Press Release

30.09.2023

International ARAG DAY: Free Legal Advice Fosters Access to Justice

Additional events around sports and health in Germany

Everyone should be able to assert their rights – regardless of their financial situation – this is ARAG’s founding idea. The ARAG DAY now makes this idea visible and tangible in a special way each year. Simple and free access to justice seems quite natural, but it remains out of reach for many people even today as they lack the financial means to obtain help. The Düsseldorf-based insurance group ARAG therefore organized the first international ARAG DAY on and around September 29th, 2023. ARAG branches from all over the world offered free advice campaigns for various target groups and on special topics. In doing so, the company emphasized the high social relevance of making access to justice easy and accessible for everyone. “With ARAG DAY, we helped many people dealing with their legal issues who wouldn’t have been able to afford legal advice – and we did this in all countries we are active in. At the same time, we stressed the importance of free access to justice. All this turned the campaign day into a complete success,” emphasizes Dr. Renko Dirksen, Spokesman of the Board of Management of ARAG SE.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) are intended to promote sustainable social, economic and ecological development. SDG 16.3 specifically aims at “ensuring equal access to justice for all”. ARAG feels a special responsibility to support in this regard. After all, this UN mission is at one with the company’s founding idea and an integral part of its corporate strategy. “ARAG is ideally positioned to foster activities related to the topic Access to Justice. This is why we established the ARAG DAY which is based on our Group strategy. We are employing this format throughout the ARAG Group to promote rights, equal opportunities and a sustainable transformation of society,” highlights Dr. Renko Dirksen. ARAG SE, the world’s largest legal insurer, centered its activities on ARAG DAY around legal advice campaigns both in Düsseldorf and in its international entities. The German subsidiaries ARAG Krankenversicherungs-AG (ARAG Health) and ARAG Allgemeine Versicherungs-AG (property & casualty insurer) set different priorities on their respective ARAG DAYs.

Legal advice at Tafel Düsseldorf e. V.
The ARAG DAY organized by ARAG SE in Germany offered free legal advice to low-income people and socially disadvantaged at the premises of Düsseldorf food bank, the campaign’s partner. In two food bank premises, independent lawyers provided advice. The focus was on social, tenancy, alien and family law, but also on general assistance. The headquarters of the ARAG Group in Düsseldorf provided extensive support. This included two members of the ARAG SE Board of Management, who were on site at the ARAG DAY. “In addition to their daily financial worries and needs, our food bank customers also frequently have legal issues, be it about alimony, right of abode or problems with the authorities. People are extremely anxious about asking for legal assistance, many fear possible costs or simply do not speak German. That’s why we very much welcome this low-threshold and cost-free offer from ARAG,” emphasizes Eva Fischer, Head of Communications & PR at the Düsseldorf food bank, Tafel Düsseldorf e. V.

Counseling campaigns at international locations with many different partners
Legal advice was also a major focus outside Germany on ARAG DAY. At the international ARAG locations, the focus was also on campaigns for special target groups for whom free access to justice is not possible – usually for financial reasons. For example, the consulting services offered by the ARAG Italy team in Verona are aimed at people with disabilities – especially children – as well as their families and caregivers. The partner here is the organization AIAS Verona (Associazione Italiana Assistenza Spastici). The ARAG North America team in Des Moines, in turn, hosted its advice day as “ARAG’s Free Legal Doc Day” together with Iowa Legal Aid, a non-profit organization that provides important legal assistance to low-income and needy people in Iowa.

ARAG Health and ARAG Allgemeine each organized an ARAG DAY on health and on sports
The other two major German ARAG companies which operate outside the legal insurance segment have organized their own ARAG DAY – each with a focus tailored to their specific business. The ARAG DAY of ARAG Health focused on providing access to mental health assistance for adolescents and young adults. For this target group and their relatives, ARAG organized an online expert talk in cooperation with the Beisheim Foundation and the “I am everything” project of the child and adolescent psychiatry department of the LMU University Clinic in Munich. Participants were taught how to build mental strength. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to have a psychological orientation talk with MindDoc, an independent cooperation partner of ARAG Health, by the end of October. ARAG Allgemeine is, among other things, Germany’s largest sports insurer. Together with the sports club Eintracht Hildesheim von 1861 e. V. and the State Sports Association of Lower Saxony e. V., it organized the first ARAG Sport Challenge on the club grounds on occasion of the ARAG DAY. It aims to give children special access to physical fitness and club sports, and to promote integration and inclusion through sports. Around 1,000 children accepted this special invitation and made for an active, lively atmosphere and a great mood.