Title Insurance in Ontario: Which Policy Actually Protects You

by Kirby Chan, Broker

Title Insurance in Ontario: Which Policy Actually Protects You

It is not required by law, the policy your lender asked for may not protect you, and it does not do what a survey does. Here is what the regulator says it covers, what it excludes, and the questions to put to your lawyer.

Title insurance and closing documents for an Ontario home purchase

Written by a Richmond Hill and Markham Real Estate Expert

Almost every buyer in Ontario ends up with title insurance, and almost none of them know which version they have or who it protects. At Kirby Chan & Co. Real Estate Team we see it appear as a line on a closing statement days before completion, which is the worst possible moment to understand it. This page is drawn from what the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario publishes. We are a real estate team and not lawyers or insurers, so every question that matters here routes to FSRA and to your own lawyer.

Buying in Richmond Hill, Markham or Thornhill?

Call Our Dedicated Real Estate Hotline

416-305-8008

We will flag when a property's history is worth raising with your lawyer

Quick takeaway: Three things to settle before closing. Title insurance is not a requirement in Ontario according to FSRA, though most lenders require it as a mortgage condition, so a lender requirement is not a legal one. There are two different policies: an owner's policy protects you from the title-related losses listed in it up to a maximum amount, while a lender's policy protects the lender if the mortgage is invalid or unenforceable and usually covers the mortgage amount, so ask your lawyer which ones you are actually getting. And it does not replace a survey, because FSRA lists problems that would only be found by a new survey among the exclusions, alongside zoning violations arising from changes or renovations. Residential coverage lasts as long as you own the property for a one-time premium.

What This Guide Covers

1. It Is Not Mandatory, and the Lender's Policy Is Not Yours
2. What an Owner's Policy May Cover
3. What It Does Not Cover, and the Two Exclusions That Catch People
4. Title Insurance Is Not a Survey
5. Title Fraud, Which Is Why Most People Should Want an Owner's Policy
6. How Long It Lasts, and Who It Passes To
7. The Premium, and How the Decision Actually Gets Made
8. What to Ask Your Lawyer Before Closing
9. Eight Mistakes
Frequently Asked Questions

1. It Is Not Mandatory, and the Lender's Policy Is Not Yours

Start Here Two Facts That Change the Whole Conversation

Almost every buyer in Ontario ends up with title insurance and almost none of them chose it, understood it, or knows which version they have. Two facts fix that, and they are the most useful paragraphs on this page.

First, it is not required by law. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario states plainly that title insurance is not a requirement in Ontario. What makes it feel compulsory is that most lenders require it as a condition of a mortgage, so on a financed purchase it is effectively standard practice. A lender requirement and a legal requirement are different things.

Second, and this is the one that matters most, there are two different policies and they protect different people.

According to FSRA, an owner's policy protects you from the title-related losses listed in the policy, and it sets a maximum amount of coverage.

A lender's policy protects the lender if the property's mortgage is invalid or unenforceable, and it usually covers the amount of the mortgage.

So the question to put to your lawyer, in these words, before closing: which policies am I getting, and is there an owner's policy in my name. If your lender required title insurance and nobody discussed an owner's policy with you, it is entirely possible the protection in place is for the lender's mortgage rather than for your ownership. That is not a scandal, it is how the requirement arises, and it is worth five minutes to establish rather than assume.

2. What an Owner's Policy May Cover

From the Regulator's Own List Title Risks, Not Building Problems

FSRA sets out what a title insurance policy may cover, and the list is worth reading slowly because several items are not what people expect.

Unknown title defects. Problems with the ownership of the property that nobody knew about at the time of purchase.

Existing liens, which FSRA describes as including unpaid utility bills, mortgages, property taxes or condominium charges. A lien registered against the property by a previous owner's unpaid obligation is the classic case.

Encroachments, and errors in surveys and public records.

