Title-related claims

A building encroaches on a neighbour's land

The background
Shortly after closing, buyers of a large rural property discovered that an addition on the home built by the vendor encroached 15 to 20 feet onto a neighbour's property. The vendor swore a statutory declaration that he had not made any structural alteration to the exterior of the building while he owned it. A survey would have identified the encroachment, but the purchasers had used a TitlePLUS policy so that an up-to-date survey of the property was not required.

The benefit of TitlePLUS title insurance
The buyers of this property will benefit from TitlePLUS coverage in two ways: First, they saved hundreds of dollars by buying a TitlePLUS policy instead of having to pay for a new property survey. Secondly, the title insurance provisions in the TitlePLUS policy provide coverage for certain encroachments or setback deficiencies which a buyer may be required to correct.

In situations such as these where an encroachment is an issue, we have a number of options: we can purchase the property underneath the encroachment (and then apply for a severance of the property from the municipality involved), or pay for the removal of that portion of the building that encroaches on the neighbour's land, and any decrease in the value of the property that results from the change to the building. In either case, all expenses up to the policy amount are borne by us.

Mortgage fraud

The background
Alice provided a $30,000 private mortgage to Carl which was secured by a property owned by Betty, the common-law spouse of Carl. Carl and a woman impersonating Betty signed the required documents at the office of the lawyer retained to act for them, then proceeded to forge Betty's signature on the mortgage cheque. When the first mortgage payment did not arrive, Alice contacted her lawyer, who in turn contacted Betty, only to learn that she had no knowledge of a mortgage having been registered against her property.

The benefit of TitlePLUS title insurance
Luckily, Alice had bought a TitlePLUS mortgage lender-only policy to protect the mortgage loan she had made to Carl. The broad title provisions of the TitlePLUS policy provide coverage for fraud and forged documents. We promptly compensated Alice for the full cost of the mortgage she had advanced.

Legal services claims

We provide comprehensive coverage for the legal services provided by the lawyer.¹ The following are claims in which errors or omissions made by the lawyer in the process of closing the transaction led to a loss on the part of the insured purchaser. These buyers received compensation for the error made by the lawyer - and for their loss - because of the legal services coverage included in a TitlePLUS policy.

Without TitlePLUS legal services coverage, these homebuyers may have had to sue their lawyer for negligence to recover their losses - a time-consuming and potentially costly process.

Purchaser takes title to wrong condominium unit

The background
After carefully inspecting a variety of condominium units in a new condo complex, the purchaser selected a lakeview unit, described in the purchase agreement alternately as unit 5321 and as unit 5, level 2. Neither the vendor, real estate agent nor purchaser knew that unit 5, level 2 was in fact unit 5531 and did not have a view of the lake. When the purchaser's lawyer reviewed the status certificate with his client, the client noted that the certificate actually referred to unit 5531; the lawyer assumed (incorrectly) that this number was in error. The insured took title to a unit which he had no intention of purchasing, and the unit he had intended to purchase was sold to another party.

The benefit of TitlePLUS title insurance
The legal services provision in the TitlePLUS policy ensured that this buyer was covered for his loss; we negotiated a settlement with the condo buyer, to compensate for the difference between a unit with a view of the lake and one without such a view.

Buyer incurs extra costs because instructions were not followed

The background
The buyer of a condominium unit told her lawyer that she preferred to pay cash for the unit rather than incur the interest charges associated with a vendor take-back mortgage. Although the purchase agreement provided for this option, the buyer's lawyer did not follow through on these instructions. The buyer received a vendor take-back mortgage on closing, even though other buyers in the same complex paid cash for their units.

The benefit of TitlePLUS title insurance
The legal services provision in the TitlePLUS policy ensured that the buyer was compensated for her loss, to a total of about $9,000.

¹ A TitlePLUS OwnerEXPRESS® policy does not include legal services coverage or coverage for mortgage lenders.

• What is the TitlePLUS Program?
• What is Title Insurance?
• Who stands behind the TitlePLUS Program?
• How is TitlePLUS coverage different?
• What is "legal services coverage"?
• What title-related risks does TitlePLUS title insurance cover?
• What does TitlePLUS title insurance not cover?
• What protection does TitlePLUS title insurance give for events after closing?
• How much does TitlePLUS title insurance cost and who pays for it?
• Where can my clients get TitlePLUS?
• How do I make a claim?
• Confirmed Lenders
• Referrals
• TitlePLUS Team
• Clauses you can put in your APS-chart
• Title-related claims