Title insurance, which is intended to provide protection against any disputes that may arise over ownership of property, is one of many required costs faced by home buyers. It is an expense that has come under increasing scrutiny as regulators in California and Colorado investigate whether buyers have been overcharged for the insurance.Some of the biggest title insurers, the regulators say, were paying as much as half of the policy premium for referrals of customers, suggesting that title insurance might be overpriced in much of the country.
In Iowa, though, title insurance costs are often 20 to 30 percent lower, sometimes even more, than average nationwide. The state banned conventional title insurance in 1947 after the collapse of insurers in Sioux City, and it instead offers an equivalent called title guarantee.
