US Law Shield Review
If you’re looking for a US Law Shield review, then you likely already know what Concealed Carry Insurance is and you’re looking to see if US Law Shield is the right CCW Insurance for you. In this US Law Shield review, I’ll take a deep dive into their policy and I’ll let you know what you can expect and whether or not I think US Law Shield is worth it.
Note: although I am a firearms attorney, I’m not YOUR attorney – this is not legal advice and only you can decide whether self defense insurance is right for your situation (and which provider to choose).
Here’s a preview: I do NOT recommend US Law Shield for the reasons outlined below and they came in last place in our Best Concealed Carry Insurance Comparison. For me and my family, the right choice was CCW Safe.
But 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.
In this US Law Shield Review we’re going to cover:
- What is the US Law Shield?
- How Much Does US Law Shield Cost?
- What Does US Law Shield Cover?
- Pros and Cons to US Law Shield
- US Law Shield vs Other CCW Insurance
- US Law Shield Review: Our Take
- Final Grade on US Law Shield
In the next couple of sections I’m going to cover the features and pricing of US Law Shield. However, if you’d like to know how I rank US Law Shield against other concealed carry insurance providers, check out our Best CCW Insurance Comparison.
What is US Law Shield?
US Law Shield, like other concealed carry insurance providers, isn’t technically “insurance” but they do provide legal support for self-defense scenarios.
Unfortunately, after a defensive gun use, your fight isn’t over. You may have a legal fight ahead of you if you are prosecuted by the government or sued by the person you shot or their relatives.
Defending yourself, even if you are innocent, in criminal and/or civil trials can be extremely expensive (spending a few hundred thousand dollars, or more, is not unheard of).
As an attorney, one of the first things I tell my clients when they’re trying to figure out how to handle a particular problem is “it’s often better to avoid a fight than it is to win a fight.” That’s because “winning” can be VERY expensive when legal costs are involved.
US Law Shield exists to help cover the costs associated with your legal defense.
How Much Does US Law Shield Cost?
US Law Shield costs $131.40 per year for an individual and $240 per year for a couple. This works out to just under $11 per month and $20 a month respectively.
This is one of the lowest costs for legal self defense coverage available.
| Feature | U.S. Law Shield |
|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | $11 |
| Criminal Defense Max | Unlimited |
| Civil Defense Max | Unlimited |
| Pick Own Attorney? | No |
| Money Up Front? | Yes |
| Per Diem Max | n/a |
What Does US Law Shield Cover?
There are some big differences between the major self defense insurance providers. First each of them charges a different amount. Second, and perhaps most important, they don’t cover the same things nor for the same amounts.
It can be very tough to wade through all the differences but only you can decide which features are most important for you.
Here’s my advice: if you decide to get coverage, get what you can afford and gives you the best protection for what’s important to you. Also, I feel strongly that you should make sure your chosen ccw insurance has these three things (at a minimum):
- Money up front
- Ability to choose your own lawyer
- Daily “per diem” payment while in trial
We’ll include these must-have ccw insurance features along with some of the other features to see how US Law Shield “stacks up.”
Criminal Defense Protection: You might still be prosecuted even if your defensive gun was justified. Your criminal defense can be very expensive and US Law Shield, unlike some other companies, has no limit to your criminal defense amount.
Civil Defense & Liability coverage: US Law Shield also offers unlimited civil defense. Unfortunately, regardless of any criminal cases, you can can be sued by the person(s) you had to defend yourself against and/or their families. Having unlimited coverage is really nice here.
Up Front Money: If you need money for your legal defense, you need it up front. Reimbursement is nice, but if you can cover a few hundred thousand dollars on your own in case of a self defense gun use, perhaps insurance is not right for you? Thankfully, US Law Shield provides money up front.
Bail: Coverage for bail is an extra charge for US Law Shield at $35.40 extra per year and it covers up to $25k.
What’s Not Included With US Law Shield:
No Sales in NY, NJ, WA: Just recently the local governments for these three states banned the sales of “CCW insurance” programs. This doesn’t mean that your CCW insurance won’t work if you’re visiting there, it just means you can’t buy it if you live here. However, this is a limitation for all CCW insurance services right now.
Per Diem: While you’re in court for trial, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to work. After weeks or months, this can be a serious strain on your finances. This is one of our 3 required features and it is not offered by US Law Shield.
Choosing Your Own Attorney: This alone is the number 1 reason why I can’t recommend US Law Shield. I don’t care about how much money you get and which areas of your defense are covered if you don’t have any say in choosing your legal defense. A smaller amount of money for a great lawyer is WAY better than unlimited money thrown at a bad lawyer. Also, I’m fundamentally against any system that limits your freedom of choice.
