Why International Title Insurance?
Increased prosperity and social stability are byproducts of clear private ownership of land and improvements. Private ownership is a norm throughout much of the world, but clear transfer of title is often predicated upon the belief that a title opinion or a government guaranty is all an owner needs to ensure against potential loss. While these means of assurance often provide a market with the certainty needed for a framework to transfer ownership, they place most of the risk needlessly on the purchaser. In addition, the transfer process is slowed because of the high number of searches and examinations that legal advisors are required to perform.
Building on over a hundred years of title insurance experience in the United States, Stewart has expanded its title guaranty/insurance service into more than 25 markets around the world. No matter what the market situation, Stewart's title services offer a solution to meet the demand.
In markets with unreliable land records and high amounts of uncertainty, title guarantees provide both purchasers and lenders with the certainty that their investments are protected. With the assurance of title guaranty/insurance, both lenders and purchasers have a title assurance based on financial reserves. Purchasers and lenders are even protected from the often difficult and bureaucratic legal proceedings that accompany mere allegations of title errors. Stewart's due diligence processes provide further security by working to rectify existing title errors. Title guaranty/insurance fills the risk void often left in emerging markets and provides the market with the solution it needs.
Title guaranty or insurance is also valuable in established land markets. Australian lawyer Pamela O'Connor concluded in her 2003, Australian Property Law Journal, entitled "Title Insurance - is there a catch?", that even in low risk markets, title insurance is able to provide benefits. Because title insurance is a privately held guaranty, it is able to quickly adapt to market situations and offer policyholders unique solutions and protections. For example, with title insurance, the speed of a transaction is improved because the guaranty provides protections so that certain off-title searches and surveys do not have to be performed. Title insurance can also provide protection from the all too familiar human errors that result during a transaction, said O'Connor. Policyholders no longer have to rely on the limited coverage of their lawyer or solicitor's practitioner's insurance, but can instead trust the risk to title insurance.
Low risk markets are often accompanied by a government guaranty and a highly accurate recordation and registration system, but these systems have their limits. O'Connor explains that title insurance provides coverage of certain risks that governmental systems will not cover. For example, title insurance can be endorsed to insure certain known risks; it can provide protection for issues that are not title risks, i.e., the risk of having to rectify existing contravention of zoning and building laws; and it can even be used to offer protection against deprivation of property by remedies granted. Title insurance also has the distinct advantage of offering a policyholder a timely remedy to the raised title issues, said O'Connor. Policyholders no longer have to assume the responsibility of navigating the often precarious legal road toward compensation or resolution. When an issue is raised, the title company assumes the responsibility of remedying the situation in a timely manner.
Stewart's title guaranty/insurance products indemnify owners of real property throughout the world. Working with local land and real estate professionals, Stewart has developed market-tailored solutions that meet real needs. These services provide varying conveyance markets with the needed tools to increase the speed of a closing and strengthen the security of a land or real estate asset, all while lowering total cost. Title guarantees play a critical role in accordance with Stewart's core belief that private land ownership promotes social stability and prosperity. Stewart believes that with a title guaranty-backed mortgage, trade and investment in land and real estate increase. With the added security of a title guaranty, third party lenders are more willing to accept real estate mortgages because of the increased certainty that valid liens on real estate are possible. *O'Connor's article is available to read in its entirety.
- Europe
- Canada
- Mexico
- Latin America
- Australia
- Global Advantage Title Policy Escrow and Closing Services
