The After the Event Insurance market has changed considerably since the introduction of Qualified One-way Cost Shifting (QOCS) on 1st April 2013. The changes were brought about by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO).

After the Event Insurance Now Payable by the Client

The LASPO Act changed the way that most ATE Insurers opperated. Prior to the enactment, the After the Event Insurance premiums were recoverable from the defendant with the amount allowed determined by the courts.

Since the changes, Defendant insurers are no longer responsible for the ATE insurance premium, instead a client must pay for their own After the Event Insurance cover.

This has led to fierce competition between ATE Insurance providers in order to tempt solicitors to offer their products. Unfortunately, all clients seem to see is the price of the ATE policy rather than consider whether it provides sufficient cover and indemnity. 

ATE Insurance and Motor Accidents

The most common (and indeed the cheapest) After the Event Insurance policy being offered is for clients who have been involved in a Road Traffic Accident.

These policies have been offered from only £50 but of course, you get what you pay for. The cheaper ATE Insurance policies tend not to cover the client for Part 36 offer risk or they have quite a few 'get-out' clauses so that, if a solicitor's practice makes too many claims, those clauses are invoked enabling the ATE Insurer to avoid paying the claim. ATE Insurers often do this by inserting a 'prospects of success' clause into their terms and conditions. They state that all claims must have a 60% chance of success. When a claim is made, they can point to the clause and say 'This case can't have had a 60% chance of success as you lost'.

ATE Insurance and Non-Motor Accidents

After the Event insurance premiums for non-motor accidents vary considerably across the market and indeed across accident types. Claims for accidents at work tend to have the lower ATE Insurance premiums as they are usually more straightforward than other claim types. ATE Insurers often asses each ATE insurance application separately for these types of  claims and provide Bespoke ATE Insurance quotes.

There are staged ATE Premiums available as well as some fixed ones. Some ATE Insurance policy premiums are expressed as a percentage of the damages obtained. Generally, however, solicitors and clients prefer the certainty of a fixed After the Event Insurance premium. We offer fixed ATE Premiums amongst the lowest in the marker - starting at just £345 + IPT for all non-motor claims. We also offer staged ATE premium options as well as a percentage of the damages. In this way, we can offer whatever a client prefers.