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Title Insurance

As a purchaser and owner of real estate, you are exposed to various risks that could affect your legal use and ownership of your property and cause you a financial loss. Please find below material to inform you about Stewart Title Limited’s Title Insurance policies.  
Title Insurance provides cover in relation to certain unknown and hidden risks that may cause you loss or affect your ownership, such as:

  • Demolition or upgrading orders issued by Council in relation to structures illegally built on the property by a previous owner or in relation to illegal alterations to your strata unit for which you are now liable to comply with (maximum of $160,000 to be provided for a claimable event);
  • For properties with a land area of 50 acres or less, any adverse matters that would have been revealed in an up to date survey report;
  • Forced removal of a structure illegally built by a previous owner over an adjoining boundary (excluding boundary walls and boundary fences);
  • Non-compliance with zoning and planning laws and conditions;
  • Non-compliance with easements and covenants which burden your land;
  • Non-compliance with By-Laws or other obligations which are registered on your title; and
  • Complete loss of legal ownership due to a fraudulent sale or mortgage of your property.

The premium is a one time payment and cover provides protection for the lifetime you own the property.

For more information

You may contact Stewart Title’s representative, Toni Faiers on 0431 290 435 or toni.faiers@stewart.com for further details on premiums, cover, exclusions from cover and to obtain a sample policy. Alternatively you can contact the customer support team on 1800 300 440 or you may also refer to their website for further information at www.stewartau.com.

Processing fee obtained by our firm

As a representative of Stewart Title we are authorised to arrange a policy on your behalf by making an application to Stewart Title for policy cover. On this basis, we receive the following benefits from Stewart Title:

  • A processing fee of $50.00 excluding GST from Stewart Title on each insurance policy issued, towards my time spent in ordering the policy on your behalf;
  • Stewart Title waives any rights and remedies or relief to which they become entitled to in their policies by way of subrogation against us.
  • An indemnity where a claim is brought against us with respect to a matter that would be covered under the Stewart Title policies.

Acting as a representative of Stewart Title does not mean we are obliged to use Stewart Title exclusively.  Additionally, we are not an agent of Stewart Title and have no authority to bind Stewart Title in any way.

Disclaimer

Please note that the information on title insurance provided is solely for general information purposes only and does not relate to your personal circumstances. It is not intended to be a complete description of all the terms, conditions, exclusions applicable to the title insurance product. We are unable to provide any advice regarding title insurance. You should contact the title insurer directly for specific advice in relation to the title insurance product and for a copy of a sample policy.

Policy Coverage

Please note that any policy application that we submit on your behalf will be assessed by Stewart Title on a case-by-case basis and will be subject to Stewart Title underwriting guidelines. You will need to rely on the policy documentation issued by Stewart Title for confirmation of the specific coverage that is available for your property.

We have been informed by Stewart Title that the following types of properties will most likely result in your application being reviewed for underwriting and possible policy exceptions, exclusions and conditions may be applied:

  • Secondary dwellings (including garages that have been converted to a secondary dwelling) and outbuildings (secondary structures) which are used as studios/home offices.
  • Multiple dwellings, ie flats or apartments, under one roof – i.e, a single residence which has been converted to dual or multiple internal flats/dwellings configuration
  • Partially completed dwellings or structures
  • Swimming pools without obvious safety barriers
  • Dilapidated structures
  • Residential ‘conversions’, that is, dwellings which were previously not residential but have been converted to a residence such as former churches, fire stations, warehouses.

Important Notice - Duty of Disclosure

Before you enter into a contract of general insurance with an insurer, you have a duty, under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984, to disclose to the insurer every matter that you know, or could reasonably be expected to know, which is relevant to the insurer’s decision whether to accept the risk of the insurance and, if so, on what terms.

Non disclosure

If you fail to comply with your duty of disclosure, the insurer may be entitled to reduce its liability under the contract in respect of a claim or may cancel the contract. If your non disclosure is fraudulent, the insurer may also have the option of avoiding the contract from its beginning.

Not sure whether something should be disclosed?

You should contact Stewart Title directly if you have any questions about your disclosure obligations or if you are aware of unapproved structures, boundary issues, encroachments or other adverse matters relating to the property which are disclosed in your contract for sale, building inspection report or are otherwise known to you (including, but not limited to, building code non compliance, dilapidation, structural integrity problems, defective workmanship issues).