New insurance makes lawyers affordable; While homeowners' policies add modest plans, well-heeled litigants can even insure judge's life

The Toronto Star
Mon 18 Aug 2008
Page: A11
Section: News
Byline: Tracey Tyler
Source: Toronto Star

There's so much for lawyers and their clients to do before a trial.

Prepare your cross-examination. Grab your gown.

And, of course, take out insurance on the life of the judge.

Sound far-fetched? A tad distasteful? Not according to Louis Gosselin, a Toronto insurance agent offering "judicial delay insurance," one of several products available in Canada's fledgling legal insurance market.

It's designed to reimburse litigants for any costs they incur if a trial collapses because a key player - such as the judge - gets sick or dies and the case has to start again.

"We've had some judges in the past who've engaged in some hazardous activities, such as mountain climbing at 60 or riding motorcycles," Gosselin said in an interview.

Judicial delay insurance, which has been available in Britain, Australia and the United States for several years, is aimed at litigants in long and complex commercial cases. But here in Quebec, another form of legal insurance - geared to the middle class - is taking hold.

At a time when Canadians can expect to pay anywhere from $150 to $800 an hour for a lawyer, Lisa Pascal got hers for $4 a month.

Pascal, a university student, signed up for legal insurance when she moved from Ottawa to Montreal a few years ago and took out a homeowner's policy.
"They (her insurance company) told me for an additional $4 a month I can get legal insurance," she recalled. "And if I had legal, car and home insurance, I would also get free roadside assistance. It was a package deal and it's been well worth every penny."

Pascal has used her policy to straighten out a dispute with another insurance company. She's now involved in civil litigation over a long-standing noise dispute with a neighbour. Her legal insurance is paying 80 per cent of her legal fees, up to a maximum of $5,000.
"Without this service, me taking someone to court would have been pretty much impossible," she said.

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