Northern Ireland will tighten insolvency bonding rules from Tuesday 9 December 2025, lifting the general penalty sum on practitioners’ bonds to £750,000 and bringing the regime into line with reforms already in place across Great Britain. The update also hardwires SONIA‑linked interest on qualifying losses and strengthens protections around when cover can lapse.

Signed off by the Department for the Economy, the rule amends the Insolvency Practitioners Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006. It mirrors GB by requiring interest to be paid from the date of any relevant loss until the claim is settled, using a rate above the Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA), and by setting a minimum two‑year period after an office‑holder’s release during which claims can still be made.

For firms across the North who take appointments on both sides of the Irish Sea-particularly practices in Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle that handle NI cases for retail, hospitality and construction-the change reduces the faff of maintaining different bond wordings and should give creditors clearer, more consistent protection.

The £750,000 general penalty sum now responds if a specific penalty sum (set per case) is missing or not enough. The bond must also pay the reasonable costs of a successor practitioner investigating suspected dishonesty, pursuing a claim (including legal and expert fees), and dealing with duplicated estate administration where cases have to be re‑worked.

There are tighter rules on time‑limited case cover too. If a specific penalty sum includes an indemnity period, it must run for at least six years from appointment and be extendable with the surety’s consent, which must not be unreasonably withheld. Sureties must give at least 60 days’ notice to both the practitioner and their authorising body before any specific penalty cover expires; until that notice is properly served, the cover continues.

Transitional provisions are built in. Bonds issued before 1 January 2027 for cases where the practitioner was appointed before that date can continue on the old terms through to 31 December 2026, giving insurers and firms time to re‑paper. Practices should still review live files now so there’s no scramble at renewal.

Great Britain moved first on 1 December 2024 with the same package: the lift to a £750,000 general penalty sum, SONIA‑based interest on losses, a minimum two‑year run‑off after release, and new wording on successor costs and expiry notices. GB’s transition ran through to 31 December 2025, so NI’s timetable is essentially a year behind.

This lands in a year when the regulator map in Northern Ireland has been changing too. The Department for the Economy revoked recognition of Chartered Accountants Ireland as an insolvency regulator in February and the Law Society of Northern Ireland in early November, consolidating oversight within the remaining recognised professional bodies. Practitioners should update who receives their 60‑day notices accordingly.

What should Northern practices do now? Speak to your bond provider about extending specific‑penalty indemnity periods on longer cases, build the two‑year run‑off into file‑closure checklists, and make sure cover schedules are kept up to date when asset values rise. It’s reasonable to expect some premium movement as the general penalty sum is trebled; GB firms reported tougher bonding terms after December 2024, so plan for that in budgets.

Key dates for diaries: NI changes take effect on 9 December 2025 with transition through 2026 for older bonds; GB has been on the new wording since December 2024. The 60‑day SPS expiry notice to authorising bodies is now standard across the UK frameworks, reducing the risk of cover quietly lapsing mid‑case.