Page 103 - Hollard Private Portfolio - Version 3.5

101
Hollard Private Portfolio – Version 3.5 – 7 May 2024
Legal costs
Rental of residential property
○ Your rights or obligations as a landlord or owner of rental property.
○ Tenant evictions or recovery of outstanding rental.
Rights of other persons
○ If you signed surety and want to sue or defend.
○ When you assign or delegate your rights to another person who is not insured under this policy.
Small Claims Court claims
A dispute that falls within the jurisdictional limits of the Small Claims Court Act No. 53 of 1979. We will supply you with
a Small Claims Court kit containing all the pleadings and instructions.
Specific conditions when you claim
The conditions set out in the section Claiming under this policy in the Understanding your policy section do not apply
to the Legal costs cover section.
There is a waiting period before you can claim
○ There is a waiting period of 90 days from the cover start date before you can claim for legal costs, except for
divorce.
○ There is a waiting period of six months after your cover start date for divorce, maintenance disputes and
restraining orders.
○ This means that we will not cover legal costs if the cause of action took place before or within 90 days or six
months (as applicable) after the cover start date.
○ If this policy ends and we issue a new policy, the waiting period will apply again from the new cover start date.
Prevent and minimise claims
○ You must take reasonable steps to ensure that no violation of your rights or the rights of a third party occurs.
○ You must try to resolve any matters without the assistance of any attorney.
○ You must never admit guilt or liability. If you do, you may not have cover under this policy.
○ You must take reasonable steps to ensure that damage or potential damage caused by a violation or infringement
of your rights or those of a third party is alleviated.
How to claim
○ You may report a claim for an event that happened during the period of insurance up to six months after the
date that this policy ends.
○ Tell us immediately after you become aware of a potential action, receive a letter of demand, summons or if
another legal process was issued by you or against you.
○ Send any police reports, court documents, letters of demand or any settlement offers to us.
○ Tell us about any other insurance that you may have that could be relevant to the claim.
If you appoint your own attorney
○ You may only appoint your own attorney if you receive our written permission to do so before the appointment.
○ You must give us and the attorney acting on your behalf information and assistance required and all
documentation held or received by you regarding the matter.
○ You must ask the attorney at the first consultation to prepare a report on the merits and the economic viability
of your case. The attorney must submit this report to us as soon as possible.
○ You must keep a record of each consultation with your attorney, reflecting the date and duration of each
consultation, and give us the information when we ask for it.
○ We have the right to check the fees charged by your own attorney, and might not pay all the fees if it seems
unreasonable.