One of the services offered by Finders International is missing beneficiary indemnity insurance, but what exactly is this?

Missing beneficiary indemnity insurance enables personal representatives to distribute the estate to known beneficiaries secure in the knowledge that if any unknown or missing beneficiaries come forward after the date of distribution, the value of their entitlement will be paid out by the insurer.

We provide this insurance via Aviva. We have a long-standing relationship with this multinational insurance company and we are also regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority because of the insurance service we provide.

Missing beneficiary indemnity insurance can be useful where:
There are specific heirs (or branches of a family tree) who simply cannot be traced
When all the beneficiaries appear to have been found, but a comfort policy is needed
Continuing with the research to locate missing beneficiaries is no longer economically viable, or the research has been undertaken, but has proved inconclusive
Finders Ireland has produced a report that confirms the situation and recommends insurance cover
We have completed our missing will research and no valid will has been found.

Missing beneficiary insurance was once seen as the alternative to research (i.e. the research carried out to find the rightful heirs to an estate), but thanks to the rise in online archives and records over recent years this is no longer the case. You must demonstrate evidence of sufficient research before insurers will provide insurance and they often look for research which has been carried out by professional probate genealogists, and one that has a good track record at carrying out such research.

Insurers therefore will generally ask for a genealogist’s report before considering cover. In certain circumstances, say for example if the value of the funds is low, insurers may not ask for professional research, but this is rare.

Finders International Ireland can also arrange insurance cover in the event that a valid will, or later will that disinherits the former beneficiaries is discovered after the distribution of an estate. You can also combine policies – combined comfort policy and missing will insurance to give complete peace of mind.

One good reason to take out missing beneficiary indemnity insurance is that it can move the whole process on, allowing distribution of the estate. Even if the missing beneficiary does come forward at a later date, the insurers will pay out the value of their inheritance.

One of the benefits of such policies is that there are no time limits on claims being made or expiry dates for the policy, and interest on amounts of claims can be prepared for through either a calculation of the worst case scenario or you can ask for an escalator clause where the insurer increases the limit of indemnity by a certain percent for a limited number of years.

To find out more about insurance or to have a no-obligation discussion of your requirements, call us now on 0345 87 27 600