A dedicated rights cover for the economic loss of a buyer, mortgagee, tenant or jeonse-loan lender from a title defect discovered after a real-estate transaction — ownership dispute, forgery, prior claim, provisional attachment and the like. A Korean version of the standard US/Japanese title insurance.
N2N Insurance Brokerage does not represent any single insurer — it independently represents the client as an FSS-registered broker (Reg. No. 2026-012201). We compare the wordings, rates and service of AIG · Chubb · DB · Hyundai · KB · Meritz to propose the cover and price best suited to your risk. Each insurer's full wording is provided at application and binding.
A dedicated rights cover for the economic loss of a buyer, mortgagee, tenant or jeonse-loan lender from a title defect discovered after a real-estate transaction — ownership dispute, forgery, prior claim, provisional attachment and the like. A Korean version of the standard US/Japanese title insurance.
Against ownership defects, double sale, title trust.
Against a fall in mortgage collateral value.
Against deposit-return risk (loss of opposability).
Against failure to recover the loan.
| Bad-debt top-up | Extension for the unrecoverable loan portion |
|---|---|
| Loss during auction | Auction-delay risk |
| Tax/charge arrears | Prior attachment arrears |
| Appraisal mismatch | Fall against the appraised value |
| Policy period | The whole period the right subsists (usually the contract/loan term) |
|---|---|
| Insurer | Hyundai |
| Limit | Based on the transaction amount / loan amount / deposit |
| Turnaround | Standard 3–5 business days / large commercial 1–2 weeks |
| When to take out | Best taken out just before the balance-payment date |
| Channel | Individual consultation with our broker (010-5755-6465) |
If the insured event has already occurred at the time the contract is made, the contract is void. However, where the contract is void due to the company's intent or negligence, or where the company knew or could have known of the nullity before acceptance yet did not refund the premium, the company refunds the premium with interest at the policy-loan rate published by the Korea Insurance Development Institute, compounded annually, for the period from the day after payment to the day of refund.
The specific losses not covered (exclusions) are set out in each insurer's policy wording and product description; on this page, see the “Cover” tab(or the “Losses not covered” section) for the main exclusions. For other cover-specific grounds on which claims are not paid, please refer to the policy wording.
The company provides cover, in accordance with the policy, from the time it accepts the application and receives the first premium. Where the company accepts the application after receiving the first premium with it, cover also begins from the time the first premium was received.
The application must be completed by the policyholder, and the policyholder and the insured must sign it by hand. Failure to sign by hand may result in disadvantages regarding the validity of the contract. On an internet cyber-mall, an electronic signature may be used instead.
The policyholder has the right to be given and have explained the information needed about the product they wish to buy.
The insurer and N2N Insurance Brokerage must explain the important matters of the product to ordinary financial consumers.
When applying, the policyholder, the insured or their agent must disclose truthfully the facts they know regarding the questions in the application (including the questionnaire). Otherwise the claim may be declined or the contract cancelled. Where insurance is taken out by telephone or other means of communication, the duty is performed by answering the seller's questions, which are recorded, without a separate written questionnaire, so answers must be given with particular care.
If, after the contract is made, any of the following arises in respect of the subject-matter insured, the policyholder or the insured must notify the company in writing without delay and obtain endorsement on the policy.
The surrender value is the amount paid if the contract is cancelled early. Unlike bank savings, insurance combines risk protection and savings: part of the premium is paid out as claims to other policyholders who suffer accidents, and part covers the insurer's operating expenses, so the surrender value on early cancellation may be less than the premiums paid, or nil.
Under Article 59-4(1) of the Income Tax Act (special tax credit), for protection-type insurance taken out by an employee only, a tax credit of 12% of the premium paid (capped at KRW 1 million per year) is available. Tax matters may change with amendment or repeal of the relevant tax law.
