Title Insurance:
Protecting Your Ownership Rights

The lender's policy only protects the lender — not you. If a title defect surfaces after closing, the lender's insurance pays the lender's loss, but you could lose your equity and the home itself without an owner's policy. For a one-time cost of $500-$1,000, an owner's policy protects your entire investment — potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars — for as long as you or your heirs own the home. It's one of the best values in real estate. Nearly every real estate attorney and experienced agent recommends it.

A title search is the investigation (before closing) that examines public records for existing liens, claims, and ownership history. It's the detective work. Title insurance is the policy that protects you from anything the search missed or couldn't find. The search might reveal an old mortgage lien that was paid but never released — the title company resolves that before closing. But if a forged deed from 40 years ago wasn't caught, the insurance protects you. The search finds what's discoverable. The insurance protects against what wasn't.