Title Insurance Changes Could Save Homeowners

The Trump administration is moving to reduce title insurance costs for homeowners, an issue with particular significance in New York, one of the nation’s largest and most expensive title insurance markets.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte has directed Fannie Mae to expand a pilot program allowing certain low-risk refinancing transactions to proceed without a new lender’s title insurance policy or attorney opinion letter. The program applies to qualifying refinances where title risk is considered low.

“Title insurance is often very redundant, and we’re doing everything we can to ensure that the safety and soundness of the market is there, while at the same time getting rid of these redundant, unnecessary title policies,” Pulte said.

Pulte questioned why homeowners refinancing only several years after obtaining title insurance should necessarily pay for the process again.

“If you had a title insurance policy three or four years ago from the same title company, and they did the same work, why are you then having to do it again?” he asked, adding that a lien search could identify claims arising since the previous examination.

The potential savings could be significant in New York. The American Land Title Association reported that New Yorkers paid about $1.2 billion in title insurance premiums in 2025, the fourth-highest in the nation. During just the first quarter of 2026, New York premiums reached nearly $323 million, up 18.7 percent from a year earlier. Nationwide, consumers and businesses paid $18.5 billion in premiums last year.

Title insurers argue the policies protect lenders and property owners against undiscovered liens, fraud, forgery and other defects. New York’s Department of Financial Services likewise notes that title insurance protects against claims missed during a title search.

Pulte said the administration is trying to preserve those protections while eliminating unnecessary duplication. “We’re being very aggressive,” Pulte said. “We’re being very effective.”