disputes arising out of your legal relationship with your employer. For example, your employer terminates your employment under false pretences, causing you financial harm.

Bodily injury protection

This coverage will pay legal costs you may incur to pursue your legal rights against someone if you are injured as a result of their actions. For example, a stranger on the golf course runs you over with their golf cart, sending you to the hospital with a serious injury.

Driver’s license protection

This coverage will pay legal costs you may incur to defend your legal rights against potential revocation or suspension of your driver’s license, in certain circumstances. For example, you are wrongfully charged with dangerous driving and need a lawyer to help set the record straight and keep your driver’s license.

Automobile total loss
valuation disputes

This coverage will pay legal costs you may incur to achieve a fair settlement with your automobile insurer, in cases where your vehicle has been “written off.” For example, you are unable to reach an agreement with your automobile insurer on the actual cash value of your vehicle after a total loss, and need a lawyer’s assistance to negotiate on your behalf.

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What does landlord legal protection insurance cover?

The landlord legal protection insurance package offered by Square One includes:

Legal advice helpline

With our landlord legal protection insurance, you can discuss any matter relating to the residential tenancy of premises you own and rent to others. The helpline is available 24 hours a day.

Residential tenancy
disputes

This coverage will pay any legal costs from pursuing an application before a residential tenancy tribunal. For example, your tenant provides formal notice of rental termination so you rent the property to a new tenant. The original tenant changes their mind and refuses to leave. A lawyer would be assigned to handle and represent you in pursuing an eviction through the residential tenancy tribunal.

Landlord order enforcement

This coverage will pay the legal costs from enforcing an order that grants you vacant possession of residential premises you own and rent to others. For example, you secure the necessary eviction order from the residential tenancy tribunal, but the tenant refuses to vacate. This coverage will pay all legal costs relating to enforcement of the eviction order, including sheriff office and mileage fees.

Landlord legal defence

This coverage will pay any legal costs from defending against criminal prosecution that results from the residential tenancy of premises you own and rent to others. For example, a fire in the rental premises spreads quickly and results in the death of a tenant. A fire marshall investigation determines the fire prevention system was not up to code and you, as the landlord, are charged with criminal negligence. With this coverage, a lawyer would be appointed to represent you and it would pay all legal costs during the investigation and defence process.

How much does legal protection insurance cost?

When you compare the cost of legal protection insurance with the hourly cost of legal representation, you’ll see what a great deal it is. At Square One, plans start at only $2.50 per month.

What company underwrites this insurance?

Legal expense protection insurance is sold by Square One Insurance Services Inc., administered by ARAG Legal Solutions Inc., and underwritten by HDI Global Specialty SE.

ARAG Legal Solutions Inc. has specialized in legal expense products and services since the first office opened in Germany in 1935. To learn more about ARAG Legal Solutions Inc., please visit www.arag.com.

Interesting facts about the Canadian legal system

Have you ever wanted to take someone to court? Maybe your neighbour has built a shed partially on your property, and refuses to move it. Or maybe you’ve just had your kitchen renovated, and the cupboard doors are already falling off.

Well, you’re not alone. In the last 5 years in Canada, 4,250,000 Canadians accessed the legal system in one way or another, not including criminal cases. But fewer than half of these people hired a lawyer to represent them, even though they would be significantly more likely to win their case. Why?

The average cost of hiring a lawyer in Canada is $379 per hour. This translates into $37,000 for a trial that takes 2 days. How many of us can afford that? If the trial drags out for a week, you could be looking at $124,000.

A survey was taken recently by ARAG Legal Solutions Inc, a company that provides legal protection insurance, to determine why people decided whether or not to access the legal system. Most people said that financial considerations would stop them from taking legal action. Many of them said they know someone who has gone into debt trying to solve a legal issue. Who wants to go into debt to take a case to court, when you may not get a positive result?

How would they expect to pay for a lawsuit? 39% said they would use their savings, but most people would either have to use credit or liquidate some assets in order to pay legal fees.

Most people decide not to take legal action, even when they have a pretty good case. Some of the reasons for this are:

  • Too expensive.
  • Don’t have insurance to pay legal expenses.
  • Don’t know what resources are available to them.

What would allow you to have greater access to the legal system? Lower legal fees was the number one response, followed by access to free telephone legal advice, shorter average court case time, more mediation/arbitration, and better educational resources about the legal system.

Help is at hand. Legal protection insurance is available to cover your legal expenses in many situations. With this insurance, you have access to a legal advice helpline, where you can phone for information on any type of problem, be it divorce issues, child support, employment contracts, strata rights, wills and estates. Anything. Then, if you decide to pursue a case, the insurance covers your legal costs.

Don’t let high legal fees or lack of necessary information stop you from pursuing your rights. For all the details, call Square One at 1.855.331.6933.

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