Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a legal problem, you can call the confidential legal information helpline for general information about Australian legal personal matters. Your call will be referred to a legal service provider who will be responsible for the information provided to you. There will be no cost to you for an initial 15 minute consultation.

The legal information helpline is available between 9am and 5pm AEST on weekdays (except public holidays). The helpline is subject to fair and reasonable use and does not constitute reporting of a claim (see FAQ regarding “What is the claims process?”). Information will be provided verbally and will not be put in writing. This helpline cannot provide advice in respect of a dispute you might have with ARAG or the Insurer.

To contact the Legal Information Helpline please call ARAG at (02) 8066 0162. Then:
Press 1 as a policy holder,
Press 2 to get directed to the helpline, and
Press 1 to confirm the privacy statement.

The legal information helpline is not the same as making a claim under your policy. The legal information helpline is a great way to get a quick understanding of your legal rights. However, if you need more advice and think your matter is covered under the policy you should lodge a claim. If you call the legal information helpline and the lawyer assisting you is unable to resolve the issue via a quick telephone consultation they may suggest that you lodge a claim to see if your legal matter is covered under your policy.

You can lodge a claim or request a claim form over the phone by calling ARAG Services Australia Pty Ltd (“ARAG”) on (02) 8066 0162 between 9am – 5pm on weekdays (except public holidays) AEST. Alternatively, you can download a claim form at www.arag.com.au/contact-us/. ARAG is an authorised representative of and has been granted delegated authority by the insurer, HDI Global Speciality SE - Australia. ARAG runs the claims handling procedure for and on behalf of the insurer.

You can submit a completed claim form and supporting documents to the claims administrator by emailing . Further details are set out in the claim form itself.

It’s a good idea to lodge a claim as soon as possible. Delaying in doing so could compromise your cover and your legal position.

The Claims Handler will provide you with a claim number and request any further information if required. Once we have all the information needed to assess whether your claim is covered under the policy, we will undertake this assessment for and on behalf of the insurer and confirm the position on cover in writing. Once your claim has been accepted by us in accordance with the terms of the policy, we will choose and specify an Appointed Advisor from one of our panel of legal advisors or where applicable, accountants, who shall be retained by you to handle your matter.

Staff of the Claims Handler who initially handle your application for cover are experienced in insurance and some legal procedures, however they are not usually legally qualified. Their purpose is to assess cover, arrange suitable representation for you if cover is available, and ensure that the claim is appropriately supervised thereafter. The legal work itself however will be dealt with by a lawyer or appropriate advisor (for example accountant for certain tax claims) we appoint on your behalf. At conclusion of your matter, if costs cannot be recovered from an unsuccessful opponent, then the Claims Handler allocated to your claim will ensure that your appointed lawyer’s costs are paid in accordance with the policy terms and conditions. You may also need to pay an excess depending on your package.

Most cover under a legal expense insurance policy is subject to a requirement that the claim has a reasonable prospect of success. This applies regardless if you are pursuing or defending the claim, and means that the appointed lawyer must assess that your claim is more likely than not to succeed in accordance with the terms of the policy.

If there is disagreement over the lawyer's assessment, you may request us to obtain, an opinion from a lawyer of at least 10 years standing selected by you from our legal panel. You will need to pay for this further opinion, but if they support you, the insurer will normally then reimburse the cost and reinstate cover.

Under the policy, a claim may be dealt with through negotiation, mediation or by a court, tribunal, arbitration or a relevant regulatory or professional body within Australia.

Mediation is an alternative way for resolving legal disputes. A neutral third party, the mediator, facilitates conversation to assist people in dispute negotiate a mutually acceptable solution. A mediator is not a decision-maker like a judge or an arbitrator; rather, the mediator will assist parties to resolve the issue themselves. Unlike court or arbitration, a solution is not imposed on a party and if the parties do not come to an agreement, the dispute remains unresolved.

Mediation can take a lot of the stress and time out of the dispute resolution process as well as providing an opportunity to walk away with a compromise that gives certainty rather than run the gauntlet with the Court process. This can be particularly helpful where you want to maintain an ongoing relationship with the other party.

No, in accordance with the policy terms and conditions and its third line forcing notification ARAG shall choose and specify a lawyer or appropriate advisor (for example accountant for certain tax claims), who shall be retained by you for your claim. These firms are subject to vetting prior to being added to the panel, and then subject to an ongoing quality-control process. This ensures that the policyholders receive great service at competitive prices.

This depends on how your matter progresses and whether it can settle amicably before it reaches the Court stage. However, when making a claim under the policy there is a risk that you may have to go to Court (or Tribunal) if the matter cannot be resolved amicably.

Whilst we will always encourage other options, in particular, by making settlement offers or attending mediation where appropriate, success is dependent on both parties being willing to compromise to the point where agreement can be reached. If it cannot be, then attendance at Court (or Tribunal) may be the only option. You should therefore always appreciate this is a possibility prior to making a claim under the policy.

There is no specific limit on the number of claims you can make on the policy, however our policies come with limits of indemnity per claim and in the aggregate which means legal costs and expenses incurred above these limits are not covered under the policy.

Our commitment to You

We treat complaints very seriously and believe You have the right to a fair, swift and courteous service at all times. If You are dissatisfied with the service You have received and wish to make a complaint, please contact Us and We will undertake to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

This Policy provides You with an overview of the process You can expect ARAG and the Insurer to undertake in order to resolve any complaint that You may have.

Step 1: The first time You raise Your concerns or complaint

If You have any concerns or complaints about Our products or services, or about how Your Claim has been handled, You should in the first instance contact Us via the following.

