Definition of "Defense costs"

Expense of defending a lawsuit. To mount a legal defense against civil or criminal liability, a defendant faces expenses for lawyers, investigation, fact gathering, bonds, and court costs. Of critical importance in purchasing liability insurance is not only the limits of coverage under the policy but also the obligation of the insurance company to defend the insured against suits, even if a suit is without foundation. Because legal defense costs can be extremely high, the consumer should consider liability insurance that pays all defense costs in addition to the policy limits.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Model state law of the NAIC that requires that the insurance policy contain language that meets a readability test (usually, the Flesch readability test that uses a formula approach to ...

Chart showing rate of death at each age in terms of number of deaths per thousand. ...

Expenses added to the beginning of a premium payment period. For example, an annuity with a 10% front load would include $10 of expenses for each $100 premium paid. ...

Type of guaranteed insurance contract in which the term is fixed, the rate is fixed, and the contract owner does not participate in the insurance company's earnings. ...

Historical mortality table that replaced the annuity table, 1949, used for the calculation of annuity rates with more-current mortality experience at that time. This table was subsequently ...

Liability insurance coverage for claims arising from acts that occurred before the beginning of the policy period. Policies written on a claims made basis, such as malpractice liability ...

Division of a sum of money between a deferred annuity and an immediate life annuity certain. ...

Exclusion in property insurance eliminating coverage for damage or destruction of property due to insects. ...

Capacity of parties to an insurance contract to understand the meanings of their action in order for the contract to be valid. ...

Popular Insurance Questions