Off the hook?

Louise Meeson delves into the murky side of legal expenses and asks why hold harmless agreements are still allowed to exist, especially given the industry's focus on treating customers fairly

Despite the dubious nature of hold harmless agreements, which in effect protect the provider from paying out on a claim and arguably turn insurance contracts into 'sham ghost policies', they continue to thrive in the legal expenses landscape.

While evidence is often anecdotal, hold harmless agreements between solicitors and legal expense providers appear to be most prevalent in the before-the-event (BTE) personal injury motor market, although the practice does also still appear to exist in the