There are two basic forms of title insurance: an Owner's Policy and a Lender's Policy. An Owner's Policy protects the interests of the owner in the event of a claim and is issued with coverage up to the purchase price. A Lender's Policy issued to protect the interests of the lending institution solely, with coverage up to the mortgage amount.

• It is an insurance policy of indemnification.
• The policy of indemnification states that it will defend your interest in the property. It will pay you the amount of money, which represents the loss of value to your land as a result of a proven claim.
• It is not a policy of guarantee. No one can or will guarantee that a claim, valid or not, will not be made against the title to your land now or in the future.
• It is in full force and effect so long as the insured, or their heirs, has an interest in the property.
• It is a one time premium - no renewal premiums are due.

The Lender’s policy only insures the Lender’s interest as a result of their mortgage. Their coverage does not extend to the owner.

The four main coverages are:

• 1. Access
• 2. Marketability
• 3. Title vested as shown
• 4. Hidden title defects

Defective conveyances caused by: forgery, fraud, mental incompetence, previous owner incorrectly stating his or her marital status, Grantor’s name incorrectly stated, errors in the legal description, deed filed after death of Grantor (no delivery), and title transferred by someone under age. Other defects caused by: undisclosed heirs, errors in public records, errors by abstractors, errors by title examiners and difference of opinion by title examiners.

Every attorney knows that there are hazards in real estate titles that cannot possibly be discovered through even the most diligent search of the public records. For instance, the attorney cannot be sure that the marital rights of all previous owners have been properly relinquished; that all mortgages, judgments, etc., affecting the property have been properly indexed at the county recorder; that there is no unknown heir of a former owner who can appear to assert a claim. These are but a few of the matters that can crop up to defeat real estate titles. Among others are such things as fraud, duress, infancy, insanity, false impersonations, etc.

Your Owner’s policy protects you against mistakes in your title or threats to your title, which might otherwise result in a financial loss to you.

Your Owner’s policy will promptly defend against any claims against your title at no cost to you, whether the claim is valid or not.

Should you decide to refinance/sell your property in the future, you will be assured of the marketability of your title and your title processing costs will be reduced.

Coverage for survey matters is not automatically provided. If you are interested in obtaining survey coverage, contact your closing agent for more information.

The cost of an Owner’s policy will depend on the value of the property or the purchase price. If there is a Mortgagee’s (Lender’s) policy done at the same time, you are entitled to a discount. One premium, based on the amount of the sale or mortgage, is paid when the policy is issued for the life of the policy. Please call us at (218) 847-2144 for a quote.