From 9 December 2025, Northern Ireland will tighten the bonding rules for licensed insolvency practitioners. The Department for the Economy’s new Statutory Rule - the Insolvency Practitioners (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025 (S.R. 2025 No. 177) - lifts the general penalty sum to £750,000, requires interest on losses at a rate above SONIA, introduces a minimum two‑year claims run‑off after an office‑holder’s release, and sets a six‑year minimum “SPS indemnity period”, alongside a 60‑day expiry‑notice duty on sureties. The instrument was made on 12 November and comes into operation on 9 December, signed by Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald.

Why this matters on our side of the Pennines: plenty of Northern firms trade daily with customers in Northern Ireland, and many mid‑tier practices in Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle take NI appointments. If you’re a creditor chasing recovery from an NI case, or a practitioner holding NI authorisation within a national firm, these changes will shape bond wording, costs and the way fraud‑related losses are pursued.

In plain terms, a bond has two bits of cover. The specific penalty sum (SPS) is set per case; the general penalty sum (GPS) is the back‑stop if SPS cover is missing or too small. Under the new NI rules, GPS rises to £750,000 and interest on relevant losses is now expressly payable at a rate above the Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA), with interest running from the date of loss to the date the claim is paid. Those features mirror reforms already adopted for Great Britain in 2024 and restated in Insolvency Service guidance.

The bond must now also pick up reasonable costs borne by a successor insolvency practitioner where fraud or dishonesty is suspected - from investigations and legal advice to the admin needed to stabilise the estate after a handover. That is designed to make it easier to step in quickly when things go wrong, and the GB rules show the same approach.

There is fresh certainty on timing. Northern Ireland is setting a minimum two‑year run‑off - the window to bring a claim after the practitioner has been released or discharged in that case. If the office‑holder served again in a later capacity, the two years start from that later release. GB moved to the same two‑year minimum last year.

Sureties can still limit SPS by time, but the minimum NI indemnity period is six years from appointment and must be extendable. Where an extension is requested, consent can’t be unreasonably withheld, though an extra premium is fair game. Again, this is aligned with the GB position to keep long‑tail losses in scope.

Another practical protection: the surety must give at least 60 days’ notice to the insolvency practitioner and their authorising body before SPS cover expires for any reason other than the office‑holder’s release. The notice has to confirm the expiry date and whether the provider will extend or renew, including any conditions. Until that notice duty is met, the SPS stays in force. GB’s instrument set the same requirement last year.

Transitional and saving provisions are generous. In short, the changes don’t bite on a bond issued before 1 January 2027 if the appointment in that case was made before 1 January 2027. Between 9 December 2025 and 31 December 2026, the Department can approve bond forms that follow either the pre‑9 December 2025 wording or the new wording. “Appointed” includes stepping into a subsequent capacity on the same case, as long as the initial appointment was before 1 January 2027.

For readers juggling work across jurisdictions, this brings NI largely into line with Great Britain’s reforms that took effect on 1 December 2024 under S.I. 2024/1090, which raised GPS to £750,000, mandated SONIA‑linked interest from the date of loss, created a two‑year run‑off and the 60‑day notice rule, with GB transitional cover running to 31 December 2025.

The instrument is sealed in the name of Dr Caoimhe Archibald, who is currently serving as Economy Minister. Her department has also been reshaping oversight of authorising bodies this year - revoking recognition at the Law Society of Northern Ireland in November and at Chartered Accountants Ireland in February - meaning most NI‑licensed IPs now sit under the remaining RPBs.

For practitioners, the near‑term jobs are operational: speak to your bond provider about SPS indemnity periods and any premium impact; make sure monthly cover schedules and engagement letters reflect SONIA‑based interest; and bake the two‑year run‑off into case‑closure checklists. For creditors and insurers in the North doing business into NI, ask appointed IPs to confirm GPS/SPS details early - it will save time if a claim has to be made.

The Department’s explanatory note says a “regulatory impact assessment has not been produced…”, but premiums and wording updates will still work through the market. With clearer run‑off and notice periods, the direction of travel is straightforward: fewer nasty surprises for creditors, and a bond that does what it says when fraud or dishonesty is uncovered.