Indemnity insurance, like all insurances, covers risk. Indemnity insurance ‘indemnifies’ someone against the consequences of a known, but perhaps unquantifiable, risk.
Where a property has a ‘defect’ in its legal title, meaning that there is some legal problem that could, potentially, cause significant expense at some point down the road, it would usually be a good idea to address the problem. However, sometimes the issue is not easily or quickly addressed and in these circumstances it is not unusual for an insurance company to be brought in to assess and underwrite the risks involved.
Taking Indemnity Insurance against defective title, perhaps in situations where the deeds to unregistered land have been lost or are incomplete, allows the transaction to take place whilst protecting all parties from the consequences should some title dispute arise later. It’s important to note that whilst it’s usually the buyer (and his lender) that take the insurance, it’s usually the seller that pays for it. All parties would usually be covered by it.
Defects covered by Indemnity Insurance include;
Solicitors are guided by the Law Society as to when Indemnity Insurance should be considered. Costs vary, dependent on the risk, but a policy is usually between a few hundred and a few thousand pounds.
Most Indemnity policies are invalidated if any of the parties contact any third party in respect of the defect. This can mean that outstanding planning defects, for example, cannot be rectified by applying for retrospective planning permission without invalidating the insurance.
According to a report in the Guardian, senior ministers have asked Treasury officials to look into a “proportional” property tax to see how it would work as an alternative to the existing stamp duty land tax on owner-occupied homes.
More than a quarter of UK adults in long-term relationships (26%) have reported that despite living together, they keep their finances separate from one another.
There has been a rise in both rent and mortgage costs over the last three years, with renters seeing a greater increase in their monthly payments than those with a mortgaged property.
20 days ago
The new Delayed Start Mortgage launched by Skipton Building Society allows first time buyers to postpone the first three mortgage payments. This product has been designed to help soften the blow of moving in costs for first time buyers.
22 days ago
Mortgage lenders are starting to recognise their “Green” responsibilities when it comes to the different products they offer.
A recent study by Boon Brokers where 1,000 people who had used an estate agent over the last year were surveyed, showed that a whopping 52% said they were pressured into using the estate agents’ in-house mortgage broker.
25 Jul 2025
Analysts are predicting further rate cuts this year, with the next one possibly coming down to 4% when the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meet on Thursday 7th August 2025.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has shared new changes to mortgage rules with the aim to simplify remortgaging, and encourage competition within the mortgage market.