There is one other thing that every concealed carry license holder should have in their pocket right next to their license, it’s their membership card to a reputable concealed carry insurance company. If you every must use your firearm to defend yourself, your concealed carry insurance is your second line of defense.
If you need to make that call, you want to make sure that you are calling the best team possible to step into your defense. The next few hours, days, and months maybe some of the most trying in will ever face. Having the most effective team on your side can make a difference in your personal and financial future.
Finding the right concealed carry insurance company can be challenging. While many sound similar, often, there are huge gaps in the coverage they offer. Where you live can be a consideration as the laws differ from state to state.
Let’s look at two outstanding contenders in the concealed carry insurance market, Second Call Defense vs USCCA.
If you are in a hurry, we highly recommend USSCA:
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USCCA – The United States Concealed Carry Association Review
The very first thing that we must make clear is that neither one of these organizations is a true insurance company. Both companies are member organizations that provide legal services on a subscription basis. These are much like pre-paid legal plans.
USCCA is just such an organization. A membership in USCCA gains you certain privileges and services. These break down into several categories
- Training
- Education
- Legal Protection
- Financial Protection
Training – Protecting Yourself and Your Family with Competency
Knowledge is considered by USCCA to be a key component of being a safe and prepared concealed carry license holder. From safe gun practices to situational awareness, USSCA provides a range of training opportunities for its members.
- In-person training by experienced local instructors
- Printed training with guides and checklists
- Online video tutorials that allow you to train at your own pace and on your schedule
- Opportunities to become a certified instructor
Education – Knowledge is Power
USSCA believes that an educated gun owner is a safer gun owner. To that end, USCCA offers a wealth of educational resources that help keep gun owners and concealed carry licensee’s up to date on the current gun ownership landscape.
Among these resources are:
- Current information on federal gun laws
- Advice on legal issues when traveling with guns
- The most current information on reciprocity and gun laws in different states
- A blog rich in knowledge and advice
- “Concealed Carry” the official magazine of USCCA
- Terminology Guidelines
- Video tutorials
- Firearms Training
Legal and Financial Protection
The real reason most people join a concealed carry insurance organization is to have the backup they may need in the event they draw and use their gun. This protection is the backbone of any concealed carry insurance organization.
USCCA offers three levels of membership. Each level costs a bit more and offers a progressively greater amount of both legal and financial protection. For our comparison, we are looking at the top level of membership in each organization. In the case of USCCA, this is their Elite Membership Plan.
USCCA offers a comprehensive and rich line of benefits and services in this area.
- Access to all print and digital training and educational resources, including the full archive of back issues of the USCCA magazine
- Monthly live “Ask an Attorney” webinars
- Weekly training drills
- eLearning Training System
- Civil liability coverage of two million dollars
- Criminal coverage of $250,000
- 24/7/365 access to the USCCA critical response team
- Your choice of a criminal defense attorney
- Up-front funding for criminal defense and bail bonds
- Protection for the use of all legal weapons
- Access to the USCCA Online Community
- Discounts on spousal insurance as well as other gear and training
- Legal protection beyond the use of a weapon, including red flag laws, license revocations, and restraining orders.
The Bottom Line on USCCA
The final question and often the most important for some of us, is how much does this all cost. The Elite Plan from USCCA is currently $47 per month. For more information about USCCA plans, you can visit their website at the link below:
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Second Call Defense Review
Like USCCA, Second Call Defense is a member organization that offers some legal defense benefits as part of your membership package. Second Call Defense is not truly insurance, but more akin to a pre-paid legal plant.
Second Call Defense defines the concept that the founders used to create the organization. In their own words, “When you are forced to defend yourself with a firearm, your first call should be to 911. Your second call should be to Second Call Defense.”
Second Call Defense focuses its member benefits in two categories, legal protection, and education.
Second Call Defense – Legal Protections
Looking at Second Call Defense’s top tier membership plan, the Elite Plan, we find the following benefits for members.
- Civil liability protection to one million dollars
- Civil suit and damage protection of $250,000
- Accidental shooting protection – $250,000
- Criminal defense protection – $100,000
- Immediate cash bond – $25,000
- Immediate attorney retainer – $10,000
- Clean-up services – $2,000
- The daily loss of income while in court – $500 per day
- Access to a 24/7 emergency legal hotline.
- Access to a personal crisis manager
Training and Education
- Member newsletter
- Self-defense news
- Online Training
Totaling the Costs
Membership at Second Call Defense for their top of the line Elite membership package will set you back $34.95 per month. Your spouse can be covered for an additional $7 per month. If you pay annually, there are discounts built-in. For more information about memberships in the Second Call Defense offerings, follow this link.
USCCA vs Second Call Defense: Side by Side Comparison
Stacking the services and benefits, as well as the cost side by side, lets us compare the two plans in a visual way that can often be more useful. Here is the comparison of these two organizations.
| USCCA – Elite Plan | Second Call Defense – Elite Plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | $47.00 | $34.95 |
| Criminal Defense Limits | $250,000 | $100,000 |
| Civil Defense Limits | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Immediate Cash Bond | Yes | Yes |
| Choice of Attorney | Yes | Yes |
| Network Attorney Available | Yes | Yes |
| Aftermath Clean up | 0 | $2,000 |
| Psychological Support | No | Yes |
| Weekly Training Drills | Yes | No |
| Certified Instructor Network | Yes | No |
| Video Library | Yes | Limited |
Using this side by side comparison gives us a better understanding of what you get from each of these organizations with their top tier membership plant.
