You’re spot on about title insurance being a tough nut to crack. In my experience, the premium itself is basically locked in—state regulations don’t leave much wiggle room there. Where I’ve seen buyers make a dent is by getting quotes from different title companies. Even if the premium’s fixed, their service fees can vary a lot. I’ve had clients save a few hundred bucks just by not going with the default company their lender suggested.
One thing I’d add: sometimes you can negotiate who pays for the owner’s policy in the contract, especially in a buyer’s market or if the seller’s motivated. It’s not common, but it happens—worth asking your agent to push for it if you’re in that position.
And yeah, those “junk” fees are sneaky. Always ask for an itemized list and don’t be shy about questioning anything that looks off. Some companies will drop or reduce them if you call them out.
At the end of the day, you probably won’t get rid of title insurance altogether, but you can definitely avoid overpaying on the extras if you’re persistent.