Except as provided by law, the insurer and N2N Insurance Brokerage do not collect, use, inspect or provide personal data related to this contract — for its conclusion, maintenance and claim payment — without the consent of the policyholder, the insured or the beneficiary. However, for those purposes the insurer may, with the consent of the policyholder and the insured and in accordance with law, provide personal data to other insurers and insurance-related bodies.
The above is a summary and excerpt of the policy wording; for grounds on which claims are not paid and other details, please refer to the policy wording and product description.
Title-defect risk — five transaction types
US, Canada and European property investment. The highest title-defect-risk area, from differences in overseas registration systems.
Office buildings, hotels, logistics centres. A large single-transaction area with undisclosed-right risk.
Redevelopment and reconstruction sites. A high boundary- and ownership-dispute-risk area.
Real estate included in a corporate acquisition. An M&A due-diligence supplement area.
Foreigners investing in Korean property. A language- and law-barrier area for verifying title.
A company that bought overseas property faced, a year later, a dispute in which an undisclosed mortgagee on the seller's side asserted a right. It was a right not shown on the register, but as it arose before the transaction it fell within this wording's cover. The insurer reviewed cover for the legal-defence costs + the title-dispute settlement, and because the one-off premium at the transaction date operates continuously while the buyer holds title, cover applied even though the accident occurred a year after the transaction. A case showing the value of this wording against latent risk that the register alone cannot reveal.
Source: (General industry example)
The wording and structure points decision-makers most often overlook
This wording covers only title defects that arose before the transaction but were discovered after purchase. A new accident arising after the transaction (e.g. a registration change after purchase) is outside this wording and is the ordinary fire/property-insurance area.
The wording's cover-basis date is the transaction date (completion of the sale registration), which must match the policy effective date. A time gap between the sale and the policy can become a cover gap, so matching the transaction and policy timing is key.
Cover continues while the buyer holds title but terminates automatically on sale (transfer of ownership). The next buyer must take out a separate policy to continue cover, so the policy must be renewed at each transaction.
The questions decision-makers ask most when considering title insurance
Title insurance covers loss to a buyer, tenant or mortgagee from a title defect discovered after a real-estate transaction — an ownership dispute, registration error, undisclosed right, double sale and the like. It is the standard wording for real-estate transactions in the US and Canada, and in Korea it mainly applies to foreign investment, large transactions and overseas-asset purchases.
Defects that arose before the transaction but were discovered after purchase — (1) ownership defects (double sale, forged rights), (2) registration error or omission, (3) undisclosed mortgages or leasehold, (4) land-boundary disputes, (5) undisclosed administrative dispositions — are the usual cover area. A new accident arising after the transaction is the ordinary fire/property-insurance area.
The registration copy shows only disclosed rights and does not include undisclosed/unpublished rights (e.g. a provisional registration, a right under litigation, a right under an oral contract). This wording covers latent risk not shown on the register, so it supplements the register check in large transactions and overseas-asset purchases.
The wording is usually a one-off premium at the transaction date, with cover continuing while the buyer holds title (a permanent-cover form). Unlike other wordings, it is a per-transaction rather than annually renewed policy, and it terminates automatically on sale.
Overseas property purchase (US, Canada, Europe and so on) is a core area of this wording. Differences in overseas registration/ownership systems make it hard for a Korean buyer to verify title defects in advance, so the global title wording of a global insurer (Chubb, AIG and so on) is combined.
The limit is usually set as the purchase price, or the purchase price plus a margin (reflecting value increase). It is structured as a single-transaction limit + a separate legal-defence-cost limit, and the limit-combination options differ by insurer.
The insurer assesses it on the property value, the transaction region (domestic or overseas), the title-risk grade (past dispute history, boundary clarity) and the limit. Being a one-off structure, the premium is designed as a set proportion of the transaction price. The exact premium and whether cover can be accepted are confirmed after underwriting by insurers such as AIG, Chubb, DB, KB, Meritz and Hyundai.
