Can title insurance typically be transferred to a new owner?

Title insurance is designed to protect property owners and lenders from the potential financial loss arising from defects in the title to real estate. Typically, when a property is sold or transferred, the title insurance policy is not transferable to the new owner. Instead, a new policy must be purchased by the new owner to cover their own interest in the property.

This non-transferability stems from the nature of title insurance, which is linked to the specific owner and the property's title history at the time the policy was issued. When the property changes hands, the title’s risks and circumstances may also have changed, thus necessitating a new policy to assess and mitigate those risks for the new owner.

While some states may allow for limited transfer rights under certain circumstances, this is not the norm. Therefore, the general understanding is that title insurance cannot be transferred, validating the choice that it generally cannot be transferred.