Issues affecting your ability to sell, mortgage or lease the property. This is the quietly significant one, because a title problem that surfaces years later when you try to sell is the scenario where a policy earns its premium.

And title fraud, which for many buyers is the main reason to purchase an owner's policy at all, and which section five covers.

What matters more than the general list. What your policy covers is what your policy says, including its exclusions and its maximum coverage amount. The list above is the regulator's description of what policies may cover. Your document governs, and your lawyer is the person who reads it.

3. What It Does Not Cover, and the Two Exclusions That Catch People

The Section Most Pages Leave Short A Policy Is Not a Warranty on the House

FSRA also sets out what title insurance does not cover, and this list is the one to pay attention to.

Known title defects, meaning defects known before the purchase. Insurance covers the unknown. A problem disclosed to you and accepted by you is not an insurable surprise.

Environmental hazards. Native land claims. Unrecorded liens and encroachments. And non-title issues generally.

Then the first of the two that catch people: problems that would only be found by a new survey. Not covered. That single exclusion is the reason title insurance is not a substitute for a survey, which is section four.

And the second: zoning bylaw violations arising from changes or renovations. Not covered. Read that against how Ontario houses actually get altered. A previous owner finishes a basement, builds a deck, converts a garage or adds a second suite without a permit or outside what the bylaw allows. That is a zoning violation arising from a renovation, and a title insurance policy is not the thing that protects you from it.

Which is why this page links to permits. Unpermitted work surfaces during a sale, an insurance claim or a municipal inspection, and it becomes the current owner's problem. Our guide to renovation permits in Richmond Hill and Markham covers how to check, and the time to check is before closing rather than after.

Worried a Previous Owner Altered Something Without a Permit?

Call Our Dedicated Real Estate Hotline

416-305-8008

It is excluded from coverage, so it is worth checking before you close

4. Title Insurance Is Not a Survey

They Answer Different Questions One Covers Financial Loss, the Other Tells You Where the Line Is

This is the substitution buyers make most often, usually because someone told them a survey was no longer necessary once title insurance became routine.

A Surveyor's Real Property Report is prepared by a licensed Ontario land surveyor. It maps the property's legal boundaries, shows where structures such as fences and garages sit relative to those lines, and flags encroachments, easements and rights of way. It confirms what physically exists on the land.

Title insurance is a one-time policy that covers financial loss from defined title risks, and the cost of defending them, within policy limits. It does not go out to the property and establish where your boundary runs.

And FSRA's exclusion closes the question: problems that would only be found by a new survey are not covered.

So a policy is not boundary insurance, and it is not a guarantee that the fence is on the line, that the garage is inside your lot, or that the neighbour's addition does not cross it.

When a survey is worth raising with your lawyer. Where a fence, hedge, driveway, shed or addition looks like it may sit on or near a boundary. Where you intend to build, add or fence. Where the lot is irregular. Where there is an easement or a right of way in play. Where a previous owner's structure looks newer than the house. In those situations the question is not whether you have title insurance, it is whether you know where your land ends.

5. Title Fraud, Which Is Why Most People Should Want an Owner's Policy

The Risk the Product Was Built For

FSRA includes title fraud among the things a policy may cover, and for most residential buyers it is the strongest argument for having an owner's policy rather than only whatever the lender required.

The reason is the shape of the risk. Title fraud is not something a careful buyer can inspect for, negotiate around or discover by being diligent. It is a risk arising from the integrity of the registration system and from other people's conduct, which is exactly the kind of risk insurance is for, and exactly the kind that a one-time premium covering the whole period of your ownership prices well.

What any particular policy covers, up to what limit, and subject to what conditions and exclusions, is in the policy. That is not a formality on this topic, because the limit and the conditions are the whole substance of the protection.

And a practical precaution that is not about insurance at all. Closing funds are a target for fraud, and emailed instructions directing you to send money to a changed account are a known pattern. Verify any payment instruction by telephone, using a number you already have rather than a number in the email, before transferring anything. If anyone pressures you to move money quickly on new instructions, stop and telephone your lawyer.

