Has your case stalled with your legal expenses insurer and do you want to know whether the advice is right? A second opinion can clarify how strong your legal position is, what evidence is missing and which next step is responsible. Decide in advance whether you want to obtain independent advice yourself or use the disputes procedure in your policy. That difference determines who appoints the reviewer, who pays and what weight the opinion carries.
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Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Onur Arslan practised for many years as a corporate lawyer and insolvency trustee (curator) and has extensive experience in financial law disputes. Do you have questions about your own situation? Get in touch.
What do you want to have reassessed?
The question behind a second opinion is often more specific than simply stating that you are dissatisfied. Perhaps the case handler does not want to start proceedings. Perhaps you consider a settlement offer too low. It may also concern an expert report that you believe has been misread, or an appeal deadline that is approaching. A good advisory instruction starts with the decision you have to make.
Write down what you want to achieve and which position of the case handler you dispute. Then ask for the legal reasoning behind that position. If a wage claim has been rejected, for example, you will want to know whether the problem lies in the interpretation of your contract, evidence of hours worked or the possibility of actually getting the employer to pay. Those issues call for different investigations.
A second review need not turn out more favourably. It may confirm that the case has little prospect of success, but it may also reveal that an essential document or a different legal basis is missing. Its value lies in the well-founded decision you can take afterwards. A mere statement that another lawyer would take a different approach is not sufficient for that purpose.
Independent advice or the disputes procedure
With independent advice, you instruct a lawyer yourself. You agree which questions will be examined and what the costs will be. The insurer is not automatically bound by the outcome and does not have to pay the bill merely because you have insurance. Such advice can, however, help in a discussion, a complaint or a request for a different approach.
The disputes procedure under your policy has a different function. It is intended for certain differences of opinion about the prospects of success or the legal handling of the insured case. The procedure and appointment follow the applicable insurance. The outcome is usually binding within the disagreement that has been submitted. The procedure is therefore more than an optional additional opinion. The statutory basis is Article 4:68 of the Financial Supervision Act (Wft).
A pure question of cover does not automatically fall under that substantive disputes procedure. If the insurer states that employment law is not covered, it must first be established which insurance you have. If employment law is covered but, according to the case handler, your wage claim lacks sufficient evidence, a substantive review under the procedure may be appropriate. Also read the explanation of the disputes procedure in legal expenses insurance.
Why the lawyer’s role must be clear in advance
Do you only want an opinion, or do you want Arslan to take over your case afterwards? Discuss this straight away. An independent review may be subject to rules that exclude subsequent handling by the same lawyer or the same firm. ARAG, for example, mentions this restriction in its disputes procedure. The client’s specific policy remains decisive; one provider’s procedure does not automatically apply to every insurer.
A lawyer who has already advised you extensively on the same matter is also not necessarily suitable as an independent reviewer in a formal procedure. So mention previous contacts and instructions. Independence is examined in advance, so that it does not only become apparent after the advice that the desired appointment or further handling is problematic.
If your main aim is to switch, the options for transferring the case and your free choice of lawyer will also be assessed. A positive second opinion does not mean that the insurer is obliged to place the main case with your preferred firm. Sometimes your own case handler must first carry out further investigation or still take a particular procedural step. Have the outcome and any further entitlements explained separately.
Which documents are needed?
Send the policy schedule, the applicable terms and conditions and the written decision you want reviewed. Add the relevant correspondence, the plan of action and the key documents from the underlying dispute. In proceedings, this also includes the procedural documents and the full judgment. A summary of the judgment may omit a decisive consideration.
Draw up a short timeline with the event, your report, the main investigative steps and the decisions received. State for each document what it proves. A chronologically ordered file shows more quickly whether an argument is genuinely missing or was examined earlier and rejected with reasons.
Also send unfavourable documents. A lawyer cannot carefully assess the litigation risks if only your strongest documents are available. An email in which you acknowledge an agreement, or a medical finding that supports an alternative explanation, may be important. The aim is a useful opinion on the actual file.
Report immediately which time limit is running. Think of a response to an offer, a period for lodging an objection or the final date for an appeal. Requesting a second opinion does not automatically suspend such time limits. Agree in writing who will take action as long as the new advisory instruction has not yet been accepted or completed.
What a substantive second opinion should answer
Good advice first describes which facts are established, which are disputed and what that finding is based on. The legal assessment follows: which claim can be brought, against which party and with what burden of proof? The advice must clearly address your specific question. A general overview of the area of law is no substitute for an analysis of the file.
Next, it examines what further investigation could yield. A witness may confirm an agreement, but perhaps that agreement is not legally decisive. An expert report may give more clarity about the loss, while liability has not yet been sufficiently established. Ask why a proposed next step moves the file forward and what uncertainty will remain afterwards.
