"Do you know if this kind of case-specific insurance is available in countries with the loser-pays rule?"
If I'm understanding you correctly, you're suggesting something like a fire insurance that you can buy when your house has already burnt down? If so, no I know of no companies who offer such a thing, and I would be quite surprised if they existed.
This sort of legal cost insurance works the same way as other insurances. The one I took out a few years ago stipulated that it didn't cover any existing disputes, not disputes that would arise in the (I think) 3 first months of the insurance; just like some insurances don't cover existing problems.
This sort of insurance is also not as common as the article makes it appear, and it was even quite rare when the article was written (1995). In 2008, under 50% of Dutch households had a legal assistance insurance of some form (I think this number includes the optional parts of car insurances where you are insured against claims arising from accidents, but I'm not sure on this; I suspect the majority of insurances to be in this area, and thus the amount of insurances against civil cases to be lower). The last 10 years there have been double-digit increases in the amount of people who have such insurances, so it's really something of the last decade.
You're suggesting something like a fire insurance that you can buy when your house has already burnt down?>
No, it would be like buying fire insurance during a small fire that would only payout if your house burned down completely. The insurance guy would arrive, examine the fire, and determine that it had a 90% of being stopped with most of the house intact, and a 10% chance of destroying everything. Then, he would calculated how much you would need to replace your house in the case of complete destruction, and model the premiums accordingly.
>The last 10 years there have been double-digit increases in the amount of people who have such insurances, so it's really something of the last decade.
But the poor are going to be the last people to get such insurance.
If I'm understanding you correctly, you're suggesting something like a fire insurance that you can buy when your house has already burnt down? If so, no I know of no companies who offer such a thing, and I would be quite surprised if they existed.
This sort of legal cost insurance works the same way as other insurances. The one I took out a few years ago stipulated that it didn't cover any existing disputes, not disputes that would arise in the (I think) 3 first months of the insurance; just like some insurances don't cover existing problems.
This sort of insurance is also not as common as the article makes it appear, and it was even quite rare when the article was written (1995). In 2008, under 50% of Dutch households had a legal assistance insurance of some form (I think this number includes the optional parts of car insurances where you are insured against claims arising from accidents, but I'm not sure on this; I suspect the majority of insurances to be in this area, and thus the amount of insurances against civil cases to be lower). The last 10 years there have been double-digit increases in the amount of people who have such insurances, so it's really something of the last decade.