Executor Insurance

The timing depends on which cover you need.

For property cover, arrange Probate Property Insurance as soon as the property becomes empty; gaps in cover and underinsurance are a personal liability risk for the executors.

For the legal indemnity policies (Early Distribution, Section 27, Missing Will,  and Missing Beneficiary Insurance), arrange cover on Estate Protect Direct as soon as you have the Grant. Cover starts from the policy date, not the date of the Grant, so don't delay. And if a claim is received before you arrange cover, you may not be able to insure against it at all.

In England and Wales, the person responsible for administering an estate is called an executor if there's a Will, or an administrator if there's no Will.

• Executor: A person named in the Will to carry out the deceased's wishes — paying debts, distributing assets, and filing paperwork with the court. To act, the executor applies for a Grant of Probate, which gives them legal authority on behalf of the estate.
• Administrator: A person appointed by the court to administer the estate when there's no Will. The administrator has the same responsibilities as an executor but must apply for Letters of Administration rather than a Grant of Probate. They're usually the deceased's next of kin.

Only Probate Property Insurance can be arranged before the Grant is issued. The executor's responsibility for the property starts at the date of death, not at the date of the Grant.

The various legal indemnity policies can only be arranged once you have the Grant. This is because the policies are underwritten based on what's known about the estate at the point of distribution.

Potentially. Even with a solicitor, you still face third-party risks that the solicitor's professional indemnity (PI) insurance doesn't cover.

A solicitor's PI insurance protects you against mistakes or omissions in the work the solicitor does, for example, getting the probate application wrong, miscalculating tax, or mishandling the estate administration.

It does not cover third-party claims, which is what executor legal indemnity insurance is designed to cover. These include:

• Early Distribution Insurance - Claims from dependants under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
• Section 27 Insurance - Claims from unknown creditors after distribution
• Missing Will Insurance - Claims following the discovery of a later Will
• Missing Beneficiary Insurance - Claims from missing or unknown beneficiaries

These risks are entirely separate from the quality of the solicitor's work — they can arise even when everything has been done correctly.

If you need cover, you can arrange this on our Estate Protect Direct policy.

If your solicitor is arranging the legal indemnity covers, they can do so through our Estate Protect Direct policy. Solicitors get a discount on Insuristic's legal indemnity policies, which often makes this route more cost-effective than arranging the cover yourself.

Yes. Executor insurance is a legitimate estate expense and can be reimbursed from estate funds.

The policy usually has to be paid up front, before the estate's bank accounts are accessible. In practice this means one of two things:

• You pay personally and reclaim the cost later — keep clear records of the payment so you can recover it when distributing the estate.
• You set up an estate bank account first, funded with the deceased's assets, and pay directly from there. Most banks will only release funds for this once the Grant of Probate is issued, so this route depends on timing and the estate's liquidity.

If you're unsure which route works for your situation, speak with the bank holding the estate's funds. Either way, the insurance cost itself sits with the estate, not with you personally.

Before taking any action, please refer to your policy document for instructions on how to notify a claim.  You should not respond to the third party; leave that to the underwriter.

If you need advice on a potential or existing claim, you should speak to the claims team at CLS Property Insight on 01732 753 910.

Yes, as long as there are no known issues.  If the delays are caused by a dispute or caveat, you must declare this, so that your quote details refer to the underwriter.  In this situation, Insuristic will manage the discussions and quote process offline.

It depends on the policy.

The four legal indemnity policies (Early Distribution, Section 27, Missing Will, Missing Beneficiary) run forever, which is important because some claims (such as the discovery of a later Will or a missing beneficiary surfacing) can arise many years after distribution. If a claim arises, there is also no excess to pay; the underwriter deals with everything on the Personal Representative's behalf.

Probate Property Insurance runs for the term you arrange — typically annual or short-term — and ends when the property is sold, inherited, or occupied again.