Do you need legal cover with your car insurance?

What is motor legal protection?

Motor legal protection, or legal expenses cover, is an optional add-on for your car insurance. It helps cover your legal costs if you need to take legal action after an incident on the road.

Motor legal protection usually covers:

• Uninsured losses - these are things your car insurance doesn't cover, like your excess, courtesy car costs, injury compensation or lost earnings.

• Defending legal claims - if someone decided to sue you after an accident where you weren't at fault, motor legal protection could help cover this. It can also help cover the legal costs if you're hit by an uninsured driver.

• Access to legal advice - most motor legal policies have access to a 24/7 helpline.

You can get a type of legal protection that covers other legal costs, but motor legal protection specifically covers legal costs relating to motoring.

Motor legal protection isn't usually included as standard on car insurance policies. And as with any type of insurance, there are caveats. For example, your insurer would only offer to cover your legal costs if you had a good chance of winning the case. Most insurers won't uphold the claim if it doesn't look like you'll win the case.

Is motor legal protection worth it?

There are definitely benefits to motor legal protection. A court case could cost thousands in solicitor fees, if you have legal protection, your insurer would pay these costs if it looked like you had a good chance of winning the case.

Then there's the uninsured losses we mentioned. For example, if another driver hits you and it's taking a long time to sort the claim, legal protection can help you claim lost wages if you're out of work, your excess or hire car costs.

It's also worth it if you use your car a lot for work or commuting. Because you're on the road a lot, you're more at risk of having accidents - that means potentially more legal disputes.

Because most policies offer free legal advice, you can give them a call if you're disputing a dodgy car purchase or a private parking fine.

There are some instances where motor legal protection might not be worth it. For example, if you don't drive much, there's less chance of you being involved in an accident. Also, if your car's old, or not valuable then you might not take legal action if you were in an accident, as the costs could be more than the car's worth.

But, legal cover isn't that expensive - usually around £20 to £35 if you add it to your main car insurance policy. And considering legal costs can be thousands, it might be worth it for some added reassurance.

Before you buy motor legal protection, check whether legal expenses are covered by your home insurance. Some premium banking policies also include legal expenses cover too.

What does legal expenses insurance cover?

Motor legal protection only covers legal expenses involving your car. But you can get cover that covers other legal expenses that don't relate to your car.

For example, if you got legal expenses through your home insurance, it could cover legal disputes with your neighbour as well as other things not directly related to your home.

You can also buy legal expenses insurance that's not connected to your home or car insurance.

Usually, these types of policy can cover:

• Legal costs, like your solicitor's fees and court costs

• Access to legal advice

Some offer cover for:

• Consumer issues, for example if you bought or sold goods and you or a customer wasn't happy and took legal action

• Property and neighbour disputes, for example boundary or planning issues

• Employment law disputes like unfair dismissal or discrimination

It's different from liability insurance because this type of insurance covers you if you're at fault. For example, if you work in someone's house and you break something, liability insurance covers compensation, damages and legal defence costs that might come with the claim.

What is the legal minimum insurance cover?

The legal minimum amount of car insurance you can get is third-party only. This only covers damage to other people, their property and passengers. It doesn't cover any damage to you, your car or your property. So, if you have an accident that's your fault, you'll have to pay to fix this yourself.

Standard third-party policies don't cover legal costs as standard. But you can buy it as an optional extra - legal protection isn't mandatory.

How does legal cover tie in with your main car insurance policy?

In short, it covers costs that aren't included in your standard car insurance policy. For example, court costs, reimbursing your excess and a hire car if you need it. Plus, you can get free legal advice.

Legal cover for motoring isn't included as standard, even with comprehensive car insurance (the highest level of car insurance you can get). You buy legal cover as an added extra or add-on.

When you get a quote for car insurance with Money.co.uk, you can choose to add legal protection to your car insurance during the quote process. You can try quotes with it and without it to see how it affects the cost of your car insurance.

How to compare car insurance with legal cover

When you get a quote for your car insurance, we'll ask you a few questions about your car, how you use it and your mileage. Once you've answered these questions, you can choose to add legal protection to your car insurance.

Remember it's not mandatory to get legal protection. It's just useful if you're on the road a lot or you just want extra reassurance that you wouldn't have to fork out thousands for legal costs.

When you compare car insurance with Money.co.uk, before you buy, you can check what your car insurance covers, including legal cover. You'll be able to see the amount of cover included, too. You can also see the effect of legal protection on your insurance by getting a quote with and without it.