Price isn't everything when selecting a legal plan. It's extremely important for clients to carefully review the fine print for provisions that could impact a member's ability to access an attorney, the amount of assistance available to them, additional out-of-pocket costs required, as well as their overall satisfaction with the plan. Considerations may include:

An annual usage limitation: Legal matters may occur many times per year, yet some carriers set a one-time usage limitation. Doing so restricts key legal needs, such as enforcing alimony payments or disputing multiple traffic tickets. In fact, we estimate annual usage limitations reduces the number of claims by more than 10% annually.

Hourly limits: Some benefits (e.g., small claims, estate administration or probate, divorce-related matters) may have hourly limits, which do not adequately cover the time needed to address the issue. For example, a provider may only offer up to two hours for estate administration and closing, which only provides paid-in-full coverage for approximately 19% of the cases, according to an analysis of ARAG 2019 claims data.
Waiting periods: Most carriers offer coverage immediately upon the plan's effective date, while others may impose a three-to-six month waiting period before they can take advantage of their plan benefits.
Termination clause: If the employer currently has a plan in place, they should confirm coverage is available for members who leave the company. Additionally, with some providers, if the employer terminates the plan, the members' coverage ends immediately, forcing the member to pay out-of-pocket for any remaining attorney hours required to resolve their legal matter, even if legal events occurred while they were active members.

3. What kind of access do employees have to attorneys?

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Legal benefits are not equal: 5 ways to evaluate the options

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