Title Insurance Explained: What It Covers and What It Doesn't

Lender's title insurance protects the bank's interest in the property — not yours. Owner's title insurance is separate, optional, and the one that actually protects you as the homeowner. If you skipped owner's coverage at closing, you usually cannot add it later for the same property.

The one-time premium is typically a fraction of one percent of the purchase price and lasts as long as you (and in many states, your heirs) own the home.

Title insurance covers defects that already existed in the public record before your closing date — undisclosed heirs, forged signatures from prior transfers, missed liens, clerical errors. It does not cover events after the closing date, including a deed forged tomorrow.

That post-closing gap is exactly what active record monitoring is designed to fill. The two protections complement each other: insurance for what was, monitoring for what happens next.

Most major underwriters now offer an 'enhanced' or 'homeowner's' policy that extends coverage to a handful of post-policy events — including some forms of forgery, mechanic's liens for work you didn't authorize, and certain encroachments. The premium is modestly higher than a standard owner's policy. If you're at closing and the choice is on the table, the enhanced policy is almost always worth the difference.

Call the claims line printed on your policy — not the agent who sold it. File a written claim with the specific document and instrument number you're disputing. Title insurers fund legal defense as part of the claim, so do not hire your own attorney until you've spoken with the carrier; they will usually assign counsel. Keep every letter and email; the claim file becomes your record if you need to escalate.