You don't. But your lender requires that you buy a policy for their benefit, so you do need to buy one for them. The majority of mortgage loans made in this country will become the property of either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Fannie and Freddie will only purchase mortgages which are backed by a Policy of Title Insurance. Accordingly, even if your mortgage company is not planning to sell your loan to Fannie or Freddie, they will usually underwrite the loan so it could be sold to Fannie or Freddie in the future. To do that, they need a title insurance policy.