Insuristic is the first insurance broker in the UK to provide quotes for Section 27 Insurance online to both personal representatives (the executors or administrators) and solicitors.
Section 27 indemnity insurance covers the legal liability of personal representatives (executors or administrators) and beneficiaries for claims by unknown creditors against the estate, up to the level of indemnity purchased, including legal costs and awards to successful creditor claimants.
You do not need to have placed a Section 27 Notice and newspaper placements advertising the death to buy cover. Nor do you need a deceased credit report to check for all known liabilities (which can be arranged for free), although the insurance is cheaper if you have one.
Creditors usually have up to 6 years (but it could be up to 12 years for some loans, mortgages, guarantees, and bonds) from the point at which the debt was due to be repaid to make a claim. If the personal representatives haven't insured and the estate has been distributed, this liability usually falls on them to settle, even if they have placed a Section 27 notice.
Key point - known debts are not insurable; they should be treated as an estate liability and settled prior to distribution. Section 27 Insurance covers unknown debts that surface after distribution.
All of this is explained on this page. You can use the contents menu to jump to the page that interests you, and click 'Get a Quote' when you are ready to insure. It will take you approximately two minutes to arrange cover.
A Section 27 notice is the traditional way personal representatives tried to protect themselves before distributing an estate, but with modern free statutory deceased credit searches provided by the likes of Experian or Equifax, you no longer need to go to the expense of placing a notice. Despite that, solicitors still usually arrange one as a matter of routine, which wastes estate funds and delays distribution due to the two-month waiting period.
The notice takes its name from Section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925, which lets personal representatives advertise their intention to distribute the estate and invite unknown creditors to come forward. The notice is published in The Gazette (the official public record) and usually in a local newspaper covering the area where the deceased lived. Creditors are given at least two months to respond before the estate can be distributed.
And it isn't free: placing the notices typically costs £300–£400 once Gazette and newspaper fees are added, plus a two-month delay before you can distribute the estate.
What most personal representatives and solicitors think the Section 27 Notice does:
The problem is the third point. A Section 27 notice does protect the personal representatives against a direct claim from an unknown creditor — that part is well established. However, beneficiaries who receive a claim can allege that the personal representatives failed in their duty to protect them from financial loss, and could then sue the personal representatives.
Many solicitors still believe that placing a Section 27 Notice protects the personal representatives under the Trustee Act 1925. It's a common misunderstanding.
This advice is widely available online, to the point that the AI tools many people use also repeat it.
However, the view from an expert Probate Risk Management insurance broker is that this is incorrect and could leave the personal representatives liable.
As mentioned in the previous section, if a claim arises after the estate has been distributed and there's no Section 27 insurance in place, the beneficiaries can still sue the personal representatives for failing to protect them from financial loss.
And if a solicitor administering the estate advised a notice instead of insurance, that could itself become a Professional Indemnity claim against the firm.
So relying on a notice alone is a big risk.
Section 27 insurance protects both the personal representatives and the beneficiaries against unknown creditor claims.
For estates less than £500,000, the Section 27 Insurance is often cheaper than publishing notices and adverts in the paper; plus, you wouldn’t have the two-month wait before the estate can be distributed.
The cost of our Section 27 Indemnity Insurance can be as low as £89.60, including Insurance Premium Tax.
The cost will vary depending on:
Please note: there is no discount for placing a Section 27 Notice — it can actually increase the risk of a claim, because advertising for creditors can prompt claims that would otherwise never have surfaced.
Insuristic has developed Estate Protect Direct, which enables you to buy Section 27 Insurance either standalone, or as part of a package.
The most economical way to arrange a Section 27 Insurance policy is:
Please note: we can still provide a quote without the statutory credit and liability search, but it will cost the estate more.
If you want to distribute the estate within the statutory six-month period, consider an Early Distribution Insurance policy as well, to protect the executors and beneficiaries from Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims.
If you receive a claim on Section 27 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.
Without Section 27 insurance, the personal representatives and beneficiaries can be left exposed if an unknown creditor comes forward after the estate has been distributed. The creditor can pursue the beneficiaries to recover what they received, and the beneficiaries can, in turn, argue that the personal representatives failed in their duty to protect them, so the liability can fall back on the personal representatives.
You can reduce the risk by obtaining a free deceased credit and liability search to identify and settle known debts before distributing, and then arrange Section 27 Insurance when you have received either the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.
It's another name for Section 27 Insurance — the same cover described on this page. The "no notice" simply reflects that you can insure against unknown creditor claims without placing a Section 27 Notice or waiting out the two-month period a notice requires.
You can arrange a Section 27 Insurance policy as soon as you have the Grant of Probate (if there is a Will) or Letters of Administration (if there is no Will).
If you've distributed the estate and don't have insurance, you would need to pay the creditor yourself, or seek legal advice if you want to dispute the claim. The cost of defending the claim and paying the creditor would be paid from your own funds.
If you have Section 27 Indemnity Insurance, speak to your insurer's claims team immediately. Send them any correspondence from creditors seeking to recover their debts, and don't acknowledge the letters or speak to the claimant; let your insurer do that on your behalf - otherwise you could invalidate your cover.
Usually up to 6 years from the date the debt fell due, though it can be up to 12 years for debts under deed, such as some mortgages, guarantees and bonds.
This is why a claim can surface after the estate has been distributed. If that happens and there's no Section 27 insurance in place, the personal representatives can be left liable, even if a Section 27 notice was placed, because the notice doesn't shorten a creditor's time limit or protect the beneficiaries who received the money.
Rob Faulkner is an ACII Chartered Insurance Broker with 30+ years' experience in the UK insurance market. He is also a Chartered Manager and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
As the founder of Insuristic, Rob has developed clear, flexible insurance solutions for the probate market.
He writes regularly on unoccupied home insurance, probate insurance, probate risk management, non-standard home insurance, and other areas where he brings deep expertise.
Rob is especially passionate about product development and insurance education, helping people understand what they are buying. These values shape everything we do at Insuristic.
Want to learn more? Visit About Rob Faulkner or follow Rob on LinkedIn.
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