If you have recently purchased or refinanced a home, chances are you have had to get title insurance.  What exactly does title insurance cover, and who does it protect - the homeowner or the lender?  Do you need title insurance on a refinance if you bought title insurance when you purchased your home?  Here are answers to those important questions, as well as helpful advice on title insurance, and whether or not you need it.

Your title insurance policy protects you against problems affecting the title to your home or property.  Basically, there are two types of title insurance - an Owner's Policy, and a Loan Policy.  The Owner's Policy protects you, the homeowner, for your investment in the property for as long as you or your heirs have an interest in the property, while the Loan Policy protects the lender for the amount of the loan.

Before a title policy is issued, a title search of the public records is made in an effort to locate potential problems so that they can be corrected and the transfer can proceed (one third of all transactions reveal a title or public record defect).  While most problems can be located in a title search by skilled professionals, there can be hidden hazards that even the most thorough search will not reveal.  Examples include:

• Someone other than you owns your property
• Forgeries in the chain of title
• A claim by a previously undisclosed relative of a former owner
• Unpaid taxes and assessments
• Unpaid judgments
• Unpaid deeds of trusts and mortgages.
• A title search also discloses easements, rights-of-way, restrictions, and mineral reservations among other matters 

In addition to the standard title policies just described, pioneer title Agency also handles the following title insurance products:

• ALTA homeowner's policy
•  Extended Owners and lenders policies
•  Other lender policies
•  Trustee's sale guarantees
•  Judicial Litigation Guarantee reports

Remember, title insurance protects you against the potential loss of your most valuable asset - your home or property.