intouch

We look at some of the most common questions posed to our underwriters.

Q: Can you provide search insurance for a purchase or remortgage transaction, even if we haven’t obtained searches?

A: We certainly can. Our suite of search policies are among the most versatile that we provide and are designed to cover for a broad range of transactions.

With separate lender-only and purchaser cover options, our No Search policy allows a residential or commercial property purchase or remortgage to proceed without obtaining searches, by protecting against unknown adverse entries that may have been revealed by a full search. We can even provide cover to a lender providing refinance to a developer in relation to their ongoing development, where no searches are being obtained.

Standard searches covered under our No Search policies include local authority and drainage searches, land charges and coal mining searches, but additional options are available which extend cover to include environmental reports and chancel screening searches.

If searches have been carried out up to two years ago and they didn’t reveal any adverse entries, our Search Validation cover is an alternative option. It allows parties to procced with either residential or commercial transactions (including those for development sites) without the costs and delays associated with getting up-to-date searches.

Covering all bases, if searches have recently been requested, but not returned, our Search Delay cover is available for residential properties, new build plots, commercial premises. It protects buyers and lenders against any previously unknown adverse entries that may come to light once a search is received after completion, and is especially helpful in light of the number of local authorities who have suffered from system hacks, resulting in delayed or incomplete searches.

All our search covers are competitively priced, with premiums for No Search lender-only cover available from £15, Search Validation from £21, and Search Delay starting at £25. Our policies provide a cost-effective solution to help a transaction keep moving, as well as protecting your client (or their lender) against serious losses in the long-term if they face a claim.

Q: Will the Law Commission consultation on chancel repair liability (CRL) affect demand for the policies you provide?

A: Essentially, time will tell, but potentially yes. The Law Commission consultation launched in mid-July last year, 2025, with the aim of reforming the law around CRL. Ultimately, the proposed changes aim to reduce uncertainty, and to provide greater confidence to purchasers of land, both registered and unregistered, that they will not be bound by CRL unless it is recorded in the unregistered title deeds, or noted on the registered title.

The Law Commission is currently reviewing responses after the consultation closed in November, and a final report with formal recommendations is expected later this year. Until the position is clarified, we will continue to respond to enquiries requesting cover in the same way that we've always done, taking into account whether cover is required for a specific liability imposed or comfort cover for a ‘potential’ liability, the extent to which the property is affected by any liability imposed, its location, and where appropriate, the acreage that the property rests on. Alongside this, we’ll monitor the ramifications of any legal changes as they are announced and consider the impact on our range of chancel covers.