Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Does title insurance purchased by the buyer pay homeowner

If the deal is fraud by way of id theft?


Asked on 8/28/15, 5:44 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Your question is a little vague as to who you mean by "homeowner." Since you SEEM to be referring to the buyer and homeowner as separate people, I am guessing you mean the homeowner is the true owner whose identity was stolen. If so, the answer is absolutely no. Only the named insured on the title policy has any coverage. I spent the better part of a decade litigating for the top title insurance companies, Fidelity and Chicago, and I saw ever creative idea in the world asserted to try to get coverage for third parties. We shot down every single one because the law is clear. Only the insured on the policy has any right to make a claim on the policy.

In the case of ID theft, however, particularly if the escrow officer was also the notary on the documents for the transaction, you might have a claim against the title company on the escrow side of things. In some rare cases the notary and/or escrow officer is in on the fraud, which the title company could be liable for.

In any case, however, you need to talk to a title and escrow attorney right away. Failure to act promptly on this kind of thing can lose you your rights entirely.

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Answered on 8/28/15, 7:10 pm


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