Among the professionals involved in the purchase of property, one of the most important is the Title Insurance Underwriter.
The Title Insurance Underwriter works for the title company providing the title coverage for the purchase. It is his or her responsibility to conduct the extensive title search prior to the sale of the property.
The underwriter examines all public records regarding the history of the property being sold, searching for any “defect” in the title which might negatively affect the buyer. Flaws might include a boundary dispute, unresolved tax bill, unsatisfied contractor’s lien or even fraudulent documents, among many other exclusions.
Only when such defects have been resolved, is the title is considered clear (or insurable) and the Title Insurance Underwriter can create a Title Binder or a Title Commitment (intent to insure) document for the property.
Title insurance underwriters also agree to defend the owner of the title policy in court should ever the title need defense due to defects or “clouds” that were undiscovered in the initial title search but have surfaced some time in the future.
Title insurance is the only type of insurance typically underwritten by a title company at the local level (other types of insurance normally have information gathered by insurance providers and then the information is sent to a central office for underwriting) and a title insurance company with a good local reputation can prove an invaluable
ally should any problem ever arise concerning the title to the property in which you have invested.
To learn more about title insurance underwriters, visit www.alta.org. | 
