Of the top 10 questions I get asked as a Concealed Carry instructor, one of them will be along the lines of, “Should I get concealed carry insurance, and if so, which concealed carry insurer is the best”?
The answer to the first part of the question is a hard YES! I could write an entire blog post on why, but for the sake of keeping this post on topic take my answer as gospel for now. Surviving a deadly force encounter is traumatic enough, the last thing you want to do is bare the cost of criminal or civil trial which can easy run into hundreds of thousands of dollars!
“Neither of them are the best per say, but one of them is probably the best for you and your particular situation.“
So the next logical question is which one to use? The two largest companies in this space are U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) and U.S. LawShield. The third runner up is arguably CCW Safe. There are other articles that compare these three companies (and others), but I want to take a slightly different approach. I know you simply want an instant answer to the question at hand, but it isn’t as cut & dry as you probably think. Neither of them are the “best” per say, but one of them is probably best for you and your particular situation. My goal is to figure out which one as quickly as possible. In order to do that…
- Watch the above video is its entirety! There are a few nuggets of information there that may help you decide pronto!
- Review the below comparison chart.
- Read the Top 4 “deal breakers” for most people listed below. I explain what each point is, why it’s a possible deal breaker, and give my own personal take on that point.
Plan Comparison Chart
| USCCA | US LawShield | CCW Safe | ||||
| Gold | Platinum | Elite | Single Plan | Defender/Protector | Ultimate | |
| Retainers / Deductables / Co-Payments | None | None | None | |||
| Legal Defense Limit (Civil & Criminal) | $250,000 (per occurrence) | No Limit | No Limit | |||
| Civil Liability Limit | $2,000,000 (per occurrence) | X | X | $1,000,000 Spouse Add On ($220) |
||
| Loss of Pay Limit | $750 / day (Part of Liability Limit) | - | $250 / day | $350 / day | ||
| Bail Bond Limit | $50,000 (Part of Legal Defense Limit) | Add On ($2.95 / month) $50,000 | $500,000 $1M ($50 / year) | $1,000,000 | ||
| Incidental Expenses Limit | $6,000 (Part of Legal Defense Limit) | - | - | |||
| Replace Cost Of Firearm (if confiscated) | Part of Incidental Expenses | Add On ($6.95 / month) Vague Discription | ✓ | |||
| Residental/Auto Cleaning Costs Limit | Part of Incidental Expenses | X | $3,000 (In Home Only) | $4,000 In Home & Auto |
||
| Expert Witness Limit | Part of Legal Defense Limit | Part of Bail Bond Limit | No Limit | |||
| Mental Health Counseling | - | - | 10 Sessions OR $1,500 | 40 Sessions OR $6,000 |
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| May Select Your Own Attorney | ✓ | X | ✓ | |||
| Covers Any Legally Owned Weapon | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| 24/7/365 Emergency Hotline | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Multi-State Covereage | ✓ | Add On ($2.95 / month) | ✓ | |||
| Spousal Coverage | Add On (50% discount) Inside & Outside Home | Add On (Annual Only) $22.80 discount | Add On ($100 / year) | ✓ | ||
| Minor Children Coverage | Inside Home Only | Add On ($2.00 / month) Inside & Outside Home | Inside Home Only | |||
| Red Flag Law Coverage | X | ✓ | X | ✓ | ||
| Family/Dating Violence Exclusion | X | ✓ | ✓ Includes Invited Guests |
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| Hunter & Angler Coverage | X | Add On ($2.95 / month) | X | |||
| Training (OK, Good, or Great) | OK | Good | Great | OK | OK | OK |
| Unavailable In These State | NJ, NY, WA | NY, RI, ME, AK, MA, DE, CT | NY, NJ, WA | |||
| Monthly Cost | $29 | $39 | $49 | $10.95 | $16 / $14 | - |
| Annual Cost | $300 | $408 | $504 | $131.40 | $179 / $149 | $499 |
| Savings If Paid Annually | $48 | $60 | $84 | $0 | $13 / $19 | - |
Top 4 Possible Deal Breakers…
#1 Civil Liability Coverage
If you seriously injure of kill someone during a self-defense encounter, put it in your mind right now that you will be sued in civil court! I know, I know…you would never use force against another unnecessarily! That doesn’t matter. There are a lot of people who’ve lost their home and savings to pay off debts owed to the very people who forced their hand in the first place. Our judicial system is a lot of things, unfortunately fair is not always one of them.
