Title insurance
The premium is set by the state, so there is nothing to shop. Everything that varies is who pays it and what you get for it. Rates begin at $5.75 per $1,000† and step down to $5.00 per $1,000† above the first tier — the same figure from every agent in Florida.
The lender’s policy protects the lender for the loan amount. It does nothing for you. If you take only that policy because it appeared on the loan estimate and the owner’s policy did not, you have paid for someone else’s protection and bought none of your own.
Two policies, doing different jobs
| Owner’s policy | Lender’s policy | |
|---|---|---|
| Protects | You | The mortgage lender |
| Amount | The purchase price | The loan amount, reducing as you repay |
| Lasts | As long as you or your heirs hold an interest | Until the loan is paid off |
| Optional? | Yes — and this is the one that matters | No, if you are borrowing |
Where both are issued at the same closing the lender’s policy costs a nominal simultaneous-issue fee rather than a second full premium. So the incremental cost of protecting yourself, when you are already buying a policy for the lender, is far smaller than the headline rate suggests.
Who pays, and why the answer is a custom rather than a rule
Across most of Florida the seller customarily pays for the owner’s policy and chooses the closing agent. It is a custom, not a statute, and the contract governs — so it is negotiable in every transaction and is genuinely negotiated in slow markets.
Miami-Dade is the exception on both counts: a lower deed rate with a surtax on non-single-family transfers, and the buyer customarily pays for the owner’s title policy.
Other counties have their own local practice, and a local closing agent will tell you what it is. Do not assume the custom from wherever you moved from, and do not assume it from a page on the internet — read the line in your own contract, because that line is what will actually be enforced.
What it covers that a search does not
- Forgery and fraud in the chain, including the deed fraud that is a live problem on vacant land and non-owner-occupied property.
- Undisclosed heirs appearing after a probate that was not done properly.
- Recording errors, missed liens and mis-indexed documents.
- Improperly executed prior deeds — the missing witness, the defective acknowledgement.
- The cost of defending your title, which is frequently worth more than the payout, because the legal defence arrives whether or not the claim ultimately succeeds.
The search finds what is in the record. The policy covers what the record failed to show — which is precisely the category you cannot protect yourself against by being careful.
What it does not cover
- Anything listed as an exception in Schedule B, which is why Schedule B is the part to read.
- Matters an accurate survey would have revealed, unless you pay to delete that exception.
- Zoning, permitting and code violations — an unpermitted addition is not a title defect.
- Environmental conditions.
- Anything you knew about and did not disclose to the insurer.
A standard policy excepts anything a current survey would show — encroachments, boundary disagreements, a neighbour’s fence three feet inside your line. Ordering a survey and asking for that exception to be deleted converts the most common real-world boundary dispute from your problem into a covered one. It is a specific request, and it is not made for you.
Where money is left on the table
- Ask about a reissue or substitution rate. Where the property was insured before, a reduced rate may be available. It is not applied automatically and the person who benefits from not mentioning it is not you.
- Ask who is paying for what, in writing, before the contract is signed — not at the closing table, where it has already been decided.
- Separate the premium from the fees. The premium is fixed by the state. Settlement fees, search fees and courier charges are not, and that is where quotes actually differ.
- Read Schedule B before closing, not after. Exceptions can sometimes be removed, but only before the policy issues.
The other costs sitting alongside it
Documentary stamp tax on the deed runs at $0.70 per $100†, on the note at $0.35 per $100†, and intangible tax on the mortgage at 0.2% of the loan amount†. None of those are negotiable and all of them are frequently a surprise.
Related
Common questions
Who pays for title insurance in Florida?
Across most of Florida the seller customarily pays for the owner’s policy and chooses the closing agent, but it is a custom rather than a statute and the contract governs. Miami-Dade reverses it — there the buyer customarily pays.
Do I need an owner’s title policy if I have a lender’s policy?
The lender’s policy protects the lender for the loan amount and does nothing for you. Where both issue at the same closing, the lender’s policy costs a nominal simultaneous-issue fee, so protecting yourself costs far less than the headline rate.
Can I shop around for cheaper title insurance in Florida?
Not on the premium — it is promulgated by the state and identical from every agent. Settlement, search and courier fees are not fixed, and that is where quotes genuinely differ.
What does title insurance not cover?
Anything excepted in Schedule B, matters a survey would reveal unless you pay to delete that exception, zoning and permitting problems, environmental conditions, and anything you knew about and did not disclose.
What is the survey exception?
A standard policy excepts anything a current survey would show — encroachments, boundary disputes, a fence inside your line. Ordering a survey and asking for the exception to be deleted moves that risk to the insurer, but you have to ask.
Title insurance rates in Florida are promulgated by the Office of Insurance Regulation, so the premium does not vary between agents. Documentary stamp and intangible taxes are set by the Department of Revenue. Who pays for what is set by your contract, whatever the local custom.