Title insurance was introduced in Canada in the early 1990s and is popular among home buyers today. It is an alternative to a lawyer’s certificate of title and insures the homeowner’s marketability of title. It is designed to protect you and your lender from risks such as someone else making a claim to title of your property.

Title insurance is no-fault insurance, and so it ensures that you as homeowner are protected and will be compensated for any loss resulting from a covered risk. Title insurance is a one-time purchase that occurs at or prior to closing.

Title insurance is not a substitute for legal representation. We at Guertin Poirier believe that your best insurance is a combination of your own due diligence, representation from a qualified, trusted lawyer, and title insurance – which we can provide.

What Does it Cost?

Title insurance is more expedient than having your lawyer order and assess all the zoning, utility and other certificates that are necessary to ensure the status of the title to your home. These certificates take time to obtain, often cost more than title insurance, and can delay a close. And, they will not protect you against the risk of historical issues with claims to the property, or a previous owner’s failure to comply with structural or zoning requirements.

With all it has to offer, title insurance is now made mandatory by many lenders, and we recommend it in conjunction with our standard title search. As such, we incorporate title insurance into every file and the fee will be added to the final bill. Title insurance protects you for the entire time that you own your home and will still be there to protect you at the time of resale. For more information on title insurance, visit Stewart Title Insurance at www.stewart.ca.