First American routinely issues two types of policies - "owner's," which covers you, the homebuyer; and "lender's," which covers the bank, savings and loan or other lending institution over the life of the loan. Both are issued at the time of purchase for a modest, one-time fee.
Before issuing a policy, however, First American performs an extensive search of the public records to determine if anyone other than the party selling the home has an interest in the property. With such a thorough examination of records, any title problems usually can be found and cleared up prior to your purchase of the property. Once the title policy is issued, if for some reason any claim which is covered under your title policy is ever filed against your property, First American will pay the legal fees involved in defense of your rights, as well as any covered loss arising from a valid claim. This protection, which is in effect as long as you or your heirs own the property, is yours for a one-time premium.
The fact that First American works to eliminate risks before they develop makes title insurance much different than other types of insurance you may have purchased. Most forms of insurance assume risk by providing financial protection through a pooling of risks for losses arising from an unforeseen future event, like a fire, theft or accident. The philosophy of title insurance, on the other hand, is to eliminate risks and prevent losses caused by defects in title that happened in the past. Risks are examined and mitigated before property changes hands.
This risk elimination has benefits to both you, the homebuyer, and to us as the insurer; it minimizes the chances that adverse claims might be raised, and by so doing reduces the number of claims that have to be defended or satisfied. This keeps costs down for First American and your title premium low.
Buying a home is a big step emotionally and financially. When you use First American you are assured that any valid claim against your property will be borne by us, and the odds of a claim being filed are slim indeed.
Isn't sleeping well at night, knowing your home is yours, reason enough for a title insurance policy from First American Title Insurance Company?
ALTA Residential Policy, issued automatically and at no extra cost to qualified homeowners
First American's ALTA Residential Policy automatically provides extended coverage on the title of your home at no extra charge.
The Inflation Endorsement issued with the ALTA policy increases the value of the title policy for the increasing value of a single family dwelling to a maximum of 150% of the original policy.
Eagle Protection Owner's Policy is issued on qualifying single-family 1-4 residential units providing coverage and protection never before offered. The "Eagle" Policy is an ALTA Plain Language Owner's Policy with extended coverage including but not limited to building permit violations, post-policy forgeries, living trust coverage and automatic property inflation coverage.
We give a short-term rate, that is, a substantially lower rate, if a title policy has been issued on the property within the last five years.
We give this rate, normally to investors, if they sell the property within two years. The binder rate is the normal title rate plus 10%. At the close of the resale, the binder rate is refunded to the investor.
Frequently asked questions about Title Insurance
Frequently asked questions about Preliminary Reports
Frequently asked questions about Statements of Information