Indeminty Policy

[Laura20]

I am about to buy a property but the deeds have been lost. I have been informed by the seller's solicitor that they will provide an Indemnity Policy. I understand that this will protect me in the future but I do not know much else. Do you know how long this will cover me or if there are any other actions I can take?
The seller is a family friend, the property was left to her in a will, and I knew the deceased woman that lived there. Is it safe for me to carry on with this sale, I don't want to live there forever and would be looking to sell in a few years.

[buildersmate]

Clicking on the link below will open up Land Registry Practice Guide No 2 which describes what process is required to go through to register title when title deeds (of a previously unregistered piece of land) have been lost.
http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/assets/library/ documents/lrpg002.pdf This is the seller's problem - not yours - and they should go through this process and pay the LR application costs.
The problem is that reconstituting a possessionary title in this way may omit any restrictive covenants (easements) that may have been associated with the original title. Its often not that the person claiming ownership of the land is trying to be dishonest - they may not even know about an obscure easement set up when a piece of land was conveyed many years ago. Because of this the LR will place a caution on the LR title, making this point.
I suspect that this indemnity insurance is required to protect against another land owner emerging out of the woodwork and claiming the benefit of the original easement some time later. The insurance typically covers the deficiency in the title - not a specific length of time. But its worth checking that it doesn't expire when you sell up.
Why isn't your solicitor telling you this stuff?