How to Buy The Best Probate House Insurance for the Estate

Handling a property after a loved one passes can feel overwhelming, and the last thing you need is insurance that removes protection just when you’re counting on it.

Standard home insurance often reduces or withdraws cover once a property becomes unoccupied. That can leave the estate, and you as the executor, exposed to avoidable risks and increased liability at an already difficult time.

If you’re looking to buy the best probate house insurance for your needs, this page will show you exactly how to do it, quickly, easily, and with the right protection in place.

Insuristic’s probate house insurance starts from the day the property becomes empty and stays in place for as long as it’s needed, until the estate is settled and the home is sold, transferred, or reoccupied. Whether or not there’s a Will, our policy provides uninterrupted protection while the property is under the care of executors or administrators.

On this page, you’ll learn what to look for in probate house insurance, why standard home insurance often isn’t enough, and how to arrange tailored cover online in just a few minutes.

We offer exclusive policies that aren’t available on comparison sites, designed specifically for estate administration.

Choose short-term insurance or annual cover, select from three levels of protection, and decide whether to include contents. There are no admin or cancellation fees, and if you cancel early without a claim, you’ll receive a pro-rata refund for any unused cover.

Every policy includes access to our underwriter’s UK-based claims team, so if anything goes wrong, you’ll have expert support every step of the way.

Our mission? To make buying the best probate house insurance simple, stress-free, and affordable—just as our many 5-star Trustpilot reviews confirm.

Get an instant quote online, or read on to learn how to protect the property, and your liability, with confidence.

If you're responsible for insuring a home during probate, choosing the right insurance isn’t just a formality, it’s about protecting the property, the estate, and yourself from serious financial risk. Relying on the deceased’s existing policy or buying a generic unoccupied home insurance product may leave you exposed to gaps in cover and personal liability.

On this page, you’ll learn what to look for when buying house insurance for probate, why comparison sites often fall short, and the personal liability risks you face as an executor or administrator.

When you're responsible for insuring a home during probate, it's not just about ticking a box. You're protecting the property, the estate, and yourself, from serious financial risk.

Many people rely on the deceased’s old policy or turn to a generic unoccupied home insurance quote online. But standard policies often aren't built for probate. They can leave dangerous gaps in cover, and put you personally at risk.

Most comparison sites simply aren’t designed for estate administration. They ask the wrong questions, issue cover in the wrong names, and overlook key legal requirements. Here’s where things often go wrong:

• Wrong name on the policy
  The cover must be in the name of the estate—not an individual executor or beneficiary. Many insurers don’t support this correctly.

• Gaps in protection
  Standard unoccupied policies may exclude major risks like flood, subsidence, escape of water, or vandalism—just when the property is most vulnerable.

• Hidden underinsurance risk
  Most sites don’t warn you about setting the wrong rebuild value. Guessing—or entering the market value—could leave you underinsured. At Insuristic, we can quote based on the number of bedrooms and offer blanket cover up to £750,000 (as long as that’s sufficient to rebuild the property).

That’s why specialist probate insurance matters. Insuristic takes away the uncertainty, offering cover designed for estate administration, with the right names, the right risks, and protection for your personal liability too.

Want to understand more about why generic policies often fall short? Read our guide on why it’s difficult to compare unoccupied home insurance.

Many executors assume that any home insurance will do, but insuring a house in probate requires a policy that reflects the unique legal and occupancy risks.

You might think it’s simpler to stick with the deceased’s current policy. But this can introduce serious risks:

• The insurer may apply restrictions or special conditions once they learn the property is unoccupied.

• Claims may be declined for non-compliance with new inspection or maintenance terms.

• Some policies drastically reduce cover for theft, escape of water, or malicious damage.

Worst of all, if a claim is denied, you could be personally liable for the loss as the executor or administrator.

To understand the full risks of extending a policy that wasn’t designed for probate, read our guide: Why It’s Risky to Extend Home Insurance in Probate.

When insuring a home during probate, choosing the wrong policy could expose you to financial and legal risk.

Executors and administrators have a legal duty of care to protect the estate. If the property is uninsured, underinsured, or the policy fails to pay out due to incorrect details, you may be held personally accountable for the shortfall — even if the mistake was unintentional.

To protect yourself, you must ensure that:

• The policy must be in the legal name of the estate — not in your name as executor or that of a beneficiary.

• It explicitly covers unoccupied probate property.

• You can meet all inspection and compliance conditions stated in the policy.

• You've arranged the broadest cover reasonably available, with no avoidable gaps that could have been insured elsewhere.

• You’ve taken steps to avoid underinsuring the property including using an accurate rebuild cost.

If you’re unsure of the rebuild value, we recommend using a professional desktop rebuild valuation from BCH, trusted by many insurers.

Insuristic’s probate property insurance policies are built with these responsibilities in mind, helping you meet your obligations and protect both the property and yourself.

For more on your legal and insurance duties, see our guide to Executor Home Insurance.

Insuristic has developed an unoccupied probate property-specific insurance policy to solve the exact challenges outlined on this page, from avoiding cover gaps and underinsurance to meeting your legal duties as an executor.

We’re also the UK’s only online quote-and-buy platform dedicated to probate property insurance for both the public and solicitors. Here’s why thousands have trusted us:

It’s insurance made simple, and specifically built for probate.

Ready to Protect the Property and Yourself?

Buying the best probate house insurance doesn’t have to be complicated. The right insurance protects the estate, meets your legal responsibilities, and gives you peace of mind.

Get an instant quote online now and arrange cover in minutes.