Why Legal Insurance Is a Good Idea for Career Starters

As a newcomer to the world of work, it can be difficult to understand the complex legal wording in your employment contract or the rental agreement for your new flat. That’s completely normal – after all, you are just getting started. Unfortunately, self-doubt and worries about high legal costs are two reasons why young people are unlikely to seek professional legal advice. Legal insurance can empower career starters to confidently stand up for their rights.

What is legal insurance?

Also known as legal expenses insurance or legal protection insurance, it protects you against financial losses arising from a legal dispute. It doesn’t matter whether you initiated the dispute or want to defend an accusation from someone else. Legal insurance covers the cost of a lawyer, consultation and, in serious cases, litigation costs and your opponent’s lawyer’s costs.

What exactly does legal protection cover?

Legal insurance is usually divided into different areas of coverage: private, professional, traffic and home. Insurers sometimes offer these levels of coverage separately, so you should always check you’re getting the coverage you need. Here are a few examples of situations where each module could help:

• Private: You purchase a new TV from an online shop, but the picture quality deteriorates significantly after just a few weeks. You return the product, but the manufacturer refuses to give your money back.
• Professional: Your employer terminates your employment contract shortly after your probation period. You seek legal advice to check whether the dismissal was legal and to take action if necessary.
• Traffic: You’re driving to work and have to brake suddenly, causing the driver behind you to collide with your car. The driver accuses you of causing the accident. You seek support from a lawyer to prove your innocence.
• Home: You’re moving to a new flat to be closer to your workplace, but your old landlord refuses to give you your deposit back. Legal insurance increases the chance that you’ll get the money you are owed.

Legal and liability – the perfect pair of policies

A combination of legal insurance and personal liability insurance can provide effective all-round protection for career starters. While liability insurance covers you against third-party losses that you may be responsible for, legal insurance protects your rights in situations where a person or company has treated you unfairly.

Of course, career starters are probably most interested in the professional module of legal insurance. With Getsafe, this coverage is included in our standard legal insurance, alongside coverage for private and road traffic disputes. We also offer additional coverage for disputes with your neighbours or landlord as part of our “Home” extension. For more information and to see what’s covered, view our product page in the app.

A few important things to note:

Legal insurance is meant to protect your rights in tricky, unexpected situations; it is not a free ticket to deliberately harm the rights of others. Intentional acts, such as deliberately damaging someone else’s property, are not covered. To prevent misuse, all legal insurance policies come with a specific waiting period. These are typically between 0 and 6 months. For example, if you bought a policy with a three-month waiting period, your coverage would not be active until at least three months after your contract begins.

As with many other types of insurance, you should always check the deductible. Many policies have a deductible of around €300 in the first year of coverage. This usually decreases if you do not make a claim, but rises if you do.