Leader Team Broker has launched Title Insurance, a policy that compensates owners for buildings and land at risk of litigation

Leader Team Broker, a key player in the niche insurance market in Europe, has launched Title Insurance, an innovative product aimed at natural persons and/or legal entities purchasing buildings or land, including historic buildings, who want to protect themselves from the risk of damage caused by possible irregularities in ownership or litigation arising subsequently. The policy pays the cost of “perfecting” ownership rights and provides compensation if the new owner loses the purchased land or building.

“The property situation in Romania is often unclear, due to the troubled history and the many complex laws governing this area, which often clash. This is why, even more than 30 years after the legislation on the restitution of land and buildings confiscated by the Communists and in the absence of a well-developed land register, the real estate market is exposed to ambiguity and uncertainty regarding ownership rights. We still find cases where someone buys a property, the title deeds are apparently in order, and after a few years, the new owner finds out that the property is claimed by someone else, who often wins in court. The situation is particularly sensitive in the case of land or property of high value. To eliminate this risk, we have come up with a solution that virtually secures title deed for those who buy land and buildings. ‘Title Insurance’ is for all natural persons and companies who want to protect their ownership of their new purchase without fear that, in some period of time, a third party will come along and claim their property in court. Also, if later on evidence of fraud, forgery or ownership infringements emerges, which is not known to those who buy such a property, they will be compensated, if they have taken out such insurance when they bought the property”, said Răzvan Rusu, founder of Leader Team Broker.

Title insurance indemnifies damages and legal costs that may arise in a variety of situations, including partial or total loss of title deed, demolition or building consolidation/renovation costs, business interruption/restart-up losses in the case of businesses, depreciation of the value of the property/asset or payment of any damages and legal costs in the case of court-ordered decisions.

The title insurance policy is taken out at the time of purchase of the property and covers either the owner or the lender who financed the mortgage. Title Insurance is valid until the property is resold and can be passed on to the future owner.

“We strongly recommend taking out title insurance, especially for companies purchasing land on which they are building office premises, logistics warehouses, shopping malls, large shopping centres or leisure centres. Currently, there are many players in Romania who have bought property, built on it and started their activities, and now find themselves in the situation where they have to relocate or stop their activities because of the claim to the land they have built on. A claimant to such a property can go as far as to ask the court to stop the activity until the dispute is resolved. Another category for which we recommend this policy is historic, heritage buildings, properties for which a number of special notices and approvals are required for their sale. The lack of such a document at the time of sale can later result in the loss of the property if the state or a third party claims the property,” said Alexandra Elena Durbacă, CEO Leader Team Broker.

The title insurance policy issued by Leader Team Broker can be taken out not only in Romania, but also in other EU countries, in which case the legislation governing the property in the respective country applies.