A LENDER'S POLICY protects the bank's interest in the property, for the amount of the loan, and it shrinks as the loan is paid down. If the lender requires financing, this policy is required, and the buyer usually pays for it. It does nothing for you.
AN OWNER'S POLICY protects your equity. It is optional, it lasts as long as you or your heirs hold the property, and it is issued for the purchase price rather than the loan amount. Because it is issued alongside the lender's policy at the same closing, it is generally far cheaper than buying it alone would be.
WHAT TITLE INSURANCE ACTUALLY COVERS is not the future, it is the past. Someone with a prior claim to the property. A forged signature in the chain of ownership. An heir nobody knew about. A lien that was never released. A boundary described wrong decades ago. These are problems that already exist on the day you buy, and a search finds most but not all of them.
WHAT IT DOES NOT COVER: anything that happens after closing, anything you already knew about and accepted, and generally anything a current survey would have revealed if one had been done. That last one is why the survey question matters more than people think.
THE SURVEY QUESTION comes up at nearly every closing. An existing survey may be accepted if nothing has changed, and a new one costs money. What a survey reveals is encroachments: the neighbor's fence, a shed over the line, a driveway that crosses a boundary. Skipping it saves a few hundred and can leave a coverage exception exactly where a problem lives.
THE ONE THING WORTH ASKING AT YOUR CLOSING: am I getting an owner's policy, and if not, what would it cost to add. It is a short question and it is the difference between being insured and having paid to insure somebody else.
- The lender's policy protects the bank and shrinks as the loan is paid down
- The owner's policy protects your equity and lasts as long as you hold the property
- Title insurance covers problems that already existed, not future events
- A survey reveals encroachments; skipping one can leave an exception where a problem is
- Ask at closing: am I getting an owner's policy, and what would it cost to add
Regulated under the Texas Department of Insurance's title insurance rules
Questions people ask about owner's or lender's title insurance
Do I need owner's title insurance if the lender already requires a policy?
The lender's policy protects the bank's loan, not your equity, and it shrinks as you pay down. An owner's policy is the one that protects you, and buying it at the same closing is much cheaper than adding it later.
What does title insurance actually protect against?
Problems that already existed before you bought: a prior owner with a claim, a forged signature in the chain, an unknown heir, a lien never released, a boundary described wrong. It does not cover things that happen after closing.
Do I need a new survey?
Sometimes an existing one is accepted if nothing has changed. A survey reveals encroachments like a neighbor's fence or a shed over the line. Skipping it can leave a coverage exception right where a problem would be.
How long does an owner's policy last?
As long as you or your heirs hold an interest in the property. There is no renewal and no ongoing premium.
What to bring to your closing — A printable checklist, including the wire verification step that matters most.
We take owner's or lender's title insurance work from Beeville, Kingsville and the rest of the Corpus Christi area.
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