# Missing beneficiary insurance, Benjamin orders and section 27 notices: what to do when a beneficiary cannot be found

Source: https://tracebureau.co.uk/guides/missing-beneficiary-insurance-or-trace
Updated: 2026-10-05

Missing beneficiary insurance is an indemnity policy that protects personal representatives if a beneficiary who could not be found later appears and claims their share, and you need it only once proper enquiries have failed to find the person. A professional trace comes first because it is normally the cheapest step, it may make the policy unnecessary, and insurers generally expect evidence of the search before they will quote. This guide is for executors, administrators and probate solicitors. It describes the position in England and Wales in general terms and is not legal advice; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules.

## The options, in the order they are normally tried

| Step | What it does | What it does not do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1. Reasonable enquiries, including a professional trace | May find the person, and puts a dated enquiry on the file | Close the matter if the person cannot be placed |
| 2. Section 27 notices | Protect personal representatives against claims they did not know about | Deal with a known beneficiary who cannot be located |
| 3. Missing beneficiary indemnity insurance | Pays if the missing person later proves a claim | Replace the search: insurers expect to see it |
| 4. A Benjamin order | Gives the court's permission to distribute on a stated assumption | Come cheaply or quickly |
| 5. Payment into court, or a reserve | Sets the share aside so the rest can be distributed | Get the money to anyone |

The order matters because each later step asks what was done at the earlier ones. The duty is to take steps that are reasonable and in proportion to the share, and to be able to show them.

## Why the trace comes first

Two reasons. It is normally the cheapest step on the list, and it is the evidence the later steps rely on.

Many "missing" beneficiaries are not missing at all. They moved, married or lost touch with the family, and the address in the will file is decades old. A trace that finds them ends the problem, and the share goes where the will or the intestacy rules say it should.

Where the trace does not find them, you are told, nothing is charged, and the fact that it was done still matters. An insurer assessing the risk and a judge asked for an order both want to know what enquiries were made and when. Family recollection and a returned letter are a thin answer. A dated professional enquiry, added to your own log of who was asked and what was sent, is a better one.

What the report gives you is the person's current registered UK address, a confidence rating that says how strong the evidence is, and a date. It does not confirm identity or entitlement. That is done by documents once contact is made.

## Section 27 notices: useful, but not for this

Section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 lets personal representatives advertise for claims: a notice in The Gazette and, where the estate includes land, in a newspaper circulating in the area, allowing at least two months for a response. Once the period has passed they can distribute having regard only to the claims they know about, and they are protected against personal liability to a claimant they had no notice of.

That last phrase is the limit. A beneficiary named in the will, or a relative you know is entitled on an intestacy, is someone you do have notice of. Advertising does not discharge the duty to look for them, and it does not protect you if their share is paid to someone else. Place the notices as a matter of routine, but treat them as protection against the unknown, not as a way of dealing with a known person you cannot find.

## Missing beneficiary indemnity insurance

A missing beneficiary policy is bought with a single premium. It responds if the missing person, or someone claiming through them, later appears and proves an entitlement. Cover typically extends to the personal representatives and to the beneficiaries who received the share, up to a stated limit. The premium depends mainly on the size of the share and how likely the insurer thinks a claim is, and it is normally treated as an expense of the estate.

Insurers generally ask what enquiries have been made before they quote, and may decline or charge more where little has been done. Expect to be asked for the family background, the steps taken to find the person and any professional report. For a modest share, insurance is usually the proportionate way to close an estate once a proper search has failed. It does not find anyone and it does not remove the missing person's entitlement. It pays the claim if one is made.

## A Benjamin order

A Benjamin order, named after a 1902 case, is the court's permission to distribute an estate on a stated assumption, for example that the missing beneficiary died before the deceased. It protects personal representatives who distribute in line with it. It does not extinguish the missing person's rights: if the assumption proves wrong, they may still be able to pursue those who received their share.

The court expects evidence that full and proper enquiries were made, which is where the dated record of the search is used. An application means legal costs, a court fee and time, so it tends to suit larger shares, or cases where insurance is not available.

## Paying the share into court, or holding a reserve

The Trustee Act 1925 also allows trustees and personal representatives to pay money into court, which discharges them in respect of that fund and lets the rest of the estate be finalised. It is generally regarded as a last resort: the money sits there until someone proves a claim to it.

The simpler alternative is to distribute everything else and hold the missing person's share in reserve. That keeps the administration open and leaves the personal representatives looking after the money, so it buys time for further enquiries and does not end the matter.

## When the trace shows the person has died or moved abroad

Our coverage is the UK only. If the evidence shows the beneficiary has died, or has left the country, you are told and you are not charged.

A death raises a legal question, not a tracing one. Broadly, if the beneficiary died before the deceased, the gift may fail or pass to someone else under the will or the general law. If they died afterwards, their share normally forms part of their own estate. Which applies depends on the wording of the will and the dates, so take advice.

A move abroad, or a family that has to be pieced together before anyone can be looked for, needs more than an address trace. That is work for an investigator, or for a specialist in the country concerned. Our sister service, Investigation Bureau, handles wider enquiries.

## When to instruct a professional trace

Instruct once the deceased's papers and the family have been asked and a named beneficiary is still missing, and before you pay for a policy or a court application. We cross-reference more than 150 sources, registers and records, and a person checks the result. You receive a dated PDF report with the beneficiary's current registered UK address and a confidence rating: Confirmed, Probable or Possible. The minimum we need is the person's full legal name plus a date of birth or a previous address.

Standard is £100 within 3 to 5 working days, Express £150 within 48 hours and Priority £195 within 24 hours. There is nothing to pay when you instruct. The card is only held, and it is charged only when a result verified by a private investigator is delivered rated Confirmed or Probable. A Possible result is offered at half price and you choose. Not found, no fee. Administering an estate is a lawful reason, and it is recorded against the instruction. [Instruct a trace](https://tracebureau.co.uk/instruct) online, or see [tracing for probate](https://tracebureau.co.uk/for-solicitors/probate) if you act for the estate. [Finding missing beneficiaries](https://tracebureau.co.uk/guides/finding-missing-beneficiaries) covers the search itself in more detail.

## Questions

### What is missing beneficiary insurance?

It is an indemnity policy bought by the personal representatives of an estate. If a beneficiary who could not be found later appears and proves their entitlement, the policy pays the claim, up to its limit, so that the cost does not fall on the personal representatives or the people who received the share.

### Do I need to trace a beneficiary before buying missing beneficiary insurance?

In practice, yes. Insurers generally expect evidence that proper enquiries were made before they will quote, and a dated professional trace is the usual starting point. If the trace finds the person, no policy is needed for that share.

### What happens if a beneficiary cannot be found in the UK?

The personal representatives must make reasonable enquiries first. If those fail, the usual options are missing beneficiary indemnity insurance, a Benjamin order from the court, paying the share into court or holding it in reserve. A solicitor can advise which fits the size of the share.

### What is a Benjamin order?

It is a court order allowing personal representatives to distribute an estate on a stated assumption, such as that a missing beneficiary died before the deceased. It protects the personal representatives, but the missing person keeps their rights against those who received the share if the assumption proves wrong.

### Does a section 27 notice protect an executor from a missing beneficiary?

Not from one the executor knows about. Section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 protects personal representatives against claims they had no notice of. A named beneficiary who simply cannot be located still has to be searched for.