Civil Liability Coverage will pay the amount owed (up to the coverage limit) in the event that you loose a civil trial. Keep in mind, this is not the cost of the trial itself! It is the amount that the judge has levied against you as compensation for your attacker.
POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: U.S. LawShield does not cover civil liability! This is part of the reason they are the cheapest of the three. They will cover the cost of your civil trial.
MY TAKE: If you are strapped for cash and the other two companies are outside of your reach financially, go with U.S. LawShield so that you at least have coverage for the costs of criminal and civil trials. However, if you can pony up the cash, got with one of the other two!
#2 Red Flag Law Coverage
Red flag laws essentially circumvent due process by removing your firearms, you, or both from your premises without anything more that the word of someone who “feels” you may be a threat, irregardless of how much or how little evidence there is to the contrary. The laws vary by state, but in general a hearing will automatically be scheduled or one must be requested by you in order to regain possession of your property. No matter how you feel about Red Flag Laws, they are here and will likely be here to stay for quite a while.
POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: USCCA does not offer Red Flag Law Coverage under any of its membership plans. They have an associated entity called the USCCA Legal Defense Foundation who offers grants for legal gun owners who have been “red flagged”. You don’t have to be a USCCA member to apply for a grant.
MY TAKE: The cost of Red Flag hearings should be significantly cheaper than a full on trial. That said, good legal representation is never “cheap”! If you want both Civil Liability Coverage and Red Flag Law Coverage, CCW Safe‘s Ultimate plan is the only option. It should be noted, it’s cheaper to get both USCCA‘s Gold or Platinum plan and a U.S. LawShield plan (which covers Red Flag Laws) than it is to buy CCW Safe‘s Ultimate plan, at least for a single person.
#3 Family/Domestic Violence Exclusion Clause
There are a number of things that will exclude coverage. Most of them make sense, like the requirement that you use a legally obtained weapon or that you not be in the act of committing a crime. This one is extremely questionable though. It basically stipulates that if you have to defend yourself against another family member and/or someone you are dating, they will not cover you!
POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: USCCA is the only one of the three that does not have a Family/Domestic Violence Exclusion clause (meaning that they will cover these occurrences). Both U.S. LawShield and CCW Safe do, with CCW Safe taking it a step further and including any invited guest to your home as part of the exclusion!
MY TAKE: Roughly 60% of female murder victims are killed by an imitate partner of family member. Roughly 81% of all murder victims are killed by someone they are generally acquainted with. Similar statistics can be found across all violent crimes. My primary point is that you are statistically more likely to be violently attacked by someone you know rather than someone you don’t. From the insurer’s standpoint, this is an easy way to exclude a lot of self-defense cases! :-/
#4 Select Your Own Attorney
POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: U.S. LawShield does not allow you to select an attorney that is outside of their network.
MY TAKE: From all accounts, all three companies have aligned themselves with experienced attorneys in their respective jurisdictions. That said, it is nice to select your attorney, especially if you already have a working relationship with a good self-defense attorney.
Summary
I want to reiterate again that there is no “best” option for everyone. You really have to evaluate which plan is best for you. Are you married? If so, what options do they have for your spouse? Do you have kids? If they get into a fight at school and the school-to-prison pipeline kicks in, will they be covered? Review each bullet point in the table above and choose a plan that fits your lifestyle!
