Gina Branch

I recently was speaking with a potential client. She owns a condo in the area and was planning on selling it. She was worried that the title company that had issued the title policy had “insured around” a lien. 

Base Photo Licensed from ShutterStock

I’d never heard of it so I placed a call to Renee Graham with Preston Title in Plano, Texas. Renee has been around “forever” and is my “go to” person for title related questions.

“Insuring Around” occurs when a lien is found on the title work, the lien holder cannot be found, and the title company believes the lien has been or should have been released. Basically, they can decide to insure the title and even though the lien cannot be released, they agree to insure the policy holder against any claims brought by that lien holder. Renee told me that this is not often done because the title company assumes all the risk. On a subsequent sale, the title company issuing the new title policy will hold the original title company liable for any future claims. 

While “Insuring Around” is not common, it is acceptable and the policy holder and future policy holders are insured against claims brought by the “insured around” lien holder.