Insurance, Claims & Accidents

One option for people who want to file a personal injury claim, but can’t afford it, is to enter into a conditional fee agreement, or no win no fee, with the solicitor. Under this type of agreement, fees are waived until the case has been heard. Depending on the outcome of the case, fees may or may not be paid.

No win no fee agreements mean that if the case is lost, you will not have to pay your own legal fees, although you may be responsible for some expenses. Unfortunately, if you do lose your case, it is likely that you will have to pay the legal fees of the other side. In some cases, these fees may be even higher than your original fees.

Before some solicitors agree to a no win no fee case, they may ask that ‘after the event insurance’ is taken out. After the event insurance is a type of insurance policy that will cover the costs incurred due to losing a case. Not every insurance company offers after the event insurance and not every person will be able to obtain cover.

Like solicitors, insurance companies review claims on a case-by-case basis to determine the likelihood that the claim will be successful. If the insurance company feels that a case is unlikely to be won, the company may refuse to insure that person making the claim. After the event insurance can be expensive in itself, so it is important to take this into consideration before going forward with a claim as this should be factored into the potential costs of making the claim.