What Is Title Insurance?

Title insurance protects you against losses due to defects in the title to the property and expenses in legal defense.

Your ownership is authenticated and will be defended against any claims in court, if necessary, at no cost to you, whether a claim is valid or not.

If a valid claim is made against your title as covered by your policy, the title insurer protects you by bearing the cost of settling the claim should it prove valid, in order to protect your title and keep you in possession of your property or mortgage.

why do i need title insurance?

Clean title is important because title is what gives you ownership of your property.  Title insurance protects both you and the mortgage lender from any possibilities that the seller doesn't (or previous sellers didn't) have free and clear ownership of the property and, therefore, can't rightfully transfer full ownership to you.

if my lender gets title insurance for its mortgage, why do i need a separate policy?

The lender's policy covers only the amount of its loan, which is usually not the full property value.  In the event of an adverse claim, the lender would ordinarily not be concerned unless its loan became non-performing and the claim threatened the lender's ability to foreclose and recover its principal and interest.