په هالنډ کې د قانوني لګښتونو بیمه: دا څه پوښي؟

Legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandverzekering) pays for legal help in disputes that fall under your policy, such as conflicts with your employer, landlord, a seller or a neighbour. It does not cover disputes that already existed or were foreseeable when the policy started, and most policies exclude divorce.

One right cannot be taken away by the insurer. Under Article 4:67 of the Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht, Wft), you may choose your own lawyer as soon as a judicial or administrative procedure is needed, and the insurer pays within the limits of the policy.

What does legal expenses insurance cover?

It covers the costs of legal advice and representation in a dispute within the insured modules. In practice that means the work of the insurer’s own legal staff, and in proceedings also court fees, experts and an external lawyer.

Typical cost items in Dutch policies are:

• legal advice and correspondence with the other party;
• the fees of an external lawyer in court or administrative proceedings;
• court fees (griffierecht) and bailiff costs;
• costs of experts, such as a technical surveyor or a medical adviser;
• mediation costs, if the policy includes them;
• a costs order (proceskostenveroordeling) against you, where the policy covers it.

Most policies set a maximum amount per dispute for an external lawyer and a minimum dispute value (often called the drempelbedrag) below which the insurer does not act. Both figures differ per insurer, so check them in the policy conditions.

Which modules can you choose?

Cover is sold per module, so you are only insured for the areas of life you took out. The most common modules are consumer and housing, work and income, traffic, and tax and assets.

Consumer and housing

This module covers disputes about purchases, services, renting and neighbours. Examples are a defective product under the consumer purchase rules in Article 7:17 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW), a landlord who does not repay the deposit, or a contractor who did poor work.

کار او عاید

This module covers conflicts with your employer, such as dismissal, a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst) or unpaid wages. It also covers disputes with the UWV about benefits. In Massar (CJEU 7 April 2016, ECLI:EU:C:2016:216) the Court of Justice ruled that the dismissal permit procedure before the UWV is an administrative procedure, so free choice of lawyer applies there too.

د ترافيکو

This module covers disputes after a traffic accident, as a driver, cyclist or pedestrian, including recovering vehicle damage from the liable party. Damage you cause to others falls under liability insurance, not legal expenses insurance; see our په هالنډ کې د مسؤلیت بیمې عمومي کتنه.

Tax and assets

This module covers disputes about your own assets, such as investments or real property, and sometimes about tax assessments by the Belastingdienst. Tax cover is often limited, so check whether objection (bezwaar) and appeal procedures are included.

څه بې برخې دي؟

Disputes that arose before the policy started, or that you could reasonably foresee, are never covered. Most policies also exclude divorce and other family law, disputes about your own business, and conflicts you caused on purpose.

Common exclusions and limits are:

• pre-existing or foreseeable disputes;
• divorce, alimony and custody (some insurers offer a mediation module instead);
• disputes arising from self-employed work or a business, unless you have a business policy;
• criminal cases about intentional offences;
• disputes above or below the amounts set in the policy.

What is a waiting period (wachttijd)?

A waiting period is a period after the start of the policy in which you cannot claim for certain disputes. It is common for employment and housing disputes, and its length is in the policy conditions; it prevents people from insuring a conflict they already see coming.

When can you choose your own lawyer?

You may choose your own lawyer as soon as a judicial or administrative procedure is needed, and also when there is a conflict of interests with the insurer. This follows from Article 4:67 Wft, which implements Article 201 of the EU Solvency II Directive (2009/138/EC).

The Court of Justice of the EU interprets this right broadly. In Sneller (CJEU 7 November 2013, ECLI:EU:C:2013:717) it ruled that the insurer may not stipulate that its own employees handle court proceedings, even where representation by a lawyer is not compulsory. That matters in the Netherlands, because before the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) you may litigate without a lawyer.

The right does not extend to out-of-court negotiations. In that phase, the insurer’s own lawyers or legal staff usually handle the case. Some policies give you free choice earlier, but that is a contractual extra, not a statutory right.

