Insuristic is a specialist Probate Insurance Broker.
We have developed a broad range of Executor Insurance policies that are exclusive to Insuristic, with cover and pricing that you may struggle to beat.
This page briefly explains the insurance policies you should consider, pointing you to more detailed information if you need it.
Protecting yourself and the estate is paramount when acting as an executor (if there is a Will) or administrator (if there is no Will).
This page is relevant to people holding both of these responsibilities.
Don't underestimate the potential liabilities you face, which could last forever. They don’t end when you get the Grant of Probate (if there is a Will) or Letters of Administration (if there is no Will).
We will cover this in more detail in our executor insurance guide, but in short, executors and administrators are exposed to risks and liabilities from the beneficiaries and third parties, i.e., people who are not parties that benefit under the Will.
The challenge for those administering an estate is that they never know if you have done everything right. The Probate Registry doesn’t tell you this; all they check is whether they have the right level of information, not its accuracy.
Private individuals acting as Executors and administrators cannot insure themselves against negligence claims. Only professionals can do this under a professional indemnity insurance policy. So, those undertaking DIY probate without legal advice and support must be very careful and confident in their ability to fulfil their role.
This is a considerable risk as beneficiaries can hold the executors liable if they suffer financial losses because they missed something or failed to insure against loss.
Next, we have insurable risks for the executors to consider.
Estates usually involve property, and it is the executor or administrator's responsibility to insure it, failure to do this is a common risk.
It is common for the property to be unoccupied, which often means the insurance previously arranged by the deceased is no longer adequate. The underwriter may impose policy conditions that the executors may struggle to comply with or realise exists. This can result in claims being declined or reduced in value due to non-compliance with these conditions.
Suppose the property buildings and/or contents are underinsured and a claim is reduced or not paid. In that case, the executors will be liable for paying a significant loss, potentially worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Another example of executor liability is for losses not covered by the underwriter that could have been insured if another, more suitable insurer had been chosen.
Executors will be liable if a specific risk is excluded from their policy and there is a loss.
This is a significant risk as many unoccupied home insurance policies you can buy online exclude losses from flood, escape of water, vandalism and theft.
You can find out more about these risks on our Home Insurance for Executors page.
A specialist like Insuristic could provide this level of cover to protect you and the estate from the risk of significant losses.
If you buy cheap and low levels of cover, you would be liable for the losses in the event of a claim. If insurance is available to the executors, their failure to insure makes them liable for these losses.
Lastly, executors and beneficiaries are exposed to financial loss from third parties.
Claims can occur at any point in the future from third parties, such as someone claiming they have a Will that should have been used to distribute the estate, a dependent or beneficiary claiming they have missed out, or maybe a creditor who was missed and needs repaying.
The following policies can be arranged to protect your liabilities and the beneficiaries' inheritance against such third-party claims.
What is it?
It is a specialist unoccupied probate house insurance policy designed to help executors adequately insure the property in their care. Few specialist policies like this are available online.
This policy is only available from Insuristic. It provides cover from the moment a property is left empty after someone passes away until the executors no longer need to insure it, such as when it becomes occupied, inherited, or sold
Why you need it.
As discussed on this page, executors and administrators are responsible for arranging an adequate insurance policy. Extending the insurance arranged previously by the deceased may seem like a quick solution, but this can expose you to liabilities if there are cover gaps or underinsurance.
It is not an off-the-shelf, unoccupied home insurance policy. Instead, the cover is designed explicitly for insuring empty property in probate that can help minimise your risk of underinsurance from a sum insured and cover perspective.
Our policy contains clear, relevant cover and questions asked during the quote process that won’t catch you out.
You can tailor the cover to ensure the property is adequately insured. To minimise this risk, go for our highest Gold level of cover.
Lastly, you can insure for 3, 6, 9, or 12 months. As it is common for property to be sold or occupied earlier than planned, if you cancel early, we won’t charge a fee and will also provide you with a pro-rata refund to represent the value of any unused cover on the policy.
You will find Insuristic’s probate insurance pricing and cover hard to beat anywhere else.
To learn more or request a quote click the button below.
It is common for properties to be occupied during probate by people living there with the permission of the executors. Such as children, relatives, friends or dependents.
Insurance in this scenario is challenging for the reasons below, but don’t worry, Insuristic specialises in Insurance for occupied property during probate.
You should be aware, though, that if the occupants are living there without the executor's permission, such as a partner who is not benefiting from the Will, insurers will view this as having a high risk of malicious damage and are unlikely to insure it.
Why you need it.
You might think you could insure this on a standard home insurance policy, but this won’t be appropriate as the occupants don’t have an insurable interest in the policy and are effectively tenants of the estate. Standard home insurers will be reluctant to insure this risk because they might be worried about malicious and accidental damage as the people living there might take less care as they do not own the property.
With this explanation, you might feel a landlord insurance policy is appropriate. But landlord insurance providers will expect a tenancy agreement to be in place as a condition of the policy. This is highly unlikely for occupants of a probate property.
Insuristic has developed a policy that you can arrange offline specifically for this purpose. You can insure just the buildings with the option to include contents insurance i.e. items in probate or owned by the occupants
To learn more or get a quote, click the button below.
What is it?
