The Importance of Title Insurance
 An Owner’s Title Insurance Policy is your best protection against potential defects that can remain hidden despite the most thorough search of public records. A Lender’s Title Insurance Policy also exists to protect your mortgage lender’s interest.
For a one-time premium, First American agrees to reimburse you for covered losses suffered due to undetected defects that existed prior to the issue date of your First American policy, up to the amount of the policy. Unless specifically excluded, your First American Title Insurance Policy also provides for legal defense costs.
Your First American Title Insurance Policy protects you against potential defects such as:
- Forged deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, or releases
- Deed by person who is mentally incompetent
- Deed by person in a foreign country, vulnerable to challenge as incompetent, unauthorized, or defective under foreign laws
- Deed challenged as being given under fraud, undue influence or duress
- Deed signed by mistake (grantor did not know what was signed)
- Deed executed under falsified power of attorney
- Undisclosed divorce of one who conveys as sole heir of a deceased former spouse
- Deed affecting property of deceased person, not joining all heirs
- Deed recorded but not properly indexed so as to be locatable in the land records
- Undisclosed but recorded federal or state tax lien
- Undisclosed but recorded judgment or spousal/child support lien
- Undisclosed but recorded prior mortgage
- Undisclosed but recorded boundary, party wall, or setback agreements
- Misinterpretation of wills, deeds, and other instruments
- Discovery of later will after probate of first will
- Erroneous or inadequate legal descriptions
- Deed to land without a right of access to a public street or road
- Forged notarization or witness acknowledgment
- Deed not properly recorded (wrong county, missing pages or other contents, or without required payment)
- Deed to a purchaser from one who has previously sold or leased the same land to a third party under an unrecorded contract, where the third party is in possession of the premises
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