Mar 12, 2018 12:37:01 PM
A relatively new type of insurance in Australia, title insurance protects your legal ownership of a property against losses as a result of unknown or undetected risks that existed before you settled on your property.
What does title insurance cover?
This specialised type of insurance covers issues such as:
- fraud, forgery and identity theft
- illegal building works
- survey defects and boundary defects
- planning defects and title defects
- unpaid levies.
Although a licensed conveyancer’s job is to make sure everything is in order with the property conveyance, it’s not cost effective for your conveyancer to cover everything. If they did, it would add about $6000 to your costs of buying a home! This is where title insurance takes over.
Take our clients Bob and Sandra. This young couple recently discovered when they bought a strata unit that the previous owner had not paid a special levy. On our advice, Bob and Sandra applied to Stewart Title Insurance who quickly sent them a cheque covering the full amount of the levy.
How much does title insurance cost?
Compared with the other costs of buying a home or property, title insurance is a minimal premium based on the purchase price of your property. Stewart Title offers a one-time premium with no excess payable on claims and a no-fault claims process. This means you don’t have to prove fault or negligence; you only need to prove that you’ve suffered actual loss based on cover that the policy provides.
Wherever you are in the property purchase cycle, title insurance is well worth the peace of mind it will give you. If you’re already an East Coast Conveyancing client, like Bob and Sandra, there is nothing you need to do. Your solicitor or conveyancer will organise title insurance and payment for you at settlement.
Protect your property purchase today. To find out more about title insurance or download a price list, go to http://www.stewartau.com or call 1800 300 440.