A cost analysis belongs in the advice when you are deciding whether to litigate. Besides lawyers’ fees, court fees, expert costs and an order to pay the costs of the proceedings may play a role. The possibility of collecting an amount awarded is also relevant. A claim with good prospects may yield little in practice if the other party has no assets to recover from.
Ask for clear conclusions on each point to be decided. For example: is the ground for rejection convincing, what information could change that, is the proposed settlement defensible and which time limit requires immediate action? A percentage chance of success without an explanation of the assumptions is less useful than a reasoned discussion of strengths and weaknesses.
If it concerns personal injury
In personal injury cases, different types of expertise may be needed. A technical report on a collision does not on its own answer the medical question of complaints and limitations. A medical opinion, in turn, does not automatically calculate your loss of income. The legal assessment connects these elements, but must respect the limits of the available information.
If a settlement is low, ask which element has not yet been sufficiently examined. Does it concern medical stability, work capacity, need for assistance or future loss? Sometimes a targeted supplement can help. Sometimes the remaining uncertainties are precisely a factor in choosing to settle. A second opinion should make both possibilities open to discussion.
If fraud is alleged, also have the separate measures assessed: refusal of payment, recovery, investigation costs and a registration. Advice that only checks the calculation of the loss does not fully answer such a broader rejection letter. Also read about fraud investigations in personal injury cases.
Discuss costs in advance
Before giving the instruction, ask for a description of the advice, the documents needed, the expected time involved and how it will be paid for. Sometimes an initial review of the key documents is enough to define the follow-up question. An extensive file with several sets of proceedings may require a broader instruction. Also have it recorded whether consultation with an expert falls within the budget.
If you instruct a lawyer independently without the insurer’s consent, you must take into account that you may have to pay yourself. So ask in advance whether the insurer will bear the cost of the review and on what conditions. An oral expectation that costs will be reimbursed later gives less certainty than a specific written commitment.
Even when a review under the disputes procedure is paid for, additional work may fall outside it. A discussion of a liability claim against the previous case handler, for example, is not necessarily part of the original binding advice. Distinguish between the review instruction and any further assistance.
What happens after the advice?
Compare the advice with the original question. If an expert merely concludes that further investigation is worthwhile, the eventual claim has not yet been established. Ask the legal assistance provider which steps will follow, who will carry them out and within what time frame. Keep the written confirmation and check whether the agreed action is taken.
An unfavourable opinion may mean that further handling under the policy comes to an end. In that case, have it assessed whether continuing independently is responsible and which policy provision applies if a favourable result is achieved later. Any reimbursement afterwards depends on the applicable conditions; it does not follow automatically from every partial success.
If you disagree with the way a binding advice came about, identify specific defects. Think of an essential document that was disregarded, or a reviewer who answered a different question than the one agreed. An unfavourable outcome alone does not make binding advice invalid. Challenging it requires a separate legal assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Can I always request a second opinion?
You can seek advice independently. Whether the insurer must offer and pay for a formal review depends on the disagreement and the applicable procedure. First have it established whether the issue concerns cover, approach, prospects of success or a complaint about how your case is being handled.
May I choose the reviewer myself?
That depends on the appointment procedure. Sometimes consultation with the insurer is required, or the choice is made through a designated body. Under a formal procedure, do not instruct anyone until it is clear who may make the appointment and which costs have been accepted.
Is the second opinion binding?
A private advisory instruction is not automatically binding on the insurer. A review under the disputes procedure, by contrast, is usually binding for the disagreement submitted. Read the instruction, the conditions and the decision together.
Can the same lawyer then litigate the case?
Not always. The independence and appointment rules may exclude subsequent handling by the reviewer or their firm. So indicate at the intake whether you mainly want an opinion or want the case to be taken over.
Is the handling of my case put on hold during the review?
You should not assume so without a written agreement. Ask who monitors deadlines and takes necessary protective steps. A second review does not in itself extend the time limit in your original dispute.
Can Arslan review my file?
Arslan can examine which review is needed and whether the firm can fulfil the requested role. The nature of the dispute, any previous involvement, the available documents, urgency and funding are discussed in advance.
Have your legal expenses advice reviewed
Do you want to know whether your legal assistance provider’s position is sufficiently substantiated? Have the decision, the policy and the key documents from your file ready, and state the next deadline. Contact Arslan Advocaten to discuss your situation. For the substantive review and any further handling, the instruction and costs are agreed in advance.
Sources
Article 4:68 of the Financial Supervision Act (Wft) and the disputes procedure according to Kifid, the Dutch Financial Services Complaints Tribunal. ARAG on appointment and further handling. Legal Expenses Insurance Quality Code 2026 (Kwaliteitscode Rechtsbijstand).
This page provides general information and is not legal advice about your own situation. No rights can be derived from its content.
