What Title Insurance Does Not Cover, Which Is the List That Matters

Title insurance protects ownership rather than the property itself. It covers competing claims, defects in the chain of title and title fraud. It generally excludes defects you already knew about, matters a new survey would have revealed, environmental contamination, zoning breaches created by your own renovations, and the physical condition of the house such as the roof or furnace, which is what a home inspection addresses. A lender policy protects the lender only; an owner policy protects you.

Last updated: August 2026

Ownership, not the house

What the policy actually insures

Not a survey

Issues only a new survey reveals are generally excluded

Two policies

The lender’s protects the lender, not you

Title insurance is one of the few things in a real estate transaction that is genuinely good value
and almost universally misunderstood.

People think it insures the house. It does not. It insures your ownership of the house,
which is a different and narrower thing, and the gap between those two ideas is where every
disappointed claim lives.

What it is actually for

It protects against problems with title: someone else having a claim on the property, a defect in
how ownership was transferred at some point in the chain, fraud against your title, and certain
issues that a search of the public records did not reveal.

Title fraud is the one that has made it essential rather than optional in Ontario. Someone
fraudulently transferring or mortgaging a property they do not own is not a hypothetical here, and
untangling it without insurance is ruinous.

What it does not cover, which is the useful list

Diagram of what Ontario title insurance does not cover: known defects, problems a new survey would have revealed, environmental contamination, zoning violations you created, and physical defects like a roof or furnace.

Anything you already knew about

Defects known to you before you bought the policy are excluded. You cannot insure a problem you were already aware of.

Problems a new survey would have revealed

Where a survey was requested and provided, issues it would have disclosed are generally excluded. This is a real limit on the common belief that title insurance replaces a survey.

Environmental contamination

Soil contamination and similar environmental hazards are not title problems and are not covered.

Zoning violations you created

Renovations or additions you are responsible for that breach zoning are excluded. The policy is not a permit amnesty.

The physical condition of the house

A leaking roof, a failing furnace, a cracked foundation. None of that is title. That is what a home inspection is for, and it is the single most common misunderstanding.

Title insurance is not a substitute for a survey, and treating it as one is how people end up with a fence in the wrong place

The standard advice in Ontario for years has been that title insurance is cheaper than a new survey and covers most of what a survey would. That is broadly true for title risks and it is not true for everything. Issues discovered only by a new survey, such as the property being physically smaller than you believed, sit outside a typical policy. If boundaries genuinely matter to your plans, because you intend to build, add a garage, put in a pool or dispute a fence, a survey is a different product answering a different question, and the insurance is not a replacement for it.

Two policies, and only one of them is yours

This catches people. There is a lender policy and an owner policy.

The lender policy protects the lender’s interest, and your lender will typically require it. It
does nothing for you. The owner policy protects you, and it is usually a modest additional one time
premium bought at the same time.

If you are buying with a mortgage, ask your lawyer explicitly whether you are getting an owner
policy or only the lender one. Most Ontario lawyers arrange both as a matter of course, but “we have
title insurance on this file” is not the same sentence as “you are personally insured.”

It generally lasts as long as you own it

An owner policy is typically a one time premium paid at closing that continues while you own the
property. It does not renew annually and it does not transfer to your buyer, which is why every new
owner buys their own.

This is general information, not legal or insurance advice

Coverage and exclusions vary by insurer and by policy, and the specific wording governs. Ontario’s
financial services regulator publishes consumer information on title insurance, and your real
estate lawyer is the right person to tell you what your policy actually does.

Sources: Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario consumer guidance on understanding title insurance, and standard Ontario title insurance policy exclusions including known defects, matters a new survey would disclose, environmental hazards and zoning breaches created by the insured.

Where This Comes From

Written from Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario consumer guidance on title insurance and standard Ontario policy exclusions. Coverage varies by insurer and the policy wording governs.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does title insurance actually cover?

Problems with your ownership of the property: competing claims, defects in how title was transferred somewhere in the chain, title fraud, and certain issues a search of public records did not reveal. Title fraud protection is the reason it has become standard rather than optional in Ontario.

Does title insurance cover a leaking roof or a broken furnace?

No. Physical condition is not a title matter. That is what a home inspection is for, and the belief that title insurance covers the condition of the house is the single most common misunderstanding about it.

Do I still need a survey if I have title insurance?

It depends what you are trying to protect. Issues discovered only by a new survey, such as the property being physically smaller than believed, are generally excluded. If boundaries matter because you intend to build, add a garage or resolve a fence dispute, a survey answers a question insurance does not.

What is the difference between lender title insurance and owner title insurance?

The lender policy protects the lender’s interest and does nothing for you. The owner policy protects you. Most Ontario lawyers arrange both, but ask explicitly whether you are personally insured rather than assuming that having title insurance on the file covers you.

Does title insurance expire or transfer to the buyer?

An owner policy is typically a one time premium paid at closing that continues while you own the property. It does not renew annually and it does not pass to a purchaser, which is why each new owner arranges their own.

What Title Insurance Does Not Cover, Which Is the List That Matters

What Title Insurance Does Not Cover, Which Is the List That Matters

What it is actually for

What it does not cover, which is the useful list

Two policies, and only one of them is yours

Where This Comes From

Frequently Asked Questions

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