The lender's title policy is compulsory — is the owner's policy on top of it buying me anything? Home & Renters

It's a genuine risk transfer, and the unusual thing about it is the price structure: a one-time premium paid at closing, with coverage lasting as long as you or your heirs own the property. No renewals, no annual premium. What it covers is the stuff a search can miss — a forged deed somewhere in the chain, an unrecorded lien, a recording error, an heir nobody knew existed. A clean search is evidence, not a guarantee.

A 1940s house that has turned over twice recently is exactly the profile where I'd buy it. Older chains have more places to go wrong, and quick resales sometimes have paperwork done in a hurry by people who won't be around later. I've never claimed on mine and I'd buy it again on the next house.

Ask what amount the policy is written for. Some owner's policies are written at purchase price with no inflation provision and others have an escalation feature. Twenty years from now that difference is effectively the whole policy.

The upsell criticism isn't baseless — claim rates on title policies are low relative to premium volume, and that's a fair thing to notice out loud. I bought mine anyway, but I shopped the rate rather than accepting the closing agent's default. Ask whether simultaneous-issue pricing applies when both policies are written together.

Pricing and the rules around it vary a great deal by state and country. Check with a real estate attorney where you're actually buying rather than taking a forum's word for what's negotiable.