What is Title Insurance?
Title insurance will protect you and your family from losses that arise from defects in the title. Title insurance protects you from an event that may have occurred in the past. If you take out a mortgage loan when you buy your property, your lender will require a loan policy of title insurance. This protects the lender's interest in your property until your loan is paid off or refinanced. On the other hand, an owner's policy of title insurance insures your ownership rights to the property. Even though you'll pay for this policy only once, your coverage will last as long as you own your home.
Title insurers perform an extensive search of the public records to determine whether there are any adverse claims to the subject property. Those claims are either eliminated prior to the issuance of a title policy or their existence is excepted from coverage.
How much does Title Insurance Cost?
The cost of title insurance in Pennsylvania is set by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by the Title Insurance Rating Bureau of Pennsylvania also known as TIRBOP.
The cost of an Owner's Title Insurance Policy is based on the sales price or fair market value of the property.
The cost the Lender's Title Insurance Policy is based on the loan amount. In PA we have an all-inclusive premium so when an owner’s title insurance policy is being purchased the lender's title insurance policy is issued simultaneously and is included in the owner’s title insurance premium and is not a separate premium. Please click here to see the state regulated chart.