What Is a Title Insurance Commitment Anyway?
A title insurance commitment is a contract to enter into a contract. The title insurance company, or underwriter, promises the proposed insured that if all the conditions set forth in Schedule B, Section 1 of the commitment are satisfied, the underwriter will issue an owner’s policy of title insurance on the terms described in Schedule A of the commitment. Schedule B, Section 2 of the commitment lists the risks that the underwriter proposes to exclude from coverage. Usually, a title agency, or a lawyer, as agent for the underwriter, issues the commitment. A title insurance commitment is not an abstract of title and will not necessarily list every arguable cloud on title. The agent ordinarily reviews the record title before issuing the commitment. The underwriter’s internal policies and procedures, together with state law, will govern the scope of the examination. Not every search will go back to the government patent, or even to the root of title under marketable title statutes. As a r
