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Best Concealed Carry Insurance [2023 + by a Lawyer!]

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If you carry a firearm for self-defense, whether the gun is concealed on your person because you have a concealed carry permit (CCW) or it is stored in your vehicle, you clearly understand the possibility of using a firearm to defend your life, the life of a loved one, or the life of a victim of a violent crime.

And, since you’re reading an article about the best concealed carry insurance, you also probably understand that after your use of lethal force (even if you never fired your weapon) you might have an expensive and time-consuming legal battle ahead of you.

This is why “concealed carry insurance” or “CCW insurance” has become a popular option for many people who carry a firearm for self-defense. Choosing the right CCW insurance option can help cover the costs of a criminal or civil trial.

But be careful! Not all concealed carry insurance options are equal and some are lacking in a few crucial areas. Also, none of these are actually “insurance,” they are either pre-paid legal coverage or self-defense liability plans.

In this Best CCW Insurance review, you’ll learn:

Before we begin, I want to let you know that some of the links below are affiliate links that can help us keep our ammo budget going but they will NOT affect your price nor do they affect our advice.

BEST CCW INSURANCE

Top 6 Self-Defense Liability Providers:

Companies that Haven’t Made the Cut:

Here’s a quick summary and ranking of the top 6 concealed carry protection options for those of you who are looking for a quick comparison and just want to know which CCW protection option ranks highest.

However, if you’d like more details, including a review of each concealed carry insurance provider, we cover each one individually (with their specs and details) below in our CCW Insurance Review.

Editor’s note: it is very difficult (impossible?) for us to determine which option is “best” for you and your specific situation/needs. Much like how I can’t determine what level of coverage you need for homeowners insurance, I can’t tell you which firearms legal protection option to get. However, in an attempt to make it simple, I’ll say this: I purchased CCW Safe for myself and my family.

Best Concealed Carry Insurance [2022]: Written by a Lawyer!

BEST CONCEALED CARRY INSURANCE REVIEWS

As difficult as it is to rank which ccw insurance is “best,” we’ve reviewed each company here with details about their concealed carry coverage and costs.

It’s up to you as a gun owner to decide which is best for you and your needs. If you’re unsure, go check them out to see more information.

As part of each CCW legal defense option review, we’ll include specifications about the monthly cost for each as well as their respective coverage limits for civil and criminal defense.

In the same specs table, you’ll also see how each company measures up against our three “must-haves” for legal coverage. As an attorney, these are the three basic requirements I look for (in addition to, of course, pricing and coverage options):

Ability to Pick Your Own Attorney: You should be able to choose the best attorney you can find for your defense. I will never recommend a service that requires you to use your own attorney.

Money Up Front: Reimbursement is better than nothing, but most people don’t have the few hundred thousand dollars that might be required laying around to cover the costs of attorneys fees and other criminal defense costs upfront. Instead, if you’re going to pay for legal defense coverage to cover you after a self-defense incident, you need to choose one that gives you the money UP FRONT.

Daily Allowance / Per Diem: Having your legal expenses covered should be the most critical concern. However, while you’re on trial and can’t work, how are you going to bring in money for your other bills? We recommend a company that gives you a daily “Per Diem” payment while you’re on trial.

At the bottom of this list covering details about each company’s insurance policy, we’ll include some companies that haven’t made the cut, for one reason or another.

CCW Safe Insurance

The best, and most, legal defense coverage and what we purchased for us and our families.

Our Grade

A+

Reviewed by Ryan Cleckner

Reader’s Grade

A-

Based on 15 Reviews

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CCW Safe Specs

  • Monthly Cost $18-44
  • Criminal Defense Max Unlimited
  • Civil Defense Max Unlimited
  • Pick Own Attorney? Yes
  • Money Up Front? Yes
  • Per Diem $250

CCW Safe Review

CCW Safe is an excellent option for CCW insurance, or “firearms legal protection” – we struggled a bit choosing CCW Safe over USCCA but in the end, the overall value and the legal coverage of CCW Safe won out.

