New title insurance website helps consumers shop for the best title insurance deals.

California title insurance companies just unveiled a new website to help home buyers and home sellers comparison shop for title insurance rates. TitleWizard provides rates from several different title insurance companies based on location, price, loan amount, and whether you’re a buyer or a seller.

It’s an easy to use website that asks a series of simple questions before supplying the rate quotes. For buyers, the rates aren’t really that much different from company to company. For sellers, the rates are much more diverse, so shopping (and negotiating) for the best rates does make a lot of sense. My guess is that each company will match the other’s lowest price since they want your business, so each company’s reputation will come into play here as well.

Title Insurance Rates for Santa Clarita

Here are the results for a single family home in zip code 91354 (Valencia) with a purchase price of $500,000 and a loan amount of $400,000.

Buyer’s costs:

• Highest Cost: $601.04 from American Coast Title, LandSafe Title, Placer Title and Stewart Title.
• Lowest Cost: $534.00 from LandAmerica United Title, Western Resources Title, First American Title, Security Union Title (at $533.60), and Orange Coast Title.

Seller’s costs:

• Highest Cost: $1954.00 from Commerce Title. Next in line at $1898.60 are Stewart Title, Placer Title, American Coast Title and LandSafe Title.
• Lowest Cost: $1307.00 at Old Republic Title. Next in line is LandAmerica United Title at $1695.00.

Although the real reason for this new website is to expand the title insurance industry’s marketing efforts to the consumer, instead of more traditional marketing to real estate agents only, the TitleWizard website does provide information that can be used to negotiate rates with any local title insurance office. When deciding which title insurance company to use, be sure to consider the company’s rates as well as its reputation. Rates are often negotiable, but it’s best to avoid a company with a bad reputation.

What Is Title Insurance?

Why do you need title insurance when you buy or sell a property? Here’s the definition of title insurance from the TitleWizard website:

When you buy a property in California, you want to be sure the seller has the right to sell it and that when the transaction closes, you actually own it.

Title insurance is a policy that protects property owners and lenders from losses that could result from disputes over ownership of a property’s title. This could include fraud, liens against the property, or errors missed during a title search.

Title insurance is important because it protects you from title hazards that could threaten the financial investment you have made in your home or other property.

You’ll find more information on title insurance as well as articles on the typical closing process (and closing costs) in the TitleWizard learning center. 

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