You can contact Us directly at:

Telephone: (02) 8066 0162
Mail: Level 2, 2 Bulletin Place, Sydney NSW 2000, or
Email:

We, as agent for the Insurer, aim to resolve the complaint at the time of initial contact. If this is not possible, We will undertake to respond to Your complaint within seven (7) business days of first being notified of the complaint.

To enable Us to consider Your complaint fully and quickly, You will need to provide the following information:

1) an explanation of the circumstances that led to the complaint;
2) any new information not currently in Our possession that may have a bearing on Our understanding of the complaint; and
3) a statement of any action that You would like Us to take to resolve the complaint.

When we have completed our evaluation of Your complaint, We will inform You of Our proposed steps (if any) to respond to Your complaint, together with the proposed timeframe to take those steps.

Step 2: Internal dispute resolution

If You are not satisfied with Our response to Your complaint, We will escalate it as a dispute and the Insurer’s Internal Dispute Resolution committee will review the matter. That committee will be independent of the person who initially considered Your complaint.

The Insurer requests that disputes are forwarded in writing to:

Internal Dispute Resolution committee
HDI Global Specialty SE
GPO Box 3973
NSW 2001
Email:

The Internal Dispute Resolution Committee will respond to Your queries or complaint within thirteen (13) business days. That response will outline any reason for the decision and will inform You of any action the Insurer intends to take in resolution of the dispute.

Step 3: Alternative dispute resolution

While We look to always deal fairly and promptly with all complaints and disputes, We understand that sometimes customers may not be happy with the final decision. If You are not satisfied with the outcome of Your complaint, there are alternative dispute resolution options such as mediation, arbitration or legal action available to You.

On 5 October 2021 the Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO) came into effect for the Insurance Industry for Retail Insurance “prescribed insurance” products.

Our Approach - At ARAG Services Australia Pty Ltd, ABN 14 627 823 198 (ARAG Australia) we’re committed to making a difference and designing our insurance products by considering our clients requirements, how our client’s will be making claims, resolving complaints and or experiencing financial hardship.

Even though our products are not defined as Retail Insurance, we have designed and developed our products with our clients in mind, ensuring our products meet the needs of our clients, and we are offering products that lives up to expectation.

We review and update our products regularly by:
- identifying our target market for each product and then ensuring we are looking at the client’s needs for each of the products
- ensuring each of our products provide value and fair outcomes to our clients
- providing clear information regarding all of our products within our website and any marketing material

Contact Us - If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of our products please contact us, so we can try to fix the problem.

This is a consumer insurance contract under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984. Under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 You have a duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to Us. This duty applies when you enter into, renew, extend or vary this contract of insurance. If you do not take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to us, we may cancel your contract or reduce the amount we will pay you if you make a claim, or both.

If your failure to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to us is fraudulent, we may refuse to pay a claim and treat the contract as if it never existed.

Circumstances relevant to your duty
Whether or not you have taken reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation is to be determined with regard to all the relevant circumstances.

If we know, or ought to know about your particular characteristics or circumstances, these characteristics or circumstances are considered in determining whether you have taken reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to us.

Under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 the following matters may be considered in determining whether You have taken reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation:
1. the type of consumer insurance contract in question, and its target market;
2. explanatory material or publicity produced or authorised by us;
3. how clear, and how specific, the questions we asked were;
4. how clearly, we communicated to you the importance of answering those questions and the possible consequences of failing to do so;
5. whether or not an agent/insurance broker was acting for you;
6. whether the contract was a new contract or was being renewed, extended, varied or reinstated.

You are not to be taken to have made a misrepresentation merely because you:
1. failed to answer a question; or
2. gave an obviously incomplete or irrelevant answer to a question.

Your insurance application is your chance to make sure you are being covered for what you expect. That’s because the details you provide in your insurance application will be used by ARAG Australia to decide what cover can be offered and for what terms.

Be open and honest with us and then you can be comfortable that we understand your risk correctly, and if you have a claim your policy will respond the way you expect it to.

ARAG Australia needs to know this information because it will impact what policy is provided for your needs including the terms that we can offer and how much that policy cover will cost.

When you make an insurance claim, the claims assessor will review your policy along with your claim to ensure the details supplied met your duty of duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation. As long as you have met your duty, then our standard claims process will continue (refer to claims section FAQ).

Just because you don’t disclose something, that doesn’t mean your claim will automatically be declined. If you read through your duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation above it will provide what happens if you do not disclose details relevant to the requested policy.

In general, if ARAG Australia would have declined your cover if we knew the information, your claim may not be paid or if your cover would have been offered on different terms, you may receive a reduced claim payment.

There’s a big difference between unknowingly forgetting to tell us and deliberately leaving something out you know will be relevant to your cover.

When assessing non-disclosure, we will review each case on its facts to establish what is fair and reasonable – considering how the non-disclosure came about. ARAG Australia is not here to decline claims quite the opposite in fact and we do not take it lightly when it is required.

Even though our products do not fall into retail insurance, we have designed and developed our products with our clients in mind to make sure they meet their needs and we are offering a product that lives up to its expectations. We review and update our products whenever we can by:
- identifying our target market for each product and then ensuring we are looking at the client’s needs for each of the products
- ensuring each of our product’s provides value and fair outcomes to our client’s
- providing clear details of our products within our website and any marketing

Contact your insurance broker or contact us

To find out more about our Privacy Policy, Domestic Violence Policy and Financial Hardship Policy see our policies page here.policies page here