US Law Shield vs Other CCW Insurance:
Although I try to be careful to not say which ccw insurance is “best” overall because everyone’s situation and risk tolerance is unique, there is one option I am comfortable with saying that I do NOT recommend: US Law Shield.
Unfortunately, they don’t offer 2 of my 3 “must-haves” for concealed carry insurance.
I purchased CCW Safe for myself but I encourage you to look to take a good look at these companies to see which is best for you and your needs.
US Law Shield Review – Our Take
This brings us no joy: US Law Shield is the only ccw insurance option that we do not reccomend.
There are other better options available in our Best CCW Insurance Guide.
So, why can we not recommend US Law Shield?
For any concealed carry insurance option, we strongly recommend looking for three basic ccw insurance requirements:
- The ability to choose your own attorney,
- Money up-front, and
- A daily allowance to help offset time off work
US Law Shield only offers 1 of these three basic “must-haves”: money up front.
Unfortunately, without the other 2 features, we think that you should consider another option for your concealed carry insurance coverage.
US Law Shield Pros and Cons
- Low Price
- Unlimited Criminal Defense
- Unlimited Civil Defense
- Bail Coverage must be Added
- Can’t pick Your Own Lawyer
- No “Per Diem” Amount
Report Card | ||
Cost | One of the lowest cost options available | A+ |
Coverage | The legal defense dollar amounts are unlimited but without having a choice in where they are spent, it may not matter | D- |
Features | Some nice features, but it is missing 2 of our required 3 features and things like bail coverage cost extra | F |
Value | Low cost, but not near as many featuers or coverage as other options | C |
Our Grade
C-
Reviewed by Ryan Cleckner
Reader’s Grade
B-
Based on 37 Reviews
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About Ryan Cleckner
Ryan is a former special operations sniper (1/75 Ranger) and current firearms attorney, firearms industry executive, university lecturer, and bestselling author of the Long Range Shooting Handbook.
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I am located in NJ, therefore my only current option is US Law Shield, which I do have, along with their out of state coverage option (I have permits for several other states). My question is about coverage limits with this type of insurer in general. US Law Shield claims that they will cover any legitimate use of my concealed handgun for self-defense. I imagine the other insurers make similar statements. I would be a LOT more comfortable if I could review some examples of what such insurers consider to be legitimate use. “Legal use” is an obvious misnomer – if you need the defense, you have been arrested, so some LEO and/or prosecutor claims you have violated a firearms law. Also, post-Bruen, there is a lot of litigation against state restrictions; the legal landscape is repidly changing, and the many legal “grey areas” are changing with it. If anyone reading this has some concrete examples of actual charges/cases, along with information about cases where coverage was declined by the carrier, or a pointer to a database of same, I would certainly appreciate that information.
I do not know if US Law Shield is any good, but it is the only option available in this state. Our illustrious governor wants anyone who uses a gun in self-defense to feel the full wrath of the legal system. After all, he needs to fill the prisons, since he emptied them during Covid.
I hope I never have to use it.
This review is extremely out of touch with reality. Pick your own attorney? Do you know a qualified attorney? How would you go about finding a qualified attorney? What do you know about the legal world and what to look for?
Money up front? If US Law Shield provides an attorney who is already vetted and is being paid by them, who needs up front money. That’s a bogus claim of a benefit.
Per diem amount? I am more concerned that my attorney has satisfactorily made arrangements for compensation to take a case, and not a third party insurance company making that decision. We all know that insurance companies ALWAYS want to pay as much as they possibly can. Right? Yeah Right.
How about immediate contact with an attorney? Attorney client privilege is huge and in the immediate aftermath of an event, it’s value is immeasurable. The writer of the review isn’t talking about reality.
Looks like we struck a nerve. If you like the idea of a company picking your own attorney, great! However, if that attorney turns out to be horrible, or if they are clearly making decisions to save the company money over giving you the best defense, wouldn’t you want to have the option to change? I sure would. Perhaps you wouldn’t.
I agree with some of your comments. I am currently a US Law Shield subscriber. However, you do realize that US Law Shield is essentially an “insurance company” and that your comment about spending as little as possible on defense is applicable to them as well, right?
It’s not a tough choice in New Jersey. The governor banned all companies located out of state because they are not ” licensed by the state”. Go figure why they would do such a terrible thing to responsible gun owners. The ONLY choice is US Law Shield.
