What does title insurance cover in Scottsdale, Arizona?

Title insurance covers financial loss from certain problems with a property's ownership record, such as a lien nobody found, a forged document or a mistake in the public record. Stewart Title lists competing ownership claims, improperly recorded documents, fraud, forgery, liens, encroachments and easements among the defects a policy can cover. It also says each policy has its own terms, conditions and exclusions, and that is why the policy and the title commitment are worth reading.

I'm Jen Keene, a REALTOR® with eXp Luxury in Scottsdale, AZ, and I'm the agent people call at every stage of their life.

This is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Your title or escrow officer can tell you what your own policy and commitment say, and an attorney can tell you what they mean for you. I read the sources below on November 9, 2026.

A title search is research into the public record for the property, done before the policy is issued. Stewart Title says that after an escrow officer or lender opens the order, a title agent or attorney runs the search, and a preliminary report goes to the buyer to review. The American Land Title Association (ALTA) says title insurers put a lot of work into title research up front, which cuts down on ownership challenges later.

In Arizona the report comes through the title or escrow company. The Arizona Department of Real Estate's Buyer Advisory (January 2025) says the title report or commitment is provided to the buyer by the title or escrow company or agent, and the Arizona REALTORS® purchase contract form (August 2024 edition) tells the escrow company to get the commitment and deliver it to the buyer and the seller. If you've been wondering what a title company in Scottsdale does, that's the main job, along with the closing itself, which I cover in what escrow is in Arizona.

The search doesn't catch everything, and that's what the insurance is for. Stewart Title says problems that can slip past a search include errors in deeds, mistakes in reviewing records, forgery and unknown heirs. One Scottsdale title company's website gives unpaid taxes, liens, fraud, public record errors and undisclosed heirs as examples of hidden defects.

An owner's policy protects you, the buyer. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says it protects a homeowner if someone later claims a legal right to the home based on something that happened before the purchase, and ALTA says an owner's policy protects your property rights. Both say it's your choice to buy one. A lender won't ask for it, so it's easy to treat it as an extra, and the CFPB says you may want to buy one to protect your own investment in the home.

Stewart Title and a Scottsdale title company's website agree that an owner's policy lasts as long as the owner holds the property, and ALTA adds that it covers the owner's heirs. Stewart Title and the Arizona purchase contract forms mention two kinds, an ALTA Homeowner's policy and a Standard Owner's policy. Stewart Title says the homeowner's version adds coverage for additional risks, so ask the title officer what the difference is for your purchase.

A lender's policy protects the lender and nobody else. The CFPB says it covers problems with the title only as they affect the lender's loan, that lenders usually require it to approve a mortgage, and that it doesn't protect your equity in the home. ALTA says the same thing, that the lender almost always requires it and that it protects the lender's interest, not the owner's.

Stewart Title and a Scottsdale title company's website both say it lasts until the loan is paid off. So if you have a mortgage, you can have the lender's policy in place and still have nothing covering your own ownership.

It doesn't cover the items listed as exceptions. The Arizona Department of Real Estate's Buyer Advisory says the title report or commitment lists documents that are exceptions to the title insurance, called Schedule B exceptions. It says they may include encumbrances, easements and liens against the property, and that some of them may affect how you can use it, such as a future addition or a swimming pool.

The Arizona REALTORS® purchase contract form describes the same documents as the ones that will remain as exceptions to the buyer's policy, and it names the CC&Rs, deed restrictions and easements. The Phoenix REALTORS® sample form uses nearly the same wording. Stewart Title adds that every policy is subject to its own exclusions, so the exceptions aren't the only limits, and the policy itself spells out the rest. A title insurance policy also isn't a guarantee that the title search found nothing. It's coverage for what the search missed, within the terms of the policy.

Read the exceptions and read the documents behind them. The Buyer Advisory says to make sure you receive and review all of the listed documents, and the Arizona purchase contract has the escrow company send you copies of the documents that will remain as exceptions. Both the Arizona REALTORS® form and the Phoenix REALTORS® sample form give the buyer a set window after receiving the commitment to tell the seller about any items they disapprove. Look up that window in your own contract so you know your date.

When something in the exceptions isn't clear, ask. The Buyer Advisory says the title or escrow officer, legal counsel or a surveyor can answer questions about the commitment and the Schedule B documents. If you're planning a pool or an addition, ask what each easement and restriction means for that. I wrote about when a Scottsdale buyer needs a real estate attorney, including what to do when the commitment shows a problem, and about how to look up Scottsdale property records if you want to see recorded documents yourself.

Your purchase contract decides, so read that section instead of relying on what's typical. Stewart Title says who pays varies by state and local custom, and both the Arizona REALTORS® form (Section 3c) and the Phoenix REALTORS® sample form have a title insurance clause that spells out who pays for the owner's policy and who pays for the lender's policy. Contracts can be written differently, so the one you sign is the one that counts, and your escrow officer can confirm it with you.

For the rest of the costs at the table, here's closing costs in Arizona and who pays what.

I'm not quoting a number here. Stewart Title and a Scottsdale title company's website both describe the owner's policy as a one-time premium paid at closing. The CFPB says the title insurance fee on your closing paperwork can differ from your Loan Estimate or Closing Disclosure and that this doesn't necessarily mean you're being charged the wrong amount, and it says buying both policies from the same provider usually costs less than buying them separately. Ask your title or escrow officer for the premium on your purchase and what it includes.

Here's how buying a home works in Arizona, step by step, and here's my guide to buying a home in Scottsdale.

If you're buying and have questions about the process, get in touch or call me at (480) 203-6605. For what your policy covers, your title officer is the person to ask.