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.
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
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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. |
ready for an online quote? Policies start at $12/month if you rent your home and $40/month if you own your home. To see how much you can save with Square One, get a personalized online quote now.
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
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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. |
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.
Legal expense protection insurance is sold by Square One Insurance Services Inc., administered by DAS Legal Protection Inc., and underwritten by Temple Insurance company. Temple Insurance Company is part of the Munich Re Group – one of the world’s leading reinsurers.
DAS Legal Protection Inc. has specialized in legal expense products and services since the first office opened in Germany in 1928. To learn more about DAS Legal Protection Inc., please visit www.das.ca.
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 DAS Canada Ltd, 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:
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.
Don't just take our word for it. Here are some of the reviews that contribute to our average rating of 4.7 stars out of 5. Want to read more? Visit our reviews page.
I’ve insured two properties now with Square One Insurance. Their rates are always cheaper than the other companies, and I’m always able to contact a representative quickly without being on hold for hours. My recent investment property was insured in literally 10 minutes, with the amazing assistance from insurance agent C. Kathy Vallance. She was so sweet, personable and very knowledgeable when it came to everything related to short-term rental insurance and condo fees, etc. Thanks Kathy and Square One for making insurance needs so easy and stress-free.
Fabio Baida helped me at Square One. Figuring out coverage can be a bit daunting for newbies like me and making sure we interpret strata docs correctly. Square One has a super slick interface that's self-serve and has a great UI, but sometimes you just need someone to answer a couple questions to connect the dots. So I emailed Square One and Fabio followed up and we hopped on the phone and quickly figured it out. Really happy! Great easy-to-use modern interface, best
I have only ever used Square One for my rental insurance. They have such an easy straightforward way of doing things through their website. It really makes it easy to choose what you need and what you don't. Moving is a breeze, just change your address and your settings are all saved for you. All at an affordable price? Can't go wrong!
Thank you for the easy renewal for our home insurance. We have been very happy with Square One and were really happy that upon renewal our home insurance went down. I can not remember the last time, if ever, that upon renewing home insurance our policy for the year was less than the year before.
I spent a while looking at options for rental insurance. Even called a local broker. Square One provided, by far, the best process. The online forms clearly indicate what your options are, allow you to weigh the pros and cons of your selections against alternatives, and provide immediate feedback on price. The wording on the policy itself is also clear and easy to understand, and when I requested a callback to ask about coverage limits, I received a call right away, and the fellow I spoke with was super helpful.
I called various insurance providers to get quotes for my home insurance, but once I spoke to Kayla at Square One, it was clear that she had an in-depth knowledge of Square One products. Kayla had the patience to understand my needs and guide me through the entire process, an exceptionally intuitive approach and she tweaked the policy to my specific needs. I ended up switching home insurance for my other house too which I hadn’t planned. Thanks to Kayla for helping me save money without compromising my core needs.
I had the unfortunate experience of navigating a flood shortly after moving into our new apartment. It's supposed to be a pain in the rear to go through the claims process. It's confusing, it even feels a bit embarrassing—but the team at Square One (and their partners) were incredible to deal with. They made a really bad situation good(-ish). Super responsive, sympathetic to what happened, treated me like a human. I'm a customer for life ... if only they offered more than just property insurance!
I literally set up new rental insurance at my new place in less than 10 minutes online. The questioning was easy, thorough and concise. I had my new policy by email just a minute after completing it online. Pricing was very fair with yearly and monthly payment options. Highly recommend!
I called to transition my policy to another type. I was worried it would be complex and time-consuming. Instead, it was easy peasy, smooth, and everything was reviewed with me and all my questions answered. I'm always so impressed by Square One!
I asked quotes from a variety of providers, and after going through reviews and coverages, I'm glad I chose Square One. Whereas other companies automatically add coverage for things you might not need (jewellery, sporting equipment, etc.), Square One allows you to decide what you want covered and just how much you want the coverage and deductible to be. I'm feeling extremely comfortable moving into my new place with this policy... although I sure hope I never need to use it!
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