COMMERCIAL LEGAL PROTECTION
IS DESIGNED TO HELP SME BUSINESSES
DEAL WITH UNEXPECTED LEGAL ISSUES
NOT ALREADY COVERED BY OTHER INSURANCE POLICIES
What is Commercial Legal Protection?
Commercial Legal Protection is intended to complement traditional SME policies, rather than substitute core insurance cover. The policy provides expert legal assistance when an insured really needs it and protects them from potentially crippling costs which will have to be incurred, regardless of any fault on the client’s part.
What does Commercial Legal Protection cover?
While it is not designed to substitute for general liability, professional indemnity or director liability insurance, a Commercial Legal Protection policy covers disputes arising from seven broad areas, but the inclusion of access to legal advice means that the range of situations it can capture go far beyond that.
The seven areas named in the policy are:
- Contractual Disputes regarding Supply of Goods and/or Services
- Tax Audit
- Statutory Licence Protection
- Landlord Disputes
- Restrictive Covenant
- Third Party Damage to Goods or Premises
- Debt Recovery
If disputes arise in relation to any of these seven areas, you can call upon a lawyer to defend the interests of the company.
In the case of a tax audit, the policy will pay for the insured’s accountant to respond to an audit by the Australian Taxation Office. A specialist lawyer can also be called in if any proceedings arise from the audit.
The involvement of a lawyer can vary depending on the situation. A lawyer’s role might only go as far as a phone call to straighten out an erroneous claim, or it might involve a cease-and-desist letter if a restrictive covenant has been breached, for example. Under the CLP policy, SMEs can also use lawyers to go to court in pursuit of unpaid debts or to force a landlord to fix a substandard property.
In cases that reach the courts, policyholders’ legal costs are covered.
- The main aspect of the policy has been the legal advice part. It doesn’t need to trigger the policy to be activated – the only condition is the question has to relate to the client’s core business.
- You can obtain legal advice as many times as required throughout the policy period, with no limitations to the number of times it can be provided. Calls to the legal panel are not a formal notification and do not affect renewal.
- The Commercial Legal Policy has a minimum premium of $200 for a small organisation, with limits of $100,000 for each claim and $250,000 in the aggregate. The excess is $1,000 per claim.
- There is no proposal forms — all you need to do is complete the form below and send back and we will obtain a quotation for you.
