Acto de presentación y apertura de propuestas.

Very few of the group participants are aware of when they should or could use their cover – and this was the case across all socio-economic groups. They feel that until you started the claims process, you are unsure as to what your policy covers.

‘tried last year when we needed a claim while we were in Cuba, all our luggage pinched, we had problems in the hotel and we had baggage going missing, so it was a case of, well started reading it then it was a case of picking up the phone and speaking to somebody in America who explained it to her. It wasn’t until then I knew exactly what we could claim for’

Newcastle

The teledepth participants (all claimants) have a stronger understand of using their cover, but still familiarity of the finer points of the cover was weak.

‘…what the ins and outs of it would be something that I would imagine most people wouldn’t even look at’

Teledepth 6

The quantitative research shows that just over two thirds of people who have LEI are clear about how to make a claim (64%).

The majority of people have just had one claim. This again builds a picture of people who have little contact with the ‘mechanics’ of this product, hence little experience of its workings.

Over half of those who had a successful claim (53%) think that LEI was the only way they could have sorted out their problem. This figure was higher with some particular vulnerable groups in the online study (over 65, low socio-economic groups, disabled) - indicating the importance of such a product. But with the telephone survey (all vulnerable) a high proportion of people were not sure (40%) - indicating a lack of knowledge of what options were available.

For those who have successfully claimed LEI (within the groups), experiences were very positive. The majority of respondents who have successfully claimed LEI were for car-related cases.

When talking to people, there was much confusion between claiming for damages or compensation and claiming for legal expenses to be covered.

One-third of those who had a claim refused did not know why (33%) and two-fifths were not surprised (41%) but did think the policy would cover them. This indicates a lack of ‘trust’ in the product (although must be contrasted with the demonstration of ‘trust’ with choice of solicitor). Note this group had a small base size of 46 so caution must be taken when interpreting these results.

There is a neutral tending toward negative viewpoint (2.7 out of 5) taken about the statement that insurance companies might decide not to take on claim. The majority of opinions about this were negative with the most common response surrounding views that the company should take on the case regardless. This is a difficult problem as there

is a strength of feeling here which impacts product ‘value’ but this is the reality of the product. Again, this points to the requirement of more product information and understanding.

Similarly, group respondents were presented with this concept. Reactions to this are mixed with some feeling as if all cases should be taken on whilst others are more accepting of limits being put in place.

‘I think it’s good because otherwise you know…well I mean it’s going to cost them as well isn’t it – you could end up spending loads of time and you’re going to get nowhere essentially, you know, cause people get excited don’t they?

Newcastle

Some feel that this assessment may be done unfairly and that insurance companies might only decide to choose those highly likely to succeed. They feel that if they have paid their premiums then a company should back their case irrespective of likelihood of success. They feel an independent panel of solicitors might be better at judging cases and have less ‘hidden agendas’ than an in-house panel.

‘no I’d rather have my own solicitor assessing it – I trust mine – they (insurance companies) don’t want to spend money…’

London

However, others are more accepting of insurance company policy and feel that for a premium of £20 for the year, you could not expect an insurance company to take a risk on a case which is unlikely to be successful. As such, they feel that the process was acceptable and that the in-house panel of solicitors would be professional individuals applying matters of law rather than profit margins.

‘it happens in all walks of life – I suppose they’ve got to assess it – if you go to the police they will assess your case to see if they will take it forwards – you have to accept that’

London

5.5 Choice of Solicitor

Generally, people are neutral to positive (3.34 out of 5) about the fact that a solicitor might be chosen for them. Negativity surrounding this issue is mitigated by ‘trust’ in the company to act in their interest and/or a general lack of knowledge of how to choose a solicitor.

But, when asked directly, nearly a half (45%) stated they would like a choice of solicitor (note this is subtly different to using their own solicitor). Whilst this appears contradictory it highlights the need for some level of control in the decision making process.

