Owner’s vs Lender’s Title Insurance in Davie, FL

Do you need both owner’s and lender’s title insurance in Davie?

In Davie, Florida a lender’s title policy protects only your mortgage lender for the loan balance, while an owner’s policy protects you for the full purchase price and your equity for as long as you own the home. In Broward County the buyer customarily pays for both. Florida sets the premium by law at $5.75 per $1,000 on the first $100,000 of value, then $5.00 per $1,000 above that, so the two policies are not a fee you can shop around.

You are at the closing table on a Davie home and the settlement statement shows two title insurance charges, not one. Nobody walked you through why you are paying for the bank’s policy and your own on the same house. That is the question I get more than almost any other on the closing side, and the answer decides whether you keep or waive a few thousand dollars of protection.

Here is the plain version, grounded in how a Broward closing actually runs.

What each policy actually protects

Title insurance covers problems tied to the ownership history of the property, the kind a search can miss: an unpaid lien, a forged signature in the chain of title, a recording error, or an heir who surfaces later with a claim. The two policies split who gets protected.

The lender’s policy protects your mortgage lender, and only up to the outstanding loan balance. If a title defect wipes out the ownership and you financed the purchase, this policy makes the bank whole. It does nothing for your down payment or the equity you build over the years. Almost every lender requires it before funding the loan, and the buyer always pays for it.

The owner’s policy protects you, the buyer, up to the full purchase price. It defends your title in court and, if a covered claim holds up, pays you for the loss up to the policy limit. It is optional under Florida law, and it is the one that actually stands between you and losing what you put into the house.

What an owner’s policy commonly covers on a Davie home:

• Liens that survived the sale, including unpaid property taxes, past due HOA assessments, court judgments, and construction liens from a contractor the prior owner never paid.
• Deed fraud or forgery in the chain of title, where someone forged a past owner’s signature to move the property.
• Recording errors in the public record and unknown heirs who claim an interest.
• Boundary and survey problems, but only if you remove the standard survey exception with an endorsement. A standard policy will not cover what an accurate current survey would have shown.

That survey point matters most on acreage and equestrian lots, where easements, bridle path access, and lot lines carry real money. If you are buying western Davie acreage in the 33330 corridor, ask the title company about a survey endorsement before closing. It is a small line item against a large risk on a property where the boundaries define the use.

What title insurance costs in Davie and who pays

Florida is a promulgated rate state, which means the state sets one premium schedule that every title company must charge. You cannot shop a cheaper title policy. The base owner’s rate is $5.75 per $1,000 of coverage on the first $100,000, then $5.00 per $1,000 above that up to $1 million.

On a typical single family Davie purchase, that looks like this:

• A $600,000 home: about $3,075 for the owner’s policy.
• A $750,000 home: about $3,825.
• A $1,000,000 home: about $5,075.

When the owner’s and lender’s policies are issued together in the same purchase, the lender’s policy drops to a minimum of $25 through what the state calls simultaneous issue. So on a financed Davie purchase you are usually paying the full owner’s premium plus a token amount for the lender’s coverage, not two full premiums.

There is one more break worth asking about. If the seller bought the home within the last three years and had their own owner’s policy, you may qualify for the reissue rate: $3.30 per $1,000 on the first $100,000, then $3.00 per $1,000 above that. On a $600,000 home that can cut the owner’s premium from about $3,075 to about $1,830. The credit is based on the prior policy amount, so it is worth having your title company check the seller’s paperwork.

Title insurance is one piece of your Davie closing costs, and it behaves differently by county. In most of Florida the seller customarily pays for the owner’s policy. In Broward County, along with Miami Dade, Sarasota, and Collier, the custom flips: the buyer usually pays for the owner’s policy and also picks the closing agent. The buyer always pays for the lender’s policy everywhere.

None of this is fixed law. Who pays is a line in the FAR/BAR contract, and in the more balanced Broward market of 2026 it is genuinely negotiable. I have seen sellers agree to cover the owner’s policy as a concession when a buyer asks early and frames it against the rest of the deal. The time to move that cost is before you sign, not at the closing table.

Is the owner’s policy worth it

Because Florida sets the price and the premium is a one time cost you never renew, the real question is not how much but whether the risk justifies it. For a financed purchase, you are already paying for the lender’s policy, so adding owner’s coverage through simultaneous issue is the marginal owner premium for full protection. Most buyers take it.

The buyers who hesitate are usually paying cash. The logic sounds reasonable: no lender, few prior owners, low perceived risk. Run it the other way. A cash buyer has no lender’s policy at all, so if a lien, a forged deed, or an unknown heir surfaces, there is no insurer standing behind any part of the title. The cash buyer is the most exposed party in the room, not the least. That is exactly where I tell buyers to keep the owner’s policy rather than pocket the premium.

You can verify a lot of this yourself before you ever get to closing. Recorded liens and the deed history sit in the public record at the Broward County Property Appraiser and the official records maintained by Broward County. Open permits, which can turn into contractor liens on unpermitted work, trace back to the Town of Davie. A title company runs all of this and insures the result, and the owner’s policy is what turns that search into protection you can actually collect on.

Every deal has its own title picture, and the owner’s policy decision sits inside your larger cost to own in Davie. That is the kind of number I walk buyers through before we write the offer, so nothing at the closing table is a surprise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is title insurance required in Florida?

The lender’s policy is effectively required if you take a mortgage, because your lender will not fund the loan without it. The owner’s policy is optional under Florida law. Most buyers and nearly every real estate attorney recommend keeping the owner’s policy, especially cash buyers who have no lender’s coverage protecting the title.

Who pays for title insurance in Davie, Broward County?

In Broward County the buyer customarily pays for the owner’s title policy and selects the closing agent, which is the opposite of most Florida counties where the seller pays. The buyer always pays for the lender’s policy. Because it is a contract term, you can negotiate who pays in the FAR/BAR agreement before you sign.

How much does title insurance cost on a Davie home?

Florida sets the rate by law at $5.75 per $1,000 on the first $100,000 of value, then $5.00 per $1,000 above that. That is roughly $3,075 on a $600,000 Davie home. When both policies issue together, the lender’s policy is a minimum of $25 through simultaneous issue.

Can I get a discount on title insurance in Florida?

Yes, through the reissue rate. If the seller purchased the home within the last three years and held an owner’s policy, your new owner’s premium can drop to $3.30 per $1,000 on the first $100,000, then $3.00 per $1,000 above that. Ask your title company to check the seller’s prior policy date before closing.

Talk to a Davie Real Estate Expert

Title insurance is one line on a settlement statement full of them, and the ones you can move you have to move before you sign. If you are buying in Davie and want the closing costs mapped out honestly, from the owner’s policy to the doc stamps to who pays what, book a strategy call and we will run your actual numbers together. Schedule your call at bit.ly/daviestrategycall.

Anthony Spitaleri

Living in Davie Florida

954-235-5783

Davie, Florida

livingindavieflorida.com

Written by Anthony Spitaleri, Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker and a Davie native. More about Anthony