Missing Will Insurance?

Missing Will Insurance provides cover should another Will be discovered after the estate has been distributed. It provides cover up to the level of indemnity you have chosen and provides cover for:

Legal defence;
Legal expenses;
Awards to a third party.

Claims following the discovery of another Will can happen anytime in the future, and they can be significant, particularly if it contains differing beneficiaries and shares of inheritance.

As the executor (if there is a Will) or Administrator (no Will), referred to as personal representatives from now on, you must ensure the probate is applied for on the correct basis, and using the most recent Will. If you think the deceased didn’t make a Will and the estate is therefore intestate, you must make best endeavours to ensure that this is the case.

The discovery of a Will in either scenario that wasn't considered prior to the estate's distribution leaves you legally liable, exposing you to the financial risk of defending the claim and settling with successful claimants.

If the personal representatives don’t have the funds, after they have used all their cash and disposed of assets, the beneficiaries can then be drawn into the claim and asked to repay some or all of their inheritance towards the remaining settlement.

So, whether there is a valid Will or not, it is important to consider Missing Will Insurance. One policy, arranged in 2 minutes (after some important risk management steps explained below), will protect all personal representatives and beneficiaries from a claim arising from the discovery of another Will forever. There is no excess to pay either; if a claim comes in, the insurer handles everything so the personal representatives and beneficiaries can move on with their lives, with the comfort of insurance.

This page explains what you need to know. Use the contents menu to jump to the section you need.

What you need to do before arranging Missing Will Insurance

Prior to requesting a Missing Will Insurance quote, you need to complete the following steps:

Carry out a Will Search Combined with the National Will Register. This searches their database of over 10 million records and the solicitors and Will writers local to where the deceased lived. A Will Search Combined from the National Will Register is the only search we accept when arranging cover.
Search all the deceased's documentation. Go through paperwork at the deceased's property and anywhere else it may be held to locate a Will, or a later Will than the one you're relying on. This is important as Wills are paper-based, and many are not recorded with the National Will Register.

The insurer will ask you to confirm this has been done when requesting a quote.

Please note:

We don't need to see a copy of the Will Search, provided it doesn't reveal another Will. If the National Will Register does find one, you should seek legal advice.
If the Will you're relying on isn't valid, for example, a non-certified copy, or a damaged or torn Will, you should first seek legal advice. We may be able to arrange cover on referral to the underwriter, but there is no guarantee, as the chances of a claim can be high in this scenario.

How to consider the level of indemnity on a Missing Will Insurance policy

Only the personal representatives can decide the level of indemnity, as you know the estate best. As a guide, work it out like this:

Start with the gross value of the estate.
Deduct the liabilities: debts, the mortgage, funeral costs, and any other liabilities you find, to reach the net estate value.
Add an allowance for future legal costs. The policy will pay out up to the limit of indemnity, including legal costs, expenses and awards to successful claimants, so you need to add an allowance on top. You don’t want a claim in ten years, and the indemnity isn’t high enough to cover the loss, leaving you with a liability.

The policy does have some built-in protection against inflation, called the escalator clause.

It is an important policy extension as inflation will gradually increase the risk of underinsurance. To counter this, our policy automatically increases the indemnity by up to 5% compound each year, for the first 10 years of the policy, up to a maximum of 125% of the estate value.

We include an escalator clause as standard; some underwriters do not, so it is worth checking your quotes prior to purchase.

If in doubt, it is always better to over-insure. You can easily compare prices by quoting at different indemnity levels without rekeying information each time. That way, you can compare costs and consider the benefits of the chosen indemnity level.

How much does Missing Will Insurance cost?

The Missing Will Insurance policy provided by Insuristic runs in perpetuity, which means there is no expiry date to the policy. This provides long-term peace of mind for executors, personal representatives, and beneficiaries.

The premiums are small, especially when you consider the risk the policy protects and the cover period.

The cost is usually calculated as a percentage of the total estate value, with the average premium during 2024 being £450.

The actual cost will vary depending on the size and complexity of the estate.

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How much does Missing Will Insurance cost?

The premiums are small, especially when you consider the risk the policy protects and the cover period.

The cost is usually calculated as a percentage of the total estate value, with the average premium during 2024 being £450.

The actual cost will vary depending on the size and complexity of the estate.

What is insured on a Missing Will Indemnity Insurance Policy?

A financial loss by anyone insured on this policy as a result of a claim against the distributed estate. This will include any executors, personal representatives or beneficiaries;
Any defence costs; or
Any other costs and expenses in relation to a claim that you incur with the Insurer’s written.

What is not insured on a Missing Will Insurance Policy?

