Title Insurance Claims Experience: The Performance of Your New York Title Insurance Policy Provider Really Does Matter! (Video)

Title insurance in New York: Just a commodity product, right?

If you asked you would likely be told that the title insurance policy, critical for protecting what may be the single greatest financial transaction a buyer has ever entered into, is nothing but a commodity product and will be exactly the same regardless of the company used to prepare and provide it.

We couldn’t disagree more and will provide reasons for why the term commodity product is not particularly accurate!

Write a Check To Company ABC

Typically, when a New York buyer of commercial or residential real estate or the refinancer of a mortgage arrives at the closing table, they will have been told to bring a check or asked to write a check for a large sum of money to some company they may or may not be familiar with.

More likely than not the name of the company will not ring a bell, although they had received a title bill from them many months ago! Introducing the title insurance provider, and this firm will be providing the assurance that the person(s) signing on the dotted line will be receiving good, clean and clear title to the property in question.

But while the deal participants will receive a title insurance policy when the deal closes, aspects of the policy can and very often do vary from provider to provider.

Your Trusted Advisor

At this point we want to point out that while the buyer or refinancer has the right to choose their title insurance provider, typically either the attorney representing them or the mortgage loan originator will be making the choice of company. These trusted advisors will recommend a title insurance provider that they have used in the past, one that has done a great job for their clients and a firm that they have the utmost faith in to do a great job. This is how it should be!

And at Hallmark Abstract Service we appreciate the fact that a well vetted title insurance provider is being recommended. But, that said, there are some aspects of the title insurance process that the buyer/refinancer should at the very least be aware of.

The Title Insurance Bill

In our short video last week (https://youtu.be/7QgNAMVaYss) we had discussed the title bill, and that fact that ancillary and ‘junk’ charges (the title insurance premium will be the same regardless of firm) can vary from firm to firm, potentially in the many hundreds of dollars!

Title Insurance Claims Experience

This week the short Hallmark Abstract Service video will discuss title insurance claims experience. In other words, how many policies that a given title insurance provider has issued, ended-up resulting in a valid title claim?

Please note in the prior paragraph the word valid. As anyone in business has likely experienced anyone can sue for anything, and very often people do. When it comes to title insurance, a title insurance provider relies on the fact that the information they receive from various sources is complete and accurate. If this is the case then a title insurance claim brought against the policy provider could very well be valid.

If the information received was not complete and accurate, any claim brought by the policy owner may not be valid against the policy provider, but the property owner would still be covered by the insurance underwriter.

Please watch the video below, and if you have any questions contact Hallmark Abstract Service by email at info@hallmarkabstractllc.com or phone at (516) 741-4723.