Insurance and lawyers


C

catianew

New member
Is it a good idea to buy insurance from the NRA or USSCCA for example? And, how does one find a lawyer in the event of a self defense situation? Having one on a retainer can be expensive. So many forums say after the police leave call your lawyer. Your thoughts.
 

most legal insurance policies have a list of attorneys that accept the insurance. You won't find the best proven attorney's on that list, but that doesn't mean there are not great attorney's on the list, they just don'y usually have the a practice developed that brings them fees in excess of those covered by the insurance policy.

If the policy doesn't require use of a lawyer from a list, then you should search for a lawyer now who (1) you feel comfortable with; and (2) will take payment from the insurance for all or at least some of his fee if you should need him.
 
In my opinion some insurance is a good idea, even a clean self defense shooting can still end up costing you a lot of money. I have dealt with a criminal defense attorney for another family member (unfortunately) so he's who my second call would go to.
 
My concealed carry instructor included the names a a few Attorney's in our area that dealt with gun related defenses of any kind. Better then going through the phone book.
 
catianew said:
Is it a good idea to buy insurance from the NRA or USSCCA for example?
Click to expand...

It depends. Like with any other type of insurance, you are playing the odds of needing it or not. It is a personal choice.

catianew said:
And, how does one find a lawyer in the event of a self defense situation? Having one on a retainer can be expensive. So many forums say after the police leave call your lawyer. Your thoughts.
Click to expand...

Search NOW online for a lawyer in your area that specializes in criminal law and that specifically advertises in taking homicide cases. You can visit the lawyer's office and introduce yourself, not only to ask them about practical matters, but also to check if it is a legit business. There are online reviews of lawyers as well. Always have the phone number of the lawyer's office with you, so you can call it if needed.

Retainers are for once you have a case, not before that. This is like an upfront fee to have the lawyer start working on the case.

There is lots of information online, e.g., Paying a Private Criminal Defense Attorney - Cost of Defense | Nolo.com.
 
catianew said:
Is it a good idea to buy insurance from the NRA or USSCCA for example? And, how does one find a lawyer in the event of a self defense situation? Having one on a retainer can be expensive. So many forums say after the police leave call your lawyer. Your thoughts.
Click to expand...

I love their insurance website:

Link Removed

Notice anything missing form their webpage amongst all their advertising gimmicks? Where is there any evidence that anyone has ever actually filed a claim with the insurance and it saved them expenses at least equal to the premiums? Not a single item on their webpage makes any claim that they have actually paid anyone's expenses. Why is that?

For example, this from their website:
And that’s why I was extremely careful when I chose which insurance company to underwrite the USCCA Self-Defense SHIELD. The good news is that since the very beginning of USCCA Self-Defense SHIELD history (over three years), our insurance underwriting partner has NEVER denied a USCCA member self-defense claim.
Click to expand...

I have never denied a self-defense insurance claim either....
 
NavyLCDR said:
I love their insurance website:

Link Removed

Notice anything missing form their webpage amongst all their advertising gimmicks? Where is there any evidence that anyone has ever actually filed a claim with the insurance and it saved them expenses at least equal to the premiums? Not a single item on their webpage makes any claim that they have actually paid anyone's expenses. Why is that?

For example, this from their website:


I have never denied a self-defense insurance claim either....
Click to expand...

The reason why you don't see any real-life customers that successfully used this insurance paraded on their Web site may be that these customers want to protect their privacy and may not want to publicly talk about a self-defensive shooting based on the advise of their lawyer. After all, this is a gun forum and I don't see anyone publicly posting about their recent self-defensive shooting either. However, I understand your complaint. Insurance is in this type of business. An Internet gun forum is not.

Disclaimer: I am a USCCA member, for now, as I know from personal experience how expensive lawyers are.
 
bofh said:
The reason why you don't see any real-life customers that successfully used this insurance paraded on their Web site may be that these customers want to protect their privacy and may not want to publicly talk about a self-defensive shooting based on the advise of their lawyer. After all, this is a gun forum and I don't see anyone publicly posting about their recent self-defensive shooting either. However, I understand your complaint. Insurance is in this type of business. An Internet gun forum is not.

Disclaimer: I am a USCCA member, for now, as I know from personal experience how expensive lawyers are.
Click to expand...

IF they paid claims why can't they advertise "We have paid $100,000 is self-defense claims in 2014 alone!" Probably because they haven't actually paid any claims or the amount is so low that it wouldn't look good to include it in all their scary "facts".

They could state "Not a single claim has ever been denied or paid" and it could be equally truthful.
 
Again.....is there any evidence to suggest that any of these insurance companies have actually laid out any significant amount of money to defend someone? I have yet to see one statement made by anyone to indicate that the insurance has actually worked and paid anyone's legal fees associated with a self defense shooting. Why aren't the insurance companies bragging about the number of claims they have paid and amounts of claims?
 
Something else that may provide coverage is your homeowners insurance. If you have a policy, you can include liability coverage. In addition, you may be able to add an umbrella liability policy with quite high limits for very reasonable prices.
 
alternety said:
Something else that may provide coverage is your homeowners insurance. If you have a policy, you can include liability coverage. In addition, you may be able to add an umbrella liability policy with quite high limits for very reasonable prices.
Click to expand...

As far as I understand it, most standard homeowners policies contain a liability clause that specifically excludes coverage for injuries or damage caused by an intentional act, such as firing a gun, even in self-defense (intentional injury exclusion). Same goes for most umbrella liability policies. These insurances cover you for unintentional acts, i.e., accidents or negligent acts that aren't criminal, but not for intentional acts that aren't criminal (i.e., lawful self defense). Insurance policies that do cover this have a specific "self-defense" or "reasonable force" exception in the fine print.
 
In case your property has been damaged or destroyed, you will look to your insurance company for relief. If you hire a lawyer to help you get your insurance claim, then the whole process will be much easier and convenient for you. Some of the law firms like National Choice Lawyers provide their clients with the best and experienced personal injury lawyers.
 
US Law Shield/ Florida is who I have mine with. They are now all 50 states plus DC ( sorry Barry but not 57 states yet ) and are actively suing the city of Harrisburg PA for PA firearms law violation. U. S. Law Shield
 
IF they paid claims why can't they advertise "We have paid $100,000 is self-defense claims in 2014 alone!" Probably because they haven't actually paid any claims or the amount is so low that it wouldn't look good to include it in all their scary "facts".

Interesting... I googled to try to find out how much Allstate or State Farm has paid out in either auto or homeowner claims and there's very little info. All that comes up from a search is stuff on how to file a claim.

Insurance co's are notorious for paying as little as possible, but you would think you could find something.
 
indyyy said:
IF they paid claims why can't they advertise "We have paid $100,000 is self-defense claims in 2014 alone!" Probably because they haven't actually paid any claims or the amount is so low that it wouldn't look good to include it in all their scary "facts".

Interesting... I googled to try to find out how much Allstate or State Farm has paid out in either auto or homeowner claims and there's very little info. All that comes up from a search is stuff on how to file a claim.

Insurance co's are notorious for paying as little as possible, but you would think you could find something.
Click to expand...

State Farm paid over $22.1 Billion in claims in 2013.
https://www.statefarm.com/about-us/company-overview/company-profile/annual-reports

When just one of these self defense scams... I mean insurance companies provides an annual report stating how much they paid in claims, I might put a tiny little bit of interest into their scary advertisements.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Members online

Total: 193 (members: 1, guests: 192)

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
49,544
Messages
611,260
Members
74,959
Latest member
defcon

Share this page

Back
Top