As a new business advisor, I speak to many prospective clients and I find that they often ask the same questions in relation to a personal injury claim:
- How is the claim paid for?
- How are the costs of both sides covered?
- Do you take a percentage of my compensation?
So, here is a quick blog to advise on the above. There are two very common ways in which a personal injury claim can be funded, as follows:
Legal expense insurance
The first way a claim may be covered is by a legal expense insurance policy, which you should always check to see if you hold. Legal expense insurance is an insurance policy that can be added as an extra on most types of insurance policy, including home, buildings or car insurance. It may even be found on upgraded bank accounts or travel insurance policies. Cover may also be available if you are a member of a union. It is always worth checking whether you have any such cover as, if you do, provided the merits of your case are above 50%, the legal expense insurer could cover the full cost of your claim including your solicitors’ fees, which means you will usually receive 100% of the compensation awarded once your case has settled.
No win no fee personal injury claims
If you do not have legal expense insurance, the second way a personal injury claim is very often funded is with a no win no fee agreement (formally known as a conditional fee agreement). With this type of funding there are usually no upfront costs to pay and to account for the risk that we will not get paid if the claim is unsuccessful (and the risk of funding all disbursements upfront) we will deduct an agreed, capped percentage of your compensation at the end of the case. This is usually around 25%, leaving you with 75% of the compensation awarded. This is as simple as it sounds and with Stephensons there are no hidden costs. As with legal expense insurance, we will only take on your claim on a no win no fee basis if we feel that the prospects of winning your claim are above 50%.
If you have been involved in an accident and want to see if you have a claim then please do not hesitate to contact our personal injury team on 0161 696 6235. We will be able to discuss the incident and advise further.
By Rachel Gildart, personal injury claims team
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