The real question is "Will these firms be there for you when you really need them?", which is different from "have you paid claims in the past?". Questions like what are their cash reserves; how much of the premium is retained in a segregated account for the purpose of settling claims; what percentage of the premium goes to marketing; what to overhead; and how much is retained for claims? How much $$ goes to the founder?
If the company will provide this, they might be legit. If it refuses or says they are not required to (which reads we are allowed to, but refuse to let that info out), consider it a red flag (but no, that does not let you take their guns
)
And finally, remember the three magic words "Audited financial statement". If you get the run around when asking for one, then run.
Remember, these companies are not regulated or monitored in the way insurance companies are, and there is no independent private sector oversight firm like AM Best. Some go out of their way to state they are not insurance, they merely provide money and/or services when a claim is filed (quacks like a duck and all) to avoid the complexities and filing requirements imposed on actual insurance companies. They are even lower on the insurance regulation chain than a risk retention group.
And finally, I lost respect for the not-guilty NRA spokesmodel Dana when she agreed to shill for the crappy NRA product rather than refusing on principle. The "I don't leave home without my reimbursement after victory at trial membership card" rant was a bit hard to take seriously.
I am suspicious about the Armed Citizen network CEO deciding to "not take the bar" but was impressed by the claim of a separate legal defense fund, and the admission that only 25% of the dues actually goes to this fund.
There are other specifics plans do not go into detail on - what are the limits on attorney fees? Will they let you hire that big name attorney who charges way above the average no-name attorney? What about private investigator and expert witness fees? It is not realistic to expect a blank check, so it would be good to know what the limits are.
