A previous owner, David Brearley lived in a cave at the north end of the island between 1973 and 2003.

"[7][8] The 49.3 m (162 ft) long wooden sailing ship Norval ran aground in fog near the southern tip of Insh on 20 September 1870.

[9] In 2004 Haswell-Smith stated that the island is "reputed to be owned by a Londoner who occasionally occupies the cave"[2] found in the northwest overlooking Seil.

[3] The owner at that time was David Brearley, who died in 2016 and left the island to the National Trust for Scotland.

Mike Russell MSP joined those who believed that the former owner wanted Insh to “stay untouched as nature intended” and Scottish Green Party MSP John Finnie called it “disappointing that yet another part of the Highlands and Islands... will find itself in private ownership and in questionable use”.