What we love about CCW Safe: The biggest reason we love CCW Safe is their unlimited and up-front coverage of certain legal expenses.

For example, they cover 100% of the following costs in advance:

  • Criminal Defense
  • Civil Defense
  • Administrative Defense
  • Private Investigators
  • Expert Witness Coverage

Most people focus on their unlimited criminal and civil defense coverage (and they should), but a cost that many folks don’t consider is how much private investigators and expert witnesses can cost.

Another cost to consider (that will surely be very important to you if it’s needed) is bail bond coverage. CCW Safe provides the highest amount available, $500,000 with the option to upgrade to $1 million.

We also really liked how far their services cover: I purchased the “Ultimate Plan for CCW Holders” because it also covers my spouse in 47 states and the rest of my family in our home. Other providers require you to pay more for multi-state coverage.

Finally, we love the team they’ve put together from the case managers to the senior legal team. They have the best legal minds and experts making the legal decisions and former law enforcement helping with critical responses.

In my opinion, there’s nobody better at this than Andrew Branca of the Law of Self Defense. They have him as an advisor/expert for cases and they send out a newsletter with Andrew’s review of current cases across the country to help educate you on what you should and shouldn’t do.

Another thing we like is that they cover any legal weapon – not just firearms.

What we don’t like about CCW Safe: Although they offer a daily per diem (some offer none), it is the lowest at $250/day.

However, our biggest reservation was the fact that they let you pick your own attorney as long as they approve of the attorney. At first, this bothered me and made my decision tough. However, after a bit of thought, it made sense to me and I understand why they do it.

CCW Safe has an interest in not only protecting you but also in not wasting money. If you choose an ineffective criminal defense attorney, your freedom and livelihood are at risk.

For example, although I’m an attorney, I would hope that CCW Safe wouldn’t want you to pick me in a self-defense criminal trial because I have no experience as a criminal defense lawyer.

CCW Safe Summary: After comparing their coverage and costs to other companies, it was a no-brainer for me to purchase the Ultimate Plan from  CCW Safe for myself and my family. Although I can’t decide whether they’re also right for you, I can say that I have no hesitation in giving them my endorsement.

If you’d like to learn more, check out our full CCW Safe Review.

CCW Safe Pros and Cons

  • Unlimited Defense Budgets
  • Can Choose Own Lawyer
  • Excellent Resources
  • Legal “Dream Team”
  • Higher-end Cost
  • Attorney Must Be Approved

#2 USCCA – CCW Insurance : United States Concealed Carry Association

USCCA – CCW Insurance

United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) Membership offers great features and coverage.

Our Grade

A

Reviewed by Ryan Cleckner

Reader’s Grade

B

Based on 26 Reviews

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USCCA Specs

  • Monthly Cost $29-49
  • Criminal Defense Max Unlimited
  • Civil Defense Max Unlimited
  • Civil Damages Max $2 Million
  • Pick Own Attorney? Yes
  • Money Up Front? Yes
  • Per Diem $750

USCCA Review

The United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) comes in at the highest monthly cost, however, members get an amazing amount of features and benefits including a great online training library and checklist, guides, and even a monthly concealed carry magazine.

As you can read below, we recommend that you look for three crucial parts of concealed carry legal coverage: choice of attorney, payment vs reimbursement, and per diem rates. USCCA satisfies all three must-have features.

With their extensive training and resources and their recently unlimited legal defense coverage, USCCA is a strong choice.

However, we do still have one major concern: if you lose at the trial court level (before appeal), you may have to pay everything back that they paid you and what they spent internally relate to you.

If you’d like to learn more about what we think of their coverage and membership, please check out our USCCA Review.

