HELP Legal Assistance Insurance Private

1. General Terms and Conditions

1.1 Who is covered by the insurance policy
The insurance policy applies to the person that is named on the insurance certificate and their household (hereinafter referred to as the Insured Party). By household is meant up to two adults who live together and are married or in a marriage-like relationship, as well as any children living in the home on a full- or part- time basis under the age of 20. In the event of a dispute or conflict of interest between members of the household, the insurance shall only apply to the individual named on the insurance certificate.

1.2 The Insurance Duration
The insurance duration is 12 months. The insurance agreement will thereafter be renewed automatically, cf. Section 3-2 of the Insurance Contracts Act. The insurance duration is shown on the insurance certificate. If the Insured Party does not wish for the insurance policy to be renewed, the Insured Party must notify the Company prior to the expiry of the insurance duration, cf. Section 3-4 of the Insurance Contracts Act.

The Company may amend the insurance agreement, including its terms and conditions, as well as premiums, in accordance with Section 3-3 of the Insurance Contracts Act upon maturation of each period.

The company reserves the right notify the customer that the insurance policy will not be renewed in accordance with Section 3-5 of the Insurance Contracts Act.

1.3 Time for legal assistance
The insurance policy covers the Insured Party’s need for necessary legal assistance, provided that the need for legal assistance that legal counsel will provide occurred during the duration of the insurance.

• In cases concerning distribution of marital possessions, the need for legal assistance is considered to arise at the same time as the law's cut-off date.
• In the event of a relationship breakdown, the need for legal assistance is considered to arise from the time that the parties cease to live together.
• For child custody, the need for legal assistance is considered to arise from the first time that mediation is requested at the family welfare office for the current case.
• For distribution of an estate, the need for legal assistance is considered to arise from the time of death of the testator.

It is a condition of coverage that the circumstances and/or details that the need for legal assistance/case is based upon, first came to the Insured Party's attention during the insurance period.

1.4 Quarantine
A quarantine period of 6 months applies to all cases. This means that the insurance policy will only cover cases for which the need for legal assistance became known to the Insured Party 6 months or later after the Insured Party became a party to the insurance agreement.

1.5 Making claims
The Insured Party must make a claim for the damage/need for legal assistance to HELP Forsikring (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Company’) without undue delay. If the Company does not receive notification of the damage/need for legal assistance within one year of the circumstances and/or details that the need for legal assistance/case is based upon becoming known to the Insured Party, the right to coverage shall lapse.

The Insured Party should submit insurance claims to:

HELP Forsikring AS Postboks 1870
0124 Oslo

Email: post@help.no Telephone: +47 22 99 99 99

1.6 Norwegian jurisdiction
The insurance policy only applies to matters governed by Norwegian law, and that have a Norwegian court as their legal jurisdiction.

1.7 The Insurance Policy Does Not Apply To

• Cases relating to business matters.
• Disputes with the Company, or cases where there is a conflict of interest between the Insured Party and the Company.
• Matters that relate to the Insured Party’s wilful or fraudulent actions or omissions.
• Cases that are related to injuries as a result of radioactivity, chemical disasters or natural disasters, terrorism, war, revolution/riots or other equivalent events.

2. Legal advice

The Insured Party, in their capacity as a private individual, is entitled to up to 15 hours of legal advice per annum from the Company’s lawyers within the following legal areas:

• Family law
• Children’s law
• Inheritance law
• Consumer purchases of goods and artisan services, and the private purchase/sale of goods. This applies provided that the purchase agreement is entered into while the Insured Party is covered by the insurance contract and that the dispute sum is over NOK 3,000
• Neighbour relationships under the Neighbour Act in relation to real estate that is the Insured Party’s primary residence or a leisure property located in Norway
• The rental/letting of the Insured Party’s primary residence in Norway
• ID theft, when this results from an unauthorised person with gainful intent using the Insured Party’s identity to open a bank account, apply for a credit card or loan, apply for identification or register a phone subscription or another subscription in the name of the Insured Party.
  
