Name: Title One
Address: 9065 S 1300 E, Sandy, UT, 84094, US
Telephone: +1 (801) 266-0606

Title insurance protects you against problems with your property's ownership record that already existed before you bought it — a deed signed by someone who had no right to sign it, an heir nobody knew about, a lien that was paid but never released, a clerical error in the county records.

That is the opposite of how most insurance works. Your homeowner's policy covers what might go wrong tomorrow. A title policy covers what already went wrong yesterday and has not surfaced yet. You pay for it once, at closing, and it protects you for as long as you own the property.

What your own policy covers is decided by that policy — its schedules and its conditions — not by this page. Read it, and ask us about anything on it that is not clear.

Why title insurance looks backwards

Every other policy you own is a bet about the future. Title insurance is a statement about the past.

Before a property changes hands, somebody searches the public record for everything ever recorded against it — deeds, mortgages, liens, judgments, easements, court orders, tax records. Most problems are found there and fixed before closing, which is the real work of a title company and the reason most buyers never think about any of this again.

The policy exists for what the search could not find. Records get mis-indexed. Documents get forged. Somebody's marital status is not what the deed says it was. An estate was probated wrong forty years ago. None of that is discoverable by being careful, which is exactly why it is insurable.

So the premium is not really buying a promise to pay out. It is buying the search, the curative work, and a backstop for what the first two could not reach.

Owner's policy or lender's policy

If you bought with a mortgage, two policies were probably issued at your closing, and only one of them is yours.

The owner's policy protects you. Its coverage amount is normally the purchase price, and it lasts as long as you own the property.
The lender's policy protects your lender, up to the loan balance, and shrinks as you pay down the loan. It does nothing for you.

If you are not sure which you have, look for a policy issued in your name. A policy naming only the lender is the lender's. Who paid for which is a separate question and is covered on who pays for title insurance in Utah.

The kinds of problem it is for

The list below describes the categories of risk title insurance exists to address. It is not a list of your coverage — your policy is.

Somebody else has a claim to own it

A deed in the chain was forged, or signed under a power of attorney that had already expired, or signed by one spouse where both had to sign. An heir who was never located turns up with a claim. A previous sale was made by someone impersonating the owner.

An old debt is still attached to the property

Liens follow the property, not the person. A contractor's lien, a tax lien, a judgment against a previous owner, a second mortgage that was paid off but never released — any of these can still be recorded against your address after you own it.

The records are wrong

Clerical errors are more common than forgery and less dramatic. A misspelled name, a wrong parcel number, a document indexed under the wrong property, a legal description that does not match what the surveyor drew.

Somebody has a right to use your land

Easements and rights of way that were never disclosed. A neighbour's driveway, a utility corridor, an access right granted decades ago and recorded somewhere nobody looked.

You cannot sell it, or a lender will not lend on it

The most common way a title defect actually bites is not a lawsuit. It is finding out at your next closing that something in the record has to be cleared before the sale can proceed, at your cost and on your timeline.

The cost of defending your ownership

An owner's policy generally includes the cost of defending your title against a covered claim, which for most homeowners is the more valuable half — litigation costs money long before anybody wins anything.

What it does not cover

Being clear about this is more useful than a longer list of what it does.

Anything that happens after you buy. A lien you take on yourself. A dispute you create. Title insurance draws a line at your closing date.

Physical condition. A bad roof, a cracked foundation, a failed inspection. That is a home inspection and a homeowner's policy, and it is nothing to do with title.

Problems you knew about and accepted. Matters disclosed to you and listed as exceptions in the policy are excluded, because you agreed to take the property subject to them. That is what Schedule B is.

Zoning and land use. What you are allowed to build is a government question, not a title question, though some enhanced policies address specific pieces of it.

Boundary issues a survey would have shown, unless the policy specifically covers them. Standard and extended policies differ here, which is the point of the next section.

Standard and extended policies

Owner's policies come in more than one form. A standard policy covers the core record-based risks. An extended or enhanced homeowner's policy covers additional matters, and costs more.

The differences typically involve things a physical inspection or survey would have revealed rather than things the record shows — encroachments, boundary overlaps, certain post-policy events — and the details vary by product and by underwriter.

We publish the ALTA Homeowner's Policy document if you want to read a policy form rather than a summary of one. If the difference between a standard and an enhanced policy matters to your property, that is a conversation to have before closing rather than after.

Schedule B, and why you should read it

A title policy has two schedules, and the second one is the one people skip.

Schedule A says what is insured: who the insured is, the coverage amount, the legal description, the estate or interest.
Schedule B lists the exceptions — the specific matters this policy does not cover for this property.

Schedule B is where the easements, the covenants and restrictions, the mineral reservations and the known encumbrances live. It is the most property-specific page in the whole file and usually the only page that tells you something you did not already know about your own land.

You normally see a preliminary version of this before closing, in the title commitment. That is your chance to ask about anything on it. An exception you do not understand is an exception you have not really accepted.

Who actually insures you

There are two organisations behind your policy, and knowing which is which saves a phone call later.

The title agency — that is us — does the work. We search the record, examine what the search returns, clear what needs clearing, produce the commitment, conduct the closing, disburse the money and record the documents. We also issue the policy, as an agent.

The underwriter is the insurance company whose name is on the policy and whose balance sheet stands behind it. Utah agencies are appointed by one or more underwriters and issue policies on their paper.

So the practical answer to "who do I call?" depends on the question:

A question about your file, your closing, your documents or where your policy is — call the agency that closed it. That is us, if you closed with us.
A claim under the policy — goes to the underwriter named on the policy, though we will help you find the policy and work out who that is.

Title agencies and their producers are licensed and regulated in Utah by the Utah Insurance Department, which also publishes consumer information about title insurance. Our own licence details are on the individual escrow officer pages.

How a claim works

If something surfaces — a lien you did not create, a letter from someone asserting an interest, a problem discovered when you try to sell — do three things.

Do not sign anything and do not pay anyone to make it go away.
Find your policy. You need the policy number and the underwriter's name. If you closed with us and cannot find it, call us and we will help you locate it.
Report it to the underwriter. The policy is issued by a title insurance underwriter; the agency that closed your file is not the insurer. Claims go to the underwriter named on your policy.

The underwriters we work with publish their own claim instructions:

Report promptly. Policies carry notice conditions, and a delay can affect what the insurer is obliged to do.

Questions we get asked

How long does my owner's policy last?

For as long as you own the property. There is no renewal and no second premium. Coverage generally continues to benefit your heirs, subject to the policy's terms.

Does it cover me if I refinance?

Your owner's policy is unaffected by a refinance — you still own the property, so it is still your policy. Your new lender will require its own new lender's policy. See Utah refinance closings.

I bought with cash and skipped the owner's policy. Can I buy one now?

Ask us. Policies are normally issued at closing on the basis of a search done at that time, so this is a real conversation rather than a form to fill in, but it is worth having.

If the title company does its job, why is there anything left to insure?

Because some defects are not in the record to be found — forgeries, undisclosed heirs, mis-indexed documents. The search removes the findable risk. The policy covers what remains.

Is this the same as a home warranty?

No. A home warranty covers appliances and systems. A title policy covers your ownership.

Not sure what your policy says? Send us the property address and we will help you find the file. Call +1 (801) 266-0606 or contact us.