Legal changes have made LEI increasingly applicable to the UK. While it will never match the size of other sectors of the general insurance industry, it has seen rapid growth in sales and uptake in the past few years as it is increasingly sold as a near-standard add-on feature to a motor, household or travel insurance product. GWP reached £666 million in 2006, compared with just £159 million in 2000, with Mintel expecting the market to have seen further growth of 11% in 2007.

The future shape of the market is now being impacted by new legislation, principally the Legal Services Act, which could result in a new vertically integrated structure to LEI sales, with insurers joining legal firms to offer a complete one-stop shop of legal insurance services for consumers.

Drawing on a comprehensive range of information sources, this report seeks to analyse these trends. The report additionally offers an investigation into the internal and broader social, legal and economic factors impacting on the market, an overview of the market’s competitive context, its strengths and weaknesses, insights and opportunities, the views of leading experts, and the results of Mintel’s independently commissioned consumer research, which offers insight into the leading characteristics, attitudes and behaviours of policyholders.

Key themes of the report:

In an increasingly risk-averse society, how are consumers’ perceptions of dangers changing? How will this impact on the demand for LEI?

What has been the impact of changing distribution patterns in the wider insurance market?

How can insurers head off the threat posed by aggregator sites, and the fact that their price-conscious customers appear to be less likely to purchase add-on legal expenses cover?

How is the changing legal structure in the UK affecting the take-up and underwriting of LEI?

What is the best way of convincing consumers to purchase cover? How many are actually in the market for a legal expenses policy?