Insurance addresses the loss after the fact. The telephone call addresses the loss before it happens, and it costs nothing.

6. How Long It Lasts, and Who It Passes To

The Best Feature and Almost Nobody Knows It

This is the part of title insurance that is genuinely good value and that almost no buyer is told about.

According to FSRA, residential coverage lasts as long as you own the property. Not a term, not a renewal cycle, not an annual premium. The length of your ownership.

And FSRA states that most residential policies extend coverage to your heirs through a will, to a spouse in a divorce, and to children where the parents transfer the property to them.

Why that matters more than it sounds. Those three situations are exactly when title problems tend to surface, because each one involves a transfer, a search and somebody looking closely at the paperwork for the first time in years. A policy that carries into an estate or a separation is covering the moment the risk actually materialises.

It also reframes the premium. A one-time fee covering decades of ownership and extending into an estate is a different proposition from an annual insurance cost, and buyers who think of it as a closing cost rather than a long-term policy tend to undervalue it.

Confirm the duration and the extensions in your own policy rather than assuming the general position applies, and note that most is not all. Our guide to selling an inherited home in Ontario covers the estate side, where an existing policy can matter.

7. The Premium, and How the Decision Actually Gets Made

A One-Time Fee, and a Conversation That Usually Does Not Happen

FSRA states that the premium is a one-time fee and that the cost varies based on your property's value and the insurer you choose. No figures appear on this page because they vary by property and by insurer, and any number written here would be wrong for someone.

FSRA also publishes a list of insurance companies licensed to sell title insurance in Ontario, which is worth knowing exists, because most buyers are not aware there is a choice of insurer at all.

How the decision usually happens in practice. It appears as a line on a statement of adjustments or a lawyer's closing summary, days before closing, among a dozen other numbers, at the point in the transaction when the buyer has the least attention available. That is not anyone's fault and it is also not a decision.

How to make it a decision instead. Raise it with your lawyer when you retain them, not when the statement arrives. Ask whether an owner's policy is included in what they are arranging or whether it is separate, what the maximum coverage amount would be, and what the significant exclusions are for a property like yours.

And ask the survey question in the same conversation, because for some properties the better spend is a survey rather than a larger policy, and for some it is both. That is a judgement about your specific property and it belongs to your lawyer rather than to an article.

8. What to Ask Your Lawyer Before Closing

Eight Questions, Asked Early Rather Than Late This Is the Practical Core of the Page

1. Which title insurance policies am I getting, and is one of them an owner's policy in my name.

2. If only a lender's policy is being arranged, what would an owner's policy add, and what would it cost.

3. What is the maximum coverage amount on the owner's policy.

4. What are the significant exclusions for a property like this one.

5. Given this property's history, should I obtain a survey, and is there an existing one.

6. Is there any sign of unpermitted alteration on this property, given that zoning violations arising from changes or renovations are not covered.

7. Does the coverage extend to my heirs, a spouse on a separation, or children on a transfer, and on what conditions.

8. How will closing funds be transferred, and what number should I telephone to verify the instructions. Ask that one of every transaction. Our guide to closing costs in Richmond Hill and Markham covers where the premium sits among the rest of the closing figures.

9. Eight Mistakes

All Eight Are Common and All Eight Are Avoidable

1. Assuming it is legally required. FSRA states it is not a requirement in Ontario. Your lender may require it, which is a different thing.

2. Assuming the policy protects you. A lender's policy protects the lender if the mortgage is invalid or unenforceable. Ask which policies you have.

