What Is Title Insurance?

This is Deirdre Brown, your settlement agent, serving the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Today I’m going to answer the question of what is title insurance. Title insurance is issued at settlement and protects either the lender’s interest or the purchaser’s interest in real property

One distinct feature of title insurance is that unlike other types of insurance that only covers future claims, title insurance, also will cover issues that occurred in the past but the claim didn’t present itself until the future. If there is a claim the title insurance company will assign an attorney to defend the owner’s and lender’s interest in the property at no cost. Owner’s title insurance is purchased at settlement and remains in place as long as you own the property.  The lender’s title insurance remains in place as long as you have a mortgage and is re-issued if you refinance. Basically, title insurance gives you peace of mind in knowing that you are receiving a marketable title that is free and clear of any liens against the title and if an issue does arise, you will have legal counsel defending your interest in the property. If you would like to know more about the difference between lender’s and owner’s title insurance, please look at the video where I outline the differences.  If you have title related questions please reach out to us at www.lexicontitle.com