Title insurance is a one time premium, usually $250 to $700, that protects you against problems with your ownership of the property: title fraud, undisclosed liens, encroachments, and work a previous owner did without permits.
What Is Title Insurance and Do You Need It in BC? (Short Answer)
You do not legally need it in BC. Our Land Title system already guarantees registered title, which is why BC buyers historically skipped it. But most lenders now require a policy of their own, and adding owner coverage at the same time costs very little. For the price of a North Vancouver home inspection, it is usually worth it, with a few clear exceptions covered below.
What It Costs in BC: Typical One Time Premium by Price Range
| Property value | Typical owner policy premium |
| Up to $750,000 | around $250 |
| $750,000 to $1,500,000 | $300 to $450 |
| $1,500,000 to $2,000,000 | around $500 |
| Over $2,000,000 | $500 to $700 plus |
Points that matter:
- It is paid once, at closing, not annually
- Coverage lasts as long as you own the property
- Adding an owner policy alongside a lender policy your lawyer is already ordering typically costs an extra $100 to $200
- Premiums scale with value but far more slowly than the value itself
Against the rest of the closing bill it is a rounding error, as our breakdown of the hidden costs of buying a home in North Vancouver makes clear.
What Title Insurance Covers
The genuinely useful coverage:
- Title fraud. Someone impersonates you, transfers title, and registers a mortgage against your home. This is the headline risk and the main reason lenders insist on it.
- Undisclosed liens. Unpaid property taxes, utility arrears, or a builder’s lien from a renovation that predates your purchase.
- Encroachments. The neighbour’s garage sits two feet over the line, or your deck crosses an easement.
- Unpermitted work by a previous owner. An unpermitted basement suite, a deck built without a permit, or a renovation that does not meet current zoning. If the municipality orders removal or remediation, the policy responds.
- Errors in registration or in a professional’s handling of the file.
- The gap. The short window between when your funds are advanced and when the transfer is actually registered.
That fourth item is the one North Shore buyers should pay attention to. Unpermitted suites and additions are common in North Vancouver housing stock, and a municipal order to remove one is expensive. Our guide to secondary suites and coach houses under City and District rules explains how many of them ended up unpermitted in the first place, and a seller’s property disclosure statement will not always catch it.
What It Does Not Cover
Just as important:
- Known defects you accepted. If you knew about the unpermitted suite and bought anyway, the policy will not pay.
- Physical condition. A leaking roof, a failing foundation, mould. That is what an inspection and, on new builds, the 2 5 10 warranty are for.
- Environmental contamination, including an old buried oil tank in most policies. Ask specifically if this concerns you.
- Your own future renovations done without permits.
- Anything arising after you buy, other than fraud against your title.
- Market value. A policy does not protect you from overpaying.
The short version: title insurance covers your ownership. It does not cover your building.
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Title Insurance vs a Survey Certificate: Which One You Actually Need
This is the trade off buyers get wrong.
| Title insurance | Survey certificate | |
| Cost | $250 to $700, once | $800 to $2,500 |
| What you get | Compensation if a boundary problem causes a loss | Actual knowledge of where the boundaries are |
| Prevents problems? | No, it pays for them | Yes, you find out before you buy |
| Lender acceptance | Widely accepted in place of a survey | Accepted, but slower and costlier |
| Best for | Condos, townhomes, most standard resale purchases | Detached homes where you plan to build, add a garage, or fence a line |
Most detached purchases now close with title insurance instead of a current survey, because it is cheaper and faster. That is fine for most buyers. But if you are buying a North Shore lot with a plan to build, add a laneway house, or replace a fence on a contested line, a survey is the better spend. Insurance pays you after a dispute. A survey stops the dispute. On sloped North Shore lots there are further reasons to know exactly where your lines and setbacks sit, which we cover in slopes, creeks and flood risk on North Shore land.
Lender Policy vs Owner Policy
Two different things, often bought together.
Lender policy. Protects the mortgage lender’s security interest, up to the loan amount. Most BC lenders now require it. It does nothing for you.
Owner policy. Protects your equity, generally up to the purchase price, and in many policies it grows with the property’s value. This is the one that actually benefits you, and it is optional.
If your lawyer is ordering a lender policy anyway, adding owner coverage is a small incremental cost. If you are paying cash, you can decide freely, and there is no lender pushing you either way. Which professional is running the file affects how this gets raised with you, and the difference between a lawyer and a notary in a BC conveyance is worth knowing before you choose one.
When Your Lawyer or Notary Will Recommend It
Certain files make it close to a default recommendation:
- An unpermitted suite or unpermitted work anywhere in the property’s history
- An old or missing survey, especially on a detached lot with structures near a line
- A rush closing where there is no time for a survey or a full off title search
- An older home with a long renovation history, where permit records are incomplete
- A property held by a corporation, an estate, or through a power of attorney, where fraud risk is higher
- A rental or a home you will not occupy, since occupied homes are harder to defraud
- Buying from a distance, where you and the seller never meet in person
The rush closing case is the most common. When a completion date is tight, title insurance is what lets a lawyer close without waiting weeks for a survey.
Tight timelines are usually made, not inherited, and they are set when the offer is written. Navid Hakimi helps North Shore buyers sequence completion and possession dates so their notary has room to do the work properly, rather than insuring around a deadline that did not need to be tight.
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When You Can Reasonably Skip It
It is a defensible skip when all of these are true:
- You are buying a strata unit, where boundaries are defined by the strata plan and encroachment risk is minimal
- There is a recent survey or the building is new
- There is no unpermitted work in the property’s history
- Your lender does not require a policy, or you are paying cash
- You will occupy the property yourself
- You are comfortable that BC’s Land Title Assurance Fund provides a baseline of protection for registered title
Even then, plenty of buyers pay the $250 anyway, on the reasoning that it is roughly one twentieth of what they will spend on legal fees and moving. That is a reasonable call. The point is to make it as a decision rather than as a default line on an invoice. If it is a strata you are buying, your due diligence budget is better aimed at the documents, starting with the Form B information certificate and the depreciation report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is title insurance mandatory in BC?
Not by law, but most lenders require a lender policy as a condition of funding.
How much does it cost?
Typically $250 to $700 as a single premium, depending on property value.
Do I pay it every year?
No. One payment at closing, coverage for as long as you own the home.
Does it cover a leaking roof or a bad foundation?
No. That is what a home inspection is for.
Does it cover an unpermitted basement suite?
Yes, if you did not know about it. If it was disclosed and you accepted it, no.
Do I still need a survey?
Not usually, but yes if you plan to build, add structures, or resolve a boundary line.
Does it protect against buying an overpriced home?
No. It has nothing to do with value.
Can I buy it after I have already closed?
Some insurers offer existing homeowner policies, generally at a higher premium and with more exclusions. Buying at closing is cheaper.
Does it cover an underground oil tank?
Usually not. Environmental contamination is typically excluded, so ask your notary about the specific policy.
Who arranges it?
Your lawyer or notary, as part of the closing package.
Closing Soon? Ask These Two Questions Before You Sign
Before your completion date, ask your notary or lawyer exactly two things: is there a lender policy on this file, and what would an owner policy add? Most buyers never ask, and end up with coverage that protects the bank and not their own equity.
Navid Hakimi walks North Shore buyers through the full closing picture, from property transfer tax and adjustments to what your notary will and will not order on your behalf, so nothing on completion day is a surprise.
Reach out for a closing cost walkthrough on any North Shore property you are buying.
Premiums and coverage vary by insurer and property. Current as of September 2026. Confirm details with your lawyer or notary before closing.
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