What is Title Insurance and Why do you need Owner's Coverage?

Title insurance is protection against loss arising from problems connected with the title of your property. Some common title problems are unsatisfied liens, forgeries, fraudulent conveyances, incapacitation and trust and estate open interests.

 

Many people ask why they need title insurance if a search has been preformed on the property.  Title insurance is issued after a careful examination of copies of the public records.  But even the most thorough search cannot absolutely assure that no title hazards are present, despite the experience of attorneys and title examiners.   Moreover, searches cannot reveal issues such as forgeries and fraud. 

If you plan to mortgage a property, your lender will require that you purchase them a lenders policy of title insurance.  However, a lenders policy alone will not protect you.  Title insurance policies protect against loss, and a lender policy would only cover the lender's loss.  You must purchase an owners policy to cover owner losses.  Owner losses can be quite substantial; therefore no homeowner should be without title insurance.

 

 

This is not intended to be legal advice and does not constitute an attorney client relationship.