Contingency

Contingency covers provide protection against a broad range of situation where there is a small risk of an event, which can have severe consequences.

Property Related Legal Indemnity Insurance

Legal indemnity insurance is often required during the sale, purchase or development of a property. Typical problems include missing deeds or certificates for building regulation, badly drawn plans or restrictive covenants.

As the conveyancing process progresses, problems may be discovered in the title to the property or land. Such an occurrence is quite common and if unresolved, this may mean the sale cannot happen.

Legal Indemnity insurance provides cover for the potential consequences of the problem and the cover protects the new purchaser of a property. However, as solicitors handle the conveyancing process it is normally they who buy it on behalf of their client.

Missing Documents

Important documents are easily misplaced or inadvertently destroyed. The original document may be required to proceed with a specific transaction. Cover is available for:

• Missing share certificates
• Missing life policies

An unusual feature of the policies is that the indemnity is not given to the insured. In the above examples the indemnity would be given to a company such as a life insurer. This is because whilst the insured does not get any benefit in the event of a claim, he does benefit in that the transaction can proceed even though the document is missing.

Probate and Trust

Some circumstances that can occur when winding up a trust or acting as an executor, can be protected.

Missing beneficiaries in a will

After sufficient investigation cover may be able to be provided, in the event that the missing beneficiary appears, after the distribution of their share of the estate amongst other beneficiaries.

Breach of Trust

A trust may have ceased to be useful or the trustee may wish to distribute the assets in breach of the strict terms of trust. For example, the trust may be for the benefit of all of the children of a party who may now be in their seventies. It is unlikely, or may be impossible, for that party to have more children but in order to wind up the trust, an indemnity may be required.