  This applies with the following exceptions:
• Cases under the Child Welfare Act
• Cases of purchase/sale of real estate, including cases of new construction or total renovation of residential/leisure property
• Cases relating to rights associated with real estate, including easements and time-limited leases
• Cases relating to allodial rights and the qualified right of inheritance of agricultural land

Immigration cases, including cases of asylum, residence and family immigration

3. Legal counsel in disputes

The Company’s lawyers shall provide counsel in disputes where the Insured Party is involved in a personal capacity, but only in disputes within the following legal areas:

• Family law
• Children’s law, limited to:
  o Parental disputes concerning cohabitation, permanent residences and/or parental responsibility for a child in accordance with the Children’s Act where a mediation certificate is already in place. Legal assistance is limited to assistance in a single dispute, initiated by the Insured Party themselves, for each of the Insured Party’s children. If the Insured Party is sued, this restriction does not apply. See also Section 4.
• Inheritance law
• Consumer purchases of goods and artisan services, and the private purchase/sale of goods, as described in Section 2.
• Neighbour relationships under the Neighbour Act in relation to real estate that is the Insured Party’s primary residence or a leisure property located in Norway
• The rental/letting of the Insured Party’s primary residence in Norway
• ID theft, as described in Section 2.

The same exceptions apply to this as are found in Section 2.

A case shall be considered a dispute if a claim is contested, or if a counterparty fails to respond to a claim within a reasonable period of time.

3.1 Excess
In the case of assistance in disputes, the Insured Party must pay an excess of NOK 4,000 in advance.

4. Lawyer mediation

In the instances where both parties in a dispute have legal assistance insurance/legal aid coverage with the Company and there is therefore a conflict of interest, the Insured Party is entitled to mediation through the use of lawyers. This is provided that both parties consent to this and that the case is suitable for mediation of this kind. If the mediation is unsuccessful, both parties are entitled to legal assistance from their own choice of lawyer, in line with the coverage as defined in Sections 2 and 3.

In parenting disputes under the Children's Act which have previously been dealt with and concluded in a court, either through legal settlement, litigation, judgement or order, where the Insured Party received legal assistance through the Company, there is an applicable ‘quarantine’ period of two years from when the decision legally came into force. After two years, the Company provides further legal assistance with up to 10 hours of lawyer mediation. Lawyer mediation is offered provided that the conditions specified in Section 1 are fulfilled, there is a new dispute concerning the same child, and the Insured Party has previously made use of support as per Section 3, and that both parties agree to such mediation. Prior to the two years having passed, the Insured Party is entitled to advice in accordance with Section 2.

5. Obligations of the Insured Party

It is assumed that the Insured Party shall act in a loyal manner to the Company, including the provision of access to the Company and the lawyer to all relevant documents that they have access to that may be of significance to the matter and coverage under this insurance policy. Furthermore, it is a prerequisite that all questions from the lawyer are answered honestly and to the best of the Insured Party’s ability. The Insured

Party shall, at their own initiative, provide details of all circumstances that may be of significance to the case, and shall make themselves available, present property, objects and documents etc. to the extent that the case necessitates this. The Insured Party undertakes to inform the Company of any other relevant insurance schemes that they may be entitled to.

The Insured Party shall not take steps in any case without the prior agreement of the lawyer. See also Section 6. In those instances where the Insured Party discovers that they have been the subject of identity theft, the Insured Party undertakes to report the matter to the police as soon as possible. The report and confirmation of receipt of the report must be submitted to the Company as soon as possible. Alternatively, the Insured Party may contact the Company to obtain legal assistance to report the matter to the police.

If the Insured Party fails over time to respond to inquiries from the lawyer or otherwise does not fulfil their obligations under these insurance terms, the right to coverage under this insurance may lapse completely or partially.

6. The Company’s Obligations and Rights

The insurance covers legal assistance to the extent that the case is covered by the insurance terms and conditions. The Company may refuse coverage for legal assistance if the lawyer representing the Insured Party believes that the claim will not be successful.

Once a case has been reported, the Insured Party will be contacted by a lawyer who has specialist expertise in the legal area that the case pertains to, and who will be responsible for handling the case going forward. If the Insured Party wishes the case to be handled by a lawyer chosen by the Insured Party, this shall be notified to the Company immediately upon registration of the claim, if possible. The Insured Party’s reasonable and necessary legal assistance from a lawyer selected by the Insured Party will only be covered by request from the Insured Party. Lawyer mediation is covered as stated in Section 4.

