CCW Insurance Coverage

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Do you use them? How is their legal hotline? Some local guys think it would be worth it if only for the legal advice when traveling or for those grey areas.

I've only called their information desk a couple of times over the years and have been satisfied w/that service. Thankfully have never had to call for legal assistance so cannot comment on their legal support.
I was impressed a couple of years ago I was traveling across several states and had only coverage in Tx. Gave them a call and they added all states for a few bucks just for the time period I would be out of state.
 
Carefully consider what a CCW "policy" covers before you buy it.

Insurance cannot cover you against a criminal act, so CCW polices - to the extent they are actually insurance (a regulated industry in all 50 states) - can only insure you against civil liability. In many cases you will find your homeowner's insurance already provides coverage for civil liability in amounts that exceed the limits of the CCW policy - and for much less cost. Even if you have to add civil liability coverage, you will probably find your existing insurance company can provide MORE protection for less money.

Since CCW "insurance" policies can't actually "insure" against criminal liability, most such policies are contractual pledges to reimburse you for certain specified costs provided the shoot is determined by a court to be a legitimate self-defense shooting. If it is not judged a legitimate shoot, you get nothing. If you're somewhere in the middle then you need to carefully read when they have to pay. In my own reading, it seems that more often than not, if you don't have a court finding of "not guilty" (or its equivalent) then the CCW "insurance" pays nothing.
 
I've discussed this before on other forums but, not here.
Here's my .02 cents.

I've been carrying a firearm since 1976. Not once have I ever had to draw my weapon and shoot anybody.
Now, imagine paying insurance premiums for 42 years and not using it. Look at how much money I would have spent.

The point is, the odds of you actually needing your firearm in a defensive situation, is extremely rare.
Save your money.
 
I've discussed this before on other forums but, not here.
Here's my .02 cents.

I've been carrying a firearm since 1976. Not once have I ever had to draw my weapon and shoot anybody.
Now, imagine paying insurance premiums for 42 years and not using it. Look at how much money I would have spent.

The point is, the odds of you actually needing your firearm in a defensive situation, is extremely rare.
Save your money.
So don't have car insurance. Look how much you could save. Good idea.
 
Carefully consider what a CCW "policy" covers before you buy it.

Insurance cannot cover you against a criminal act, so CCW polices - to the extent they are actually insurance (a regulated industry in all 50 states) - can only insure you against civil liability. In many cases you will find your homeowner's insurance already provides coverage for civil liability in amounts that exceed the limits of the CCW policy - and for much less cost. Even if you have to add civil liability coverage, you will probably find your existing insurance company can provide MORE protection for less money.

Since CCW "insurance" policies can't actually "insure" against criminal liability, most such policies are contractual pledges to reimburse you for certain specified costs provided the shoot is determined by a court to be a legitimate self-defense shooting. If it is not judged a legitimate shoot, you get nothing. If you're somewhere in the middle then you need to carefully read when they have to pay. In my own reading, it seems that more often than not, if you don't have a court finding of "not guilty" (or its equivalent) then the CCW "insurance" pays nothing.
From what Ive seen with what's happened so far with CCW SAFE in actual cases, they cover you through the whole process, criminal and civil, and you dont spend a dime up front. You make a phone call, and they start the ball rolling.

Im betting my homeowners isnt going to post bail, or pay my lawyers and their extra fees, up front.



I've discussed this before on other forums but, not here.
Here's my .02 cents.

I've been carrying a firearm since 1976. Not once have I ever had to draw my weapon and shoot anybody.
Now, imagine paying insurance premiums for 42 years and not using it. Look at how much money I would have spent.

The point is, the odds of you actually needing your firearm in a defensive situation, is extremely rare.
Save your money.
So, I take it all those years youve put the money saved into a fund to cover you, should, in that unlikely event, you need it?

If not, whats your plan?

What I spend a year on this insurance, I easily blow in just a month or two on lottery tickets and other silly incidental daily things I really dont need.

Insurance is just one of those facts of life you have to deal with. in some cases, you dont have a choice, and Im really surprised the insurace companies havent gone after something like this as well, considering they basically run the world. I almost didnt get a mortgage for the house im in now, because of the dogs I own. No homeowners insurance, no mortgage. The insurance companies dont like my dogs (they have a list they dont like), and we were sweating it out, right up to settlement trying to get coverage.

Just wait until they figure out how much money they might be out, if they have to pay for your civil coverage. Thats going to be the next question tha agent asks when you go for a policy. "Do you own and/or carry guns?"
 
