The purchase of a home is probably one of the largest and most important transactions you will make in your lifetime and because of that you should want it to be completely official and valid. Even though it seems that once you get all the papers signed the home is yours, this isn’t always the case. Just to be sure that you will never find yourself in a legal battle over the home that you believe to your legal and rightful property, you will need to obtain title insurance to cover you in the case such an issue as this does arise.

A title insurance company has the obligation of making sure that you own your home and all interests and rights of your property fully belong to you. The insurance company makes sure the title is transferred quickly and correctly and that your concerns as a homebuyer are met by all means.

Title insurance companies serve buyers, sellers, real estate developers and builders as well as mortgage companies. They usually offer two types of policies, which are the owner’s policy and the lender’s policy. The owner’s policy covers you, the homebuyer, while the lender’s policy covers the mortgage company. Both of these policies are purchased at closing and are a one time charge.

The title insurance company will investigate the property you are buying and make sure that no one else has claims or interests in the property. Usually, they facilitate this review by searching public records. If there are any records that create a dilemma, the matter is usually solved before your insurance policy is issued.

Once you have the insurance, if someone ever files a legal claim against you, regarding the titled property, the title insurance company is responsible for contesting the claim and paying for all of the legal fees and/or fines owed if the case is lost.

Title insurance is not like other insurance that expects to pay for loss or destruction in the case of unforeseen disasters such as tornadoes, fires or robbery. The purpose of title insurance is only to prevent loss and risk that may be caused by disputes or disagreements over the property and the property’s rightful owner.

Although title insurance may present an additional fee that may seem unnecessary, you undoubtedly want to protect yourself so that you can be worry free once you have purchased your home and settled into your new life.