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EXPLAINER
What title insurance is, for sellers and buyers
A policy that looks backward, two kinds of coverage, and why the record behind it decides whether a closing is routine.
By Vestris
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October 2026
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6 min read
What a title policy is, what it is not, and why the record behind it decides whether a closing is routine. Written for sellers and buyers, not for lawyers.
What it is
Title insurance protects against losses from problems with a property’s title that existed before the policy was issued and were not found or not fixed: a loan that was never released, a lien, a forged or badly drafted deed, an heir nobody knew about. Unlike other insurance it looks backward, not forward, and it is paid for once, at closing.
Before a policy is issued, the title company searches the public record and lists what it finds in a title commitment. Anything that would stop the policy has to be cleared first. That search is where closings slow down.
The two policies
A lender’s policy protects the mortgage lender for the amount of the loan. Nearly every lender requires one, and it ends when the loan is paid off.
An owner’s policy protects the buyer’s equity for as long as they own the home. It is optional in most places and strongly recommended. Who pays for each policy is a matter of state custom and of what the contract says.
If you are selling
Everything the title company will find at closing is already in the record today. An old loan never released, a lien from a contractor, a name spelled two ways on two deeds: each one is a letter, a payoff, or an affidavit, and each one takes weeks if it is discovered late.
A Vestris Score reads that record before you list and tells you what is yours to clear. Clear it, and the title company’s search comes back routine, the lender’s policy issues on time, and the closing date holds. Vestris-issued policies at closing arrive with the Concierge plan.
If you are buying
Your lender will require a lender’s policy, and you will be offered an owner’s policy. Both depend on the same search of the same record, and that search happens after your offer is accepted, usually in the last two weeks before closing.
A score on the home you are considering shows you ahead of time how routine that search will be. A high score means few exceptions and a short path to closing. A low score tells you what to ask the seller to clear, or how much time to build into your offer.
What a score is not
A Vestris Score is not a title insurance policy, a commitment to insure, or an opinion of title. Whether a property can be insured is decided by a licensed title insurer at closing. The score is the reading you do before that, so the decision is not a surprise.
Words you will hear
Title search: the review of recorded deeds, loans, liens, judgments and taxes for a property.
Title commitment: the title company’s promise to issue a policy, listing the requirements to clear and the exceptions that will not be covered.
Exception: an item the policy does not cover, such as a recorded easement or an unpaid tax.
Cloud on title: any recorded item that calls ownership into question until it is cleared.
Release: the recorded document that shows a loan or lien has been paid and no longer binds the property.
Warranty deed: a deed in which the seller promises the title is clear. A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the seller has, with no promise.
Questions
Write to founders@vestris.ai. For legal questions about your own property, talk to an attorney licensed in your state.
Keep reading
METHOD
Four steps from an address to a listing-ready title, and the six categories every lender reads.
MANIFESTO
Why the seller should read the record before the buyer’s lender does. Our manifesto.
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