Does car insurance cover legal fees in case of a dispute with the seller?

Have you bought a car with defects and want to make a claim against the seller?

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The threshold for contacting a lawyer should not be high. If you are concerned about costs, your car insurance policy is likely to cover legal expenses up to €100 000. The policyholder will have to pay a deductible of between €2,000-5,000, plus 20% of any expenses incurred over and above the deductible, but the insurance company will bear the brunt of the cost.

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Example: if your total legal costs are € 60 000 and your own contribution is € 2 000, in addition to the € 2 000, you will have to pay 20% of € 58 000. In this example, you would have to pay a total of €13,600 in excess. In other words, your car insurance policy potentially covers a large part of your legal expenses.

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It is the insurance contract that regulates the conditions that must be met in order to obtain legal aid cover under the motor insurance policy. As a general rule, legal aid is granted from the moment a dispute arises. A dispute arises if you make a claim and the other party refuses. A lack of response from the other party (inaction) can also lead to a dispute under insurance law.

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‍Note the insurance contract must have been concluded before the dispute arises. If the insurance was taken out after the dispute arose, the insurance is likely to refuse legal aid coverage.

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As a general rule, the insurance does not cover expenses greater than your financial interest in the case. For example, if you want to cancel a car purchase and the car is worth NOK 300,000, the insurance may cover up to NOK 100,000 in legal expenses.

We can help you with your questions about legal aid coverage.

If you have any questions about the content of this article or would like assistance in a dispute with a car seller, you can contact us without obligation here.