Does Your Company Need Legal Assistance or Legal Insurance?

Legal insurance gives companies a lot more than legal assistance in terms of the multiple litigation risks they face.

The life of a company is full of unexpected events. Conflicts happen, and many escalate into lawsuits. Your insurance company can help you deal with them by providing two very different services:

• Legal assistance is a service provided only by phone. You can call and speak to a lawyer or notary who will listen to your case and explain, in plain language, the laws that apply. You won’t receive any specific advice on your case, only general information.
• Legal insurance goes much further. It gives you the financial means to take steps to resolve the problem amicably, to defend yourself against legal proceedings or, in some cases, to initiate them yourself.

Here are some examples where legal insurance can be useful:

• A supplier delivers products that do not meet the agreed-upon specifications or quality standards and refuses to take them back.
• You promised a customer you would deliver products or services on a specific date. The customer claims you didn’t meet the delivery date and threatens to sue you.
• An employee demands a large amount for overtime, commissions, or expense reimbursements and you feel it is unjustified.
• An employee with over two years’ seniority changes their behaviour, is frequently absent without justification, and becomes difficult with other employees.
• A former employee resigns to start a business that solicits your customers shortly after leaving, despite the non-competition and non-solicitation clause in their employment contract.
• The owner of the building where you rent offices or retail space promised to make renovations, and you find out during the lease that they did not.

In all these situations, legal insurance guarantees your company financial support to help you resolve the conflict. Legal insurance is offered together with other insurance products—you can choose the lawyer or professional you’d like to advise you and guide you through the process.

The content of this article does not constitute a legal opinion.