Avoid Costly Mistakes: What Happens to House Insurance When Someone Dies

What happens to house insurance when someone dies depends on how insurers treat this major change of risk. If there is a surviving owner, the insurance can usually continue; however, if the deceased was the sole owner, it triggers the probate process, and often results in significant changes to the insurance coverage, which can create a big risk for those now responsible for the property.

Most insurers consider the death of a homeowner a material change, meaning the policy may not continue automatically. If you don’t notify the insurer within their stated time limit (often 7 days), cover can be cancelled, treated as if it never existed, or have claims rejected.

If the property is unoccupied, most standard home insurance policies remove key coverage after 30 days.

If it’s still occupied, you may face insurable interest issues and find the property uninsurable without specialist probate cover. Executors should act quickly to protect the estate and avoid personal liability.

Executor’s 4-step action plan

Here’s what to do if you’re trying to work out what happens to house insurance when someone dies and you’re now responsible for the property:

1. Notify the insurer immediately (often within 7 days).
2. Update the policyholder name to the estate — if the insurer is still willing to continue cover.
3. Arrange appropriate specialist probate house insurance (occupied or unoccupied) if the existing insurer cancels or restricts cover.
4. Read all Insurance Quotes and your chosen insurance policy to understand any notification deadlines and cover limits.

The 7-day notification rule & change of risk clauses

Most policy wordings require you to notify the insurer immediately or within a fixed time limit (often 7 days) if there’s a change of occupancy.

Example wording from a standard home insurance policy:

“You must notify us within seven days if you change the occupancy of your home… Failure to do so may result in your insurance being cancelled or treated as if it never existed.”

This rule is one of the key reasons you need to understand what happens to house insurance when someone dies and act quickly to protect the estate.

Why this matters for executors

As an executor, you have a legal duty to protect the estate’s assets, and that means knowing what happens to house insurance when someone dies.

The property is usually the most valuable of these, but standard home insurance policies are written for owner-occupied homes, not estates in probate.

Failing to update the insurer can:

• Invalidate the policy entirely.
• Leave the estate uninsured for weeks or months.
• Create personal liability for losses.

Even standard unoccupied home insurance policies are not designed to protect your liability, more protect the insurers by excluding common claims such as escape of water, malicious damage and theft. Plus large loss events like flood or subsidence.

Scenario 1: Unoccupied property after the owner’s death

If no one moves into the home after the death, the answer to what happens to house insurance when someone dies often depends on how insurers apply the following:

• The policyholder’s name must be changed to Executors or Administrators of the Estate of [Name of Deceased].
• Many insurers will cancel immediately or restrict cover to FLEEA only (Fire, Lightning, Explosion, Earthquake, Aircraft) after 30 days.
• You’ll lose protection for escape of water, theft, malicious damage, storm, and flood.
• Executors and Administrators can be personally liable for uninsured losses or if the property is underinsured, see our Executor Home Insurance page for details.

Solution: Arrange Unoccupied Probate House Insurance immediately to maintain full cover.

Scenario 2: Occupied property after the owner’s death

Even if the property is still occupied, understanding what happens to house insurance when someone dies is not straightforward.

In many cases, the existing policy cannot continue in the deceased’s name because of insurable interest rules.

• If the occupants are living there with the executors’ permission, specialist Occupied Probate Property Insurance can provide cover.
• If they are living there without permission (for example, a partner not inheriting under the Will), it is often uninsurable until they leave due to the increased risks of poor maintenance or malicious damage.

Summary: What Happens to House Insurance When Someone Dies

When a homeowner dies, standard home insurance may end or be severely restricted, especially if the property becomes unoccupied.

Executors must notify the insurer quickly, change the policyholder name to the estate, and arrange specialist probate cover if the insurer will not continue or will only continue with restricted terms. Without valid cover, executors can be personally liable for losses or underinsurance.

Get a quick probate insurance quote today and protect both the property and your liability as executor.
That reinforces the action you want them to take.

Get a quick probate insurance quote today and protect both the property and your liability as executor.

• If the property is unoccupied, get a quote from our Probate House Insurance page.
• If the property is occupied, get a quote from our Occupied House Insurance During Probate page.

Related guides

• How to Insure an Empty House After the Death of the Owner
• Executor Home Insurance – Your Risks Explained

If you have further questions, visit our Probate Insurance FAQ page.