This blog provides a side‑by‑side comparison of Second Call Defense vs. USCCA legal-defense membership programs, based on current coverage offerings, costs, and recent events.*

Jump to KEY DIFFERENCES and a BENEFITS COMPARISON chart.

OVERVIEW

Second Call Defense (SCD)

Founded by An Attorney and Not an Insurance Company

Second Call Defense was co-founded by a criminal defense attorney, Sean Maloney, who recognized an urgent need for self-defense legal protection.

Most people who are forced into a self-defense encounter have no prior experience with the criminal justice system and have no idea how to find a qualified criminal defense attorney, talk to law enforcement and prosecutors without accidentally incriminating themselves, secure bail without endangering their assets, or navigate the legal process.

• Second Call Defense operates as a membership legal defense organization… we are not an insurance company.
• We provide immediate, up-front legal assistance via a 24/7 emergency hotline (bail, attorney fees, case expenses), with no repayment required, ever. We pay up-front, we are not a reimbursement plan.
• We offer three membership tiers, providing various levels of protection for just about everyone’s budget and needs. All our plans offer unlimited criminal and civil defense coverage, immediate bail bond coverage for up to $1,000,000, and immediate attorney retainer of $100,000 with nothing to repay, ever.
• Covers use of any legally owned weapon, including knives, tools, improvised weapons, rocks, vehicles, or defense against animals.
• Available in all U.S. states except NJ, NY, WA, because these states prohibit the sale of our memberships to their citizens. Although these states prohibit the sale of legal defense coverage products, we do cover our members involved in self-defense incidents in these states.

Other benefits include Accidental Shooting coverage, psychological counseling and support, per-diem cost coverage for time in court, training and education, and more.

OVERVIEW

USCCA

A Magazine Publisher Backed by An Insurance Company

USCCA was founded by Tim Schmidt, who earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering (not law) from Michigan Tech University in 1994. He later co-founded Delta Defense and launched Concealed Carry Magazine, which evolved into the USCCA.

• USCCA provides self-defense liability insurance, underwritten by a licensed insurer (Universal Fire & Casualty Insurance Company), with legal and financial coverage for qualified self-defense incidents.

Screenshot taken directly from USCCA membership agreement

• There is only one level of insurance for all membership levels. Gold, Platinum, Elite memberships differ mostly in non-insurance perks (e.g., range bags, gun cleaning kits, etc.) as well as access to training resources.
• Like SCD, USCCA Membership is not available to residents of New Jersey, New York or Washington State because of those states’ laws.
• Insurance coverage is limited to $2,000,000 per year, per insured, and a maximum payout of $2,000,000 per claim.
• Offers 24/7 access to a “Critical Response Team,” reimbursement for bail bonds, legal expenses, and compensation for hardship, per diem loss and psychological support.
• Concealed Carry Magazine subscription plus online access to past issues.

Here are some of the key differences between insurance provided by USCCA and membership programs from Second Call Defense.

• Immediate Cash vs. Reimbursement. As a membership organization, SCD provides immediate, up-front cash with nothing to repay as compared to USCCA which reimburses its insured for expenses they incur.
• Unlimited Legal Resources. SCD offers UNLIMITED legal defense coverage for both criminal and civil cases, while USCCA caps total payout at $2 million per year and per claim. Meaning, if you were unfortunate enough to be involved in more than one claim in a 12-month period USCCA would only pay out a maximum of $2 million.
• $1,000,000 Bail Bond vs. $250,000. SCD provides immediate cash to cover a bail bond up to $1,000,000, while USCCA limits bail bond coverage to $250,000.
• Self-Defense is a Legal Defense. SCD covers you in all self-defense cases, even if you are convicted of a crime, in contrast to USCCA, whose policy specifies that their obligations end if you are convicted of “…any criminal charge(s) for any ‘claim’ caused by or resulting from criminal charges” (source: Universal Fire & Casualty Insurance Company, Self-Defense Liability Coverage Form, SDL 00 02 06 24, Section I – Self-Defense Liability, Section 1 – Insuring Agreement, Paragraph e(1).)This implies that if your self-defense argument failed and you were convicted, then you would have to pay back USCCA for the monies it spent on your defense.
• Committed Funds vs. Recoupment. SCD members never have to repay any amounts we spend on their defense. On the other hand, USCCA’s insurance company has the “…right to seek recovery or recoupment from an ‘insured’ the amount of any payments made to, for, or on behalf of the ‘insured’, including payments made to third parties.” (source: Universal Fire & Casualty Insurance Company, Self-Defense Liability Coverage Form, SDL 00 02 06 24, Section III – Self-Defense Liability Conditions, Paragraph I “Recovery or Recoupment.”)
• Let the Law Decide, Not the Insurance Company. USCCA’s insurance policy limits claims to acts of self-defense, which sounds reasonable until you read the fine print. USCCA defines an “act of self-defense” as “…the use of objectively reasonable force by the ‘insured’ to protect persons” (source: Universal Fire & Casualty Insurance Company, Self-Defense Liability Coverage Form, SDL 00 02 06 24, Section V – Definitions, paragraph A). However, USCCA’s definition of an act of self-defense differs from the standard found in the law and typically applied in court, which asks whether you reasonably believed that you or another person were in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm. In effect, by reserving the right to decide if your actions were “objectively reasonable,” USCCA’s insurance company is putting itself in the in the role of a prosecutor or jury instead of deferring to the legal system. USCCA’s insurance policy can have serious consequences. In one high-profile case, USCCA paid a $50,000 retainer to secure legal counsel for Kayla Giles, who fatally shot her estranged husband in a Walmart parking lot in 2018, then dropped her coverage before her trial began—forcing her to pay for her own defense in a murder case that carried a possible life sentence. Although she was initially convicted, the Louisiana Supreme Court later reversed and vacated her conviction. Self-defense is always a defense.
• LEOs and Security Guards, We Got Your Back. SCD coverage extends to law enforcement officers and security guards. USCCA’s insurance company specifically excludes these workers.

The Importance of Self Defense Legal Protection

Second Call Defense has a 100% success rate defending our Members and we will never ask you to pay us back for your legal defense. Unlike other programs that make you pay upfront and reimburse you later, SCD covers your legal defense immediately, including attorney fees, bail, and even civil lawsuit damages – we are not a reimbursement scheme.

When the government or anti-gun prosecutors come after you for exercising your constitutional rights, SCD fights back without ever asking you to pay them back. Your freedom, future, and financial security are on the line, why take the risk?
Even if you do have $1 million in the bank to spend on your legal defense, we encourage you to become a member and put the financial burden on us. Use our money, not yours. Self-defense legal protection can go a long way to keeping you out of jail, protecting your freedom and your assets.

* USCCA data is based on publicly available information found on their website at the time of this blogs posting. Membership offerings are subject to change at any time so readers are encouraged to do their own research as well. 

Second Call Defense is not insurance and does not sell or promote insurance products.  Second Call Defense is a membership organization that provides its members access to the “Second Amendment Support Foundation, Inc.,” which provides the means necessary to protect Second Call Defense members from the legal aftermath of exercising their right to self-defense. For an overview of the differences between Second Call Defense Member Benefits and traditional insurance, click here.