Most people think of legal expenses insurance (legal protection insurance) as a shield: if I get into trouble, it pays for the lawyer. But criminal proceedings have two sides, and the policy conditions draw a sharp line between them. The criminal and petty-offence module is typically about the accused – the person against whom the proceedings are brought. The person against whom a crime was committed – someone who has been robbed, beaten up or defrauded – is the victim (injured party) in criminal proceedings, and in Hungarian policy conditions the victim's legal costs fall under a separate service, which some products cover and others do not. As a broker, I see that this difference comes to light when a legal case arises, at the worst possible moment: the criminal complaint has been filed, the investigation has started, the client wants to find a lawyer – and only then reads, for the first time, whom their own module actually applies to. This article explores the victim's side: what roles the victim has in criminal proceedings, which legal protection service relates to which of them, and where the limits of the cover lie. Defence of the accused is covered in the article on the criminal and petty-offence module, and the injured party's claim for damages in the article on claims for damages.
- The criminal module of legal expenses insurance typically covers the defence of the accused; in Hungarian policy conditions the victim's side – the criminal complaint, the victim's lawyer, the civil claim, substitute private prosecution (pótmagánvád) – is a separate service, which some products cover by name and others expressly exclude.
- Under the Criminal Procedure Act (Be.), the victim may attend procedural acts, inspect case files, submit motions and seek legal remedies; as a civil party (a private party claiming damages) they may pursue a civil claim, and as a substitute private prosecutor, represented by a lawyer, they may carry the charge forward themselves if the prosecution service does not.
- Compensation from the offender belongs to the claims-for-damages module: legal expenses insurance covers the legal costs, not the loss itself – and where the offender has no assets or is unknown, how far the cover goes may depend on the prospects-of-success assessment.
Victim, civil party, substitute private prosecutor: three roles, three levels of cost
Under Section 50 of Act XC of 2017 on Criminal Procedure (Be.), a victim is a natural or non-natural person whose right or legitimate interest has been directly infringed or endangered by the crime. Under the Be., the victim may be present at procedural acts, inspect the case documents concerning them, submit evidence, make motions and observations, and seek legal remedies – for example, lodge a complaint if the investigating authority rejects the criminal complaint or terminates the proceedings. For this, the victim may authorise a lawyer: the victim's legal representative, who drafts the criminal complaint, reviews the case files and writes the motions and legal remedies. This is the first level of cost: the lawyer's fee, typically under an hourly or per-case engagement. The second level is the civil party (private party claiming damages). Under Section 55 of the Be., a civil party is a victim who pursues a civil claim in the criminal proceedings – that is, asks the accused to pay for the damage caused by the crime or to pay sérelemdíj (compensation for non-pecuniary harm), or to return the stolen property, without a separate civil lawsuit. The third and most expensive level is substitute private prosecution (pótmagánvád): under Section 787 and the subsequent provisions of the Be., in certain cases – if the criminal complaint was rejected, the proceedings were terminated or the prosecution service dropped the charge – the victim may step into the prosecutor's place. Here, representation by a lawyer is mandatory by law, the indictment must be filed within a strict deadline, and if the court acquits the defendant, the criminal costs may fall on the substitute private prosecutor. So anyone who asks “does legal expenses insurance cover me if I have been robbed?” is really asking about three different costs.
Which module is about you? The wording of the policy conditions
Hungarian legal expenses policy conditions typically describe criminal and petty-offence legal protection from the side of the accused: they cover the costs of the defence in proceedings brought for a negligent criminal offence or a petty offence, and they either exclude intentional acts or reimburse the costs only afterwards – in the event of acquittal, termination of the proceedings or conviction for negligence. The victim's side is separate from this. One package from a Hungarian legal expenses insurer names “victim and witness legal protection” as a separate service, providing representation for victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings and petty-offence proceedings; yet another set of conditions from the same insurer lists “representation of victims, witnesses or other interested parties” among the exclusions. Same market, same word – opposite answers, depending on the package. That is why the answer comes not from the product's name but from the list of services and the list of exclusions in the conditions: look in them for the words “sértett” (victim), “sértetti képviselet” (victim representation), “tanú” (witness), “magánfél” (civil party) and “pótmagánvád” (substitute private prosecution). If none of them appears, the cover probably applies only to the defence of the accused. A claim for damages against the offender, however, usually falls not under the criminal module but under the claims-for-damages module: the conditions typically cover there the pursuit of claims arising from non-contractual harm – theft, criminal damage, bodily harm – whether as a civil party in the criminal proceedings or in a separate civil lawsuit. This difference also means that the victim's lawyer's fee and the cost of the damages claim may be paid from the limits of two separate modules and subject to two separate waiting periods – differently from insurer to insurer.
What does the insurer pay on the victim's side – and what not?