3. Treating it as a replacement for a survey. Problems that would only be found by a new survey are excluded.

4. Expecting it to cover the building. It covers title risks, not physical condition or environmental hazards.

5. Assuming unpermitted work is covered. Zoning violations arising from changes or renovations are excluded.

6. Not asking about the maximum coverage amount. An owner's policy sets one.

7. Deciding at the statement of adjustments. Raise it when you retain the lawyer, not days before closing.

8. Transferring closing funds on emailed instructions. Telephone to verify, using a number you already have.

Recognition

Kirby Chan Awards and Achievements

🏆 2026 Platinum Award, Real Estate Agent, Markham

🏆 2026 Platinum Award, Real Estate Broker, Markham

🏆 2026 Platinum Award, Real Estate Agent, Vaughan

🏆 2026 Platinum Award, Real Estate Broker, Vaughan

🏆 2026 Platinum Award, Real Estate Agent, Brampton

🏆 2026 Platinum Award, Real Estate Broker, Brampton

🏆 #1 Individual Producer in Ontario for eXp Realty 2024

🏆 Top 3 Best Rated Real Estate Agent in Richmond Hill

🏆 Toronto Star Platinum Award for Best Real Estate Agent

🏆 Top Real Estate Agent Award in Markham

🏆 2X ICON Agent Award with eXp Realty

🏆 2025 Community Votes Platinum Award, Thornhill

🏆 2024 Community Votes Platinum Award, Thornhill

🏆 2023 Community Votes Platinum Award, Thornhill

🏆 2025 Gold Award for Real Estate Brokers in Markham

🏆 2024 Community Votes Bronze Award, Richmond Hill

Frequently Asked Questions

Is title insurance mandatory in Ontario?

No. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario states plainly that title insurance is not a requirement in Ontario. What makes it feel mandatory is that most lenders require it as a condition of a mortgage, so on a financed purchase it is effectively standard. The distinction matters because a requirement imposed by your lender is a different thing from a requirement imposed by law, and it affects which policy you end up with and who that policy actually protects.

What is the difference between a lender's policy and an owner's policy?

They protect different people against different things, and this is the most important thing on this page. According to FSRA, an owner's policy protects you from the title-related losses listed in the policy and sets a maximum amount of coverage. A lender's policy protects the lender if the property's mortgage is invalid or unenforceable, and it usually covers the amount of the mortgage. So if your lender required title insurance and that is what was arranged, the policy in place may be protecting the lender rather than you. Ask your lawyer which policy or policies you have, in those words, before closing.

What does title insurance cover in Ontario?

According to FSRA, a title insurance policy may cover unknown title defects, existing liens such as unpaid utility bills, mortgages, property taxes or condominium charges, encroachments, errors in surveys and public records, issues affecting your ability to sell, mortgage or lease the property, and title fraud. What any particular policy covers is set out in that policy, including its exclusions and its maximum coverage amount, so the policy document is the answer rather than any general list including this one.

What does title insurance not cover?

FSRA lists known title defects, meaning defects known before the purchase, environmental hazards, native land claims, problems that would only be found by a new survey, unrecorded liens and encroachments, zoning bylaw violations arising from changes or renovations, and non-title issues. Two of those catch people out in particular. A problem discoverable only by a new survey is not covered, which is why title insurance is not a substitute for a survey. And a zoning violation created by a renovation is not covered, which matters if a previous owner built something without a permit.

Does title insurance replace a property survey?

No, and treating it as a replacement is a common and expensive assumption. A Surveyor's Real Property Report is prepared by a licensed Ontario land surveyor and maps the property's legal boundaries, shows where structures such as fences and garages sit relative to those lines, and flags encroachments, easements and rights of way. It confirms what physically exists on the land. Title insurance covers financial loss from defined title risks within policy limits and does not physically confirm where your boundaries are. FSRA also lists problems that would only be found by a new survey among the things not covered. They answer different questions and a policy is not a boundary guarantee.

How long does title insurance last?

According to FSRA, residential coverage lasts as long as you own the property. It also states that most residential policies extend coverage to your heirs through a will, to a spouse in a divorce, and to children where the parents transfer the property to them. That duration is unusual among insurance products and it is one of the better arguments for an owner's policy, since the premium is a one-time fee rather than an annual one. Confirm the duration and the extensions in your own policy rather than assuming the general position applies.

