firstly my condolences on your loss. Has the house been left to you in a will, no other next of kins etc, brothers and sisters. If not and the house is now in your posession, you will need to take out buildings and contents insurance, I think the solicitor dealing with the death duties will be able to point you in which direction to pursue buildings insurance as it needs to be the owner who takes out the policy.
Thank you for your replys;here is some more info if this helps
no the house has been left to myself and my 2 brothers.A few insurance companys have told us its not in our name so we cant insure it and also that we cant insure it because it is empty
thanks Colin
You may find an insurer that is willing to insure but it may be best to go through a broker to establish which companies would offer the cover. They are likely to insist on a drainage of the water system, electrics off etc. and contents cover may be very difficult. My suggestion would be to remove valuable items to your own homes and then ask for a much lower sum insured for contents or just forget the contents altogether. You all have an insurable interest so a good broker should be able to put this point on your behalf.
You will probably have better results if you go to a professional broker for this as it is a slightly unusual risk. I think telephihe and internet based providers cater more for standard risks.
Thank you all for the excellent help.I now have managed to get the house insured as a few of you mentioned with a specialist broker,they were recomended by Abbey National and they must be close as they transfered my call across to them the company is called Key Connect Thanks Again Colin