Mis-sold ATE / Insurance Polices
Recover premiums deducted from your compensation
After‑the‑Event (ATE) insurance can be useful, but too often it’s overpriced, unnecessary, or never properly explained. If premiums were taken from your damages without explicit consent or justification, Complex Law can challenge the policy and pursue a refund from your former solicitor or insurer.
The Facts
What is ATE insurance, and how is it mis‑sold?
ATE insurance is a legal expenses policy taken out after a legal dispute has started – designed to cover the resulting legal costs. Usually, the premium is deferred, meaning you only pay if you win, with the cost deducted from your damages. But many clients are sold more expensive cover than they need, charged hidden or success‑based premiums, or misinformed that ATE is mandatory when it isn’t.
The law
Solicitors must give clear, comprehensible advice about funding options, risks, and costs, obtain your informed consent, and disclose any financial interests, such as earning commission on ATE policies sold. If you were misinformed, not given clear documentation, or never gave informed consent, you may be able to reclaim the premium and related charges.
Your rights
Yes, you may be able to recover part or all of the ATE premium that was deducted from your damages if the policy was mis-sold, as well as any associated charges, such as financing or loan charges for the premium. You may also be able to claim interest on the sums that were deducted, and in some cases, compensation for any distress or inconvenience you have suffered as a result.
Next steps
Gather the relevant paperwork – including copies of agreements, policies, payment schedules and emails or messages from the firm that sold you the policy. Then speak to Complex Law. We can liaise with your former solicitors to obtain your file and identify if there have been regulatory breaches. We’ll then advise you on the best course of action to secure refunds or compensation.
How Complex Law can help
We’ll assign you a dedicated solicitor with specialist experience in ATE insurance mis-selling, who will review the details of your potential claim and advise you on the best route forward in plain English.
Pre‑action and negotiation
Our experienced team will draft robust letters to your former solicitors/insurers, set out any breaches and refunds sought, and negotiate firmly for a swift resolution, aiming to avoid litigation wherever possible.
File audit and merits review
If you choose to work with Complex Law, we’ll begin by obtaining your file and conducting a thorough review of your retainer and ATE documents to identify where advice, consent, or disclosure fell short.
Complaints and formal claims
We can prepare and manage your complaint to the firm and the Legal Ombudsman, and issue court proceedings for negligence, breach of contract, misrepresentation, or unjust enrichment if needed.
Cost control and transparency
Depending on your case, we may offer fixed or staged fees for the review and complaint stages. We’ll agree on clear budgets before litigation, always seeking the most cost-effective route to recover your money.
Do you have a claim?
There are several scenarios in which an ATE policy may be considered mis-sold. Do any of the points on our checklist apply to you?
If so, you should speak to Complex Law to discuss your situation in more detail and explore the options available to you.
Claim checklist
You weren’t clearly told the premium amount or that it would be taken from your damages.
You were told ATE was “mandatory” without an explanation of alternatives.
The policy seemed excessive for your case or duplicated existing cover.
You were not told about commissions, referral fees, or conflicts of interest.
You never saw or signed the policy documents or funding agreement.
Legal services tailored to your needs
Our practice is focused on three areas of law: Consumer Claims, Individuals, and Businesses (Complex 360), making it easy to match your legal issue with the right team and strategy.
Consumer Claims
If you’ve been missold a loan or targeted by fraudsters or scammers, you don’t have to face the fallout alone. We’ll represent you on a no-win, no-fee basis.
What Others Say
Hear from our past clients
We’re proud of our success rate. Over the last four decades, we’ve helped thousands of clients secure the judgments, compensation, settlements, or resolutions they were seeking.
Excellent rating
Paul W
Ridiculously easy to check and apply. All the searching is done for you in literally one minute. A soft credit check is required but doesn't impact your score. Go and claim what’s rightly owed!
Kathleen H
This is the first time I have contacted Complex Law. It was easy and I got a quick response. I was shocked how many finance companies they found within half an hour. There was no way I would have remembered these companies.
Sidali S
Really pleased with how easy it was to fill out the complaint form. The layout was clear, and the steps were simple to follow, which made the whole process quick and stress-free. It’s great to see such an efficient and user-friendly system in place.
Frequently asked questions
If you don’t find the answer to your question here, get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help.
You should gather as much information as possible. The types of evidence we would expect to see relating to a mis-sold ATE claim include engagement letters, funding agreements (CFA/DBA), ATE policy documents, advice emails/letters, costs risk assessments, settlement statements, and invoices showing deductions. If you don’t have every item on the list, don’t worry, just provide us with all the documentation you can access, and we’ll take it from there.
Yes, you’ll need to raise a formal complaint with your previous solicitors as a starting point. We can help you with that – we’ll draft a detailed complaint letter based on the information you’ve provided. If we can’t resolve your issue by negotiating with the firm, we’ll escalate the case to the Legal Ombudsman. In some cases, the best course of action may be to pursue a court case.
You may still have a valid claim if you didn’t properly understand what you were signing up for – for example, you weren’t aware of the premium size, commissions, or the existence of alternatives. If this was because the advice that you received from your solicitors was inadequate or the documentation provided was unclear, you may have grounds to argue the policy was mis-sold.
Yes, depending on the approach we take, different time limits will apply to your claim. For example, Legal Ombudsman complaints have specific deadlines from the date of awareness and/or the firm’s final response. Court claims have their own limitation periods. If you believe you have been mis-sold an ATE insurance policy, it’s therefore essential to seek legal advice promptly.
No. Any claim you make is only targeting the deductions and the people (or firm) responsible for mis‑selling the policy. Our action focuses on the funding arrangement and deductions made after your case concluded, so the outcome is unaffected, and your compensation award and the defendant’s liability remain as they were.
.svg)
