See Also What is Title Search?

The goal of title insurance is to protect the largest and most important investment that you'll ever make – your real estate investment.  

Title insurance is different from other forms of insurance. While most other insurance protects against losses from future events, title insurance eliminates risk and prevents losses resulting from events in the past including fraud, missing heirs, recording errors, unfiled liens, improper court proceedings, unfiled easements and restrictions on the use of your property. 

The owner pays a one-time premium and the title policy remains in effect as long as the insured, or the insured's heirs, retain an interest in the property. Title insurance protects both purchasers and lenders against loss. If the status of the title to the property is other than is stated in the title policy, and if the insured suffers a loss as a result of the title defect, the insurer will reimburse the insured for that loss and related legal expenses up to the face amount of the policy, which is equivalent to the purchase price or loan amount. 

The following is a list of the most common risks that can cause loss of title or create an encumbrance on title, which title insurance protects against: 

• Liens for unpaid estate, inheritance or income taxes
• Forged deeds, mortgages, wills
• Undisclosed or missing heirs
• False impersonation of the true owner of the property
• Fraud
• Instruments executed under an invalid or expired power of attorney
• Mistakes in recording legal documents
• Deeds by persons supposedly single, but actually married