The Company is not responsible for legal costs that exceed the remuneration determined by the court. Where a case in the event of a legal dispute in the judicial system is handled on behalf of the Insured Party by a lawyer other than the Company’s own lawyers, the Insured Party undertakes upon request from the Company to demand that the court fix the lawyer's remuneration in accordance with Section 3-8 of the Dispute Act.

In order for coverage of costs for a lawyer other than the Company’s own lawyers to be approved, the Company must received an itemised timesheet and details of any case costs related to the assignment within one week of the conclusion of the assignment. Where such a lawyer has represented the Insured Party in a legal dispute in the judicial system, such a timesheet and details of any case costs must be received in all circumstances by the Company no later than one week after the decision in the case is issued by the court in question.

The Company will cover a sum of up to NOK 2 million per insured event. The Insured Party’s costs for reasonable and necessary legal assistance in the case will be covered up to the maximum limit. Lawyer mediation is covered as stated in Section 4. Legal assistance and mediation shall be covered at an hourly rate with a maximum limit equivalent to the public fee rate (cf. Section 2 of the Public Fee Regulation).

In those instances where the case is handled by a lawyer appointed by the Company, any legal costs and court fees that are imposed as a result of the process will also be covered so long as the total coverage does not exceed the maximum limit of NOK 2 million per insured event. In the case of lawyer mediation in parental disputes, coverage of up to 10 hours shall apply in all cases without exception as is specified in Section 4.

In cases where the Insured Party requests the bankruptcy or a public change of joint ownership or an

estate, court fees and advances for the coverage of bankruptcy estate costs will not be covered by the insurance policy.

The Company is not liable for costs incurred without the prior consent of the Company. Neither is the Company liable for any costs related to change of lawyer. The Company is entitled to hold the counterparty liable for case costs. Such compensation falls to the Company, and the Company may demand that case costs be paid directly to it by the counterparty.

7. Privacy – Electronic communication

All data received by the Company in connection with its work will be treated as confidential on the basis of the regulations concerning lawyers’ duty of confidentiality. See also HELP’s privacy policy (www.help.no).
There may arise the need to communicate some of the details provided by the Insured Party to the Company to third parties, such as in the event that an expert is used or other necessary communication to safeguard the interests of the Insured Party.
The Company assumes that it has the Insured Party’s permission to disclose the specified information. Unless otherwise agreed or anticipated, the Company is entitle to disclose any potential or already existing client relationships in order to explain conflicts of interest.

The Insured Party consents upon entering into the insurance agreement that all communication may occur electronically.

8. Resolution by Tribunal

If the Insured Party disagrees with a decision to close a case or not pursue a claim further, they may request that the decision is reviewed by the Company’s independent tribunal. The tribunal comprises three members. Resolution by tribunal is free of charge to the complainant. The appeal should be submitted by post or email to:

HELP Forsikring AS Postboks 1870
0124 Oslo

Email: post@help.no Telephone: +47 22 99 99 99

The tribunal will determine whether the case should continue at the Company’s expense or be closed. The Insured Party shall be informed of the outcome of the resolution by tribunal. The tribunal chairman is entitled to reject appeals that will clearly not succeed.

If the Insured Party chooses to pursue the case at their own initiative and expense following resolution by tribunal, and their case is successful, their necessary costs shall be covered. The assessment shall be carried out on the basis of the regulations concerning the determination of case costs set out in the Dispute Act.

The Insured Party may also choose to submit their case to the Norwegian Financial Services Complaints Board. Complaints are considered free of charge to the complainant. The complaint should be submitted electronically using the complaints form at www.finansklagenemnda.no. The Norwegian Financial Services Complaints Board may also be reached by telephone on +47 23 13 19 60.

9. Background Law

The insurance agreement between the Insured Party and the Company consists of an insurance certificate and insurance terms and conditions, as well as the provisions set out in the Act of 16 June 1989 no. 69 concerning insurance agreements (the Insurance Contracts Act) and other legislation.