WHAT DOES TITLE INSURANCE NOT COVER?
While ‘title insurance’ is a phrase often thrown around related to property purchase, there are still a lot of questions that most purchasers are left wondering about, such as; “What is title insurance, what does it cover and what does it not cover?”
Here is the 101 on title insurance with the answers to our frequently asked questions.
Title insurance: An overview
An essential form of insurance, title insurance provides coverage for future claims or future losses regarding the property you own. The owner pays a one-time premium for a title insurance policy, which protects the owner from issues ranging from title defects, fraud and forgery, as well as swapped titles and much more.
Remember, the one-time premium the owner pays ensures that the title insurance policy will remain in place for as long as the owner holds possession of the property. Title insurance can be purchased for residential as well as commercial properties.
A title insurance policy provides superior protection against losses from unknown title defects that could impact your property ownership, title fraud, unforeseen errors in public records and surveys, issues regarding encroachment and more.
What does title insurance not cover?
As a property owner purchasing title insurance, it is important to be aware of what the policy covers and understand what title insurance doesn’t cover.
Some obvious exclusions of title insurance include:
- Title defects that were clearly made aware to you before you bought your home
- Soil contamination and other environmental hazards
- Claims made by native land owners
- Self-created renovations or changes to your property that may attract zoning by-law violations
It is also worth mentioning that your title insurance policy does not cover non-title-related issues, for example, fences, damages due to natural disasters, regular wear and tear of your home and other issues that are not necessarily title-related.
We recommend reviewing your specific title insurance policy carefully, as it could include exceptions and exclusions or additional endorsements that may not appear in a general title insurance policy.
To learn more about title insurance, get in touch with us at Chicago Title Today
