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13 July 2021
Issue: 7941 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Insurance / reinsurance
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The insurance people don’t know they have

Legal expenses insurance is rarely used by consumers and should be more widely promoted as a solution to unmet legal needs, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has said

It launched research this week, ‘Legal expenses insurance’, showing most people assume legal expenses insurance is more expensive and restrictive than it actually is. For example, one third believed the cost of home legal expenses insurance to be at least double the typical cost of about £20-£30 per year.

According to the Financial Conduct Authority, about 15 million people have legal expenses insurance. However, the LSB researchers found that many people don’t even know they have it.

The study involved a week-long online forum with a demographically mixed group of 46 adults in March.

Steve Brooker, the LSB’s head of policy development, said legal expenses insurance ‘has the potential to protect more people from unexpected legal costs and is cheaper and covers more issues than many consumers think’.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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