Title Insurance - Helpful guide AMF
A title deed is an official document that proves that you are the owner of property such as a house, condo, chalet or land.
Title insurance protects you against losses caused by problems related to the title to your property. This insurance may be purchased when buying or refinancing commercial or residential property.
Several types of owner’s title insurance are available on the market. The most common type is title insurance that owners can purchase when buying property. This insurance offers coverage equal to the market value of the property at the time of purchase.
With some title insurance, higher coverage amounts are offered to reflect the increase in the property’s value over time.
Owner’s title insurance is not mandatory.
Title insurance does not usually cover:
- Home construction quality
- Latent defects Title defects
- You knew about prior to buying the property and did not disclose to the insurer
- Defects that did not exist when the policy was signed
- Environmental risks (e.g., you learn that the soil under your home was contaminated by an accidental heating oil tank spill before you became the owner)
- Indigenous land claims
- Zoning violations that are your fault
- Encroachments by fences, hedges and walls
- Construction non-compliance with the Building Act
- Problems related to wells and septic tanks
- Expropriations
- Damage that could be covered under home insurance, such as theft, fire, vandalism and water damage