There are some areas the deserve more discussion to get a better feel for what is involved with these benefits.
Legal Coverages – The Heart of the Matter
Most people who purchase a membership in a concealed carry protection organization rarely make use of the additional benefits. The number one reason people join a concealed carry legal association is for the monetary protections they provide. These protections deserve a more detailed examination
Second Call Defense – What do you get?
Second Call Defense breaks its financial protections into more detailed areas. The area of most importance to most concealed carry license holders is the criminal defense funding. Second Call Defense caps their criminal defense funding at $100,000.
$100,000 seems like an immense sum for most of us, but in the world of criminal defense, this may be woefully inadequate. You may find that this sum falls well short of the overall cost of criminal legal defense.
USCCA – Comparing the Benefits
The criminal defense protections in the USCCA Elite Package limit to $250,000. This amount seems like a much bigger number than what is provided by Second Call Defense but may still be inadequate for a lengthy and involved criminal case.
Our Take on the Matter
If the financial protections on criminal defense are the major consideration in choosing a concealed carry protection organization, USCCA gets the nod in this case. With more than double the legal protection limits, there is no question that USCCA is the better choice.
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Civil Legal Coverage – Underestimated Side of the Situation
Few people stop to consider the other legal ramifications of a self-defense shooting. Even if found legally justified in using your firearm, you are still open to civil lawsuits that can be as devastating to your financial well-being. Protecting yourself from these civil claims is as important as criminal actions.
Second Call Defense – Facing the Aftermath in Civil Court
In short, Second Call Defense provides up to $1,000,000 in civil suit defense protection and an additional $250,000 in civil damage protection. This is an impressive amount of money to have at your disposal to protect you and your family from financial ruin.
No one should discount the costs and problems that civil suits can bring. In today’s litigious society, you can almost count on facing one or more civil suits even if you are judged to have acted justifiably in your defense.
USCCA – Being Prepared for the Civil Side of Things
A deep reserve at your disposal to defend yourself in civil suits can bring peace of mind. USCCA offers up to $2,000,000 of civil liability and damage defense protections as part of their Elite Membership Plan.
This type of coverage can protect you from financial disaster. No one wants to go to court, but, in truth, our society is almost always on the lookout for a payout. Having a backup plan for these eventualities is always a good idea.
Where Do We Stand on Civil Protection?
USCCA again gets the nod. With double the funds available for civil defense and damage protection, for the money, USCCA must be the choice. If the basis of the choice between these two organizations is nothing but the amount of protection versus the monthly cost, USCCA is the winner.
Member Benefits – Often Neglected Benefits
Most people who purchase a membership in a concealed carry organization are interested only in the legal protections the membership offers. However, the member resources that a concealed carry protection organization offer can be as important. Staying aware of the current legal status of concealed carry is a vital part of being a prepared concealed carry license holder.
Also, ongoing training should be a part of every concealed carry license holder’s regular activities. In truth, may criminal defense attorneys agree that a regular training program is a help in criminal defense cases.
USCCA – Education and Training Underpinning the Protections
USCCA focuses a lot of the resources on education and training opportunities for its members. The array of training methods and opportunities afforded to members of USCCA are impressive and include everything from online tutorials to live in-person training with certified instructors.
Some of these training courses and opportunities do involve other fees. However, the knowledge that these vetted instructors represent USCCA is a big factor in upholding the credibility of the training.
USCCA offers a wide range of additional resources.
- Concealed Carry Magazine that brings the latest in legal issues, training and educational content, and other concealed carry focused articles. The Concealed Carry Magazine comes in print as well as digital formats.
- USCCA offers an app for both Android and Apple operating systems. The app provides instant access to the USCCA full range of member benefits and options.
- Online and downloadable resources such as preparedness checklists, travel advisories, guides, and updates.
- Weekly training drills delivered to your email inbox
- Online video library featuring training in situational awareness, the use of deadly force, and live-fire training exercises
- An eLearning system that covers the fundamentals of home and personal defense and emergency first aid
The Membership Package – Second Call Defense
Second Call Defense also provides member benefits beyond the criminal and civil protections. The gist of the Second Call Defense member benefits is a series of special training opportunities led by some of the most well-known instructors in the firearms industry.
A newsletter and content on the Second Call Defense website allow members to remain on the cutting edge of the legal issues of concealed carry across the United States.
How Do They Stack up in the Resource Category?
USCCA offers a much richer set of resources than Second Call Defense. USCCA’s focus on education and training is probably due to the belief that a well-educated and well trained concealed carry license holder is less likely to be involved in a self-defense shooting.
From our point of view, this is a valid position. The wealth of additional resources provided by USCCA gets them the check off in this category as well.
The Overall Verdict – USCCA
Make no mistake. Both companies are fine organizations and will provide you with protection both financially and legally.
The final consideration is what you can get for the money. For a few dollars more a month, USCCA offers more protection and a much richer set of resources and benefits that Second Call Defense. For me, that makes USCCA the choice between these two options.
I hope that the information in this article makes your decision a bit easier. If you found this article to be helpful, please leave comments in the section below. Your comments, suggestions, and experiences are always welcome and benefit our online community.