The insurer could refuse to pay a claim for the following reasons:

A missing Will has not been located;
There is a loss arising from any matter which the insured party was aware of at the Inception Date;
You make steps to trace a missing Will after the inception date;
The insured confirms the statement of fact is true where you could reasonably have been expected to know it was not true;
The insured party makes a claim knowing that it is false or fraudulent
The insured party discloses this policy exists to another person.

Cover restrictions to be aware of

Here are some conditions you need to be aware of when buying Missing Will Indemnity Insurance. There may be others, so always read your policy documents.

You or any other insured should not disclose the existence of this policy to a third party, other than your legal representatives, without the written consent of the insurer.
You or any other insured shouldn't communicate on any matter regarding the insured risk with any party who may have an interest in enforcing an insured risk. An example of this could be a new beneficiary mentioned in another Will.

Making a Claim

If you receive a claim on Missing Will Indemnity Insurance you must adhere to all the claims conditions listed in the policy.

Failure to do this could mean the insurer rejects your claim, or they could reduce the value the policy pays out if the breach of conditions increases the value of the loss.

You should ensure you read and understand all of the policy conditions listed in the policy.

Here are some pointers on what you should do in the event of a claim:

You should never tell a third party about the existence of this policy.
If there are circumstances that might cause a claim, you must tell the insurer in writing as soon as possible. You should also provide the insurer with as much information and documentation as you can.
Don't incur any costs relating to a claim without first consulting your insurer
Never admit liability or offer to pay or settle with someone else. You should refer the matter to your insurers claims team.
Pass all correspondence and requests for meetings to your insurer's claims team.

For full details of your claims conditions, you must read your policy wording or speak to the insurer's claims team for guidance.

Frequently Asked Questions

The cover is recommended to anyone acting as an executor or administrator (professional or non-professional).

The cover protects the personal liability of the executors, administrators and personal representatives of the estate. It also protects the beneficiaries should there be a successful claim, as they would not need to repay any of the money they have received.

Any executor or personal representative listed on the policy plus the beneficiaries mentioned in the will used as the basis of distributing the estate.

The benefits of missing will insurance include:

Protection from financial liability if a claim is made against the estate
Assurance that the beneficiaries of the estate receive their inheritance as intended
Peace of mind for the executors and beneficiaries of the estate

The risks of not having missing will insurance include:

Exposure to financial liability if a claim is made against the estate
The possibility that the beneficiaries of the estate may not receive their inheritance as intended
Stress and anxiety for the executors and beneficiaries of the estate

The cost of missing will insurance varies depending on the size of the estate, but it is typically a small price to pay for the peace of mind that it can provide.

The average cost of Missing Will Insurance is c£450.

An Escalator Clause can help you avoid under insurance as it increases the limit of indemnity by 5% each year from the inception of the policy.

Imagine if a missing will indemnity insurance claim was made against the estate 5 years after distribution and the Estate's value was £300,000. If the value of the Estate at the end of the 5 year was now worth £382,884 (based on a 5% growth each year), the administers would be liable for the shortfall of £82,884. This is because the Limit of Indemnity was set at £300,000.

If the Escalate Clause had been included for a small increase in premium at the outset, there would have been no additional liability as the Limit of Indemnity would have increased each year to cover the Estates increase in value.

As an executor or personal representative, it is your responsibility to ensure the estate and the beneficiaries are adequately insured.

You should be considering the following types of insurance (click the links to go to the relevant page):

Other Probate Insurance Pages

You can find out more about our products on the following pages. You can also click the 'Get a Quote' button on each page to get a quote in a couple of minutes.

Probate House Insurance Early Distribution Insurance Section 27 Insurance Missing Beneficiary Insurance

About the Author: Rob Faulkner

Rob Faulkner is a leading expert in Probate Insurance, Probate Risk Management, Property Insurance (especially Unoccupied Home Insurance), with nearly 30 years’ experience in the UK insurance market. He is the founder of Insuristic, a specialist provider of probate-related insurance solutions and educational content for executors.

Rob is an ACII Chartered Insurance Broker, a Chartered Manager, and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. His background spans insurers, brokers, and Insurtechs, always focused on innovation, transparency, simplicity, and fair value.

Rob is passionate about product development and improving insurance education through marketing, helping people understand what they are buying. These values sit at the heart of everything we do at Insuristic.

His mission is to make Insurance smarter, easier to understand, and faster to buy. Particularly for the Probate market, where Rob has identified friction points and solved them for lay clients and solicitors alike.

Want to learn more? Visit my author page or follow me on LinkedIn.

Missing Will Insurance