USCCA Pros and Cons

  • Great Training
  • Highest Daily Per Diem
  • Can Choose Your Own Lawyer
  • Might Have to Pay Everything Back
  • Highest Cost

Our Grade

B

Reviewed by Ryan Cleckner

Reader’s Grade

A-

Based on 4 Reviews

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SECOND CALL DEFENSE SPECS

  • Monthly Cost $10-35
  • Criminal Defense Max $100,000
  • Civil Defense Max $1,250,000
  • Pick Own Attorney? Yes
  • Money Up Front? Yes
  • Per Diem $500

SECOND CALL DEFENSE REVIEW

Second Call Defense’s lowest tier option is the least expensive among this group of concealed carry insurance providers. However, it only comes with $10,000 of criminal defense protection and no civil defense protection. The low cost might be enticing, but if you choose Second Call Defense, you really should be looking at their higher tiers. However, note that their limits are the lowest amongst the group.

Despite their lower coverage amounts, Second Call Defense is the only other CCW insurance company to meet all three of our must-have cow insurance guidelines. You can pick your own attorney, you get money upfront and you get a per diem during the trial.

Although Second Call Defense appears to meet the requirements in a more budget-friendly package, you get more features and value with the lower-tier options of USCCA. We still have no problems recommending Second Call Defense because they are a great company and we’ve heard nothing but high praise of their service both before and after a self-defense shooting.

SECOND CALL DEFENSE PROS AND CONS

  • Inexpensive
  • High Customer Satisfaction
  • Capped (limited) Coverage
  • Less Value on Lower End

#4 ACDLN : Armed Citizens Defense League Network

ACDLN

High coverage at a budget rate. Although no per diem, this is a decent option for CCW coverage as long as their fund stays full.

Our Grade

B

Reviewed by Ryan Cleckner

Reader’s Grade

C-

Based on 1 Reviews

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ACDLN SPECS

  • Monthly Cost $12
  • Criminal Defense Max Unlimited
  • Civil Defense Max Unlimited
  • Pick Own Attorney? Yes
  • Money Up Front? Yes
  • Per Diem None

ACDLN REVIEW

The Armed Citizen Legal Defense Network offers low monthly rates and unlimited coverage, and you can pick your own attorney. On those stats alone, even without a per diem payment, they are a viable option for concealed carry insurance. However, there are nowhere near the benefits and resources of an organization as robust as USCCA.

Also, there’s a bit of fine print to their unlimited coverage for firearms legal protection: they only cover up to half of their defense fund. Currently, the defense fund is large enough that it can cover more than any other fixed amount, but that may not always be the case when you’re the one that needs criminal defense protection.

CCW SAFE PROS AND CONS

  • Unlimited Coverage
  • Low Cost
  • Coverage Still Limited to Defense Fund
  • No Per Diem Rate

Our Grade

C-

Reviewed by Ryan Cleckner

Reader’s Grade

A-

Based on 17 Reviews

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US Law Shield Specs

  • Monthly Cost $11
  • Criminal Defense Max unlimited
  • Civil Defense Max unlimited
  • Pick Own Attorney? No
  • Money Up Front? Yes
  • Per Diem None

US Law Shield Review

At first, there’s a lot to like about U.S. Law Shield (also called Texas Law Shield). They have one of the lowest monthly rates AND they offer unlimited coverage amounts.

However, no free choice on your own attorney and no per diem bumps them out of the running for our recommended concealed carry insurance.

Unfortunately, this is a deal-breaker for us. Paying a bad attorney a lot of money won’t help.

Despite the lack of those features, we have heard positive feedback from people who have used U.S. Law Shield (TX Law Shield), so they may be right for you.

US Law Shield Pros and Cons

  • Low Cost
  • Unlimited Coverage
  • No Per Diem
  • No Choice of Attorney

Right to Bear Insurance

Right To Bear is backed by a great company, however, their insurance coverage is limited and must be shared.

