CCW Safe Updates Member Agreement to Remove Unnecessary Restrictions
CCW Safe, a popular self-defense legal coverage provider, has updated its membership agreement.
The marketplace for what is often referred to by the concealed carry community as “self-defense insurance” is competitive with several companies offering compelling plans including CCW Safe which to be transparent is my favorite and the company of which I am personally a member.
I'm very excited about these changes.
The General Idea
CCW Safe, on paper in their membership agreement, had a handful of restrictions or perhaps I should call them potential restrictions that they never followed.
Clauses that gave them a potential out to restrict coverage to a member under various conditions (to be specified below) that in practice they never followed. In practice CCW Safe ignored these potential restrictions and covered their members no matter what.
So, these changes are intended to remove on paper the restrictions that they were already ignoring or choosing not to apply anyway.
In effect, this means there is no change to how they act or how they cover their members but it does make the written agreement congruent with their actions by removing those potential restrictions.
At the risk of being redundant, I want to emphasize that my experience of their coverage and by their own account they have been covering all members in all self-defense situations regardless of these potential “outs” up to this point and this change is just to make the agreement consistent with their actions.
What Restrictions Were Removed?
Domestic Incidents: Previously the agreement had a clause that allowed CCW Safe to choose to not cover a self-defense incident if it took place between family. Now you don't have to worry about this at all as it has been struck from the agreement.
Expired Permits: On some plans they previously had the option to restrict coverage if your permit had expired since the possession of a valid permit is a requirement for some plans. That is no longer in the agreement and now a lapse in your permit validity doesn't put you at risk of not being covered.
Commission of a Crime: The agreement previously could have restricted coverage if you were involved in a self-defense incident while in the commission of a crime. Not anymore.
Under the Influence: Previously the agreement could have restricted coverage if you were under the influence of a legal or illegal drug or substance. No longer in the agreement!
A New Added Benefit
Members who have the Ultimate and Freedom Plans now receive a new membership benefit which I think is unique to CCW Safe but perhaps you'll see some of the competition add this benefit in the future.
If you have an “unintentional incident occurring during a TSA screening of your carry-on bags” in which you are found with a gun or ammunition then you potentially are going to face legal consequences and your CCW Safe membership would kick in to support you in and cover your expenses up to $10,000 in attorney fees per occurrence to help defend against that.
Click here if you want to read the updated terms.
In Conclusion, this update to the CCW Safe member agreement removes language and clauses that previously provided some circumstances in which CCW Safe could have withheld coverage but never did. Now the agreement is congruent with their policy and actions and those clauses are hopefully no longer a concern to those whom previously looked over CCW Safe because of them.
Do you still have to have a CCW permit to get coverage? I live in a constitutional carry state.
No you do not. They have different plans for different people including a plan called the “Constitutional Carry Plan.”
Just remember, constitutional carry in your state doesn’t necessarily mean you can carry in other states without you having a CCW and that other state has a reciprocity agreement with your state.
Constitutional carry is great within your own state, but having your CCW gives you greater freedom to move about much of the country legally with a personal firearm.
CCW class is at a minimum an 8 hour class, including range time for as little as $75.00 and a box of ammo. If you can shoot well, you’ll probably only need 10 rounds.
A CCW Permit can be obtained in a very large number of states with far less than a 8 hour class or any ammo at all.
I’ve reviewed their coverage and have found it to be among the best. I also like their easy to add ID to my Apple Wallet. It’s a good feeling knowing I have legal representation at my finger tip when the unimaginable happens. Remember do not give a statement until you have representation!
CCW Safe was disqualified by the State of Washington Insurance Commissioner a couple of years ago from offering their coverage in the State of Washington. Will the changes mentioned in this article potentially reinstate CCW Safe’s status in the State of Washington?
No I don’t expect it will have any impact on that.
As an existing CCW Safe member, will this go into effect immediately for me or only when I renew? Thanks!
Immediately.
Will CCW Safe cover incidents occurring while performing volunteer duties on a church safety/security team?
Yes
Will ccwsafe eliminate the waiver of attorney client privilege? I understand Ccwsafe would have to turn over info to DA, if required. Please clarify.
Jose, I reached out to CCW Safe and asked them your question. Here is their response: CCW Safe does not eliminate attorney-client privilege. When you talk to our National Trial counsel you are protected under attorney-client privilege, any information shared with him is private. They also would keep up with the member’s case to ensure everything is going smoothly and provide their expertise if needed. They will be working directly with the member’s hired attorney, any information is shared with them only and it is protected by the attorney-client privilege. No one else in the company would know any information to turn over to a DA in a subpoena. The claims that we eliminate attorney-client privilege are false and presented as “opinions” not facts.
Further to Jose’s question and your response, CCW Sate’s Terms & Conditions specifically states: “Covered Member acknowledges that no attorney-client relationship is created between Covered Member and CCW Safe upon remitting membership payment for a selected level of service or upon acknowledgment of these Terms of Service by Covered Member. Although CCW Safe will obtain and pay for the above-described legal services related to a Covered Self-Defense Use of Force Incident, the Covered Member expressly and unconditionally releases without limitation and agrees to hold harmless CCW Safe from any claim, controversy, or dispute arising out of any services provided by CCW Safe, or other service rendered by a contracted law firm, its attorneys and other personnel, a professional firm or business affiliated with or retained by a network law firm, and its employees, contractors, or personnel.”
The part where they state that ” no attorney-client relationship is created” does sound like no client-attorney privilege exists with CCW Safe or their contracted attorneys. If this is NOT the case, then what exactly does this mean? Thank you.
This article is incorrect.
Under “What Restrictions Were Removed?” you included that Domestic Relationships were not covered in the old agreement…CCW Safe did cover it, page 16 of the old agreement, “Domestic Relationships: CCW Safe provides service for Covered Members in all Recognized Use of Force Self-Defense Incidents without regard to the relationship of the parties involved. CCW Safe does not cover incidents that are the result of a criminal act by the member or illegal activity.”
Additionally, you also forgot to include that CCW now includes “Gun Free Zones” in your article…funny thing is, they pulled the explanation from their new agreement, so nobody knows if they cover it or not. But if you call, they tell you they now cover it.
Also, in the old agreement, they excluded Unintentional Discharge…and on the update, they make no mention of it so no way to tell if they “do” or “don’t” cover it….but if you call them, they say they do but the agreement doesn’t.