What is title insurance?

• A policy you can purchase that helps protect you from financial loss in the case of unfavorable conditions.

• Whatever policy you purchase lasts for as long as you own the property.

​

How do I get title insurance?

• You purchase title insurance through a title company. Do your research and shop around: rates differ for different services. You an ask your realtor to get quotes.

• Upon purchasing title insurance, the title company you are working with searches public records to find and try to remedy any ownership issues that might arise.

  • When a property is bought, financed, or sold, it is documented in public record. Things that affect ownership of the property, like liens, are also archived in the public record.

• After the initial research for property ownership status, the underwriter will determine the insurability of the title and the company will offer you a policy that will help protect you and your property from a variety of issues that could arise.

 

Why does it matter? Is it really worth it?

• Having a title insurance policy insures your ownership rights to the property.

• Even the most skilled underwriters might not find all of the problems with any given property, so having a policy helps make certain that title issues won't interfere with your rights to your property.

  • The most common title issues are due to deeds or other formal documents containing forged signatures, an unknown heir who may have a claim, invalid documents prepared under a false or expired power of attorney, or most simply, mistakes in public record​.

 

If you decide to get a mortgage there's a separate policy that helps protect the lenders: the lenders will require you to buy something called a loan policy of title insurance (this covers their interests).

​

​