Our Grade

C-

Reviewed by Ryan Cleckner

Reader’s Grade

D

Based on 2 Reviews

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Right to Bear Specs

  • Monthly Cost $11-51
  • Criminal Defense Max $1 Mil (shared)
  • Civil Defense Max $1 Mil (shared)
  • Pick Own Attorney? No
  • Money Up Front? Yes
  • Per Diem $200 (extra fee)

Right to Bear Review

One of the newest options on the block, Right to Bear ccw insurance is an offering from Palmetto State Armory.

Unfortunately, Right to Bear received a bad grade. We write “unfortunately” because we have high hopes for this company and think that it has good people behind it. However, the current plan (we’ve been told they are improving their coverage soon and we look forward to updating this information) can not be recommended.

Our issues with the current plan are limited coverage that must be shared between criminal and civil defense costs, not being able to choose your own attorney and a per diem that is only available as an extra charge.

You can read more about them in our full Right to Bear Insurance review.

Right to Bear Pros and Cons

  • Low Cost
  • Optional Add-Ons
  • Bail Coverage must be Added
  • No Choice of Own Attorney
  • Per Diem low and must be added
  • Must pay back all money if you don’t win first case

X Insurance (firearm liability coverage)

X Insurance is, to date, the WORST coverage we’ve seen offered.

Not only can we not recommend X Insurance for CCW coverage, we fully encourage you to avoid them entirely.

For more details on why they did not make our list of recommended companies, check out our X Insurance Review.

Carry Guard

The NRA’s Carry Guard did not make our list of top firearms legal liability providers because they are no longer available as an option.

The NRA came out with Carry Guard in 2017 but ended it in 2019 due to many lawsuits and issues with state regulatory agencies.

If you were looking for Carry Guard and want to know who to get instead, we recommend CCW Safe.

Lockton Affinity

Lockton Affinity is a large insurance company that provides many great products. In fact, we recommend their business insurance for FFLs.

Unfortunately, their concealed carry insurance coverage does not make the cut – we hope it is improved as it is a brand new offering by them.

The reasons we can’t recommend them are:

  • Criminal Defense coverage is reimbursement only
  • They have low coverage amounts (compared to other companies)
  • Daily per diem amount comes out of coverage limits

To learn more about their coverage, check out our full Lockton Affinity Insurance Review.

BEST CCW INSURANCE BUYER’S GUIDE

CONCEALED CARRY INSURANCE COSTS AND COMPARISONS

There are MANY variables to consider when picking the right concealed carry insurance for yourself. You absolutely must determine which features are best for you.

To put things in a closer perspective, here are the crucial features of the groups we recommend above side-by-side.

WHAT IS CONCEALED CARRY INSURANCE AND IS IT FOR ME?

CCW insurance is financial protection against the costs of possible criminal prosecution or civil lawsuits if the person you shot in self-defense or their family members sue you.

Before you can decide how valuable CCW insurance may be for you, we should first explore the potential costs of using a firearm to protect yourself.

The two main financial risks after using your firearm in self-defense are the costs of defending yourself in a criminal trial if you are prosecuted by law enforcement and/or in a civil trial if you are sued by someone.

Even though you used your CCW firearm in self-defense that you believe was justified, you still may be prosecuted. Either the evidence doesn’t clearly exonerate you or you may be an example for an anti-gun prosecutor to make. Either way, you might need bail money to get out of jail and you’ll need to hire a criminal defense attorney which will likely require $20-30,000 up front and more money as your case continues. It is not unreasonable for a criminal defense case to cost a few hundred thousand dollars.

If there’s a civil case (someone sues you), which can happen with or without a criminal case, the financial cost can be even higher because you not only have attorney’s fees, but you also run the risk of a potential judgment against you and you run the risk of having multiple lawsuits at once.

If this isn’t a grim enough picture, now think about what money you might need because you might lose your income while the trials are ongoing.

Depending on which CCW insurance option you choose to go with, these costs can all be covered for you. In addition, some plans will give you a per diem (personal money per day) to offset your lost income during the trial and also give you access to resources like counseling and property repair.

