What Is Title Insurance and Do You Need It When Buying in BC?
Title insurance is a one-time premium insurance product that protects real estate buyers and their lenders against losses arising from title defects, which are problems with the legal ownership of a property that may not be apparent even after a thorough title search.
Title defects can include errors or omissions in the title registration, fraud or forgery affecting the title, encroachments from neighbouring properties onto your land, survey errors, or liens that were not properly discharged. In most cases, title insurance also covers legal costs associated with defending your title against a claim.
In BC, title insurance is not legally required, but it is strongly recommended by most real estate lawyers and is required by most institutional lenders. The premium is paid once at the time of purchase and typically costs a few hundred dollars, which is a very modest expense relative to the protection it provides.
Some buyers assume that a thorough title search at the Land Title Office eliminates all risk. It reduces risk significantly, but it does not catch everything. Fraud involving forged documents, survey discrepancies that exist but are not on record, and historic errors in the title chain can all create problems that a title search would not reveal but that title insurance protects against.
The decision to purchase title insurance is typically made in consultation with your real estate lawyer during the conveyancing process. Most lawyers handling residential purchases in Kamloops will recommend it.
The Kamloops Home Team can refer you to experienced real estate lawyers in Kamloops who will walk you through the closing process, including the title insurance decision, with clarity and care.
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Kamloops Home Team | Royal LePage Westwin Realty
Top Royal LePage Team in Kamloops - 2024 & 2025 | 24 years combined experience helping buyers and sellers in Kamloops BC and surrounding communities.
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