Protection From the Unknown - Title insurance offers peace of mind to Canadian homeowners

Published in the Globe and Mail June 29, 2001.

A question that many homeowners and home purchasers are asking themselves today is, what is title insurance and do they really need it? Title insurance provides property owners and mortgage lenders with protection in the event that another party claims an interest in the property, or there is some defect in the title or some related matter which lowers the value of the property being bought or mortgaged.

While title insurance has been used in the United States since 1867, it is a relatively new option in Ontario. Since being introduced in Ontario in 1991, the use of title insurance has grown dramatically. Currently, there are a handful of title insurance companies to choose from, most of which are subsidiaries of large American parents. TitlePlus,  administered by the Lawyer’s Professional Indemnity Company, the  insurer for Ontario’s lawyers, is the home-grown version of title insurance.

Unlike other forms of insurance, where the policyholder is required to make payments on a periodic basis, with title insurance, the policyholder makes a one-time payment.

One reason why many house purchasers choose to purchase title insurance is that they do not have to obtain an up-to-date survey of the property.

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