The Truth About The USCCA Self-Defense Liability Policy
If you are a gun owner, you’ve probably heard of the USCCA and their advertisements on the radio to get you to buy their membership program that includes gun training, insurance, and legal protection. Our Attorneys on Retainer – Self Protection Plan is always getting compared to USSCA’s plan and we often get asked, “How is the Attorneys on Retainer program different from the USCCA program?” So, I’m here to break everything down for you.
Overall, I think the USSCA is great for training and insurance purposes, but if you are looking for legal protection, you may want to think twice about getting their Self-Defense Liability Insurance. What they don’t tell you about their plan is that if you ever get charged with a crime, you won’t be covered by the USCCA program.
Key points:
- USCCA DOES NOT Cover Criminal Acts of Any Kind
- The USCCA has CONTROL Over Which Lawyer Will Represent You
- Your USCCA Coverage ENDS if You Get Convicted of a Crime
- If Found Guilty, You May Have to PAY BACK The USCCA
USCCA Does Not Cover Criminal Acts of Any Kind
Under Section I – Coverage A – Claim Expenses and Damages
Item #2 Subsection B – Exclusions – Criminal Acts:
This policy does not apply to and provides no insurance for: “Any criminal act by any “insured”, including any injury or damage caused by or during any criminal act of any “insured.”
What this means is, if the shooting is not found to be a self-defense shooting, you are most likely going to be charged with a crime. If that happens, USCCA is not required to cover you. Most people think they are purchasing coverage from USCCA in the event they must use their firearm, but there is no coverage if you are found not to be acting in self-defense. So, if you think that you are purchasing the USCCA Plan because you want coverage if you are charged with a crime, they’re specifically telling you right in their contract, there is no coverage for a criminal act.
The USCCA has Control Over Which Lawyer Will Represent You
Picking your own attorney is important because you should be able to get the best representation to keep you out of jail. According to their policy, if your lawyer’s strategy doesn’t match with what the USCCA wants or your lawyer charges more per hour than what the USCCA will pay, then you can’t use that lawyer.
UNDER SECTION I – COVERAGES
Item #1 Subsection D – Insuring Agreement:
“We will not unreasonably withhold approval of defense counsel requested by the insured, provided that such counsel, in our sole judgment, has the necessary professional experience to defend the “claim”, agrees to operate within our litigation guidelines, and agrees to our usual and customary rates and billing guidelines.”
By the USCCA controlling who represents you, this violates the Attorney-Client Privilege.
As an attorney, I don’t know how an attorney could even agree to represent someone on this program because the entire USCCA program is a violation of attorney-client privilege. As it states in their policy, your attorney is required to discuss your case with USCCA. The problem with this is, it is unethical for a lawyer to be directed in the representation of a client by a third party. In addition, even if they do provide an attorney for you, USCCA is going to entirely control the coverage. Their policy states, “We will have the right to assign counsel of our choosing.” So, you may not be able to have the attorney of your choice on your case.
Your USCCA Coverage Ends if You Get Convicted of a Crime
Even if you do receive coverage from the USCCA, if you get convicted of a crime, your coverage with USCCA ends!
UNDER SECTION I COVERAGE B – DEFENSE EXPENSES
Item #1, Subsection E2
“Our obligation to perform under this policy, to pay “claim expenses” and “damages”, and our right and duty to defend the “insured” against any “claim” seeking “damages “ends with the insured’s “conviction” of any criminal charge.”
Let’s look at the statistics, about 95% to 98% of all criminal cases end in a plea. You could be charged with first-degree murder and accept a plea to lower charges – but doing so, ends your coverage with the USCCA.
If Found Guilty, You May Have to Pay Back The USCCA
UNDER SECTION III – SELF-DEFENSE LIABILITY CONDITIONS
Subsection I Recovery or Recoupment
“We shall have the right to seek recovery or recoupment from an “insured” the amount of any payments made to, for, or on behalf of the “insured”, including payments made to third parties, if it is determined that any such payments were made for matters not covered by this Policy or are otherwise prohibited by applicable law.”
Under their policy, the USCCA reserves the right to come after you for all costs and money they paid to defend you if you get a guilty verdict.
SUMMARY
After reading the policy, it should be obvious that USCCA is simply not the policy for you if what you are looking for is to have criminal defense services, in the event, you are charged with a crime.
If you are looking for experienced, committed, and aggressive criminal defense attorneys in case a shooting occurs, our Attorneys on Retainer Self-Protection Program is the plan you should look at.
ATTENTION RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNERS! We are getting ready to launch our new National Self-Protection Plan to all 50 states – real soon! If you have any questions, please email our Attorneys on Retainer Director, Jonathan Harris at jonathan@attorneysforfreedom.com or call 480-455-5227
Attorneys on Retainer – Self Protection Plan
- We are a real, trusted law firm. NOT an insurance company that offers endless exclusions.
- As a member of the Self-Protection program, we’ll never drop you if you are charged with a crime or repay us for services
- 100% of your attorney’s fees are covered if self-defense is reasonably asserted as a defense (even if your case goes to trial)
***IMPORTANT NOTE About The Attorneys on Retainer Self-Protection Plan***
The strength of our Self-Protection Plan resides in the fact that we are an actual law firm that has experienced, committed, and aggressive criminal defense attorneys standing by in case our clients are charged with a crime and reasonably asserts self-defense. We’ll never drop you as a client and we’ll never ask you to repay us for our services if you are charged with a crime.
However, the biggest downside for us being an actual law firm and not an insurance company is that we don’t offer special self-defense firearm training and we don’t offer insurance policy coverage for additional expenses like bail bonds, expert witness fees, investigator fees, work loss coverage, property damage, etc. Although having these additional expenses covered are important, we feel that the most important part of any CCW insurance plan is having a highly-rated and experienced criminal defense team on your side in case a self-defense shooting occurs.
REMEMBER, We’ll never drop you as a client and we’ll never ask you to repay us for our services if you are charged with a crime!
Visit the Attorneys on Retainer Self-Protection Program to view more information today!
