What is Title Insurance? Why Do You Need It? You're having breakfast. There is a knock on the door. A former owner's brother introduces himself. He has been out of the country when his sibling passed away and didn't sign-off his interests as an heir to the estate. Could this be a problem? A title insurance policy protects against losses that occur when you discover after closing that someone else can claim ownership of the property. Could that happen? Yes, if the rights of a previous owner were overlooked during your title examination or a search that came before it.