What is executor insurance?

Being an executor comes with significant responsibilities.

While there isn't a single policy called 'executor insurance,' this page provides a brief overview of the various insurance policies that can protect you, as an executor, from potential liabilities. Click the links below to learn more."

Probate Property Insurance

If property is in the estate, the executors have a duty to protect and insure it. If they don’t, they will likely be liable for repairing or reinstating damaged property, which could be expensive and a significant financial risk.

You can learn more about the executors' liability for insuring property on our Executor Home Insurance page.

Here are links to two pages that explain the insurance you need for empty or occupied property during probate:

• Insurance for empty property in probate: Insuristic has developed a product specifically for this purpose, and it is not an off-the-shelf policy, nor is it available anywhere else.  You can arrange cover to protect your liability on a short-term or annual basis with no early cancellation fees, which is handy as it's hard to predict how long you need to insure for.  If you cancel early, the estate will receive a pro-rata refund to reflect the amount of unused cover.
• Insurance for occupied property in probate is another specialist policy provided by Insuristic. It is becoming more common for property still occupied by dependents, where beneficiaries have moved in, or if the deceased was a landlord with paying tenants in one of their properties.  In this scenario, neither a standard home nor a landlord insurance policy is suitable, but Insuristic can help you arrange the right insurance offline directly with our underwriter.

Executor Legal Indemnity Insurance

Insuristic was the first insurance broker in the UK that enabled lay executors and administrators to arrange legal indemnity insurance online for a range of third-party risks via its Estate Protect Direct policy.

We’ve covered each of the following in more detail on our Executor Insurance page, including ‘What it covers’ and ‘Why you should consider’ each of the following policies:

• Early Distribution Insurance: Distribute the estate as soon as you are ready without worrying about the 6-month statutory waiting period law firms recommend.  The beneficiaries can get their money earlier whilst protecting you against claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
• Section 27 Insurance: Buy protection against claims from creditors that were unknown to you when the estate was distributed. You don’t need to arrange costly Section 27 notices or place obituaries in local newspapers.  Firstly, arrange a free deceased credit and liability report from Experian or Equifax, then arrange the Section 27 insurance.
• Missing Will Insurance: Whether there is a Will or not, the risk of another Will being discovered is relatively high and could be very costly to fix without insurance. This policy would allow the existing beneficiaries to keep their money whilst paying the court costs and award to a successful third party up to the level of indemnity provided. To buy this cover, you must first arrange a Will Search Combined via the National Will Register, which searches their vast online database and local solicitor firms.  The insurance then covers the risk of an unregistered Will being found, which is possible, as many Wills are still paper-based and not stored digitally.
• Missing Beneficiary Insurance: This insurance protects against the risk of an unknown beneficiary coming forward after the estate has been distributed. It is also available for a known beneficiary who cannot be found. Both scenarios usually require a genealogy report and a verified family tree.

What Lay Executors can’t insure.

If you undertake your role as an executor without the support of a solicitor, you have no protection against claims for negligence, making mistakes, or missing something.

Solicitors must have insurance protection for negligence claims as the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) requires.

This cover is only available for professionals and not members of the public.  So, if you are worried about making mistakes or being accused of negligence, which is possible due to the complex nature of probate and the financial implications of getting things wrong. 

So, if in doubt, consider appointing a solicitor to administer the estate, or if budget is a challenge, to work alongside you.  

If you would like an introduction to one of our Probate Solicitor partners please contact us and we will put you in touch with one. 

We don’t earn any commission from introductions, we’re just happy to help you.