Banks, buyers, and real estate developers may soon have a new tool to help them manage risk in real estate sales: title insurance. GIG Egypt officially applied to the Financial Regulatory Authority for a license to issue the country’s first real estate title ins policy, Managing Director Alaa Elzoheiry tells EnterpriseAM. Once greenlit, GIG plans to immediately ink strategic partnerships with developers to bake title coverage into their projects.

How it works: Unlike standard home ins. that covers future events like fire or theft, title ins. covers past, undiscovered risks at the time of purchase. The proposed policy will cover properties nationwide and not just in new cities, according to Elzoheiry. Premiums will be based on a case-by-case basis through a technical audit of the title chain, with clearer histories getting lower rates and more complex ones at risk of being rejected. Interestingly, the policy includes an option for unregistered properties, provided they have foundational proof, like court rulings or allocation letters.

Why it matters: The big thing here is comfort for buyers, who would be insured against risks they’re inheriting from the developer. By shifting the risk of title defects — such as forgery, hidden liens, or disputes — from the buyer and to the insurer, the policy makes a real estate purchase easier to think of. And if interest rates decline to the level that mortgage finance finally makes sense? It might increase bank appetite to finance that segment of the industry.

The new ins. cover, if approved by the regulator, could be a boon to sales of real estate to folks abroad, including foreigners and Egyptian expats wary of getting into a decades-long fight over a property with suspect paper. Foreign buyers, in the Gulf and elsewhere, have historically been wary of our land registry system. “This step is a total game-changer,” Uptown 6 October Chairman Moataz Shaarawy tells us. By offering a product that mirrors the legal security found in London or New York, developers can finally offer peace of mind to offshore buyers.

The possible kicker? If the FRA bites — and interest rates do come down — title insurance could really unlock liquidity for the secondary market, where buying is particularly fraught. And the new product could also bring more institutional capital into a market that’s becoming more diverse as players like our friends at GRANITE, Bonyan, and MMHD build out the nation’s fractional real estate segment. Shaarawy notes that his group is already exploring real estate investment funds that could use title ins. to help de-risk portfolios for global institutional allocators.

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