The UK’s legal expenses insurance sector covers more than 10 million households and millions of businesses. A new report, however, argues the industry’s role in keeping the justice system functional deserves far more recognition than it gets.
ARAG and The Purpose Coalition launched Insuring Justice at the House of Commons on 8 June. The report makes the case to MPs, brokers, insurers, and legal sector organisations that LEI is doing structural work that public services can no longer manage alone.
The report lands at a moment when civil court delays have created conditions that directly affect claims handling across the market. Official data show the average small claim now takes 40.6 weeks to reach trial. Multi-track cases average 62 weeks.
Both figures remain above pre-pandemic levels. Regional disparities mean some claimants wait close to three years, keeping claims open longer and inflating legal costs for insurers and businesses alike.
The employment tribunal system compounds the pressure. The open caseload in England and Wales stood at 68,192 cases at the end of January 2026, up nearly 50% in a single year.
Total individual claims outstanding now exceed 500,000. ARAG’s own analysis found that new case receipts approached 50,000 in the year to January 2026, while disposals fell by nearly 20% over the same period.
This gap has direct consequences. Longer claim lifecycles mean higher defence costs, greater uncertainty on reserves, and more exposure for employers. Small businesses without in-house legal resource face particular risk.
ARAG has warned that new claims continue to arrive faster than the system can resolve them, with no near-term improvement in sight.
The Insuring Justice report argues that LEI already absorbs pressure that would otherwise fall on courts and public services. Most policies give policyholders access to telephone legal advice across a wide range of issues before a dispute reaches a tribunal or courtroom. This early intervention reduces escalation and keeps costs contained for policyholders and the wider system.
The report also examines ARAG’s own social mobility work, looking at downstream effects on employers, local government and communities when legal problems are addressed early.
Rt Hon Justine Greening, chair of The Purpose Coalition, said the findings spoke directly to current parliamentary debate on justice reform.
“They reinforce a simple but powerful idea – that access to justice should support opportunity, not limit it,” she said.
David Haynes, chief executive of ARAG, said the next step is engagement with government and parliamentarians to expand early legal advice provision.
“We want to work with government, with parliamentarians and with others across the justice system to improve access to early advice and prevent problems escalating unnecessarily,” Haynes said.
ARAG has operated in the UK since 2006 and is part of the global ARAG Group. The group is the largest family-owned enterprise in the German insurance industry and generates more than €3.2 billion in revenue and premium income across 18 countries.
