Legal expenses insurance in Belgium: what does it cover and how does it work?

Many people hesitate to instruct a lawyer because of the cost. Legal expenses insurance (rechtsbijstandsverzekering / assurance protection juridique) can cover all or part of the cost of legal assistance and court proceedings. You often have such cover without knowing it, for example through your car insurance, your home (fire) insurance or your family liability insurance. This article explains how legal expenses insurance works in Belgium, which costs and disputes it covers and what rights you have, such as the free choice of lawyer.

What does legal expenses insurance cover in Belgium?

Within the limits of the policy, legal expenses insurance pays the costs of dealing with a dispute. These usually include:

• your lawyer’s fees and expenses;
• bailiffs’ costs (gerechtsdeurwaarder / huissier de justice) and court costs;
• the costs of experts, such as a technical or medical expert;
• the procedural indemnity (rechtsplegingsvergoeding / indemnité de procédure) you must pay the other party if you lose the case, where the policy provides for this.

The insurance covers the cost of your defence or your claim, not the damages you yourself owe to someone else. Fines, settlements with the public prosecutor (minnelijke schikking / transaction) and on-the-spot payments (onmiddellijke inning / perception immédiate) also remain at your expense.

Every policy sets maximum amounts, per dispute or per year, and often a minimum claim value below which the insurer will not step in. Read the exclusions carefully as well.

Which disputes does legal expenses insurance cover?

That varies greatly from one policy to another. Limited legal cover, for example attached to car insurance, often covers only disputes arising from road traffic accidents. A comprehensive policy may cover disputes concerning, among other things:

• road traffic, both claims against the liable party and your criminal defence for a traffic offence;
• employment law, such as a contested dismissal;
• tenancy and the purchase of goods or services;
• neighbour nuisance and disputes with contractors;
• sometimes family law, although divorces are often excluded or limited.

Intentional offences and disputes that already existed when the policy was taken out are generally excluded. Some policies nevertheless pay out retrospectively for an intentional offence if you are finally acquitted. Disputes about major building works requiring an architect, or about your professional activity as a self-employed person, are also often excluded from policies for private individuals.

How does a claim proceed?

You report the dispute to your insurer, together with the relevant documents. The insurer checks whether the dispute is covered and opens a file.

In an initial, amicable stage, the insurer often tries to reach a solution with the other party itself. If proceedings have to be brought, or a lawyer is needed, you choose your lawyer. The insurer pays the lawyer’s costs in accordance with the policy, either directly or by reimbursement.

Legal cover under your car insurance

Many car insurance policies include limited legal cover. It usually covers recovering your losses as a victim from the liable party after an accident, and often also your defence before the police court (politierechtbank / tribunal de police) for a traffic offence.

Some policies exclude or limit cover for certain serious offences, such as drink driving. So read your policy before assuming that everything is covered.

Free choice of lawyer

The Insurance Act of 4 April 2014 (wet betreffende de verzekeringen / loi relative aux assurances) guarantees the free choice of lawyer whenever judicial or administrative proceedings have to be brought (Article 156), and whenever a conflict of interest with the insurer arises. You are therefore not obliged to accept the lawyer your insurer suggests.

In the amicable stage, before any proceedings, the insurer often handles the file itself, unless the policy is broader. The insurer pays your lawyer within the amounts and conditions of the policy. Agree in advance with your lawyer how the fees will be settled and who bears any balance.

Disagreement with your insurer: the objectivity clause

If you disagree with the insurer on how to handle your dispute, for example because it considers proceedings pointless, you can rely on the objectivity clause (objectiviteitsclausule / clause d’objectivité) that the law itself guarantees (Article 157). You may then seek the opinion of a lawyer of your choice. If that lawyer confirms your position, the insurer must provide cover, including the cost of that opinion.

If you nevertheless bring proceedings at your own expense against that advice and obtain a better result than you would have by accepting the insurer’s position, the insurer must still provide cover and reimburse the cost of the opinion.

Waiting periods and reporting a claim

Many policies include a waiting period: you are not yet covered for disputes arising shortly after the policy is taken out. The period varies by subject matter and by insurer, and is often longer for family or construction disputes, for example. Report a dispute to your insurer in good time and wait for its approval before incurring costs; otherwise you risk it reimbursing them only in part or not at all.

No more tax reduction

For a few years, legal expenses insurance meeting certain statutory conditions gave entitlement to a tax reduction. That reduction was abolished by the Law of 18 December 2025 containing various provisions (wet houdende diverse bepalingen), with effect from assessment year 2026 (aanslagjaar): premiums paid from 2025 onwards no longer qualify for it. Your cover remains in place; only the tax advantage disappears.

No insurance? Other options

• First-line legal aid: initial legal advice (juridische eerstelijnsbijstand / aide juridique de première ligne), for example at a justice house (justitiehuis / maison de justice) or at a Bar duty session, is free of charge.
• Second-line legal aid: people with insufficient income can obtain, through the Bar’s Legal Aid Office (Bureau voor Juridische Bijstand / Bureau d’Aide Juridique), a lawyer who acts wholly or partly free of charge. The income thresholds are adjusted every year. If legal expenses insurance covers your dispute, you must in principle use that insurance first.

Choosing legal expenses insurance: what to check

• which areas of law are covered, and whether criminal defence and family law are included;
• the maximum amounts per dispute and the minimum threshold for cover;
• the waiting periods for each area;
• the exclusions, for example for drink driving or intentional acts;
• whether the free choice of lawyer also applies in the amicable stage;
• the territorial scope, for example for a dispute abroad.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know whether I have legal expenses insurance?

Check your car, home (fire) and family liability insurance policies, as well as any packages offered by your bank or employer. Article 3 of the Royal Decree of 12 October 1990 requires insurers to set out legal expenses cover in a separate contract or in a separate chapter of the policy, so that is where you will find it. Limited legal cover is often already included in one of those policies.

What if the costs exceed the policy limit?

You then pay the difference yourself. Discuss this risk with your lawyer in advance, so that you know which part of the costs is covered and which part remains at your expense. In a large dispute, it may be worth adjusting the strategy accordingly.

Can I choose my lawyer before proceedings have started?

Many policies allow this, but the law only guarantees it once proceedings have to be brought or where there is a conflict of interest. Check your policy or ask your insurer.

Does the insurance cover the fine for a traffic offence?

No. Legal expenses insurance covers the cost of your defence, for example before the police court, but not the fine, the settlement or the on-the-spot payment itself.

My insurer refuses to cover my case. What now?

Ask for written reasons and have the refusal checked against the policy and the law. If the disagreement concerns how the dispute should be handled, you can invoke the objectivity clause. You can also lodge a complaint with the Insurance Ombudsman (Ombudsman van de Verzekeringen / Ombudsman des Assurances) or challenge the refusal in court.

How Novex Advocaten can help

We work with clients who have legal expenses insurance, help you report the claim to your insurer and safeguard your free choice of lawyer. See also our articles on the procedural indemnity and on the cost of a lawyer in traffic cases.

Call 0484 99 22 72 or email asfour@novexadvocaten.be.