By Jeff Lender
Insurance is a wonderful invention. It can help you pay for medical care, fix your vehicle when you get into an accident, or make critical repairs to your home after a natural disaster. Of course, any time you buy insurance, you hope you will never have to make a claim; after all, it would be better if nothing bad ever happened to you. Of course, that’s not how things work in the real world, and it is often necessary to make an insurance claim.
Title insurance is another type of coverage that protects homeowners from incurring financial losses due to a title defect. Some common types of title defects include:
-Fraud or forgery in the title chain
-Improperly filed documents
-Liens against your property
-Surveying errors and boundary disputes
-Access issues
-Easements
-Competing claims of ownership
Any of these title defects could cost you money, or could force you to hire a lawyer and spend time in court to defend your property ownership rights. If any of them should come up during the time you own your home, having an owner’s title insurance policy in place can fully or partially cover the expenses you incur as a result.
Having a strong title insurance policy is a great idea for any property owner, but what happens if you have to make a claim? Here is some guidance from the team at World Wide Land Transfer, a top title insurance company serving NYC and communities all over the country.
You can purchase a title insurance policy at any time during your ownership. The best time to get started on the process is before you close on the property, but you can also purchase a policy on a property you already own. When you purchase your policy, you will receive some paperwork that certifies your payment and outlines your coverage. It is very important that you retain this paperwork, because you will need it if you need to make a claim.
The first step is to get in touch with your title insurance company. An agent will ask you for all the relevant personal information and documentation of your policy. Here, you can provide a description of the reason you are making the claim and your agent will tell you what to do going forward.
Some matters are fairly straightforward and will require little input from you. Others can be more complicated. If you need to hire a lawyer or take any other steps, your agent will advise you on the best way to proceed.
If you are making a claim for a covered lien, for example, your title insurance company may be able to fully cover the debt. If, on the other hand, a previously unknown heir has come forward with a will granting them ownership of the property before you bought it, your claim won’t be as simple to resolve.
Your title company may be able to negotiate a settlement that allows you to retain ownership of the property. If they are unsuccessful, you may need to proceed to court. In that case, your policy may cover some or all of the legal expenses you incur during the process. In either case, the investment you made in a title insurance policy will be well worth the cost of the premium.
Every property owner in America should be concerned about the possibility of undiscovered title defects costing them time and money. If you want to get covered, it’s as simple as getting in touch with an experienced title insurance company like World Wide Land Transfer. We work with property owners all over the country and our agents will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Visit our contact page to find phone numbers for our regional offices and call today to find out more about owner’s title insurance coverage and other services we offer for buyers, sellers, owners, lenders, and real estate agents.
World Wide Land Transfer is a service-oriented PA title company with offices in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. With a record of going above and beyond, we are trusted to close everything from complex commercial transactions to residential refinance and purchase transactions.
Leave a Reply