If you have an owner’s title insurance policy with a title company, the hope is that you’ll never have to use it. However, in the case of a title defect or other claim that jeopardizes your homeownership, it’s good to know the basic process of how your title insurance claim is submitted and then processed by your title company’s underwriter, whose job is to assess claims and provide the financial backing for the claim.
The best thing to do to expedite the process is to contact your title company’s underwriter directly. You can get the contact information from your title company, and you’ll want to submit your claim in writing as soon as you can via email or direct mail.
Once the claim is submitted, it’s routed to a claims attorney—or a claims administrator—who is responsible for opening the claim in the underwriting company’s system, acknowledging receipt of the claim, and investigating the claim to determine whether it is covered by the policy.
For efficiency, the underwriting company asks that you provide a copy of your policy and any and all documentation to support your claim: a copy of the alleged defect, lien, or encumbrance on title and a copy of any and all demands made upon them.
The underwriter will also contact your title company to gather all pertinent information about your previous closing and any other details that help them understand the circumstances surrounding the claim.
Once the investigation is complete, the underwriting company will issue a coverage determination to you in writing. If they determine that there is coverage for the matter at issue in the claim, they’ll take action for you, pursuant to the options available under the policy. These are listed in the conditions section. If they determine that there is no coverage for the claim under the policy, they will give you an explanation why.
At Title Junction, we care about helping you stay informed throughout your real estate transaction. The experts at our title company have extensive knowledge about real estate not only in Cape Coral and Fort Myers, but all of Florida as well.
Have questions? Give us a call at 239.415.6574.
In case you missed it, check out our last Title Junction post: Non-Negotiables for Home Buyers