Closing on a property usually comes with a mountain of paperwork and the reasonable expectation that every fee should make sense.
Whether you’re reviewing a draft statement or trying to calculate your total upfront costs, seeing title insurance listed twice can feel concerning. It’s completely natural to wonder if you’re being charged double for the exact same protection.
You’re not, and you’re not the first person to pause and ask what’s actually going on.
Here is the breakdown: a lender’s policy only protects the bank’s investment in your Hattiesburg or Purvis property. An owner’s title policy protects yours. It covers hidden defects, like a forged signature from two owners back, undisclosed heirs, or missed liens, that even a thorough search can miss before closing.
Perry W. Phillips, PLLC has closed Mississippi real estate deals since 1992, running its own title company rather than farming that work out.
You should never feel in the dark about where your money is going. Before you sign anything, it helps to know what an owner’s policy will and won’t do for you.
Key Takeaways
- Two policies, two distinct targets: A lender’s policy protects the bank in your Hattiesburg or Purvis property; an owner’s policy protects your equity. You aren’t paying double for the same safety net.
- Problems are more common than you think: More than a third of title searches nationwide turn up a real problem before closing, according to data cited by the Land Title Association of Mississippi.
- One payment for life: Unlike home or auto insurance, an owner’s policy requires a single premium at closing, and the coverage lasts as long as you or your heirs own the property.
- It covers the past, not the future: The policy protects you against hidden pre-existing defects (like past unpaid taxes or missed heirs), not issues that arise after you buy.
- Pay close attention to Schedule B: While most of the policy uses boilerplate language, Schedule B lists the specific exceptions for your exact property. This is the section that matters most.
- Ask questions before you sign: If anything on your closing documents or Schedule B looks unfamiliar, reach out to our Hattiesburg or Purvis office before your closing date so we can walk you through it.
What Title Insurance Protects You Against
Title insurance protects you against financial loss from property ownership problems that existed long before you took the keys. This includes hidden issues like a forged deed, an unrecorded lien, or a long-lost heir who never signed off on a past sale.
If an old claim surfaces after you have moved in, your owner’s policy pays for your legal defense and covers financial losses up to your policy limit.
That protection exists because the title search performed before closing can only catch what made it into the public record, and those records in Lamar and Forrest County stretch back generations.
Owner’s Policy vs Lender’s Policy
Mississippi law does not require you to purchase an owner’s title policy, but your mortgage lender will always require a lender’s policy. This distinction causes more confusion at the closing table than almost anything else.
A lender’s policy exists to protect the bank’s financial stake in the property. Once your mortgage is paid off, that coverage ends entirely. As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau points out, a lender’s policy protects the bank’s investment, not yours.
An owner’s policy protects your personal equity in the property for as long as you or your heirs hold the deed.
Furthermore, purchasing both policies together through your closing attorney usually costs significantly less than buying them separately. Waiving an owner’s policy might save a few hundred dollars on your immediate closing costs, but it leaves you entirely unprotected if a hidden title defect from decades ago ever comes to light.
What a Title Policy Won’t Cover
A policy has limits, and knowing them keeps you from assuming you’re protected when you’re not. Standard exclusions and exceptions include:
- Zoning violations or building code issues the county hasn’t recorded yet
- Boundary disputes that only a survey would reveal, unless you paid for survey coverage
- Problems you caused yourself, like an unpaid contractor’s bill that becomes a lien
- Mineral, oil, or gas rights severed from the property before your purchase
None of that shows up on the summary page, and it’s worth asking your title insurance attorney to walk through Schedule B line by line before you sign.
Schedule B: The Fine Print That Matters
Every title commitment is split into two primary sections: Schedule A and Schedule B.
- Schedule A verifies basic details, such as current ownership and that your insurance coverage matches your purchase price.
- Schedule B is where the specifics of your actual property live. It outlines details like property boundaries, utility easements, HOA covenants, and any outstanding liens uncovered in county chancery records.
As mentioned, over a third of title searches reveal an issue before closing. Schedule B is where those issues are documented so they can be addressed before you take ownership.
Home Closing 101 breaks down each schedule in plain terms if you want to see a sample side by side with your own commitment.
Why You Should Review Your Commitment Early
Ask for the title commitment early, not the week of closing. If Schedule B lists an old lien or an overlapping boundary, reviewing it early gives your closing team time to resolve the issue.
Waiting until you are sitting at the closing table leaves you little time to ask questions or request fixes before you sign.
If you have questions about what your title commitment says, send it to us, and we’ll look over Schedule B with you before closing day so you can sign with complete confidence.
One Law Office, One Title Search
Perry W. Phillips, PLLC has operated its own title company, TSI-Title Services, since 1986, six years before Perry became an attorney in 1992.
That means the same office that reviews your Schedule B exceptions also ran the title search that produced them, instead of the search and the closing review happening at two separate companies.
Is Title Insurance Required, and What Does It Cost
Mississippi law does not mandate an owner’s title policy, and because the state does not set flat insurance rates, premiums can vary by provider. Here is what you can generally expect when budgeting for closing:
- Lender’s Policy: Required if you are financing your home, usually costing between 0.3% and 0.5% of your total loan amount.
- Owner’s Policy: Optional but recommended, typically running between 0.25% and 0.5% of the property’s purchase price.
- Simultaneous Issue Discount: Purchasing both policies through the same company at the same time usually reduces the combined total.
Unlike homeowners insurance, title insurance is a one-time fee paid at the closing table, not an ongoing monthly bill.
Under federal law, you also have the right to shop around for your title provider; your lender or seller cannot force you to use a specific company.
If you are preparing to close on a home in Lamar or Forrest County, feel free to schedule a consultation with us. We will walk you through your numbers and explain exactly what your policy covers before you sign.
FAQs About Title Insurance Actually
How long does an owner’s title policy last?
Coverage lasts for as long as you or your heirs own the property. You pay a single premium at closing, and the protection remains in place for decades without any recurring fees.
What happens if the title search turns up a lien before closing?
The lien is documented on Schedule B and must be resolved before the policy is issued. In most cases, the seller pays off the outstanding balance out of their sale proceeds at the closing table.
Does title insurance cover a boundary dispute with my neighbor?
Standard policies exclude issues that a physical survey would reveal. To cover boundary or encroachment disputes, you will need to add a survey endorsement to your policy, a quick add-on worth discussing before you finalize your coverage.
Perry W. Phillips, PLLC: Your Hattiesburg and Purvis Real Estate Law Firm
A title policy is only as good as your understanding of it, and you should never have to navigate your closing paperwork alone.
Perry Phillips has reviewed those pages on thousands of Mississippi closings since 1992, and running its own title company means the same team that ran your title search is also the one walking you through it, instead of two companies handing your file back and forth.
If you have questions about your commitment or want to make sure your interest is fully protected, contact our firm today. We will review your documents together before you’re sitting at the closing table wondering what you just agreed to.