So, is CCW insurance for you?

I can’t answer that question for you any more than I can answer whether health insurance is right for you. CCW insurance is a smaller cost per month as protection against a possible insurmountable cost later.

I don’t know your monthly budget, your risk tolerance, or whether you have half a million dollars in a bank account just waiting for you in case you have to use your firearm to defend yourself.

As you make this decision for yourself, I encourage you to ask yourself these questions:

  • What do you think the likelihood is of using your firearm in self-defense?
  • Do you have the financial reserves ready in case you have to defend yourself?
  • If you have a family, how will a financial hit of this size affect them?

For me, the decision came down to this: Am I someone that prepares for scenarios or just hopes that they don’t happen?

If you are someone who has a CCW and carries a firearm, I think we might belong in the same group.

THE THREE CRUCIAL THINGS THAT CCW INSURANCE SHOULD HAVE

Just getting “CCW Insurance” is NOT enough.

If you really want to protect yourself against legal and financial risks, you need to ensure that your cow insurance has these three things:

  1. The ability to pick your own attorney
  2. Money upfront
  3. Per diem during trial

Picking Your Own Attorney

Let me break it down real simple: you don’t want me as your criminal defense attorney.

I am an attorney. I am even an attorney that specializes in firearms law. However, my last exposure to the topic of criminal law was in a law school classroom. Trust me, neither of us would want me as your attorney in a criminal defense case.

Some CCW insurance providers will only provide you protection if you use an attorney they pick. Please avoid this. I suggest you get an attorney that you have confidence in, that is the best you could find, and that you never have to wonder if they are doing what is best for you vs what is the cheapest for the insurance company.

Get the Money Up Front

If your CCW insurance provider guarantees coverage up to a certain amount but only reimburses you after the fact, it’s better than nothing but it doesn’t help you avoid the heartache and cost burden of the process.

For example, if you have to sell your home and everything you own to pay for trials, getting reimbursed is better than nothing, but wouldn’t it have been better to not have to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars on your own? Of course, it would have.

Get Paid a Per Diem During Trial

In addition to the legal fees, you also have the risk of lost income you may experience if you lose your job during months of trial.

Getting your legal fees covered is great, but that doesn’t help pay your mortgage or help you support your family during a trial. If you can afford it, please consider a CCW insurance option that gives you a daily per diem (allowance every day) during a trial.

UNDERSTANDING LEGAL DEFENSE COVERAGE

As you likely know, there are many different variables and coverage amounts between these coverage plans – this is why it can be difficult to compare them.

You’ll see terms referring to coverage amounts like “criminal defense,” “civil defense,” “civil liability,” and “bail bond coverage.” Without knowing what each of these means, you may not be able to make an informed decision.

So, let’s break down each of these liability coverage terms so that you can better understand them.

CRIMINAL DEFENSE

When it comes to shopping for CCW insurance, most people are concerned with the criminal defense amount covered – and for good reason.

After all, the biggest reason a gun owner gets a legal defense protection plan is that they are worried about the legal costs associated if they are charged with a crime by law enforcement as a result of their defensive firearm use.

Although the criminal defense dollar amount is important, it should not be the sole determining factor of which plan you choose. There are a few reasons for this: all the money spent on the wrong lawyer(s) won’t help and there are many other costs that may be incurred (e.g. civil defense and civil liability that will be covered next).

The criminal defense money is usually meant to cover some of the costs associated with your defense in a criminal trial. If there is no criminal trial (if you’re not charged with a crime), then this money won’t be used. This money is only for criminal defense protection.

Most plans allow the criminal defense portion to cover your attorney fees in the criminal case and fees for experts, depositions, and investigative work.

CIVIL DEFENSE

Civil defense coverage is often the second most important value for legal defense coverage plan shoppers.

The civil defense dollar amount is similar to the criminal defense coverage in that it is meant for attorney fees and other associated legal costs but is meant solely for civil defense instead of criminal defense.

