What Is Title Insurance – And Why Is It So Important?

Title insurance is often a misunderstood topic when it comes to your closing, but the Premier Title Agency team is here to help you with an explanation. After all, we’re all about educating our Arizona customers and partners.

As your trusted title company, we’re often asked about title and title insurance. That’s why we wanted to point you toward this piece from Diane Tomb, who is the CEO of the American Land Title Association (ALTA), on why title insurance is essential for today’s buyers.

We are proud ALTA members and love talking about title insurance, so we were very glad to see this piece. Our COO Lisa Steele was even featured in this 2020 ALTA video talking about how title professionals help defend our customers and their transactions.

Think about it this way – your property rights need protecting into the future, and an owner’s title insurance policy is how you get that security. As you’ll see, a title search will be part of your closing process, but it’s possible that issues have not been uncovered or brought forward yet. That possibility is slim, but not zero.

In addition to explaining what title insurance is and what goes into a title search by the PTA team, here are two other points to take away from Diane’s recent op-ed.

It’s only a one-time fee

Paying for title insurance doesn’t work the same way as other insurance policies Instead, you are only responsible for a one-time fee. The cost of the owner’s and lender’s policies are included in the closing transaction. However, it’s important to know that a new lender policy is required if a buyer refinances a mortgage. Why? The original mortgage is actually paid off during refinancing, and a new loan is put in place…thus the reason for a new lender policy.

Provides security for years to come

Title insurance is the best way to protect the present and future of your home. It’s valid until the property deed legally changes hands and can even follow the property if it’s passed down to an heir. The bottom line is that title insurance helps you protect your present and future.

If you have any questions or confusion regarding title insurance or the entire closing process, call your local PTA office today.