If you have title insurance, pay attention. That company could be looking for a legal technicality to deny your claim.

In today's Toronto Star, columnist Bob Aaron talks about a case where a title insurer attempts to deny coverage with a technical legal argument. What the company isn't saying is that the coverage wasn't purchased; it's saying that even though the person filing the claim paid for insurance, they are not entitled to claim because of a complex legal argument.

This kind of thing has not yet been common in the title insurance arena. But get ready folks. Mr. Aaron says that this is exactly where title insurers may go, in an attempt to reduce claim pay-outs.

He has good ground to believe this. It's exactly where many other insurers have gone to reduce claim pay-outs. In fact, Mr. Aaron cites a case between Whiten vs Pilot Insurance where Pilot refused to pay a claim for the lose of a home due to fire. The reason was that Pilot Insurance insisted the fire was an arson, despite the fact that there was no information to support that theory.

There have been more and more attempts by insurers to deny valid claims. This has become a real problem in the insurance industry. As insurers attempt to reduce their liabilities,  and increase their profits, ethics may suffer. This has been happening across the industry.

Here's hoping that the title insurance business can keep more trust with its customers than other insurance segments.

Monique L. Attinger