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Probate House Insurance

Buildings and contents insurance for properties during probate.

  • Flexible probate property insurance for 3, 6, 9 or 12 months
  • Extra help to relatives going through probate for the first time.
  • Access your quotes, policies and renewals in your online account
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One of the UK's leading independent insurance brokers

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Overall service rating 4.6 / 5

Based on 4839 customer reviews

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Why choose probate house insurance with Towergate?

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Specialist, friendly team

If you have any questions about your policy or you need to make a change, our friendly customer service team is available Mon - Fri.

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Flexible probate house cover

Flexible probate property insurance for 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, both before and after probate is granted.

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Spread the cost of probate house insurance

You can spread the cost over monthly Direct Debit instalments.

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Dedicated probate house insurance claims specialists

Our friendly and helpful claims team are available 5 days a week.

About probate house insurance

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Buildings insurance for probate houses

We cover your buildings as standard, this includes the Home and its permanent fixtures and fittings, swimming pools, paths, drives, terraces, walls, hedges, gates and fences all contained within the boundaries of the Land.

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Rebuild costs

We can help cover the re-build costs of your property should the worst happen, as long as your sum insured is adequate. If you aren’t sure if your sums insured are correct, or how to calculate your rebuild costs, speak to one of our friendly advisors to help guide you through the process.

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Occupied or unoccupied probate house cover

Whether the property is still being lived in or vacant we can accommodate for a variety of circumstances.

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Liability cover

Our policies have £2,000,000 liability insurance built in to cover you for damages.

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Home emergency assistance

You can add home emergency assistance to your policy to enable access to a 24-hour helpline for sudden, unexpected events. A team will then assist you in making your home safe and secure once more and restore electricity, gas or your water supply if required. There is no excess to pay for this service and it will not affect your no claims bonus.

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Legal cover for probate properties

We can optionally extend your cover to help with legal expenses up to £50,000.

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Towergate Assist Insurance

Our optional cover Towergate Assist insurance can help support you through the process of making and managing claims on your policy. This service will provide you with access to the advice of an expert loss adjuster to prepare, negotiate and settle insurance claim(s), subject to the conditions and exclusions of the insurance policy.

When you need to make a claim, we'll guide you through the process and get your claim settled as quickly as possible.

  • Find your insurance documents and make sure you have all your information at hand, including your policy number.
  • Call the claims team on 0345 074 4760 and explain exactly what happened.
  • Provide photos if requested to help us understand what happened as quickly as we can.
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Ready to get covered?

  • Fill in our online quote form or call us
  • Purchase your policy
  • Relax - You're covered!
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Probate house insurance FAQs

Probate is the process of dealing with the estate of somebody after their death, which typically involves clearing any debts and distributing whatever assets they have in accordance with their will. Often this will involve a property.

You’re likely to need special cover if the property is still in the deceased’s name, or if it’s unoccupied for an extended period. Ordinary home insurance policies probably won’t cover you for more than 30 days of unoccupancy.

Yes. You’ll have to prove you have an ‘insurable interest’ in the property in order for us to be able to provide cover. Once you’ve been confirmed (usually as an executor or trustee) the policy can be issued in your name with any other beneficiaries named as additional policyholders.

Empty properties face more risks than occupied properties. Even well maintained properties can degrade quickly with no one on the spot to see problems – like leaks – and put a stop to them before they cause too much damage. Vacant properties can also be at more risk of antisocial behaviour or burglary. Your insurer may ask that you inspect the property (or have an agent inspect it) every seven days, or that you install an alarm or upgrade locks.

Your premium will also vary depending on how long the property has been or will be empty. Usually after 5 years restrictions will start to apply – often reducing your cover to fire, lightening, earthquake and explosion only.

Each probate case is different, but it can end up being an unexpectedly lengthy period of wrangling with solicitors and official documentation. We’d always recommend you start with at least a six month policy. However, with a range of shorter policies available, it means we can help you make sure you’re only getting the cover you need, at every stage of the probate process.

Yes, you can get a quote online, but we’re on the other end of the phone if you have specific questions, call 0345 266 8577 for any support.

We know that if it’s the first time you’ve dealt with probate, especially if you’re also dealing with your own grief, sometimes things can feel overwhelming. Our team are experts and are on hand to guide you through the process and make sure you’ve got the right cover in place for the property you’re responsible for.

We’re a safe pair of hands for an upsetting time of your life and it’s our job to make things as easy as possible, giving you a bit of peace of mind while you concentrate on what’s really important.

We have provided a summary of the key features of the policy, above. For details of the terms and conditions applicable, please refer to the insurance product information document and policy wording, which are available during the quotation process.

You can pay by credit card or monthly Direct Debit.

If you prefer to spread the cost of your annual premium, we offer a quick and easy Direct Debit scheme. When you choose to pay premiums in instalments, you will be paying under a premium finance plan. We will give you full details of the finance provider, and the additional cost of finance, when we provide you with your payment plan quotation. This will include the total payable, the number of monthly instalments and the cost of each, as well as the representative APR.

Read more FAQs

Probate house insurance articles and guides

Time Limits on Probate Applications

Probate is not an everyday topic for most people and therefore it’s not always understood. We explain what probate is, the time limits for probate application and provide some other handy information from the questions we get asked on a regular basis.

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How to keep your home safe while away

We’ve put together a check list of different things to check to keep your unoccupied home safe and sound while you’re away.

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Guide to Probate and Property

Read our guide to probate, property involved and how to make sure it is insured.

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Protect Your Home against Burglaries during the Colder, Darker Months

Domestic burglaries happen all the time - but particularly during the last three months of the year. This article explains how to minimise your chances of being burgled.

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How to Protect Your Home While You're Away

How do you keep your home secure while you are away on holiday? Learn new tips and tricks on how to protect your home.

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Why Does My Empty House Smell?

If you've noticed some unwanted scents in your vacant property then look no further. Our helpful article covers all the important tips and tricks to banish those odours forever!

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Does your property need specialist home insurance?

Phil Spencer (Location, Location, Location) discusses non-standard home insurance.

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How to Keep Your Holiday Home Safe and Secure

Because holiday homes are regularly left unoccupied, they’re more vulnerable to certain kinds of damage and are at an increased risk of being broken into.

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