Legal insurance includes the assumption of a contractual obligation to reimburse the insured against all or a portion of his fees, costs, and expenses related to or arising out of services performed by or under the supervision of an attorney who is an active member of the bar of any jurisdiction or jurisdictions of the United States, in which these legal services are performed.
Legal insurance does not include any of the following:
(a) Retainer contracts made by an individual lawyer or law firm with an individual client with the fee based on an estimate of the nature and the amount of services that will be provided to that specific client, and similar contracts made with a group of clients involved in the same or closely related legal matters (such as class actions);
(b) Plans providing no benefits other than consultation and advice on matters in connection with, or a part of, referral services.
(c) Plans providing limited benefits on simple legal matters on a voluntary and informal basis, not involving a legally binding promise, in the context of an employment or educational or similar relationship; or
(d) Legal services provided by labor unions or employee associations to their members in matters relating to employment or occupation.
(e) Legal service incidental to other insurance coverages.
The foregoing is not intended as an exclusive list of legal services plans or arrangements which do not constitute legal insurance as defined by this section.
(Added by Stats. 1974, Ch. 1161.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018