So, what is the difference between civil and criminal? Civil cases are lawsuits brought by individuals or companies against someone whereas criminal cases involve the government charging someone with a crime.

As part of defensive gun use, even if you aren’t charged with a crime, you may be sued by either the person you used a firearm against, their family, others involved, or even perhaps a business that suffered damages from the incident.

The civil defense amount is very important because there is no limit to the number of lawsuits that may be brought against you. Each person or group involved may sue you separately and the costs can really add up.

In addition, you may lose one or more of the civil cases and have to pay damages (money) which are covered by the next section, civil liability.

CIVIL LIABILITY

If you lose a civil suit, even though your legal costs during the lawsuit(s) may have been covered by the civil defense amounts above, you may have to pay damages. Damages are money that the court orders you to pay to the plaintiff if you lose the civil suit as a defendant.

As you can imagine, the dollar amount needed for paying civil damages could easily be higher than your civil legal defense costs. Civil liability does not cover your attorney fees from your civil suit.

BAIL BOND MONEY

If you’re charged with a crime, you may be released until the trial or you may be held. Hopefully, you have the option to be released on bail.

Bail is a security amount paid to insure your return for the upcoming court case.

The bail coverage amounts can be confusing because the amount paid doesn’t match up with the bail amount – this is how the process typically works.

If you are covered up to a $1 million bail amount, for example, often only 10% of the money will actually need to be put down and therefore the provider would pay $100,000.

Please keep this in mind when you see the bail coverage amount paid is only 10% of the total bail amount covered. To further understand the bail system, please check out this article we found: How Do Bail Bonds Work.

LIABILITY INSURANCE

You very likely have heard about, and may even be shopping for, liability insurance.

Unfortunately, none of the plans above are actually “self-defense insurance.” Instead, they’re better described as legal self-defense protection coverage.

Despite this, liability insurance is a common enough term that we should discuss it here.

Liability insurance, according to Investopedia, is an “insurance product that provides an insured party with protection against claims resulting from injuries and damage to other people or property.” Effectively it covers anything that you’d need to pay the costs for if you were found “liable” (responsible for).

ATTORNEY RETAINER

An attorney retainer is effectively an upfront payment on your attorney fees.

Most attorneys, especially criminal defense attorneys, will require the payment of a retainer to “retain” their services. This advanced payment may be refundable depending on the attorney but it is most often non-refundable.

After paying the retainer in advance, which is covered by most plans, the attorney starts working on your case and then they bill their hours against the retainer until it has been consumed. After that, they may require another advance payment or they’ll start to bill hourly.

APPEALS

If you are convicted (you receive a “guilty verdict”) and you think that the trial court got it wrong, you have the option to appeal to a higher court.

Appeals are a very important process in our legal system and help to protect against an unfair trial.

There are many reasons why the first court might get something wrong: a witness might have lied, evidence that shouldn’t have been included was used, the jury might just not like you, etc.

If you’re concerned about maybe needing an appeal, make sure that the coverage you choose allows for appeals.

NRA CONCEALED CARRY INSURANCE

Many people looking for self-defense insurance have heard about and are trying to find more information about the NRA’s CCW Insurance plan.

Unfortunately, the NRA no longer offers this coverage that was called NRA Carry Guard.

NRA CARRY GAURD

Unlike the other plans we recommend above, the NRA structured their plan as actual insurance and lost some legal battles in states that specifically prohibit self-defense “insurance.”

This caused lawsuits for violating state laws and caused a significant payout as a fine.

Once NRA Carry Gaurd was shut down in a couple of states, and due to other ways in which their plan was managed, they were no longer able to operate and they shut their coverage down.

One less option is NOT bad news for you. In fact, while they were active, we ranked their coverage and they came in at almost last place because they didn’t meet the three basic requirements we recommend above.

CONCEALED CARRY INSURANCE FAQ



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