Driving a hard bargain! York-based business saves motorists £1,800

A new free membership site set up by a York businessman can save every British motorist money.

All drivers needs car insurance, either comprehensive or third party.

But most motorists also spend approximately £30 every year on Motor Legal Protection, an add-on policy that covers your legal fees and other out of pocket expenses that may arise after an accident that wasn’t your fault.

Over a driver’s lifetime, this additional policy could add up to £1,800.

But here’s the rub that insurance companies don’t want you to know: you can get the same service for free.

The hidden cost

You, the motorist, pay your insurer or broker £30 a year for Legal Expenses Insurance (LEI), also known as Motor Legal Cover.

After an accident, your insurer refers you to a lawyer to recover your losses and compensation for injuries and to a car hire company for a replacement hire car.

But here’s the thing. The insurer also gets paid commission from the lawyers and hire companies for passing clients onto them.

What’s more, the insurer never usually pays the lawyers for their services. The lawyers get their fees from the insurance company of the party at fault.

This skewed system of payments to insurers was noticed by Lee Jones who worked in the motor insurance industry for a major UK insurer and for various specialist law firms dealing with road accident claims for almost 20 years.

He decided to stand up for British motorists.

He set up York based Free Motor Legal to cut out the insurance middlemen, offering motorists a lifetime free membership, collectively saving them over £100 million annually.

Here’s how it works

Motorists sign up to become a Free Motor Legal member. It costs them nothing.

If they have an accident, they contact Free Motor Legal who will arrange lawyers and other service providers as needed.

The company makes its money by receiving commission payments from some of the service providers, just the same way the insurance companies do.

Motorists get the same benefits available from the insurance industry but without paying a penny. These include:

• Management of the vehicle repair claim and a like-for-like replacement vehicle for the duration of repairs with no excess to pay.
• You choose whichever garage you want to use.
• If you suffer any losses or expenses, such as lost earnings, taxi fares, damaged personal possessions, a specialist lawyer is appointed to act for you.
• If personal injury occurs, not only is a lawyer appointed who will not deduct any fees from your compensation, but private treatment is also arranged at no cost.
• Free vehicle recovery following an accident as many of the breakdown companies will charge their members if they recover you after an accident as this is not classified as a ‘breakdown’.

Free Motor Legal founder Lee Jones said:

To join Free Motor Legal, simply go to www.freemotorlegal.co.uk and sign up. It takes no more than a minute.

You’ll be sent a member pack with numbers of who to call after an accident. A full Q&A is available here.