Title insurance and homeowner's insurance protect against totally different types of risks.

Homeowner's insurance covers loss or damage to the home, other structures, and the personal property contents of the home, as well as third-party liability.

Title insurance protects ownership interests in the real property. Title insurance is to guarantee that you have good and marketable title to the property -- that your interest in the property is superior to all others. When purchasing a home through proceeds of a loan, lenders require you to obtain title insurance. That way they know that you have clear ownership of the real property and the home.

Before being able to obtain a loan on a home, the title insurance company conducts a search to determine all liens, encumbrances, and other possible defects to the title as it stands in the hands of the seller. Then, when the title insurance coverage is obtained, the Title Company guarantees that the buyer has marketable title to the property after the purchase. Any liens, encumbrances and other defects to the title that occur during your ownership of the property, however, are not covered by this insurance.