To Err Is Human. That's One Reason for Title Insurance.

I often make the analogy to vacation insurance: It's a lot of money, but if you cannot take that trip, it's nice to get a full refund.

You asked if you needed to obtain owner's title insurance when you refinanced. The answer is no. Once you have an owner's policy, you are covered forever. Your new lender will want lender's coverage, but you do not have to pay for the extra coverage. And don't let the settlement company or attorney convince you otherwise.

You also ask whether you can obtain a new policy from another company. I don't see why not, but I don't know why you need it. If you want to get a new policy, you will have to have your title searched pay a lot of upfront costs, in addition to the cost of a new policy.

You are correct in that there are a number of exclusions in your policy. The usual ones include:

Matters that are disclosed on the public record. This raises questions, however, as to what is a public record.

Real estate taxes that are not yet due.

Matters that are not shown, or recorded, among the public records but are known to the person obtaining the title insurance policy.

The Government Accountability Office recently issued a report, "Actions Needed to Improve Oversight of the Title Industry and Better Protect Consumers." One of the significant recommendations in the report was: "GAO recommends that [the Department of Housing and Urban Development] and state insurance regulators take actions to improve consumers' ability to comparison shop for title insurance and strengthen the regulation and oversight of the title insurance market."

The full report can be found on the GAO Web site ( http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07401. pdf).

The American Land Title Association, the trade association for the title insurance industry, responded: "ALTA supports the GAO's conclusions, recognizes that improvements could be made to the industry, and is committed to partnering with various regulatory and governmental agencies to do whatever it takes to better protect consumers."

Benny L. Kass is a Washington lawyer. For a free copy of the booklet "A Guide to Settlement on Your New Home," send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Benny L. Kass, 1050 17th St. NW, Suite 1100, Washington, D.C. 20036. Readers may also send questions to him at that address or contact him through his Web site, http://www.kmklawyers.com.