If you are purchasing real property, you want to be sure that you are getting good title. Two options are available for purchaser’s:

1. lawyer’s title opinion or certification of title; or
2. a title insurance policy.

Where the purchaser options for title insurance, the policy will protect your ownership interest from losses incurred as a result of unknown title defects or other covered matters that exist at the time of your purchase, but are unknown to you at that time.

How Does Title Insurance Work?

1. You pay a ONE TIME premium to protect yourself against loss or damage suffered as a result of problems with TITLE to your property. However, a title insurer may exclude certain risks that it is not prepared to cover.
2. Title insurance policies can be issued in favour of both the purchaser(s) of real property and lenders of money secured by real property – most lenders require that title insurance be taken out as a condition to advancing funds.

What Does Title Insurance Cover?

Once purchased – the policy will list risks or losses that will be covered, and risks or losses that will not be covered.

On-title matters:

• • Conflicting ownership interests in the property
    Any charge, lien, or encumbrance on or other defect in the title;
  • Unmarketability of title;
    Lack of a right of access to and from the property;

Off-title matters:

• Work orders;
• Zoning issues;
• Defects that would have been revealed by an up-to-date survey;
• Realty tax arrears

Excluded matters:

• Problems that the purchaser agreed to accept;
• Certain government rights in land;
• Certain expropriations;
• Environmental and conservation authority issues;
• Native land claims;