Is title insurance mandatory in Canada?

No law requires it, but most lenders require a lender policy as a funding condition, so in practice nearly every financed purchase includes one. The owner policy is optional; since it is usually bundled at closing for a small additional amount, most lawyers recommend taking it.

I bought my home years ago without title insurance. Is it too late?

No. Existing-owner policies can be purchased at any time, not just at closing, and fraud protection is the usual motivation. Any lawyer or title insurer can quote one based on your home's current value.

Does title insurance replace a survey?

Not exactly. It lets many deals close without a new survey by insuring over unknown boundary issues, which is one reason surveys became rarer. But policies can limit coverage for problems a current survey would have revealed if you declined one, and a survey tells you where your boundaries actually are before you build that fence or pool.

Title Insurance

Assurance titres in French

Quick definition

Title insurance is a one-time-premium policy that covers losses from defects in your home's title: existing liens, survey and boundary problems, registration errors and title fraud. The policy lasts as long as you own the home.

What it covers

Title is your legal ownership of the property. Title insurance pays for losses, and usually the legal costs of fixing them, when a problem with that ownership surfaces after closing. Typical covered risks include:

Existing liens against the property: unpaid property taxes, utility arrears or contractor (construction) liens left by a previous owner.
Survey and boundary issues: a fence, driveway or addition that encroaches on a neighbour's land, or a garage built partly over the property line.
Zoning violations by prior owners, such as a basement apartment or addition built without permits that the city later forces you to fix.
Registration and public-record errors: mistakes in the land registry or in prior transfers that cloud your ownership.
Title fraud: someone impersonating you to discharge, remortgage or even sell your home.

Title fraud: the risk that changed the market

Fraud deserves its own mention because it is the growth risk. In a typical scheme, criminals use stolen identity documents to pose as the owner, then register a new mortgage against the home or sell it outright to an unsuspecting buyer, and disappear with the money. Untangling that in court is slow and expensive even when the true owner ultimately prevails. High-profile cases, including homes sold out from under owners who were travelling, are the main reason existing-owner policies have become popular with people who bought long ago without title insurance.

Lender policy vs owner policy

There are two distinct policies, and the difference matters. A lender policy, which most lenders require, protects only the lender, up to the mortgage balance. If a title defect wipes out value, the lender is made whole and you are not. An owner policy protects your home equity, the part you actually own.

In practice, both are usually bought together at closing through your lawyer or notary for a single combined premium, so the marginal cost of adding the owner policy is small. Do not confuse either policy with mortgage default insurance, which insures the lender against you failing to pay, not against defects in your title.

What it costs, and how long it lasts

The premium is paid once, at closing, as part of your closing costs alongside legal fees and land transfer tax. For a typical home, expect a few hundred dollars, often in the range of $250 to $500, rising with the property value (as of July 2026, illustrative). There are no renewals and typically no deductible on claims.

The owner policy then lasts as long as you own the home. One premium in 2026 still protects you against a covered defect that surfaces in 2046.

What it does not cover

Title insurance is not all-risk coverage. Defects you knew about before closing are generally excluded, as are environmental problems such as contaminated soil. Policies can also limit coverage for issues that an up-to-date survey would have revealed if you chose to close without one, so read the exclusions rather than assuming. It covers your ownership, not the building: physical damage is home insurance's job.

From lawyer's opinion to insurance

Before title insurance became standard in the 1990s and 2000s, your lawyer would search the title, cure any defects up front, and give a professional opinion on title. Insurance shifted the model: instead of fixing every wrinkle before closing, many minor defects are simply insured over, which made closings faster and cheaper. Your lawyer still searches the title; the policy backstops what the search cannot see, like fraud and registry errors. And because existing-owner policies can be bought anytime after purchase, longtime owners can add protection today.

In Canada

Title insurance is now near-universal in Canadian purchase transactions, and lenders commonly insist on a lender policy as a condition of funding. The market is dominated by a handful of specialized insurers, and your real estate lawyer or notary arranges the policy as a routine closing step. Unlike in the United States, where title insurance premiums are a major closing cost, Canadian premiums are comparatively modest.

In Québec, l'assurance titres plays the same role alongside the notarial system. Notaries historically relied on title examination and the province's registry, and title insurance is used as a complement, notably for fraud protection and to close transactions quickly when a minor irregularity would otherwise cause delay.

Worked example

Dana buys a house for $700,000 with a $560,000 mortgage and pays about $400 once at closing for combined lender and owner title policies (as of July 2026, illustrative). Two years later, the city orders the removal of a deck the previous owner built over a utility easement without a permit. Her owner policy covers the legal costs and the loss, with no deductible. Years later, fraudsters attempt to register a fake discharge and a new mortgage against the home; the insurer's lawyers handle the court process of restoring clean title at no cost to her. Without the owner policy, the lender policy alone would have protected only the bank.