Home Title Property Insurance

Is it possible for someone else to claim ownership of a property after closing? The answer is yes. And this is especially true if you do not have home title property insurance.

Without home title property insurance during your title examination, legal entanglements may arise when the rights of the previous owner are overlooked. A home title property insurance policy protects you against losses that occur when you find out that after closing the sale someone else may claim ownership of the property.

What is home title property insurance?

Home title property insurance is an insurance policy that offers protection for the property owner against loss that occurs arising from a deficiency in a title for real estate. For example, you just bought a piece of property. At a later date, you find that someone else claims ownership of it. The home title property insurance will pay your losses should that person decide to sue for his rights. The same thing applies when the property is mortgaged. The only thing different is that the lending company will have a separate home title property insurance policy to protect its interests.

What is a title examination and how does it affect home title property insurance?

As a general rule, all property titles are subject to close examination prior to closing. The person conducting the test will look into past deeds, wills, and trusts to see if there are any problems. Should any defect, problems, or "clouds" are found, these are corrected by the title examiner.

So why should you get home title property insurance anyway? If the title looks good, home title property insurance should not be a terrible necessity. This is not necessarily true. No one is perfect. If there are inaccuracies in the results of the examination, having home title property insurance will protect you from losses that arise from those.

What does home title property insurance policy cover?

Typically, home title property insurance covers pretty much any problems that did not show up during the title examination. Home title property insurance also protects you from losses resulting from misses on the examiner's part. For example, during a title search, the examiner failed to correct the fact that the wife of the previous owner was listed on the deed but did not sign-off at closing. When the wife sues for her rights, home title property insurance will cover your losses.

In addition to problems with the title search, home title property insurance will also cover losses caused by errors in public records. If problems arise after closing, the home title property insurance policy will pay for legal fees, including fee for your lawyer, if you must go to court to defend your deed. And if you lose your property, the home title property insurance will cover your loss up to the amount of the policy.