Story shared by Mauri Hawkins, Alliant National Title Insurance Co.
When it comes to insurance – from auto to health – you’ve likely found comfort in having coverage when it mattered most. The same holds true for title insurance.
Our insureds turn to us in difficult moments when they face title issues involving their valued real property. We stand behind our title policy, and we provide caring service for those seeking to protect what is often their largest asset.
Title insurance, however, differs from other types of insurance in one essential aspect: the consumer pays the premium for the title policy just once, at the closing. With that single payment, the insured is often covered for years, even decades. This makes title insurance uniquely valuable when compared to other insurance lines.
Here are just a few real-life examples from the Alliant National files that highlight the significant benefits of title insurance for everyday consumers.
For the first example, a seller agreed to pay several years of delinquent property taxes outside of closing. The delinquency amounted to over $5,000 with penalties and fees. On the day of closing, the taxes showed paid, and the closing occurred. Immediately after closing the transaction, however, the seller stopped payment on the tax check. A month later, our insured buyer received a letter from the tax collector’s office saying the taxes were not timely paid and that a tax certificate was issued to a third-party for the unpaid delinquent taxes. It’s a good thing that the buyer had title insurance. Under our policy, as the matter was covered, we were able to successfully redeem the taxes for our insured without the customer having to incur any additional out-of-pocket expense.
The next example involves a customer that purchased a residential property more than 15 years ago and, at that time, purchased an owner’s title insurance policy. After holding the property for three years, that customer sold the property to another person and the customer no longer held an interest in the property. The property was subsequently sold two more times. More than a decade after they sold, our customer became the defendant in a lawsuit involving the property. Even though the customer no longer owned the property, coverage was provided under the title policy’s Continuation of Coverage pursuant to liability for warranties given by the customer in the conveyance of the property. This customer was covered under the policy, at no additional expense, and a defense was provided on the customer’s behalf. The title issue was ultimately resolved.
The last example involves an issue that is prevalent today in many industries – fraud. Real estate criminals are extremely busy – from bogus seller scams and earnest money hustles to payoff diversion schemes relying on social engineering and business email compromise/email account compromise (BEC / EAC), just to name a few. Innocent buyers and sellers are often the victims. We have seen cases that involve a fraudulent deed recorded in the county land records three transactions ago. Now, the customer’s title is being challenged and may result in the loss of the home. Most often, title insurance policies include coverage for “a defect in the title caused by … forgery, fraud, … or impersonation.”
Without that title insurance policy, consumers can easily find themselves in unexpected financial hardship, fighting with strangers over title matters they never knew existed. It’s a nightmare scenario, and that’s why Alliant National is proud to offer title policies that help protect consumers. We know that there is enormous value in the title product we offer to the market. We’re particularly touched when an insured takes the time to acknowledge our efforts with a note of appreciation, as one satisfied customer did in a Google review.
As title professionals, we hope you’ll never encounter a dispute involving your home or other property. Yet, should the unexpected happen, we’re proud to support our insureds to protect their most valued assets.
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