What is Title Insurance?

What is title insurance?
Title insurance provides protection from "hidden risk", due to unforeseen claims that may be asserted to your property. The policy provides protection from financial loss and payment of all legal cost to defend title claims.

Why do I need title insurance?
Even though a title search may be extensive and exacting, it is limited to public records, so the possibility of "hidden risk" remains. This is where Homeland's expertise comes in. Records may not reflect claims of missing heirs, false impersonations, forgeries, improperly probated wills or clerical errors in recording legal documents, so without title insurance your investment is at risk. But the risks don't stop there. Confusion due to similar or identical names, deeds executed under expired or false powers of attorney, unsatisfied claims not shown in the records and mistaken interpretation of wills and trusts are just a few of the hidden risks that make the purchase of title insurance and a thorough title search a most prudent one-time investment.

Do title companies charge different rates for title insurance?
Title insurance rates are set and regulated by the State of Virginia, Bureau of Insurance. You only pay the premium once. The cost depends upon the purchase price of the property (owner's policy), and the loan amount (lender's policy). Quotes available upon request.

What types of policies are available to me as a homeowner?
There are two types of title insurance policies that you need to be aware of:

1) Owner's Title Insurance Policy

2) Enhanced Owner's Title Insurance Policy

How does title insurance differ from other types of insurance?
Title insurance is different from other types of insurance in that it protects you, the insured, from loss that may occur from matters or defects from the past. Other types of insurance such as auto insurance, life insurance or health insurance, cover you against losses that may occur in the future. Title insurance does not protect against a defect that may originate at a later date.

What are the risks?
There are numerous defects or problems that can arise to cause an attack or loss of the title to your property. Some of these include problems not disclosed by the most careful search of the public records (the title search). Hidden risks can cause a total loss of your investment or heavy legal expenses in the defense of a claim.

Some title problems may show up months or years after the original purchase of the property. The following are examples of some of the matters that can cause loss of title or an expensive lawsuit:

- Forged deeds, releases, wills or other legal documents
- Failure of spouses to join in conveyances
- Undisclosed or missing heirs
- Deeds from minors, aliens or persons of unsound mind
- Errors in indexing of public records
- Liens for unpaid taxes including estate, inheritance, income or gift taxes
- Erroneous reports furnished by tax officials
- Mistakes in recording legal documents
- Deeds from defunct corporations
- Unprobated wills

How does title insurance protect against these hidden risks and defects?
Title insurance defends you in a lawsuit attacking your title and either corrects the title problem or pays the insured's losses up to the face amount of the policy. The policy also protects you after you sell the property, for defects occurring prior to your ownership that cause a loss to a purchaser if the title was warranted by you.

The title policy guarantees that at the date the deed was conveyed in the name of the insured, the title was free of defects apart from those "excepted to" in the policy.

How do I obtain title insurance?
It's easy!, Contact HomeLand Title & Escrow. This is only an introduction to title insurance. The exact terms and conditions of coverage are provided in your policy.

 

If you have questions or would like to make an appointment, please call us at 804-935-0043.