Doing Due Diligence Before Taking Any Pre-Paid Legal Plan.
A pre-paid legal plan is similar to a legal insurance plan and is usually offered to people by several companies who sell these plans through employers, labor unions, credit unions, department stores, credit card companies and even door to door.
There are some very important questions you need to ask yourself if you are thinking of subscribing to a prepaid legal plan. You need to be sure of what exactly is covered in this plan.
The specifics are very vital because most plans will cover basic services such as phone consultation and writing and reviewing of simple contractual agreements, however, legal services which are more complex and intricate, may be left out. You need to be very conversant with your own legal requirements before subscribing to a legal prepaid plan. What legal services are you likely to need the most if for example you are a business owner and entrepreneur? You may be thinking in the direction of lawsuits, lease, and contract negotiations so it will be wise to look for a plan that will offer you a lot of business legal protection related to your business needs.
Also, it is very important to know which legal service or coverage you already have so that you don't end up paying twice for a particular service. A good example is if you have car insurance already. This already covers you for liability and medical protection so you need to be very knowledgeable about the details. Also, your home insurance policy will cover you for any home related accidents or injuries. Subscribing to a prepaid legal plan that covers car insurance and home insurance will therefore be very unnecessary if you already have a policy that covers this.
Many disputes have been known to arise between clients and legal service providers and you need to know if these particular service providers have made adequate provision for dispute resolution within their institution. The commonest of such disputes includes charging fees to your credit card for services not clearly stated in the contract. It is therefore important to ensure that should problems or conflicts arise in the future, there is an efficient and prompt way to deal with them. One prominent feature of such an organisation is the delegation of customer complaints and disputes to a senior legal practitioner who then becomes responsible for any problems and conflicts which may arise between clients and the organization. Your state insurance department and the local bar association are also good channels through which you can resolve your conflicts with pre-paid legal services provider, but whatever the case may be, you want to make certain that mechanisms for resolving disputes within the system of your chosen service providers are up and running smoothly.
Another good question to ask before subscribing to a pre-paid legal service provider is in the area of quality of service. Does your chosen legal service provider have a good reputation or review within the locality? Are they experienced at what they do? Do they have good lawyers working for them? How frequently do complaints arise from people who are using them? You need to carry out a thorough and detailed research about whichever pre-paid legal service provider you choose to go with. The state bar association and the Better Business Bureau and the Consumer Affairs Office are sources from which you can get good information about different prepaid legal service providers and their ratings within the area.
There are some very important questions you need to ask yourself if you are thinking of subscribing to a prepaid legal plan. You need to be sure of what exactly is covered in this plan.
The specifics are very vital because most plans will cover basic services such as phone consultation and writing and reviewing of simple contractual agreements, however, legal services which are more complex and intricate, may be left out. You need to be very conversant with your own legal requirements before subscribing to a legal prepaid plan. What legal services are you likely to need the most if for example you are a business owner and entrepreneur? You may be thinking in the direction of lawsuits, lease, and contract negotiations so it will be wise to look for a plan that will offer you a lot of business legal protection related to your business needs.
Also, it is very important to know which legal service or coverage you already have so that you don't end up paying twice for a particular service. A good example is if you have car insurance already. This already covers you for liability and medical protection so you need to be very knowledgeable about the details. Also, your home insurance policy will cover you for any home related accidents or injuries. Subscribing to a prepaid legal plan that covers car insurance and home insurance will therefore be very unnecessary if you already have a policy that covers this.
Many disputes have been known to arise between clients and legal service providers and you need to know if these particular service providers have made adequate provision for dispute resolution within their institution. The commonest of such disputes includes charging fees to your credit card for services not clearly stated in the contract. It is therefore important to ensure that should problems or conflicts arise in the future, there is an efficient and prompt way to deal with them. One prominent feature of such an organisation is the delegation of customer complaints and disputes to a senior legal practitioner who then becomes responsible for any problems and conflicts which may arise between clients and the organization. Your state insurance department and the local bar association are also good channels through which you can resolve your conflicts with pre-paid legal services provider, but whatever the case may be, you want to make certain that mechanisms for resolving disputes within the system of your chosen service providers are up and running smoothly.
Another good question to ask before subscribing to a pre-paid legal service provider is in the area of quality of service. Does your chosen legal service provider have a good reputation or review within the locality? Are they experienced at what they do? Do they have good lawyers working for them? How frequently do complaints arise from people who are using them? You need to carry out a thorough and detailed research about whichever pre-paid legal service provider you choose to go with. The state bar association and the Better Business Bureau and the Consumer Affairs Office are sources from which you can get good information about different prepaid legal service providers and their ratings within the area.