Insurers may cap the fees they pay to an external lawyer. The CJEU held in Sneller that such a cap may not make the choice meaningless in practice. If the cap is low, you pay the difference yourself, so agree the fee arrangement with your lawyer in advance.

How does a claim work in practice?

You report the dispute to the insurer as soon as possible, with the documents and the correspondence. The insurer then assesses whether the dispute is covered and whether there is a reasonable chance of success.

1. Report the dispute promptly; under Article 7:941 BW late reporting can reduce cover if it harms the insurer’s position.
2. The insurer checks the start date, the module, the waiting period and the minimum dispute value.
3. A legal adviser of the insurer handles the out-of-court phase, often by sending a demand letter.
4. If proceedings follow, you may appoint your own lawyer under Article 4:67 Wft.

What if you disagree with the insurer?

If you and the insurer disagree about how to handle the case or about the chances of success, most Dutch policies have a dispute procedure (geschillenregeling). An external lawyer of your choice then gives an opinion on the disagreement, usually at the insurer’s expense.

If you disagree about cover itself, first file a complaint with the insurer. If that does not solve it, you can go to the Financial Services Complaints Institute (Kifid) or to the civil court.

Do you need insurance if you qualify for legal aid?

Subsidised legal aid (gesubsidieerde rechtsbijstand) under the Legal Aid Act (Wet op de rechtsbijstand) is granted by the Legal Aid Board (Raad voor Rechtsbijstand) to people with a low income and limited assets. You still pay a personal contribution (eigen bijdrage) that depends on your income.

The Legal Aid Board refuses subsidised aid where you can get legal help through a legal expenses insurance. If your income is just above the legal aid limits, you pay a lawyer in full yourself, which is where insurance makes the biggest difference.

What should you check before taking out a policy?

Compare the conditions, not only the premium. The points below decide whether a policy helps you once a dispute arises, for example before the kantonrechter in a claim up to €25,000.

• Which modules are included, and do they match your situation (employee, tenant, home owner, driver)?
• How long is the waiting period per module?
• What is the maximum amount for an external lawyer, and is it per dispute or per year?
• What is the minimum dispute value before the insurer acts?
• Does the policy cover disputes abroad, for example with a foreign employer or seller?
• Does the policy contain a dispute procedure (geschillenregeling) and free lawyer choice before proceedings?

What should you check when a dispute arises?

Act quickly and keep control of the deadlines yourself. The insurer’s handling does not stop statutory deadlines from running.

• Report the dispute in writing and keep proof of the date.
• Check statutory deadlines, such as the two-month period to challenge a dismissal (Article 7:686a(4) BW) or the six-week objection period against a UWV or Belastingdienst decision (Article 6:7 General Administrative Law Act, Awb).
• Ask the insurer for its cover decision in writing.
• Ask for your own lawyer as soon as proceedings are likely.
• Ask which fee cap applies to your own lawyer, and agree the arrangement with that lawyer.

What can we do for you with legal expenses insurance?

We regularly act for clients whose insurer pays the costs, and we explain ولې په هالنډ کې قانوني مشوره اړینه ده؟ early in a dispute.

• We review your policy conditions and tell you which module and limits apply.
• We request cover from your insurer and invoke your free choice of lawyer under Article 4:67 Wft.
• We agree the fee arrangement with the insurer in writing before we start proceedings.
• We assist you in the dispute procedure (geschillenregeling) or at Kifid if the insurer refuses cover.
• We conduct the proceedings before the subdistrict court, the district court or the UWV.

لنډیز

• Legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandverzekering) covers disputes in the modules you took out, not disputes that existed or were foreseeable at the start.
• Article 4:67 Wft gives you free choice of lawyer in judicial and administrative procedures, including the UWV dismissal procedure.
• Insurers may cap external lawyer fees, but the cap may not make the choice meaningless (Sneller, CJEU 2013).
• Disagreements about handling go to the dispute procedure; disagreements about cover go to Kifid or the court.

ډېرپېښې پوښتنې