Title Insurance for Your Peace of Mind

Buying a home may be the largest investment you make in your lifetime. So before you close, you need to be sure that that nobody else has a claim to the property.

Determining that your rights and interests to the property are clear is the business of a title insurance company.

You pay the title company a single premium which includes the cost of verifying clear title and covers you in case some fault is later discovered in the title.

The title insurance company performs an extensive search on the property's title history. Through its research, the title insurance company can almost always find any title problems and clear up these problems prior to closing.

Real Estate law is extraordinarily complex. Title companies make sure that all the T's are crossed and all the I's are dotted so you don't end up with a clouded title and legal problems. Your title insurance owner's policy will describe the property and outline the limitations on your ownership. It will also set forth the title insurance company's responsibilities should any claim covered by the policy terms arise. Typically your title insurance will protect you in the following cases:

• Contested title — Someone, usually a previous owner or occupant, claims they still own the property or have not given up their claim. If this happens, the title company will defend your title at no expense to you.
• Defective title — "Defective title" covers any number of problems with the title to your home. It can even include a "contested title". Other examples of title defects include problems with legal access to the property, easements that make the property less usable, unusable, or unsaleable. Many other complicated problems define "Defective title." The title insurance policy will protect you from these errors if the title company misses them.