Legal "insurance" (CCW Safe, Texas Law Shield, et al)

[baz]

Do any of you have any experience with outfits that provide legal services like those provided by CCW Safe or Texas Law Shield? My son, who lives in Texas, uses the latter, and I've been hearing advertisements for CCW Safe on Fox. A quick look at the CCW Safe web site indicates that it may be limited to "use of force incidents." That would be nice to have, but I'm also interested in having a legal service available for any kind of incident involving concealed carry (hard to describe what I mean, but something like getting stopped by a small town cop who decides to hassle me because he's got a problem with "civilians" who carry). IAC, any experience or informed opinions of the readers here would be welcomed.

TIA.

 

[blarby]

Well, what you are looking for is general legal defense.

A $1000 retainer to any respectable defense attorney is going to carry you much farther- much faster, than anything else.

To the best of my knowledge, there is no other sort of " I got wrongfully arrested " insurance.

And I've sold a lot of weird policies in my day, believe you me.

 

[flphotog]

I'd suggest that you call CCW Safe and ask them. I've found them to be very helpful. Either that or send them an email.

 

[dogtown tom]

blarby Well, what you are looking for is general legal defense.

A $1000 retainer to any respectable defense attorney is going to carry you much farther- much faster, than anything else.

You don't know much about Texas Law Shield do you?
For about $12 a month its much better than anything else out there.

 

[Frank Ettin]

...A $1000 retainer to any respectable defense attorney is going to carry you much farther- much faster, than anything else...

Actually, it's only going to get you $1,000 far. A retainer is essentially just a prepayment of fees and assure that a lawyer won't accept potentially conflicting employment.

So if a lawyer's fee is $250/hour, a $1,000 retainer covers four hours of his time performing legal services (and assures his availability). If your services require more time, you'll need to pay him more money.

 

[baz]

Actually, it's only going to get you $1,000 far. A retainer is essentially just a prepayment of fees and assure that a lawyer won't accept potentially conflicting employment.

It looks to me like each of the two alternatives under discussion has different merits. The "insurance" approach appears to work like...insurance. You pay $100 a year (or a bit more), and hope you never need it. But if you ever do, it will likely take you a lot, lot further than the $1,000 retainer. The latter would be valuable, perhaps, for some of the less catastrophic incidents that might occur, but which the insurance we're discussing doesn't cover. I've never had a bad experience with LE when being stopped while driving, but were that to happen, it would be nice to say "I'm not talking to anyone but my lawyer."

Incidentally, my son in Texas, who has Texas Law Shield, is an attorney. I guess he's a smart one, who knows better than to represent himself.

 

[basicblur]

Flyin' on memory here, and things may have changed...

I'd recommend starting with these guys?
http://www.armedcitizensnetwork.org/home

When doing research, I find it helpful to "pick one" and use it as a baseline.
You could do much worse than using the one above as your baseline.

There is a certain podcast of a nationally aired radio show that I listen to that started / was pushing a similar product. I had already determined these folks were a little too self-promoting under the guise of providing the gun community a "service", so I was leery of the insurance they were pushing.

Someone that had done some research on it said that if you were found guilty, that particular insurance plan did not have to pay up, meaning there's a real conflict of interest! Would such a plan sell you down the river simply so they wouldn't have to pay out?

Just one bullet point of questions to ask when you're researching possible plans?

 

[YZ]

Prepaid legal services are like an extended vehicle warranty. (With a lot more at stake) A lot of ifs and buts and the fine print. In the unlikely case you ever file a claim, you will be committed to one helping hand. Fee for service usually results in a better, or at least more vigorous service. Stash your money away for an emergency.

 

[baz]

There's a pretty extensive comparison chart here. Of course, it was prepared by CCW Safe, so caveat emptor. But it has some useful information, as well as covering a couple of vendors I was unaware of.

For the price, I'm actually toying with the idea of going with a couple of them. I like the idea behind "Armed Citizens Network" which appears to effectively put an attorney of choice on retainer for up to $5k-$10k (but okay, which is it? need to find that out). I'm thinking that, with CCW Safe, might be the best of both, and together would be only $224 a year. I'm going to research "Armed Citizens Network" to see if they have local lawyers I can designate.

 

[flphotog]

I am at the moment a member of both CCW Safe and Armed Citizens Network. By the time my year with ACN is up ( I joined that one first) I'm going to decide which to stay with.
I emailed both of these organizations to see how or if they could work together. The response from CCW Safe was that they would do what ever was in my best interest and work with anyone where my interest was at stake. The response from ACN was basically nothing but a rant about any organization other then their own.
That has been my experience so far, haven't made a final decision yet but will have to by early next year.

 

[YZ]

Who or what seems a good choice today may be gone or reconsidered tomorrow. No lawyer is guaranteed to be there for you when you need it. I am only trying to warn against paying for the false peace of mind. The prepaid legal service industry trades on fears of uncertainty. Unlike conventional insurance, it does not pay a $$$ amount agreed upon. It is a service broker. The quality of its product is much more difficult to measure, or to challenge. (And all that at the worst possible time) The choice is yours, this is just the other side not covered in the brochures. I have spoken with agents, subscribed, and unsubscribed, first hand.

 

[gunlaw]

an attorney is not going to take a retainer and babysit your money until you maybe, someday need thier services. Best to establish a contact with an attorney and keep that persons business card handy