Where victim legal protection is included as a service, the insurer typically covers the fee of the lawyer representing the victim, the costs arising during the proceedings that are named in the conditions – for example, the cost of legal remedy proceedings – and the costs of pursuing the civil claim, up to the contract's limit and subject to its deductible. What legal expenses insurance does not provide anywhere: the loss itself. The insurer does not pay out the value of the stolen property or the sérelemdíj in the offender's place – it bears the legal costs so that you can claim these from the offender. This leads to the most common disappointment: if the offender is unknown or has no assets, the claim for damages may be legally well founded yet unenforceable in practice, and in its prospects-of-success assessment the insurer may rely on this to limit or refuse cover. Substitute private prosecution deserves particular attention: several sets of conditions cover only victim representation and the civil claim, but not the costs of substitute private prosecution proceedings – the mandatory lawyer, the court fee and the criminal costs that fall on the substitute private prosecutor in the event of acquittal – or cover them only under a separate clause; Hungarian products vary widely on this point, so it is worth asking about it before taking out a policy. Finally, the order of steps: the conditions require the insurer's consent before the victim's lawyer is instructed as well, so after the criminal complaint the first step is to report the legal case to the insurer, and only then to instruct the lawyer – the article on going to a lawyer before the insurer explains why.
Summoned as a witness: is that a legal case too?
A witness has no dispute, so few people think of this, yet it is the most common encounter with criminal proceedings. Under the Be., a lawyer may act in the interests of a witness; the lawyer may be present at the questioning and may inform the witness of their rights – for example, of the cases in which they may refuse to testify. This matters particularly if the witness could become involved in the case themselves, or if the questioning concerns one of their relatives. Some Hungarian policy conditions name witness representation together with victim legal protection, while others exclude it; where it is covered, the insurer typically reimburses the fee for the lawyer's attendance at the questioning. In many sets of conditions, the legal advice line can also be used in this situation: after a witness summons, you can clarify by phone what a witness's rights and obligations are – this is discussed in the article on the legal advice line.
The state safety net around the victim – what is worth knowing
Legal expenses insurance is not the only help available to a victim of crime, and it would be dishonest to keep quiet about this. Under Act CXXXV of 2005 on Crime Victim Support and State Compensation, the state victim support service may provide information, assistance in enforcing the victim's interests, immediate financial aid (azonnali pénzügyi segély) in cases of need, and state compensation for victims of intentional violent crimes against the person – subject to the conditions and deadlines laid down in the Act. A victim in need may also request a legal aid lawyer (pártfogó ügyvéd) under the legal aid system. These services depend on need or on the nature of the crime, and the advantage of legal expenses insurance is precisely that it does not: your own lawyer, your own decision, without a means test. The two systems do not exclude each other – you can turn to the victim support service even if you have legal expenses cover.
What should you do if you have become a victim – and what should you check before taking out a policy?
If the harm has already been done: file a criminal complaint, ask for a certificate confirming it, and once the investigation has started, report the legal case on the insurer's own claims line – with the policy number, a copy of the criminal complaint and a short timeline of the case; instruct a lawyer once the insurer has given its consent. If the insurer claims that the victim's side is not covered, ask for a written explanation citing the exact clause of the conditions – if a case gets stuck or is disputed, I help where I can, acting on your behalf, with interpreting the conditions and phrasing the questions; I do not provide legal representation. If you have not yet taken out a policy: on the comparison checklist, ask whether victim and witness representation appears among the services or among the exclusions, whether the conditions cover substitute private prosecution, and which module's limit applies to the claim for damages. The insurer pays only for what is an insured event under your contract – on the victim's side, this sentence is to be taken literally.
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Sources
- Be. – Act XC of 2017 on Criminal Procedure: Section 50 (the victim), Section 51 (the victim's rights), Sections 55–56 (civil party, civil claim), Section 787 et seq. (substitute private prosecution)
- LegitiMo Jogvédelmi Biztosító – Victims' rights and victim representation (the victim's rights under the Be., the tasks of the victim's legal representative)
- LegitiMo Jogvédelmi Biztosító – VIP legal protection: “Victim and witness legal protection – representation of victims and witnesses in criminal and petty-offence proceedings” (example of a covered service)
- LegitiMo Jogvédelmi Biztosító – Classic legal protection special policy conditions, point 11: “representation of victims, witnesses or other interested parties” is excluded (example of an exclusion)
- Ást. – Act CXXXV of 2005 on Crime Victim Support and State Compensation
- Jst. – Act LXXX of 2003 on Legal Aid (legal aid lawyer for the victim, civil party or substitute private prosecutor)
- Generali Juris legal expenses and liability conditions (V.2.f: intent charges – no advance; refund after acquittal, discontinuance or negligence conviction)