In NJ the lawyers that represent you are the same ones that actually have fought gun control at the SCOTUS level. to include Evan Nappen. also its the only thing someone in NJ can get as the others were outlawed.
Here’s ALWAYS my fear when someone else is choosing and paying for my lawyer: Who is the lawyer loyal to? Saving the company/person paying money or giving me the best defense?
I am new to US Law Shield. Being retired I don’t need per diem, minor children, hunter or identity theft coverage. I do travel so the 50 state and bail bond/expert witness coverage is what I selected. If ever I decide to drop it there is no long term contract. I feel while your 3 most important items are important to you, every individual has their own “most important items”. To me the best selling point is the unlimited coverage and since I know very little about finding the proper attorney, I have to trust someone especially in an emergency, to come to my aid. Hopefully US Law Shield will vet them for me.
I live in WA State and I have no other choice but to use US Law Shield. What other options do I have?
I’ve had US Law Shield for coming up on six years now. If you participate in their local training and seminars, you will meet many of the lawyers in your area that would be called upon to represent you. I know it’s not the same as choosing a lawyer yourself, but you do have the opportunity to get to know these lawyers probably more than you would a lawyer that was referred to you or someone you picked out of the yellow pages. I do like the idea of getting a per diem, so might look into switching for that reason, but otherwise I’m happy with US Law Shield.
First of all I have had all programs mentioned. Secondly, the biggest difference in the companies is that cost/value information and services available. Yes you pay extra with US Law Shield to add Coverages but you get to choose the options based on your needs and wants. The others include the coverage at higher cost but I may never need those coverages; ie child coverage or multiple state coverage. Why pay extra for things? You may want to get your facts straight counsellor and stop selling. US Law shield is by far the better product for money spent.
I agree. I prefer being able to add the add-on coverages at will and as needed to include removing them when I no longer need them. I hate being forced to pay for something I don’t want or need. As far as not being able to pick your own attorney, U.S. Law Shield carefully screens and selects their network attorneys based on case success rates. Lets be realistic, it is not as much the attorney in a defense that wins cases, but rather expert witness who take the jury to school. The Kyle Rittenhouse trial is an excellent example of that fact. Also, the bail coverage has been elevated to $50k. The assertion of self-defense alone will more likely result in 2nd degree murder down to manslaughter charges that carry smaller bail amounts than 1st degree, premeditated murder charges.
SCAM SCAM SCAM!!!!
Would not cover a clear cut, videotaped self defense case. They will look for any reason to deny coverage. Don’t fall for this scam.
would love to know more
I would like to know more about why US Law Shield is a scam. I do pay for US shield but have not had to use it.
I reviewed all of these companies. In fact a couple years back when I first got my Ohio concealed handgun license CHL I bought us CCA because of all their slick advertising but quickly found out they were dicey. They wouldn’t give any information about their so-called winning in court claiming it was an invasion of the client’s privacy! I said court documents are public domain and they refused to give me any more details. They also screwed up sending their so-called free gifts and I had to jump through hoops just to get a crappy little cleaning kit. I looked at the others and they were basically the same called them up and asked about their lawyers locally and when I contacted one or two of the lawyers they didn’t even know they were on the list! No way am I letting that dude represent me in a running a red light case let alone a shooting. I agree that CCW SAFE is without a doubt the best after reviewing the people who run the company their track record and the fact that it’s all unlimited and upfront no matter how deep prosecutors go. They represented Zimmerman and got him off because he was innocent to begin with. At clinched it for me.
CCW Safe did NOT represent Zimmerman – I have no idea where you got that information. The two attorneys that represented Zimmerman were not affiliated with any organization at that time in 2012. It was later on that one of the attorneys became affiliated with CCW Safe – presumably because CCW Safe wanted to associate with the attorney’s name … but that’s speculation on my part. If you have solid evidence that proves either attorney who represented Zimmerman was affiliated with CCW Safe PRIOR to the trial – I will admit that I was wrong.
On what basis do you suppose WA state, where I live, has banned firearms liability insurance?
That seems, on the face of it, to be gross gov’t overreach and very unAmerican.
Oh come on, King Inslee and his lap dog DA will do anything to screw legal/lawful gun owners until they take ALL the guns away or people wake up and get them the hell out of office. US Law shield is the only company willing to jump through the outrageous hoops they put in the way to be able to cover Washington.
Thanks for Your Honest review’s ..
We are looking-into CCW insurance providers.
I’m driving from AZ to Nevada and return, both have reciprocity for CCW; any guidelines for betraveling with firearms between these states.