Texas Title Insurance
Title insurance works to protect a homeowner from any disputes that have resulted from the past history of a title deed. This is particularly true for cases where a person finds title defects and therefore challenges a title deed owner over it. In Texas the laws of title insurance are different in some ways. Here are some important things to consider about Texas title insurance.
Mortgagee and owner policies are the most common forms of Texas title insurance that are used today. A mortgagee policy works by protecting the lender in the case of the title deed. It will continue to stay in effect until the entire loan for the house or other property has been paid off. The owner policy is for the owner of the property. It is given to a homeowner after a title company issues a mortgagee policy. A premium is charged for the owner policy.
The owner policy for Texas title insurance will last during the course of the ownership period of a title deed. If a person or one of the person’s heirs owns the property then the policy will remain in effect.
Texas title insurance policy rules state that forms in the state of Texas must by standardized. The statements and terms of the policies will be the same for all forms of Texas title insurance policies regardless of who is offering it. The “Schedule B” section of a Texas title insurance policy is always going to appear on a form for Texas title insurance. This section lists limits and exceptions of the insurance policy that is going to be used.
The Texas Department of Insurance sets all of the premiums for Texas title insurance policies. A premium for a property that is worth $50,000 is $520. The premium will get higher as the property value increases. A $100,000 property will have a premium of $871. Be sure to check with the TDI for updated information on what the premiums are, as they can change over time.
There will also be additional charges in a Texas title insurance policy, and these charges will vary based on what company is used for the policy. Recording and escrow fees are common. It is important to check with a policy group for information on what is being offered.
In some cases Texas title insurance may not work the way that it should. If the Texas title insurance policy dispute is not resolved by the policy group that offers the insurance, a complaint to the TDI Title Division can be made. The TDI can be contacted by phone at 512-305-7426, at its home office in Austin or online at www.tdi.state.ux.us.
