Edition 18 - Seguros MAPFRE

20
SIAM News JANUARY 2003
PRODUCTS
Legal Defense, on the Citizen’s Side
MAPFRE Asistencia will now market this product outside of Spain
These days, damages claims have
become the central issue of any legal
conflict, and 90% of legal processes have a
single objective: to achieve compensation
for the damages inflicted.
But we also know that when we suffer
damages it is not enough to be right – it is
also necessary to conclusively prove it,
within the time allotted and respecting
the established legal procedures. And
once this much is accomplished, the
parties guilty of causing the damages
cannot be expected to simply agree to pay
the indemnity asked of them. Legal action
is often compulsory.
The problem is that most of the time the
passivity of the affected party prevents a
sufficient indemnity from ever being
obtained: evidence is not gathered when
necessary out of apathy, ignorance,
absence of a competent lawyer, and above
all from lack of energy and persistence.
The citizen cannot resolve legal conflicts
alone in any case, once they reach a
determined point. He or she has to turn
to procurers, attorneys, auditors, juries,
etc. Although these costs are not known
a priori, we all know they can get out of
hand.
Most of the time the
passivity of the affected
party prevents a sufficient
indemnity from ever being
obtained. Apathy and lack
of evidence or means are
the most common causes.
Some think the State should set up
procedures by which those citizens
whose resources are below a certain
limit can obtain free legal services; but
there is a significant proportion of the
population that, while over the limit set
for this benefit, is not in a privileged
economic situation, and is forced to
somehow forego other necessities like
food, clothing, education, or leisure in
order to fulfill their need for legal