Landowners have a duty of care to prevent harm to people or damage to their property whilst on their land. This duty of care exists even if the visitor to the land is there without permission. The duty of care is also greater if children can access the land.
Land insurance is effectively a public liability insurance policy to insure against the risk of someone having an accident or damaging their property on land.
Why you need it.
When the owner dies, this duty of care of the landowner passes to the estate and its executors or administrators. If land exists it is essential to arrange adequate insurance as liability, in particularly for injury, can be significant.
To learn more or get a quote, click the button below.
Our range of executor legal indemnity insurance policies is designed to protect the executors, administrators, personal representatives (such as solicitors and professional executors), and beneficiaries from a range of claims from third parties.
The cover in the policies that Insuristic provides runs forever, and there is no excess to pay in the event of a claim. This is not common; some of our competitors' policies have cover limited to a 10-year period and might have a sizeable excess to pay in the event of a claim. As no money will likely be left in the estate, the executors will need to pay this.
It is, therefore, much better to buy a policy like that offered by Insuristic, which runs forever and has no excess to pay in the event of a claim. This means an executor, administrator, or personal representative could close their file once the estate is distributed.
Each are explained below.
What is it?
Insurance against claims from unknown creditors that come forward after the estate has been distributed. The cover can be arranged without costly Section 27 notices.
Before you buy the cover you will need to obtain a free deceased credit report which will list all loans and credit agreements arranged by the deceased, which you will need to settle. The insurance policy will respond to unknown creditors missed from this report.
Why you need it.
It is the responsibility of the executors to ensure that all liabilities are settled prior to distributing the estate. A Section 27 Insurance policy will respond to claims from unknown creditors and will handle the claim from notification to settlement and pay an award, including legal costs, to the third party up to the level of indemnity purchased.
In the absence of this insurance the executors would need to settle that debt as it is unlikely the beneficiaries would, particularly if they know the executor should have insured the risk.
To learn more or get a quote, click the button below.
What is it?
It provides insurance for claims from unknown dependents who claim the estate has not adequately considered them. These dependents should fall under the definition of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
These dependents have up to six months from the Grant of Probate to claim the estate. This is why most solicitors will make the beneficiaries wait for this six-month period to expire plus another four months as there are instances where the court could extend this waiting period.
But if there are no known issues or potential legal challenges to the estate, it is possible to distribute the estate within this period by buying Early Distribution Insurance.
This policy offers protection in two situations:
The cover would respond to claims from unknown dependents and will handle the claim from notification to settlement and pay an award, including legal costs, to the third party up to the level of indemnity purchased.
Why you need it.
The rise of contentious probate claims is well documented so distributing an estate early without insurance is not advisable. Claims can be significant and are becoming more common. According to the Guardian, there are as many as 10,000 Will disputes yearly.
However, as an executor or administrator, against the backdrop of a more litigious society, you are also likely to get pressure from beneficiaries on how soon they can get their inheritance.
It is possible to insure against known issues, but this will require referral and discussion with our underwriters.
But for most issue-free estates, the executors and administrators can arrange insurance online in a couple of minutes with Insuristic and distribute the estate as soon as they are ready and within the statutory six-month waiting period.
To learn more or get a quote, click the button below.
What is it?
Missing Will Insurance (also called Missing Will Indemnity Insurance) protects executors, personal representatives, and beneficiaries from financial loss if a newer, previously unknown Will is discovered after the estate has been distributed.
It covers the costs of legal defence, any court-ordered payouts to new beneficiaries, and other related expenses.
Why you need it.
Protection from liability: Even with thorough searches, there's always a risk a newer Will exists, as not all Wills are registered. This insurance shields you from personal financial liability if you distribute an estate based on an outdated Will.
Peace of mind: It allows executors to distribute the estate with confidence, knowing they won't be held financially responsible if a new Will surfaces.
Beneficiary protection: Beneficiaries can receive their inheritance without fear of having to repay it if a new Will is found.
Mitigation of financial disaster: Without this insurance, discovering a new Will could lead to significant financial hardship for executors and beneficiaries.
Covering intestacy risk: If an estate is handled as an intestacy, this policy covers the risk of a Will being located after the estate has been distributed.
What is it?
Missing Beneficiary Insurance (also called Missing Beneficiary Indemnity Insurance) protects executors, administrators, and beneficiaries from financial loss if a previously unknown or missing beneficiary comes forward to claim a share of the estate after it has been distributed.
It covers legal defence costs, payments to the missing beneficiary, and other related expenses.
It is available for situations where a beneficiary was known but missing or completely unknown at the time of distribution.
Why you need it.
Protection from liability: It safeguards you from financial liability if a missing beneficiary emerges and successfully makes a claim against the estate.
Beneficiary protection: It ensures that beneficiaries don't have to repay their inheritance if a missing beneficiary is found.
Peace of mind: It allows executors and administrators to distribute the estate with confidence, knowing they are protected.
Coverage for complex estates: Especially important for large, complex estates or those with difficult-to-locate beneficiaries.
Protection when knowledge of the estate is limited: When the executor has little knowledge of the deceased's family, there is a greater risk of a missing
Insuristic Limited is an Appointed Representative of SJL (Worcester) Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with the reference number 763599. This can be checked by visiting https://register.fca.org.uk/s/.
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Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.
Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.
Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.
Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.
Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.
Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.