I find it interesting how many people think they will be seen as the “good guy” in a shooting.
There will be two sides in a courtroom if the prosecutor thinks there is a question about guilt

Look at the Travon Martin case. It was lucky for Zimmerman that he was killed.
Trayvon’s side would claim that he was just walking back from the store when this crazy person attacked.
Zimmerman showed IMHO that he was assaulted and could have suffered permanent brain damage or death.
He was found innocent but ran up massive legal bills. Probably had to sell off his assets and claim poverty to get free legal
I own my home outright and don’t want to sell it to pay for a defense attorney
 
I hope to never have to make a claim on my homeowners insurance, my automobile insurance, my health insurance or my CCW insurance. My fervent hope and desired outcome is that all money I spend on insurance is wasted.
 
"So don't have car insurance. Look how much you could save. Good idea."

The odds of you being involved in a accident are much greater than being involved in a shooting.
 
First, I do have carry insurance. That being said, I do have concerns about having my attorneys paycheck being written by an organization that has a cost-based interest in my losing.
 
"So don't have car insurance. Look how much you could save. Good idea."

The odds of you being involved in a accident are much greater than being involved in a shooting.

...and you are required by law to have auto insurance to operate a vehicle. I'm not agreeing with your position, but there is a difference when talking about something that is mandated by law, and optional insurance. As it is, I have elevated coverage on my auto policy... and I had need for it once, after a minor accident wound up in court and me in the crosshairs. As it turned out, the plaintiff's demand, if awarded, would have left me liable for quite a bit of money had I only had insurance minimums.

I've been meaning to take a look at CCW insurance, I carry every day here in TX, which doesn't concern me too much, but I also travel to other states... which does. Oddly enough, I practice with my carry piece almost every day, even if it's just for 1 minute... as 'insurance' against having to draw and use it someday... why wouldn't I have insurance against liability for use of deadly force?

It would be interesting... the statistic of how many good shoots (civil) wind up in court, and the disposition.
 
Compare all of the companies.

#1 - The insurance starts to pay immediately - bail money, attorney fee, and, and. Do NOT pick the plan that pays if you are NOT convicted.
 
Self defense "insurance" isn't really insurance. It's a fund, paid into by members, out of which a member's legal expenses are paid if he becomes involved in a self defense incident. The fund may be backed by an insurance company the way golf tournaments have hole-in-one insurance when they offer a special prize to any competitor who makes a hole in one. The insurer pays the prize, not the tournament. All the tournament pays is a premium that depends on the insurer's estimate of the chances for a payout. A risk is that an insurer could cancel a self defense fund's policy in response to public pressure. CCW-Safe claims to have its own captive insurance company so that can't happen to them. The NRA is having problems because Lockton, its broker (i.e. independent agent), has cut ties with them.

In my opinion, the following are important to have in a program:
  • Pay up front rather than expect you to pay for your defense out of your own pocket and seek to get your money back after you are acquitted.
  • Cover self defense with any method, not just firearms.
  • Cover legal expenses in a civil suit as well as a criminal trial.
  • Pay for bail.
  • Reasonable limits on loopholes to get out of paying. For example, ACLDN won't help you if you were carrying illegally.
  • Deep enough pockets not to run out of money in the middle of a trial.
  • Paying the judgment in a civil suit would be nice.
Andrew Branca, author of The Law of Self Defense, is working on a DVD ($40) about self defense "insurance". He has spoken well of USCCA and ACLDN and is now associated with CCW-Safe.

I also think that being able to mount a strong legal defense, courtesy of an "insurance" program, deters prosecutors and ambulance chasing civil lawyers who expected their target would only be able to afford a weak one.
 
I've possessed a CCW permit for decades. 95% of the time I am unarmed. With all the litigation in the country today I'm guessing that one should consider a legal aid policy to cover you just in case you are involved in a shooting.

How many of you have purchased this protection?

I have invested in coverage and will continue to do so.

It is a MUST to carefully compare the offerings as they relate to your needs. For example, if you live in Illinois many of the programs will not advance bail money because Illinois does not have bail bond companies. (I have only found two that do.) Some only reimburse money and most reserve the right to decide if you have a strong chance of winning before giving you anything.

Since I travel extensively, I also want coverage that works everywhere I am. Not all programs are set up to do that. I also want large bail advances quickly because if I have an incident in NYC or LA I am not going to have the money to post bail immediately as it would take some time for me to free up the money especially if I am away from home and they are going to demand more money because I'm from out of state.
 
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