Let the state pay part of your attorney's fees!

Lieselot SeghersAntwerp, Belgium

Suppose: you are summoned for professional liability, or you are summoned for a traffic offense, or you want to obtain compensation from something or someone, or you become entangled in a complex inheritance matter, …

… then the costs involved can quickly become (very) high. Just think of the fees and costs of lawyers and bailiffs, the costs of judicial and extrajudicial proceedings, the costs and fees of court experts, etc.

Through a legal expenses insurance policy, you insure yourself against such costs: you pay an annual premium so that your insurer will cover the aforementioned costs.

Until now, relatively little use has been made of additional legal expenses insurance: most “legal subjects” are only insured for the criminal defense included in the mandatory car insurance…

Yet a “general” legal expenses insurance can prevent individuals and companies from being denied access to justice. After all, people often decide not to pursue proceedings because the costs are too high; or they cannot afford a proper defense. Therefore, the legislator deemed a tax reduction for legal expenses insurance appropriate.

From assessment year 2020, a tax reduction of 40% applies to premiums paid for legal expenses insurance from 1 September 2019, up to a maximum of €310 per year (net benefit of €124 for 2020).

The legal basis for this is the Act of 22 April 2019 on making legal expenses insurance more accessible (see also the Royal Decree of 16 July 2019 regarding the certificates for the tax reduction for legal expenses insurance premiums).

This Act sets out a number of conditions that the insurance contract must meet in order to qualify for the tax reduction. For example, the coverage must apply to all (covered) disputes within the context of private and professional life, and at least the following disputes must be covered:

  • Claims for damages (due to contractual or extra-contractual liability);
  • Your criminal defense;
  • Disputes relating to tax law and administrative law (disputes with the government);
  • Disputes relating to the social status of self-employed persons;
  • Disputes relating to the broader contract law, including consumer law;
  • Disputes relating to inheritance, gift, and testamentary law;
  • (the first) divorce/termination of legal cohabitation;
  • (the first) mediation in family matters.

What a wonderful thought that you don’t have to worry about the costs associated with such disputes.

So don’t hesitate and contact your insurance broker!

Related practice areas

Civil law Insolvency law

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