LEOSA-HR218 Self-Defense Protection provides legal defense coverage and personal asset protection for a justifiable self-defense shooting.
NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Alliant Insurance Services, the nation’s largest specialty insurance brokerage firm, has partnered with the firm LEOSA-HR218 Self-Defense Protection to provide retired federal, state, and local law enforcement officers with an insurance policy that provides legal defense coverage and personal asset protection if they are involved in a justifiable self-defense shooting.
According to Gordon DesCombes, Alliant Executive Vice President in the company’s Public Entity Group, while most retired law enforcement officers have the legal right to carry a weapon—and are authorized to use it for self-protection or the protection of their families―the cost of a criminal or civil defense, or a civil judgment, can be financially devastating, even when the shooting is determined to be legally justified.
“These retired officers can lose everything they have in defending themselves against criminal and civil charges stemming from a defensible shooting, especially since it’s unlikely they are covered by their homeowner’s policy,” DesCombes said.
The policy, and the firm which created it, derive their names from the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, HR218, which was enacted in 2004 to allow active and retired officers nationwide to carry a concealed weapon.
The driving force in bringing the self-defense policy to market is Terry Chodosh, the founder of LEOSA-HR218 Self-Defense Protection and a retired U.S. Secret Service special agent with nearly 30 years of service. Realizing the potential for retired law enforcement officers to be financially ruined by the cost of defending themselves in self-defense shootings, Chodosh approached Alliant about creating a policy that would provide these individuals with the legal defense coverage and personal asset protection they needed.
“LEOSA-HR218 Self-Defense Protection was founded on the belief that a retired law enforcement officer who possesses a firearm in his or her home, or who carries a concealed weapon for protection, has a significant need for asset protection,” Chodosh said. “In this world of readily available personal information via the Internet, it is frighteningly easy for a criminal to locate a retired law enforcement officer and his or her family for the purpose of retaliation.”
Chodosh points out that the LEOSA-HR218 Self-Defense Protection policy provides primary insurance protection, which means it pays first with respect to any other insurance coverage the policyholder has. The policy offers retired officers immediate reimbursement of up to $50,000 for criminal defense costs resulting from a self-defense-related incident if the insured is acquitted on all charges, or if the charges are dropped, as well as providing the choice of $300,000 or $500,000 in civil liability coverage.
In comparison, Chodosh said, other self-defense policies on the market only provide excess coverage, meaning they are issued in excess of an underlying policy and are no broader than the underlying policy. Any reimbursement, therefore, can take a significant amount of time.
As an industry leader in providing insurance coverage to highly specialized groups, Alliant worked with insurance wholesaler AmWINS to create a policy that not only meets the unique needs of retired law enforcement officers but also is affordable to them. Annual premiums for a policy begin at $250.
LEOSA-HR218 Self-Defense Protection is only available to qualified retired law enforcement officers online through the company’s website: www.LEOSA-HR218SelfDefenseProtection.com.
About Alliant Insurance Services
Headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. is one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the United States and has a history dating back to 1925. Alliant provides property and casualty, workers’ compensation, employee benefits, surety, and financial products and services to more than 15,000 specialized clients nationwide, including public entities, tribal nations, healthcare, energy, law firms, real estate, construction, and other industry groups. More information is available on the company’s web site at: www.alliantinsurance.com.
About LEOSA-HR218 Self-Defense Protection
Founded by Terry Chodosh, a retired U.S. Secret Service special agent with nearly 30 years of service, LEOSA-HR218 Self-Defense Protection is based in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. The firm’s self-defense insurance policy was created in conjunction with Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. to provide asset protection to retired law enforcement officers who possess a firearm in their homes or carry a concealed weapon for protection. More information is available on the firm’s web site at: www.LEOSA-HR218SelfDefenseProtection.com.