Within the groups, respondents were also presented with the concept that they might not have the choice of their own solicitor once a case has been accepted and despite ‘in- house’ solicitors at assessment stage being unpopular with the majority, using ‘in-

house’ solicitors at this stage became acceptable for most. Only a minority were disappointed to find they might find it impractical to appoint their own solicitor.

‘I think it’s a shame personally, I think as they regulated solicitors and they are attached to a legal body etc that you ought to be able to say actually I’d like to appoint this one, the local one – I know them blah blah blah…’

Newcastle

‘because at the end of the day you’re paying for a service, you should be have who you want to fight your case – it should be your choice – you’re paying for it‘

Leeds

Teledepth participants were also presented with this scenario and most were happy with this as it took away the ‘hassle’ or they understood the economics of this. Some are concerned about the solicitors being local as this is often felt to be an important requirement.

‘[What did you feel about not being able to choose your own solicitor?] Eh … personally it grates me, to be frank, but like I say for what I pay for that service, I don’t have a problem with it, you know, if it’s a question of paying £20 a year and not choosing a solicitor and getting a slightly inferior service or paying £400 an hour and getting a tip top service, I know which one I’m going to pay.’

Teledepth 6

‘if they had have chosen a lawyer for argument’s sake in London, and, you know, me being in Bristol, I would then have to, I don’t know, talk to someone on the telephone, email them, write to them, you know, so on and so forth, I think that probably could have made the process more difficult.’

Teledepth 4

The majority feel that once the case had been taken on, the solicitor appointed is going to be ‘on your side’ and ‘fight your case’ and it is therefore in the solicitors best interests to win. It is at this stage that consumers feel that the appointed solicitor would be working hard ‘for you’, although they perceive that they were being paid some-how by the insurance company.

‘you see I think that’s fair enough – it’s like when you take out your motor insurance, if you’re involved in an accident, the insurance company will stipulate where you can take your vehicle to’

Newcastle

A minority also feel that you might benefit from cost savings by using the insurance company-appointed solicitors as they might be working on a fixed rate basis.

‘the insurance policy people probably have contracts with particular law firms so that they’ll get the guaranteed rates, you know, this will be the hourly rate – fixed rate all the time’ [Newcastle]

Many feel that they would struggle to choose their own solicitors as they no longer have ‘family solicitors’.

‘they selected the solicitor for me but they asked me if I was OK with that and I said yes I was fine, cause I don’t have a solicitor of my own, so if I need one, just give me one – it’s fine’

Leeds

All of the group discussions around choice of solicitors were steered by customers and there was no prompting by moderators on how solicitors pay insurance companies referral fees to be on their assessment panels. All respondents had the perception that solicitors appointed by the insurance companies were ‘in-house’ and were unaware of how they were appointed.

5.6 Those Without LEI

For those who do not have LEI, the most cited reason for not having it is that they didn’t think they needed it (43%). This is a fundamental barrier to product uptake. Reasons surrounding costs is the second most cited reason (27%) indicating that this is also an influencing factor (note multicode question).

The majority don’t have LEI because they have never thought about it rather than a conscious decision not to have it. These points indicate that the market would be open to product uptake should more be known about the product.

Within the qualitative research, overall, barriers to purchase were thought to encompass the belief that paying for LEI premiums was a waste of money when there were plenty of claims management companies who were happy to take your case on for no fees or cost at all to the claimant.

‘what they do is, there’s a load of firms who do that, like ambulance chasing, and they’ll look at your claim …… they’ll see whether or not they’ll take your claim on, and that’s depending on whether they think they can win for you, if they don’t think they can win, they won’t do it’ Newcastle

In the online survey, when a description is presented of what LEI is, opinions about having LEI do alter and more people do feel they have a need for this kind of product but still a large minority do not want it. Whilst this demonstrates there is scope for information to change opinion, careful thought would have to go into how this would be implemented.