First Title launches European Home Owners' Protection Policy
31 July 2009
LONDON, June 9, 2009 - First Title Insurance plc (First Title), a subsidiary of First Title plc and the largest provider of title insurance in the United Kingdom and Europe, has extended a new title insurance program for English-speaking homeowners in select Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and South Eastern Europe (SEE) countries. The European Homeowners Protection Policy (HOPP) launched in these regions follows the establishment of the program in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the UK and Ireland the program is available to second homeowners in Spain, France, Turkey and Southern Cyprus.
In the CEE and SEE countries of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, the HOPP title insurance policy will be offered to UK and Irish second homeowners and other English-speaking expatriate homeowners.
The European HOPP developed by First Title is designed to provide overseas property owners peace of mind by covering some of the risks of property ownership in these regions such as ownership disputes, boundary disputes, fraud, forgery, limitations on the use of a property and lack of a legal right of access to a home. For all of these types of risks or claims, First Title would defend the homeowners' rights through negotiation, legal proceedings or, if necessary, compensation. First Title has built this new program for individual homeowners from their experience in the CEE and SEE commercial real estate market over the last seven years.
Andrew Jackson, managing director of CEE operations for First Title said, "This is an excellent introduction of First Title's retail products into the CEE market. The European HOPP provides security for property owners in countries where they may not be familiar with local laws and customs. It is the first time First Title's policies to protect homeowners have been available in CEE. This new product will provide peace of mind for homeowners."
The European HOPP is an online product with a dedicated website. For information on the risks, the policy coverage and how to purchase a policy, visit www.firsttitle.eu/eurohopp.aspx . Currently the policy is only available in English.