What happens to your Global Indemnity accounts when you die
Covers 5 insurance accounts — all transfer through probate
Corporate Headquarters (Penn-America Group home office)
Phone(610) 664-1500
Fax(610) 660-8886
Mailing Address
Three Bala Plaza East, Suite 300, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
General Inquiries Toll-Free
Penn-America General Inquiries
VacantExpress
Collectibles Insurance Services
Billing / Premium Payments
WebsiteLearn more→
Corporate Headquarters (Penn-America Group home office)
Phone(610) 664-1500
Fax(610) 660-8886
Mailing Address
Three Bala Plaza East, Suite 300, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
General Inquiries Toll-Free
Penn-America General Inquiries
VacantExpress
Collectibles Insurance Services
Billing / Premium Payments
WebsiteLearn more→
Global Indemnity Claims (property and casualty loss reporting)
Phone(800) 788-4780
Fax(610) 660-8885
Mailing Address
GBLI | Global Indemnity / Claims, PO Box 532, Willow Grove, PA 19090
VacantExpress (vacant property claims)
Collectibles Insurance Services claims
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
Global Indemnity does not currently support beneficiary designations, transfer-on-death registrations, or trust account titling on any account type. All Global Indemnity policies pass through the estate at death and may require probate.
When an account holder dies, the executor or administrator will need to contact Global Indemnity with a death certificate and legal authority documents to claim account balances. The process and required documents are covered on the death claim page.
Beneficiary designations on Global Indemnity policies determine who receives the death benefit. These designations override any instructions in a will, so keeping them current after life changes—marriage, divorce, births, deaths—is essential. Global Indemnity allows designations to be updated by mail and by phone.
Global Indemnity has specific requirements to be aware of: All policy changes on wholesale commercial lines must go through the placing agent or broker; Global Indemnity does not handle policy changes directly with insureds, Certificate of trust or trust summary page required when naming a trust as the insured, VacantExpress and Collectibles Insurance policies may be changed directly through those divisions, and Global Indemnity offers no life insurance, annuity, or other product with a death benefit, so there is no beneficiary form to file. These requirements may affect timing, so plan accordingly when updating multiple accounts.
The process typically takes 1-2 weeks for endorsement processing.
Why trust accounts are not available
Insurance policies at Global Indemnity are typically not retitled into trusts the way bank or brokerage accounts are. Instead, trust integration works through beneficiary designations—naming a revocable trust as the policy beneficiary, or establishing an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) to own the policy and remove it from the taxable estate.
Global Indemnity has no product that a trust can own or be named beneficiary of in the life-insurance sense. The only trust action available is the named-insured endorsement described above. If the trust holds real property that is vacant during administration, VacantExpress (https://vacantexpress.com) writes the vacancy coverage that a standard homeowner policy typically excludes.
Wholesale Commercial Property InsuranceWholesale Commercial Casualty InsuranceVacantExpress Vacant Property InsuranceCollectibles InsuranceAssumed Reinsurance
Wholesale Commercial Property Insurance
Specialty commercial property coverage for over 1,000 classes of business distributed through wholesale general agents. Penn-America Insurance Company is the primary carrier. Coverage includes hard-to-place and non-standard risks in the excess and surplus lines market. Wholesale commercial is the largest segment, generating $256.0 million in direct written premiums in 2025. Property policies held in a revocable trust that owns the insured property should list the trust as the named insured to ensure proper coverage alignment.
Probate Required
Wholesale Commercial Casualty Insurance
Specialty commercial casualty and liability coverage for small to mid-sized businesses. Includes general liability, professional liability, and umbrella coverage for specialty and hard-to-place risks. Distributed through wholesale general agents with binding authority. If the insured entity is held in a trust, the trust should be listed as the named insured on the policy.
Probate Required
VacantExpress Vacant Property Insurance
Insurance coverage for owners of vacant, unoccupied, or under-renovation properties through J.H. Ferguson & Associates, LLC operating as VacantExpress (vacantexpress.com). Covers properties that are vacant, under construction, undergoing renovation, or rented. This product is relevant to estate planning because inherited properties often sit vacant during the probate or estate settlement process. VacantExpress generated $46.8 million in premiums in 2025, growing 15.5% year over year. If a trust owns the property, the trust should be named as the insured on the policy.
Probate Required
Collectibles Insurance
Market-value coverage for almost any type of collectible property for both individual collectors and dealers, offered through Collectibles Insurance Services, LLC (collectinsure.com). Digital direct-to-consumer insurance coverage for owners of collections including coins, stamps, sports memorabilia, comic books, fine art, wine, and other collectibles. Collectibles Insurance generated $17.2 million in premiums in 2025, growing 8.4% year over year. For estate planning, collectibles covered under this policy should be inventoried and appraised as part of the estate. If a trust owns the collection, the trust should be listed as the named insured.
Probate Required
Assumed Reinsurance
Global Indemnity Reinsurance Company, Ltd. and Valyn Re provide assumed reinsurance for property and casualty risks. This segment generated $44.9 million in premiums in 2025, growing 76.7% year over year. Reinsurance products are not directly relevant to individual estate planning but are part of the overall company operations.
Probate Required
Sources
Data sourced from Global Indemnity primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Global Indemnity instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Global Indemnity primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Corporate Headquarters (Penn-America Group home office)
Phone(610) 664-1500
Fax(610) 660-8886
Mailing Address
Three Bala Plaza East, Suite 300, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
General Inquiries Toll-Free
Penn-America General Inquiries
VacantExpress
Collectibles Insurance Services
Billing / Premium Payments
WebsiteLearn more→
Corporate Headquarters (Penn-America Group home office)
Phone(610) 664-1500
Fax(610) 660-8886
Mailing Address
Three Bala Plaza East, Suite 300, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
General Inquiries Toll-Free
Penn-America General Inquiries
VacantExpress
Collectibles Insurance Services
Billing / Premium Payments
WebsiteLearn more→
Global Indemnity Claims (property and casualty loss reporting)
Phone(800) 788-4780
Fax(610) 660-8885
Mailing Address
GBLI | Global Indemnity / Claims, PO Box 532, Willow Grove, PA 19090
VacantExpress (vacant property claims)
Collectibles Insurance Services claims
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Global Indemnity accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