How much does title insurance cost in Ontario?

FSRA states that the premium is a one-time fee and that the cost varies based on your property's value and the insurer you choose. No figures appear on this page because they vary by property and by insurer and any number quoted here would be wrong for someone. FSRA publishes a list of insurance companies licensed to sell title insurance in Ontario, and your real estate lawyer arranges the policy as part of closing, so that is where to get an actual number for your purchase.

Does title insurance protect against title fraud?

FSRA includes title fraud among the things a policy may cover, and for many buyers it is the main reason to purchase an owner's policy. What a particular policy covers, up to what limit and subject to what conditions and exclusions is set out in the policy itself. Title fraud is also a live concern in Ontario generally, which is a separate reason to verify payment instructions by telephone before transferring any closing funds and to treat emailed changes to banking details with suspicion. Discuss both the coverage and the practical precautions with your lawyer.

Who should I ask about title insurance for my purchase?

Your real estate lawyer, because the policy is arranged as part of closing and because the questions that matter are legal ones: which policy you are getting, whether an owner's policy is included or separate, what the exclusions say, what the maximum coverage amount is, and whether a survey is advisable for your specific property. FSRA publishes consumer information on title insurance and a list of licensed insurers. Kirby Chan is a Broker with Kirby Chan and Co. Real Estate Team at eXp Realty, serving Richmond Hill, Markham, Thornhill, Vaughan and York Region, and on the real estate side the team will flag when a property's history makes a survey or a closer look at title worth raising with your lawyer. Reach the team at 416-305-8008.

Contact Kirby Chan

Ask the Policy Question Early, Not at the Statement of Adjustments

Raise title insurance with your lawyer when you retain them rather than when the closing statement arrives, and ask the eight questions in section eight. On the real estate side, we will tell you when a property's history, a boundary, a fence line or an obvious alteration is worth a closer look before you close, and when a survey is the better spend. If you are buying or selling in Richmond Hill, Markham or Thornhill, that conversation is part of the work.

Book a Consultation

Kirby Chan, Broker
416-305-8008
info@kirbychanandco.com

Carrie Szeto, Salesperson
416-505-6285
carrie@kirbychanandco.com

Kirby Chan & Co. Real Estate Team, eXp Realty
https://kirbychanandco.com

Dedicated Real Estate Hotline

416-305-8008

Note: This guide is general information and is not legal, insurance, tax or financial advice, and it does not create a solicitor and client relationship with anyone. Title insurance is an insurance product and the coverage, exclusions, conditions, maximum coverage amount and duration of any policy are set out in that policy, which governs. The descriptions here of what title insurance is, whether it is required in Ontario, owner's and lender's policies, what policies may cover and do not cover, the premium, the duration of residential coverage and the extension of coverage to heirs, a spouse or children summarise information published by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario at the time of writing, are general, are subject to conditions and exceptions, and must be confirmed with FSRA, with the insurer and with your own lawyer before you rely on them; products and requirements change and most is not all. Nothing here should be relied on to determine whether any loss, defect, lien, encroachment, survey matter, zoning matter or fraud is covered under any policy, or to decide whether to purchase a policy. Whether a survey is advisable for a particular property, and the significance of any boundary, easement, right of way or encroachment, are matters for a licensed Ontario land surveyor and your lawyer. Whether any alteration to a property complied with applicable permits and zoning requirements is a matter for the relevant municipality and your lawyer. No premiums, prices, coverage limits, fees or market statistics are quoted here because they vary by property and insurer and would be out of date. The caution about verifying payment instructions is general fraud-prevention guidance and not a statement about any specific transaction, party, lawyer or lender. Market conditions vary. Consult a licensed real estate professional for advice specific to your situation, a lawyer for legal questions, and FSRA or a licensed insurer for insurance questions.