Saskatchewan Insurance Brokers To Facilitate TitlePLUS Title Insurance For Residential Real Estate Transactions

August 4, 2004

Toronto: The Insurance Brokers Association of Saskatchewan (IBAS) and Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LAWPRO) have entered into an arrangement that enables IBAS members to provide TitlePLUS title insurance for a wide variety of Saskatchewan real estate transactions.

LAWPRO’s TitlePLUS title insurance product offers consumers comprehensive insurance coverage for the title-related aspects of their transaction, and for the legal services provided by the lawyer in the transaction. TitlePLUS coverage is available to consumers when they buy property, refinance a mortgage or borrow money secured against a residential home.

The LAWPRO/IBAS arrangement makes it faster and easier for Saskatchewan lawyers to assist their real estate clients. As part of a lawyer’s discussion with a real estate client, the client will be directed to seek advice from an IBAS member broker regarding options to protect the ownership interests which arise from the purchase, refinancing and/or the priority of a lender’s security interest in a property. Consumers may also directly seek information from an IBAS broker member before consulting with a lawyer.

Once consumers understand their options and opt for TitlePLUS coverage they sign a document to provide instructions to their lawyer; the broker forwards the directions to the lawyer who then supplies the necessary information so LAWPRO can complete the process of securing a TitlePLUS policy for the client. The broker delivers the TitlePLUS policy, once issued by LAWPRO, to the consumer through their lawyer.

"The arrangement with IBAS speaks to our commitment to work with the Saskatchewan insurance and legal communities on a process that meets local needs and priorities,” says Kathleen Waters, Vice President, TitlePLUS. "The arrangement is also a vote of confidence in the TitlePLUS program on the part of the local insurance community: We look forward to working with the insurance brokerage community to ensure real estate consumers in Saskatchewan have access to the superior protection that TitlePLUS coverage offers.”

"IBAS is pleased LAWPRO has taken the important step of ensuring that advice about this insurance product is provided by licensed , professional insurance brokers” said Ernie Gaschler, Executive Director of IBAS. "Our members look forward to assisting Saskatchewan real estate clients and the legal profession in this capacity.”

LAWPRO is a wholly Canadian-owned insurance company providing lawyers’ malpractice insurance and title insurance in numerous jurisdictions across Canada. The TitlePLUS program provides consumers and lenders with comprehensive title insurance coverage for residential home purchases, and refinance/mortgage-only transactions. Specifically it provides coverage for title-related problems that could affect the ownership or marketability of the property in the future, as well as for the legal services provided by the lawyer closing the transaction.

The TitlePLUS policy also insures against many of the risks that normally would be beyond the scope of the lawyer’s opinion – issues such as fraud, forgery, survey errors, the absence of an up-to-date survey and errors made by governments. If a problem with title surfaces after the deal has closed, or if it is discovered that the lawyer made an error or omission, the insurer either:

  • pays to rectify the problem (for example, moving a garage off a neighbour’s property line) or,
  • compensates the appropriate parties for up to the full value of the title insurance policy.

Since its launch in 1997, the TitlePLUS program has become a mainstay of real estate practice in Ontario, and is now available in all provinces except Quebec.

The Insurance Brokers' Association of Saskatchewan (IBAS) is a voluntary organization of professional Independent Insurance Brokers. Established in 1952 as a provincial, non-profit trade association, IBAS represents over 280 insurance brokerages which employ over 2,500 people throughout the province.

Source: TitlePLUS


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