Bell Lax and FirstAssist have teamed up to provide a complete litigation package to protect Bell Lax’s clients from many of the risks often associated with litigation.
FirstAssist’s insurance policies and Bell Lax’s ‘no win, no fee’ agreements have worked together on all sorts of commercial disputes, ranging from professional negligence claims, to shareholder, agency and contractual cases and with all sorts of clients including multi-party multi-million pound actions in the High Court, small and medium sized business disputes and claims between individuals.
Together, Bell Lax and FirstAssist are able to offer clients unparalleled protection against the pitfalls of litigation and enable clients to pursue good cases that would normally be out of their reach without putting their livelihood on the line.
FirstAssist specialise in providing insurance to protect clients against the risk of paying their opponents’ costs. Rather than paying brokers’ fees and waiting for numerous different insurers to consider your case, Bell Lax has delegated authority to arrange insurance policies on FirstAssist’s behalf for almost all commercial claims from the very start of clients’ cases.
How does it work?
FirstAssist insure you against up to £2 million of your opponent’s costs and your expenses. Most claims will not need that level of insurance, but it is best to be covered against almost all eventualities.
Do I have to pay anything up front?
No. Our arrangement with FirstAssist means that you do not have to pay brokers’ fees or anything to FirstAssist up front. FirstAssist defer their premium until you win your case.
Who pays the premium?
If you go to court and win, your opponent would usually have to pay not just your ordinary costs, but also your success fee and insurance premium as well. FirstAssist’s premium calculation is approved by the Senior Courts Costs Office so premium recovery is very rarely an issue.
What happens if I lose?
If your claim is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay our fees under the terms of our ‘no win, no fee’ agreement. However, the court will usually order you to pay your opponent’s costs.
FirstAssist insure you against that risk and pay your opponent’s costs for you. On top of this, FirstAssist will reimburse you for up to £50,000 of other court expenses, such as court fees, experts’ fees and barristers’ fees.
Finally, FirstAssist only charge a premium if your case succeeds. If we do not win your case, you do not pay us or FirstAssist anything at all.
Where do I sign?
Please contact us for a free consultation about your case.
