Peace of mind for executors and beneficiaries:
On this page, you will find a lot of useful information to help you arrange Missing Beneficiary Insurance for estates in the UK.
If you have questions about the cover, you should find answers on this page.
If not, start a chat or contact us. You can click on any of the items in 'Contents' to jump to the section that interests you.
Missing Beneficiary Insurance protects executors, administrators and beneficiaries if someone later claims a share of an estate after it has already been distributed. This individual may have been unknown or untraceable at the time of distribution.
The policy covers legal defence costs, any agreed settlements, and related expenses up to the indemnity limit selected.
It is important to ensure this limit reflects both the value of the estate and any legal costs that may arise, as the insurer will not pay more than the insured amount.
This type of insurance is often referred to as peace of mind cover and is particularly useful in the following situations:
In cases where there is concern about the existence of a more recent Will with different beneficiaries or inheritance allocations, executors may instead need Missing Will Insurance.
Missing Beneficiary Insurance allows the estate to be distributed with confidence, knowing that personal representatives and beneficiaries are protected from future financial claims.
This type of cover is commonly arranged by those responsible for distributing an estate, especially when there is a risk that a beneficiary could come forward after the estate has been finalised. It may be relevant in the following circumstances:
In these cases, Missing Beneficiary Insurance offers valuable protection and peace of mind by covering the financial and legal risks associated with a missed heir.
You can buy Missing Beneficiary Insurance from Insuristic online in just a couple of minutes. However, before you begin, there are a few steps to complete to ensure your application is accepted.
Once these requirements are in place, you can proceed to get a quote. If no issues are flagged during the application, you will be able to purchase cover online and receive your policy documents instantly by email.
If the genealogy report identifies any risks or if there are concerns about missing beneficiaries, your quote will be referred. In these cases, Insuristic will contact you to gather more information and work with the underwriters to obtain a tailored quote.
You are not required to send your family tree or genealogy report unless a claim is made. We recommend storing these securely in case they are needed in the future.
For peace of mind cover, the cost is calculated based on the value of the estate.
To give you an idea of cost, for an average estate size of £250,000, with a full genealogy report the cost would be (inclusive of Tax):
The cost is cheaper the more legal support you have to reflect the specialist involvement of a regulated law firm.
If you receive a claim on missing beneficiary 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.
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 beneficiary 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.
This will vary depending on the insurer. Some policies provide cover for 6 or 10 years.
The insurer Insuristic works with provides a policy that is in perpetuity, so you will always have a cover. This should provide sufficient peace of mind to the executors, administrators, and beneficiaries.
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):
We have written a guide to Executor Insurance, which explains the need for these types of policies. You can find out more here: https://insuristic.co.uk/executor-insurance/
This depends. If the beneficiary was unknown to the executors, a claim can occur at any point. This is why we offer an insurance policy that runs in perpetuity.
If you are looking to insure against a claim from a known missing beneficiary, and a genealogist can't track them down, then they have 12 years to claim against the estate (from the date of the Grant of Probate). We can arrange insurance in these circumstances provided you have a genealogy report evidencing every attempt has been made to contact them.
If you have further questions, please visit our Probate Insurance FAQ page.
Hi, I'm Rob Faulkner, CEO & Founder of Insuristic.
I’m passionate about simplifying insurance to help everyday people, executors, beneficiaries, and law firms confidently choose the right probate insurance or unoccupied home insurance policy, without jargon, big commissions, or unnecessary fees that inflate your costs.
As an ACII-qualified Chartered Insurance Broker with nearly 30 years of experience, I’ve led product innovations at insurers, brokers, and Insurtech firms, developing solutions that make insurance simpler and more transparent.
I’m especially passionate about product development and marketing, which sit at the heart of our customer-first approach.
Want to learn more? Visit my author page or follow me on LinkedIn.
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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.
