Every day for the last two weeks my work has been sending me email reminders to sign up for my 2015 benefits. By the end of the day tomorrow I have to make my final elections.
Most of my benefits are pretty standard: a high-deductible medical plan, dental insurance, and then a few benefits like a small amount of life insurance paid for by my company. However, there is one new option that I didn’t even know existed but I am definitely adding to my plan this year: Legal Insurance.
What is Legal Insurance?
I had no idea that my company offers legal insurance or even what it was, so obviously I looked into it and it is actually pretty great. With this insurance, I am able to use a licensed attorney for things like real estate contracts (if I want to buy/sell a house), creation or edits to a will or advance directive, adoption services, defense of traffic tickets, civil litigation defense, and much more.
My company is using this legal insurance so you can follow that link and see all the things that are covered. It’s pretty crazy how much coverage it provides.
How Much Does it Cost?
When I read all of the benefits I get from this insurance, I was thinking it would going to cost a bunch of money and have crazy co-pays, plus I’d have to pay a percentage of the legal fees.
I was wrong. Dead wrong.
All of this coverage is available to me (through my work) for only $16.50 per month. That’s $198 a year. There are no co-pays. I pay 0% of whatever the lawyer charges. All I pay is $198 and everything else is free to me.
This Sounds Too Good to be True
I’m a pretty skeptical person, and this just sounds too good to be true. I’m definitely going to use this insurance to create a will and a living will. I may need it for selling my house and buying a new one (if we move in 2015). I also might need it to fight a speeding ticket or something. Who knows?
Legal Zoom costs at least $69 for a will and at least $39 for a living will (advance directive). That’s $100 each for me and my wife, or $200 total ($2 less than the cost of the insurance) and with Legal Zoom I don’t even get to speak with a lawyer. If I went directly to a lawyer I’m sure it would be substantially north of $200 for those 4 documents.
The bottom line is I’m going to use this insurance at least twice and potentially many more times. Hopefully I have a great experience but will make sure to post an update whenever I use the insurance to let you all know about my experience.
Here’s hoping I get great legal coverage for less than $200 a year. If I do, it will probably be the best $200 I’ve ever spent.
James Hendrickson is an internet entrepreneur, blogging junky, hunter and personal finance geek. When he’s not lurking in coffee shops in Portland, Oregon, you’ll find him in the Pacific Northwest’s great outdoors. James has a masters degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Bachelors degree on Sociology from Earlham College. He loves individual stocks, bonds and precious metals.
Sorry, couldn’t disagree more. I’ve worked for the lawyers (in-experienced) who are referred out from this “insurance.” If you have a simple will…..sure, that might be 0% but something more complicated, assets, trusts…neither going to be 0% or even an experienced attorney who they will send you to. After the simple will, wasting $200 per year since….how often are you changing your will? Living will? Power of Attorney? Health Care Proxy…you can already acquire these online for free. The caliber of attorneys who are on the “list” for this “referral of business” is NOT quality. Rather, I’ve seen those who take the head of this company or those who refer out to dinner, are getting the “business.” My specialty is divorce. The “0%” attorneys who are assigned to these cases, sad. And I’ve had many people being very upset that they paid into this “insurance” all these years. Not the best use of one’s money.
Firstly, Kevin it is great to see you post. I have enjoyed the contributors but they aren’t you. I know life gets busy and you can’t be there all the time, not complaining, just good to see you posting.
Secondly, one of the small samples you threw out interested me even more than the subject of your post. You are thinking of reselling your house already????? Didn’t you guys just get married and move in like– last year? And you are planning on moving in 2015? When I have seen the math on buying a house it is interesting. The transaction costs are very expensive. In a “moving sideways” market with no rise or drop in house prices you would lose a lot of money if you bought and sold a house quickly just because of transaction costs. The realtor fees alone are 6-7% of the value of the home. In a “normal” market the break-even holding time is usually 7 years (interestingly this is also close to the average holding time for an American family). Have house prices in your area moved up a lot lately? I would really like to see a post from you on the dollar evaluations of moving so soon in your area.
Finally, in response to the other poster… I agree you are getting what you pay for. The attorneys on this plan probably aren’t the best. But I think you (poster) may be underestimating the legal ineptitude of the average person. Most people don’t read contracts. Even an inept attorney reviewing documents may be better than signing whatever you are given.