At a Florida closing, you’ll see title insurance listed twice on the settlement statement, and the larger number isn’t a typo. The Florida Homebuyer Checklist 2026 treats it as a standard closing line, but buyers typically don’t realize the two policies cover very different things, and only one of them is required.
What title insurance actually protects
Standard insurance pays for future events: a fire, a hurricane, a fender-bender. Title insurance does the opposite. It protects against past events that didn’t surface during the title search: a forged signature from a prior owner, a missing heir who never signed off, a contractor’s lien filed but never satisfied, an overlooked easement, a clerical error in the chain of deeds.
A clean title search reduces the odds of those issues surfacing. It doesn’t guarantee they won’t. A missing-heir claim, for example, can appear years after closing when a relative contests an earlier estate. Without an owner’s policy, defending that claim falls entirely to the buyer. That’s why lenders require coverage even on a brand-new Pembroke Pines home, and why a Miramar buyer paying cash for an older house still has reason to consider the optional policy.
The two policies at a Broward closing
You’ll see two separate policies on the closing statement.
The lender’s policy is required. It protects only the lender, only up to the loan amount, and only for the life of the loan. A buyer in Davie financing $360,000 on a $450,000 home has a lender’s policy covering the $360,000, not the $90,000 in equity.
The owner’s policy is optional. It protects the buyer’s equity, runs for as long as the buyer or their heirs own the property, and covers the full purchase price. On that same Davie example, the owner’s policy is what would defend the $90,000 in equity if a prior-owner claim surfaced years after closing.
Reading the Florida Closing Costs in 2026 guide makes those line items easier to recognize on the settlement statement.
How the price is set (and why Florida is different)
Florida sets title insurance premiums by statute, under Florida Statute §627.782 and Rule 69O-186.003. The rate is one-time at closing, and it scales: roughly $5.75 per $1,000 for the first $100,000 of coverage, then $5.00 per $1,000 up to $1 million. A $450,000 owner’s policy in Weston runs the same calculation a $450,000 policy in Pembroke Pines does — comparison-shopping on price alone misses the point.
When both policies are issued at the same closing, the simultaneous-issue rate applies. The owner’s policy is calculated at the standard scale, and the lender’s policy on top of it costs only a small minimum charge, often around $25. Buying an owner’s policy at closing costs considerably less than purchasing it on its own at a later date.
Who pays and why it matters in Broward
Florida runs on county custom. In Broward and Miami-Dade, the buyer typically pays for the owner’s policy and selects the title agent, the opposite of most of the state, where the seller does. The FAR/BAR contract (Paragraph 9) sets who pays and who selects, so the custom can be overridden in the offer.
A Pembroke Pines buyer should know which box was checked before assuming the owner’s policy is a seller cost. Mapping the dollars early helps with the cash-to-close calculation and informs decisions before the earnest money deposit is wired.
Buyers in Broward can also request the title commitment before closing. That preliminary report lists every condition the final policy will carry, including any open liens, easements, or title exceptions. Reviewing it before the closing table, rather than at it, gives time to resolve open requirements without slowing the close.
Final takeaway: The lender’s policy protects the lender’s loan. The owner’s policy protects the buyer’s equity. Florida statute sets the price, simultaneous-issue keeps the add-on reasonable, and in Broward the owner’s-side bill typically lands on the buyer but the contract checkbox is what actually governs.