First of all, insurance is a crazy monster on its own…. so much to understand, so many options. When it comes to title insurance, here are a few key things to know. I must disclose, that as a Realtor, title insurance is NOT my strong-point, but the basics are here. For more information or for actual quotes on title insurance for your new home, please visit www.TrademarkTitleServices.com.
Title insurance basically insures your interest in ownership of the property. Its coverage would kick in if you had fraudulent liens placed against your property, or in the case of title mistakes that could have been made during your purchase. It also protects you against mistakes made in earlier sales of the home. It covers things as simple as correction of a name spelling or as messy as inaccurate property boundary lines.
Paying for title insurance isn’t an annual fee, it is a one-time fee that is based on the the purchase price of the property. It is usually paid for at closing.
There are two types of title insurance. First there are lender’s policies. These cover the your mortgage company and whoever holds the mortgage on your home. Most of the time, the lender will REQUIRE purchase of a lender’s policy. It is often common for the lender to include the cost of that title insurance somewhere in the closing costs that you pay to your lender. There are also owner’s policies. More times than not, this comes in handy when there are property line disputes, or when old liens and incorrect information has been recorded against the home. Your owner’s policy is a minimal expense, especially if you ever need to use it! The owner’s policy that you purchase is usually less expensive than 2 hours of attorneys fees, and that is generous considering I have never seen a claim be resolved in less than 2 billing hours. 
Lastly, ask your title company if a discount on the title insurance premium is available. Often, if the home has been bought or sold just a few years after the most recent sale, there is less work required to secure a title insurance policy. Sometimes when you sell the property, you may even get a portion of that title insurance premium you paid, back at closing.
Like I mentioned earlier, we are barely scratching the surface of the title insurance web. More information is available at www.TrademarkTitleServices.com.
