What do you think of when you hear the word “insurance”?
If you are like me, then you just thought that insurance means to pay a certain fee to an insurance company, for an undesirable and destructive event which could occur in the future to your house, to your car or even to your life.
However, there is another kind of insurance, less known but equally important: title insurance. I had no idea what this was, until I heard a few sad stories which made me dig a little bit deeper. Let’s say you buy a house. Everything looks fine, the papers seem to be OK, you pay, and you get your contract and your house. Five years later, somebody comes and sues you, because that was actually his house, which was illegally taken away from him, through a document which was not valid. If he earns the process, you’ll find yourself in the street, without house and without the money you paid for it.
You can protect yourself from such events by getting a title insurance. A specific of this kind of insurance is that you have to pay a unique premium, unlike other insurance types which require annual or monthly premiums for as long as you wish the insurance to remain valid.
I am not aware if all insurance companies offer title insurance, but I suppose one can browse the internet to find a title insurance company in his area. At least where I live, I found several title companies which were more than willing to help me by instructing me on the steps to be followed when buying a property.
Have you ever thought of such hidden risks that could actually ruin your life?
2 Comments
Good tips, but title insurance? Must be hearing that one for the first time.
Yes, that’s the name of this service. I also heard of it for the first time before writing this article.