I've been following Pre-Paid Legal (PPD) for a while now. The company sells "legal insurance policies" - basically, you pay a monthly fee, and if you need legal services at some point, you can call on a local lawyer affiliated with the company to help you with it. Like insurance, the company makes money if you don't use it.
Most of the commentary I read is negative, with the primary criticism being that the company is a
multi-level marketing scam - where the people selling the product are people who've already purchased it. Apparently, most of the new memberships come from such associates.
However, I read an article in Barron's about a month ago that said the company's services are actually quite handy - this particular investor had actually sampled the service in Connecticut - and was able to use a Pre-Paid Legal lawyer for two separate items, saving a decent amount of money. He conceded that the primary issue with the company was how they marketed their services; that the associate marketing steered the product disproportionately to a market that did not appreciate the benefits.
I'd say that last point is correct. About a few weeks back, someone at the office (I have no idea who) dropped this flyer on the desks of everyone around me.
That's Pre-Paid Legal marketing in action. If there is merit to this product, the company would probably be much better off selling their product through insurance agents who are already having conversations with customers about protection. As a result, I'm keeping this one on my short watchlist. - Ed
