Insurance misshap

[Jessica5432]

Hello going through probate I understood I needed house insurance for unoccupied property which was fine I had a quote from a company who said my fathers estate would pay for it so accepted the quote. Halifax then said they don’t pay out for things like this. Emaild the accounts department about it and got a rubbish reply so I left it and got insurance with someone else who I could afford upfront. I have told them several times that when I was quoted I was told it could come out of my dads estate and clearly it cannot and now they are chasing me for the money even though I said months ago I don’t have this money spare I thought it could come out of my dads account due to what the sales guy told me. Very stressed. Any help from the wise people on here x

I’m assuming Halifax are who your dad’s bank accounts are with? Probate home insurance is usually a payment a bank will authorise executors can pay from the deceased’s estate. Did Halifax give you a reason why they wouldn’t?

Whilst the insurer may have advised that the premium could be paid from the estate, it was ultimately your responsibility to ensure that your dad’s bankers would authorise such a payment prior to taking out a policy. The insurer isn’t liable for an unconnected party’s decisions. If by “accepted a quote” you mean you took out an policy, unless you cancelled the policy within the cooling off / cancellation period, you are liable for any premium and cancellation charges the policy terms state. Have you read your policy wording to establish what this is.?

Isn't it up to whoever is handling probate to decide what is paid from the deceased estate, and house insurance until probate is complete I would have thought would be allowable (although perhaps the person who inherited the house should pay). I seem to remember we contacted the existing insurers who gave something like three months on the existing insurance and then it was extra for an empty house, all paid with the other household bills out of the estate, through the solicitor handling probate.

Edit: it didn't come directly out of the deceased bank account as that doesn't work after death, it came out of the funds collected by the solicitor for probate before distribution to beneficiaries.

I had to pay the insurance for late father in laws house, I did negotiate the cost, as we didn’t need as much cover that he had and we cut the contents to the bare minimum. His bank account was frozen and they said it was the Executor who had to pay.

Did the original conversation take place over the phone? If so you could ask for a recording or a transcript of the conversation.